Chapter 219: Kaki Furai (Fried Oysters)
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
Alright, it’s time to prepare dinner. [1] I’ve already made up my mind about what to make while we were stocking up on seafood at the market today.
Fufufufufu, today I am going to make Kaki Furai! Yes, that’s right, those Kaaki I bought earlier were basically super large oysters. The best way to eat oysters, aside from raw, is to make Kaki Furai! (Or should that be Kaaki Furai since the locals called them Kaaki?)
[6] Maa, it doesn’t really matter what they call it. I’m just going to make breaded fried oysters! Yes!
And tartar sauce, lots of it!
Uuuh, just thinking about it makes me want to eat it…
Yosh, let’s make this dream come true!
First, get all the materials needed from [Net Super]. [2] The Kaaki oysters I bought were still cased in their individual shells, so I’ll need to get a set of protective gloves and a shucking knife, or at least a short butter knife to pry it open. I heard some people use a screwdriver to open oysters, but I prefer not to stock up on unnecessary tools so a butter knife it is.
For the garnish, let’s get some cabbages to shred. [2] I’ll need flour, eggs, and fresh breadcrumbs for the breading. Hmm, hmm, since I’ll be making tartar sauce too, I’ll need more eggs than usual and purchase lots of mayonnaise as the base for the sauce.
To transform mayonnaise into tartar sauce, I’m going to need some pickles. Usually, I’d just get some of those chopped pickles for my sauce. [1] I had ordered a couple of bottles through the internet in my previous life and found them very convenient. In addition to regular pickles, it also contained chopped onions and paprika which added extra depth to the homemade tartar sauce.
I’m also going to mix in some chopped boiled eggs into the sauce to give it a richer, more robust flavour.
Ah, this is going to be really delicious ~
Oh right, I should get this thing to make chopping eggs easier. [2] A potato masher with medium size holes. I don’t really enjoy chopping eggs because the semi-solid yolks would stick to the knife. With this, I can easily crush up a bunch of eggs very quickly. [5]
Right, now that the things are bought, I’ll need to shuck the Kaaki. It’ll take some time, so I’ll set the rice and eggs cooking while I shuck the Kaaki.
The eggs were done first, so I paused my shucking to peel the eggs while they’re still warm. I plan to process as many of these Kaaki as I could bear and keep them in my [Item Box] for future use. We can cook and eat them on our way to the next city.
Also, considering how many other types of dishes I could make with Kaaki, [1] I became even more motivated at shucking the Kaaki.
“Fuu~, I wonder if this is enough, naa?”
Each Kaaki was rather big, so I quickly accumulated a large pile. [2] After that, I sprinkled salt and potato starch over the large bowl of Kaaki flesh and gently rubbed the mixture through the meat before pouring clean water into the bowl and stirred. The clear water soon grew muddy and I tipped it out, adding fresh water into the bowl. I did this three times until the water ran clear.
I put away half of the raw, cleaned Kaaki into my [Item Box] and checked on the rice. It was done boiling and only needed to sit in the claypot to complete the cooking process.
The eggs were already shelled, the Kaaki processed and now all I have to do was finely shred the cabbage for garnish and put the tartar sauce together. Since Fer and the rest don’t really like vegetables, there’s no need to shred too much.
To make this super easy tartar sauce: First, break the peeled eggs into half and crush them with the potato masher. The pickles with the onions and paprika were already chopped, so all I had to do was drain the pickle juice away and mix the pickles with the crushed eggs before squeezing a huge dollop of mayonnaise over the egg and pickles. After a couple of stirs and some taste testing, this super easy Homemade Tartar Sauce was completed.
I didn’t put any this time, but lemon juice could also improve the taste of this tartar sauce and make it even more delicious. [Z1]
When the cabbages were shredded and tartar sauce made, it was time to bread and fry the Kaaki.
There’s a specific way to fry oysters. First, pat the Kaaki meat dry with a paper towel. Dust the meat with a thin layer of flour first before dipping it into the egg bath. Finally, coat the Kaaki generously in fresh breadcrumbs until it doesn’t feel sticky.
I coated a tray of Kaaki with breadcrumbs as the oil slowly heated up.
When it comes to breaded frying, it’s best to use fresh bread crumbs for a crisp and delicious finish.
Once the oil reached up to 180 degrees, I began placing the breaded Kaaki into the hot oil. Making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Once the breading had browned, it was time to fish out the Kaaki and set them out to cool on a cooling rack. As a general rule, oysters should not be cooked for too long or they would become hard and tough.
Gulped…
Golden-fried oversized oysters… Aahhh, they looked so crispy and delicious~
I must have one now!
I quickly picked up a huge Oversized Kaki Furai and topped it with Homemade Tartar Sauce.
“Ooohh, how juicy! How crunchy! How delicious~”
It tasted like the concentrated sea, [1] like regular oysters but because it’s so much bigger, it’s that much tenderer and juicier~
Too yummy~
Let’s fry up lots and lots!
I enthusiastically fry up all my breaded Kaaki. [8] Finally, it was time to plate up.
I arranged shredded cabbages on the plate, placed several huge Kaaki Furai onto it before topping the lot with lots of Homemade Tartar Sauce.
Once the plating was completed, I placed the dishes onto the food wagon and pushed it to the living room.
“Dinner is ready~”
“Ooh, I’ve been waiting.”
“About time, I’m hungry!”
“Sui’s tummy is hungry~”
Plates of Kaaki Furai was placed in front of my hungry familiars.
“Hmm? What’s this?” sniff, sniff. “It doesn’t smell like meat. What is it?” Fer was as sensitive to change as usual.
“Oh, this is the fried shellfish thing called Kaaki I bought this morning. Try it, it’s delicious.”
“Is that so? Hmm… Ooh, this certainly tastes good. I know this. The food stalls serve this in soup or grilled. To think it could also be eaten like this. Umu, it’s good.”
Oya? Looks like Fer approves it.
I guess in this world where oil is a luxury, they’d serve everything grilled or as part of a soup. [1] As for me, if I have no choice but to apply heat onto perfectly fresh and excellent oysters, breaded frying is the best.
A gratin is delicious too, but I definitely prefer fried oysters.
“It’s crispy on the outside, but su~per juicy on the inside!” Dora-chan exclaimed. [5]
“Aruji~ this white thing goes really well with the crunchy, crunchy soft thing. It’s really yummy~”
Ah, as expected of Sui to understand the marriage of Kaki Furai and Tartar Sauce!
Yes, yes, ah! I should eat some too.
For me, I must have rice and miso soup. The miso soup is the quick, instant type, but that’s fine because the main characters today are the fried oysters! Ah, put together like this it’s like looking at a Kaki Furai Set Meal.
[6] A super luxurious Kaki Furai Set Meal with XXL Kaaki!
First, let’s put lots of tartar sauce onto the oysters… Nom, hmmf, crispy~! I’ve already tasted one fresh out of the fryer but the impact is still so strong. Delicious! The huge oyster is so soft and juicy, contrasted so well with the crispy breading!
Nom! Ahh, white rice. Siiip. Ah, miso soup. Crunch. Ahh, the Kaaki Furai!
This city is so great! It’s so worth it to come to a city filled with fresh seafood!
““Seconds!””
Alright, alright. It looks like everyone enjoyed the dish.
“Put lots of the white thing on mine.”
“Same here!”
“For Sui too!”
Hoho, looks like my Homemade Tartar Sauce is quite popular. Alright, here, have lots and lots~
Tartar sauce is a must when it comes to deep-fried seafood.
Oh yes, didn’t I buy something that resembled horse mackerel? Let’s have deep-fried horse mackerel next. Oh yes, deep-fried scallops would be good too, right?
As I enjoyed my first ever Kaaki Furai Set, I pondered over the many, many different kinds of seafood I could deep-fry in the future.
Naturally, Fer and Sui had many, many ‘seconds’ as usual.
[Zzonkedd1: Then, why not just add it?]
[Gumihou: Good question, it’s not like he has to go to the shops for lemons or anything.]
[1] Structural Change: Combine 2 paragraphs
[2] Structural Change: Combine 3 paragraphs
[3] Structural Change: Combine paragraph & dialogue
[4] Structural Change: Change passive sentence to dialogue
[5] Delete Repetitive or Pointless Information
[6] Additional Information for Aesthetic Purpose
[7] Add Dialogue Tag
[8] Structural Change: Changed dialogue to passive sentence.