013. Soy-Braised Jewel Sea Bream and Matsukawa Tai
I had never cooked Jewel Sea Bream before.
But looking at it, it did not seem very different from ordinary red sea bream.
“Then let’s get started right away. Status Window camera recording function on... Good.”
First, let’s make braised fish with fresh sea bream.
Sea bream have tough scales, so when making braised or steamed fish, you absolutely need to remove the scales properly.
“Then cut it into suitable pieces and make shallow cuts with a knife.”
Peet-peep?!
[Translation: And then swallow?!]
“Come on. Just wait a little. I’m going to make it really delicious.”
Braised sea bream would also taste great with the familiar spicy seasoning made from red pepper powder.
But since today’s lunch theme was Japanese cuisine, I decided to make it with soy sauce.
First, pour hot water over the cleaned sea bream.
“Lord Suho. Is there a reason for pouring hot water over it? Peep?”
“Yeah. It removes small scales I might have missed and gets rid of unpleasant smells.”
To reduce the earthy and fishy smell unique to sea bream, I used cheongju rice wine and mirin.
I mixed cheongju and mirin at a one-to-one ratio and filled the pot.
Once the alcohol began bubbling over high heat, I added the prepared Jewel Sea Bream for the first cooking stage.
Peet-peet-peep?
[Translation: It smells sweet? What is this?]
“Hey, Daldal. You can’t drink that. It’s alcohol, alcohol. It’ll be bad for you. No.”
After boiling it for around five to ten minutes, the properly cooked flesh turned a clean white.
Then I removed the sea bream from the boiling alcohol and set it aside.
Oh, right.
Do not throw away that liquid.
We still needed it for the braising sauce.
“I already cut the green onions, garlic, and other vegetables into large pieces.”
Next came the most important part.
The soy sauce seasoning.
Most Japanese braised dishes used a sweet and salty sauce made by mixing brewed soy sauce and sugar at a one-to-one ratio.
If you used another sweetener instead of sugar, you simply needed to taste it little by little and adjust the sweetness.
“Mm. Perfect.”
Once the sweetness of the soy sauce and sugar was balanced, it was time to properly braise the sea bream!
First, I arranged thick slices of radish across the bottom of a wide hot pot.
Then I placed the prepared sea bream on top.
If you inserted slices of ginger or garlic into the cuts made in the fish, the flavor would soak all the way into the flesh and make it even more delicious.
After that, I poured the sauce evenly so it could seep into the fish.
Then I added two or three cups of the liquid used earlier to cook the sea bream.
Peet-peep... Grrrrumble.
[Translation: Otter patience is entering a serious crisis.]
“Just wait a little. It needs to braise for around twenty minutes.”
PEEEEEEP!
[Translation: I cannot endure!]
“Hey. Braising is a dish that requires the beauty of patience. You have to give it proper time and care. But yeah, just watching it cook would be painful. I’ll prepare something we can eat before that.”
Peep, peep...!
[Translation: Daldal at limit...!]
Daldal’s patience seemed to be reaching its end.
I needed to hurry.
What menu would prepare our stomachs before the braised dish?
Matsukawa Tai!
It was a Japanese dish where boiling water was poured over the thick skin of sashimi-grade sea bream to cook only the skin.
I placed a properly filleted sea bream on the cutting board.
Then carefully poured hot water over it.
Done.
You might ask...
How is that even cooking?
“Oh, oh. Lord Suho. The skin of the Jewel Sea Bream is rising like the bark of a pine tree after being covered in hot water. Peep.”
Orlan had been quietly watching the cooking process from beside me.
“Exactly. In Japanese, matsukawa means pine bark, and tai means sea bream. So it literally means sea bream that looks like pine bark.”
Cooking the skin with hot water melted the fat beneath it and doubled the rich flavor.
At the same time, the normally tough skin became soft and pleasantly chewy.
Two benefits at once.
The cooking process was simple enough that there was barely anything to explain.
But making it properly was surprisingly difficult.
Only someone with some skill could bring out the deep richness of the fat under the skin without cooking the flesh itself.
Actually, I had worked part-time at a Japanese restaurant for quite a long time.
Yes.
I was bragging about my cooking skills a little.
“...All right. Finished.”
“Lord Suho? Why are you suddenly blushing in embarrassment? Peep?”
“Ahem! When did I?”
I sliced the properly finished Matsukawa Tai neatly, just like at a Japanese restaurant, and placed it over shredded radish.
A complete meal.
“All right, guys. Let’s eat!”
It was finally mealtime!
Daldal, who had been waiting while holding his breath, and Orlan, who had quietly waited beside us, both gathered around.
“Thank you for the meal.”
We carefully picked up slices of Matsukawa Tai and placed them in our mouths.
Mm!
Yes.
This was it.
There was certainly a special pleasure in slicing freshly caught sea bream into sashimi and eating it immediately.
But when you brought out the sea bream’s natural richness like this and suppressed the fishy smell, the flavor became far deeper.
“I have eaten sea bream many times, but never has it tasted this good. Peep. Even the mountain and sea delicacies of the Great Dragon Palace cannot compare with this. Peep, peep.”
“You’re praising me so much that I’m getting embarrassed.”
“I do not say it merely to flatter you. This truly is... Hey! Slow down, you brat!”
Peet-peet-peep! Peeeeep! Peep, peep!
[Translation: Tasty! Tasty! Even if three eat and four die, nobody would notice!]
Daldal.
Wouldn’t that just be an ordinary murder case?
Still, the Matsukawa Tai I had made for the first time in ages was definitely delicious enough to make me hum.
The tender flesh overflowed with deep richness.
The pleasantly chewy skin was soft and springy.
The refined savory flavor of a fish filled with the taste of spring rolled across my tongue like waves.
“Haa...”
I wanted alcohol.
No.
What if Daldal saw me drinking alone, became curious, and copied me?
I had heard that human alcohol could be deadly to small animals.
No.
No.
Hold back.
But seriously, this would taste incredible with just one small glass of cheongju...
“Lord Suho? Peep? I believe the braised dish is finished? Peep, peep?”
Oh.
Right.
“Oh. Thanks for telling me, Orlan. It’s cooked perfectly. Good. Here comes today’s main dish. Let’s enjoy it. ...Whoa!”
When I opened the lid of the hot pot, the sweet and savory scent of soy-braised fish gently rose and wrapped around us.
The clean white flesh of the Jewel Sea Bream had absorbed the gently bubbling soy sauce seasoning.
Carefully, so the tender meat would not fall apart, I lifted a piece with a ladle and placed it onto a plate.
Then I immediately tasted it.
“Haa.”
“Ohhh. Peep.”
PEET-PEEEP!!
What was this?
