#542 Takoyaki Party

I’m still trying to create an octopus dish after I upset everyone by fooling around by making octopus wieners and tacos.

In order to maintain my dignity as a husband, I must create a genuine dish today.

And so, I jog my memory to see what kind of octopus recipes I know.

Vinegared, fried, dressed, and simmered...

All of them sound like good options, but I doubt they could bring out the originality of octopus.

Is there any dish that’s distinctly associated with an octopus?

Octopus wasabi?

That one’s pretty delicious too.

However, it gives too strong an impression of being a snack to pair with alcoholic beverages, and our farm isn’t producing wasabi yet, so I can’t make it.

Maybe it’s time to start making wasabi soon.

Hmm, what else is there...

...Ah.

There IS one dish that screams octopus!

“Takoyaki!!!”

Now that’s the perfect representative octopus dish!

You make them by kneading flour mixed with broth and other ingredients and cooking it in a specialized pan.

The octopus inside is very chewy and addictive.

If I serve them takoyaki, I bet even that octopus will be pleased...Okay, I know that sounds weird if I say it, but anyway, let’s make takoyaki.

Our farm’s stock should be enough to cover all I need, so I’m not lacking any ingredients.

If there is one thing missing, though, it’s...

“...octopus?”

The main ingredient.

What to do...

If I want to get an octopus to cook, I have to go fishing.

But in reality, that ingredient is already right in front of me—Kraken, the giant octopus.

What should I do?

“Fufu, you seem troubled, Mr. Husband.”

Oh, I sure am.

If you can read my expression, you might as well solve this troublesome situation right away, please.

“If you need octopus meat, feel free to use me!”

“There’s generous...”

One of Kraken’s tentacles came off and rolled toward me.

Then, a new tentacle grew in that same spot.

All of that took just three seconds. 

“I’m a spirit, so I have high regenerative power! Use that tentacle to make the best octopus dish there is!”

With this octopus around, we’d never have to worry about food again.

Putting that matter aside, how about we start making a tasty octopus dish with this tentacle?

...Ah, I spoke too soon.

I don’t have a takoyaki pan yet.

You know, that thing with many semi-spherical molds.

You can’t really use that pan for cooking anything else, so I’ve never made one to date.

“Guess I’ll have to make one from scratch.”

As for the raw material...I can just go with mana metal, right?

* * *

Since the takoyaki pan’s structure is relatively simple, I don’t need to go as far as bothering the dwarves to make it for me. 

I made a rather large one that could cook 50 pieces at a time.

This could even rival commercial ones, I’m sure!

After boiling the octopus tentacle I got, chopping them finely, and preparing the batter, we’re ready to cook them!

“Oh? Strange cookery we have here again.”

“I think you roll the thingy in the cavities so it becomes rounder and rounder like a ball. Fancy!”

As usual, Platy and Veil are the first to notice, followed by the orcs, goblins, elves, and mermaids.

The crowd grew even larger as the students joined to watch.

...I feel like a takoyaki street vendor in this situation.

Years-worth of cooking skills did not fail me, and the takoyaki turned out well, topped with mouth-watering sauce, mayonnaise, and seaweed!

“This is takoyaki! Eat up!”

“YAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!”

The farm residents each give the takoyaki a try.

“Yum!!!”

An instant hit.

“Crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside! And there’s something rubbery and chewy in the center! Oh, is this the octopus?”

“It’s a profound harmony of chewiness! The batter must be made from wheat flour! Wheat sure is versatile!”

Besides Veil and Platy, many others were huffing, puffing, and chewing on their takoyaki.

As for our client, Kraken...!

“Marvelous! This tastes marvelous!!!”

Kraken is choked with tears as he eats the takoyaki.

...

What a surreal sight.

Can we still consider this an octopus eating its own tentacle?

“I can win! With this, I can win no matter what the crab guy comes up withhhhhh! Thank you, Mr. Husband!!!”

I’m glad you liked it.

I suppose I’ll make some more takoyaki.

I’ve prepared a lot of batter, so I will have to cook this in multiple batches.

There’s still lots of octopus left over and plenty of people who want to eat takoyaki, so I don’t need to preserve the meat either.

This calls for a takoyaki party!

“...But we don’t necessarily have to limit the ingredients to just octopus this time, right?”

If we’re going to cook a lot, we should experiment with all sorts of ingredients.

The unusual ingredients are what make takoyaki parties interesting, after all.

Maybe we can create an atmosphere similar to yaminabe, where you make stew from the ingredients people brought and then eat them in the dark!

“How about natto then?”

Then, Horkosfon appears out of nowhere, her punchline ready.

We know that natto is a versatile ingredient that can be added to any dish, as we have seen many times before.

Alrighty, let’s try natto in place of octopus!

“It’s good.”

Of course, it’s not as chewy as octopus, but the natto’s unique undertones add even more flavor.

As I thought, natto is terrifying. It goes with everything.

“How about adding cheese?”

Mhm, that’s basic.

Butter would excite the earth spirits, but the heat would melt it and make everything messy, so cheese would be a good choice.

Ahh, as I thought, cheese takoyaki is good too.

“How about some finely chopped sausage, another meat ingredient?”

“Let’s put in some shrimp. Shrimp!!!”

“Or maybe shiitake mushrooms for a different texture?”

“Mochi! Mochi!!!”

“Ramen noodles too!”

The experimenting session is becoming even livelier and livelier.

Takoyaki’s charm is that it can use any ingredient and still taste great.

Cooking and eating takoyaki while enjoying it with everyone is so much fun. These parties are the best!

But it would be a waste not to use the takoyaki pan a second time, so we should do takoyaki parties often from here on out.

The only problem is that...

“Hey. You can’t really call it an octopus dish if there’s no octopus inside, can you?” says Kraken, staring at me resentfully.  “If it doesn’t turn out to be an octopus dish, I can’t use it to compete with that crab. Are you sure about this? Can you still call this takoyaki???” 

If there’s no octopus in it, it’s no longer an octopus dish.

I reflect on whether I have gone a little too far again while Kraken stares at me coldly.