Chapter 186: Simple and Complex
Chapter 186: Simple and Complex
A minute later, she placed two large bowls on the extended wooden counter.
Cassius grabbed the two bowls and handed one directly to Roderick.
The bowl was pretty massive. A massive mound of steaming rice sat right in the center of the bowl, and big chunks of dark meat smothered in thick sauce covered the top.
But the rice below wasn’t just boiled. It looked totally different. Every single grain had a wet, glossy shine. It honestly looked like someone had tossed the whole batch in oil. At least, it looked that way for Roderick.
"This is Lord Adrian’s personal creation." Cassius explained, seeing the minister stare at the bowl. "He calls it Fried Rice."
Cassius used his wooden spoon to fish around in the rice and pulled out some bright yellow chunks.
"We put a lot of scrambled eggs into this." Cassius said. "And quite a few spices. It comes out incredibly flavorful."
Then Cassius picked up a huge chunk of the meat.
The meat was ridiculously soft. It just instantly fell apart under the slight pressure of the wooden spoon. It just broke into tender, stringy pieces, leaving a rich, saucy residue behind.
"This meat is smoked and slow cooked over hot coal." Cassius continued explaining. "We do this overnight, so it gets very, very soft. It almost literally melts right in your mouth. The people here absolutely love it. They actually requested us to change the daily menu to this specific dish after they had a single taste of it."
Cassius took a bite.
"And sometimes we also add special ingredients." Cassius added while chewing. "For example, we add fresh vegetables into the rice. And the people do love that variant too. But the people are their separate opinions over which one they actually like better. Some like only having meat in their rice, while the others like the crunchy vegetables. They say the veggies make it colorful and much better looking to eat. They also talk about the difference in texture too."
Roderick nodded quietly.
He dug his wooden spoon into the bowl and scooped up just the rice.
He took a bite, and as he chewed it slowly, his eyes went wide.
’This is really good.’ Roderick thought. He kept his mouth shut about it, but his taste buds had gotten hyper active.
He shoved another spoonful in, trying to pick apart all the hidden flavors. It had just the right amount of salt. Then a sharp kick of spice hit the back of his throat. But it wasn’t overwhelmingly hot at all. The spiciness was well balanced.
And there was also this tanginess in it and he could not really understand where this tanginess came from. But he could tell that the sharp acidity was definitely there. The combination of all these flavors gave a really good, perfectly balanced taste. But there was still something missing..
’If the rice alone is this good,’ Roderick thought. ’I wonder how it tastes with the meat.’
So he pushed his spoon into the beef. Usually, he’d use a knife and fork but these people only gave him a spoon. He’d seen Cassius eat the meat with the spoon, so he decided to do the same.
He was totally used to eating hard, tough meats back in the capital. So when he pushed his wooden spoon into the meat to break it, he instinctively applied the regular amount effort he usually used. He saw Cassius easily break the meat earlier, but his own muscle memory just took over.
The spoon completely glided right through the meat. It slid through like he was pushing the spoon against warm butter.
Roderick was actually surprised since he didn’t expect it to be this tender. He picked up piece of meat and saw that the inside of the meat was a perfect, juicy pink. The outside was almost charred black, but the inside had a pinkish outer ring right under the black surface. As for the center, it was a very pale pink that was almost close to being white.
’Elara did say that the raw meat tasted good and it did not really give her any stomach problems.’ Roderick reasoned internally. ’So maybe it is fine to eat this.’
He just put the massive chunk of meat into his mouth without any rice.
And he loved it.
It had the exact perfect level of saltiness, just like the fried rice. But he could also taste the black pepper. There was nothing else competing with it. And even with that simple seasoning, the rich flavor and the tender texture were just pure perfection.
The meat literally melted right on his tongue and he just swallowed it down smoothly. He genuinely felt like there was no need to even chew on it.
He just stared down at the wooden bowl for a few seconds.
’Good lord.’ Roderick thought in pure awe. ’The common peasants here are eating vastly better than the actual royal family. But... is raw meat really this buttery? I don’t think so...’
He went in for a third bite. He loaded the spoon up with rice and a huge chunk of beef before shoving the messy pile past his lips.
And luckily for him, a thick piece of scrambled egg made it into the scoop too. So he got every single flavor profile in a single, massive bite.
And this was just perfection.
Savory beef fat leaked out and mixed right into the rice. The beef literally just dissolved on his tongue like butter. But he still had to actually chew the rice.
So the intense flavors just constantly mixed up as he chewed. It made the whole mouth-feel completely magical.
He was experiencing something entirely new. And this was coming from a guy who ate extremely expensive and luxurious meals at the royal palace on a daily basis.
Even he was completely shocked by the insane amount of complexity and the massive variety of flavors that this cheap "street dish" brought to the table.
It honestly just looked like a bowl of cheap peasant food. But it was easily the best thing he had ever put in his mouth.
He just squeezed his eyes shut and tilted his head backwards a little.
Then, a single tear rolled down his cheek.