ITK C360: Pasta Alimentare
I want to make a new dish.
I haven’t done that lately.
It’s time to expand our menu again, so I’m going to explore various options.
“I just hope I don’t come across any trouble along the way.”
You know, like not having the right ingredients so I have to start from growing them.
I’d like to start with what I have ready.
Then again, our farm now has a wide variety of ingredients that we have almost everything we need.
Gone are the days I used to feel frustrated because we didn’t have this or that.
Anyway, I’ve decided what to make.
“Spaghetti.”
We’ve mostly been making nothing but Japanese food, after all.
I’d like to try my hand at some Western-style dishes this time.
And if I’m going to make something, it will be easier to experiment if it’s a staple food.
Hence, spaghetti.
Knead, knead, kneaaaaad…
Mix flour with water, eggs, and other ingredients and knead.
I feel like I’m used to this process now since I often make bread.
Today’s pasta is fresh, not dried, because it’s still a sample.
And with no pasta machine, I’m naturally making it by hand.
When I finished the dough, I cut it with the evil holy sword Dreischwartz and made thin, noodle-like strips.
Then… the usual pair showed up—Platy and Veil.
They just know whenever I’m creating a new dish.
The only difference is that Platy comes with Junior in arms.
“Dear’s making a new dish!” says Platy with a twinkle in her eye.
“Huh? No, he’s not. Have you gone blind?”
“Excuse me?!”
Veil says provocatively, “Can’t you tell from what he’s doing? He’s kneading the wheat flour into long and narrow strips. It can only mean one dish, and it’s…”
Drumroll…
“Udon!”
Wrong.
I’ve made that before.
But I don’t blame her for thinking they’re similar since they have the same ingredient.
“Master, you kept our hopes up with such a promising look. You haven’t made any new dishes lately. Have you maybe used up all your talent?”
Come again?
“Oh well. If it’s just udon, I’ll help you make it. Witness this Grinzel Dragon’s handmade noodle-making technique.”
Then, for some reason, Veil rolls up her sleeves and joins me in the kitchen.
“You need to mix the right amount of flour with water and knead it until they’re perfectly mixed. Knead, knead, knead, kneadkneadknead!”
She starts to hand-knead the udon at a fast pace.
No matter, I’ll just mind my own business and continue making spaghetti.
I’ve already finished my noodles, so I’ll move on to cooking.
There are many types of spaghetti, but I’m going to make the simplest one today: pepperoncino spaghetti.
Making tomato sauce will take more time and effort, so I’ll make that after I perfect the pasta.
I oil the pan and fry some chopped peppers and minced garlic.
Meanwhile, Veil is working hard on making udon noodles.
“Done! Now I’ll boil and wash them!”
Leaving her alone, I continue to cook my dish.
“Time to make the broth! I’ll use dried bonito flakes and kelp to make soup stock and add soy sauce and mirin!
Add the pasta to the mix, cook it thoroughly so that the flavors blend, and season with salt and pepper.
“Add the cooked udon noodles and dock them in the bowl with the sauce. Then add green onions, green onions, and more green onions!!!”
Before the noodles turn hard, I remove them from the pan and place them on a plate.
“DONE!”
Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino!
“Udon!”
“HUH?!”
Two different dishes that had nothing to do with each other except for being noodles are lined up on the table.
“What is this? I thought we were making udon! You’ve made fake udon, Master!”
Don’t say that unless you want to make the entire Italian population your enemy.
“It’s your long-awaited new dish. It’s called pasta, er, spaghetti, er… pepperoncino.”
“Which one is it, really?!”
It’s too much trouble to explain them all from scratch, so let’s just call it spaghetti for now.
“Oho, well then, let’s have a taste.”
Platy, who until then had only been watching, takes a seat and tastes my dish.
She twirls her fork around the pasta with grace. As expected of a former princess.
“Wow!”
Ten-tennen!*
“This is so good! At first, I wondered what dry udon would be like, but it has a completely different texture and flavor! It has a sharp taste to it!”
She likes it.
But she also categorized it as udon, though it’s inevitable given the order of things.
“… I guess it will be a while before Junior gets to try this. Its taste is too sophisticated for his palate right now.”
“It does have garlic in it.”
He still can’t have it as baby food.
“Haha! Udon is exactly what Junior needs!” says Veil. “It doesn’t have such a quirky taste and is the best baby food! Udon is justice!”
When did she become such a big udon fan?
Is she a native of a certain prefecture?
And when did this dragon learn to easily make udon by hand?
“What are you talking about? Sure, it may not be the best baby food for Junior, but this spaghetti is delish! The spiciness of the peppers and the smell of garlic blend perfectly!”
And then there’s Platy and her weird pasta bias.
Does she hail from a certain boot-shaped country or something?
“Don’t carry Junior around while smelling like garlic! He’ll be exposed to the smell!”
“Shut up! Udon tastes bland! Cook that thing in miso, and then talk to me!”
And for some reason, a noodle war has broken out.
“Stop it, why do we have to fight over the same noodles?”
But I don’t have the power to stop two of the most powerful people on the farm.
I have no choice but to call in the best helper…
“Horkosfon!”
“Understood.”
It’s the angel of destruction, Horkosfon.
She immediately goes to the kitchen and puts the leftover fresh pasta into the frying pan.
Then, she throws in some natto!
“Here’s your natto pasta.”
She also combines Vei’s remaining udon noodles with the regular sauce and…
Adds more natto!
“Here’s your natto udon.”
A Kagawa specialty that instantly became a specialty of Mito City.
“Any food becomes more delicious when it is combined with natto. If you can make something taste better by mixing it with natto, then that makes them brothers. There is no need to argue.”
“I SEE!”
Veil and Platy hug each other.
“I’m sorry, I was wrong! There is no discrimination in good food!”
“Yeah! Spaghetti is also a great udon, so there’s no need to fight over it!”
I hold Junior and watch the harmonic scene.
Yes, getting along is the best.
Cooking is all about making everyone smile.
Now, how about I make tomato sauce next for some meatball spaghetti?
*reference to the sound effect used in this commercial
also, volume 11!
Seems like the only dough-based western dishes japanese people know are English bread and pasta all’uovo…