Day 411-420/Day 414

Day 414
There is death close by, surrounding the people moving through the sandy sea.
This is about the people called "People of the Sandy Seas" who spend most of their time in the sandy sea, from the time they are born until the day they die. They figured out the complicated sand flow of the sandy sea, making, and living on, sandboats out of wood and monster materials.
A unique culture that is not seen anywhere else is fostered here in this harsh environment, they are few in number but it seems that their physical ability and unique fighting skills place them in the highest level in the New Continent.
Such "Sandy People" are separated into several clans, but this time a tribe called the "Yanka - Nepa" tribe. It is a powerful clan, with a large scale sea fleet with multiple sandboats connected to each other to move across the Sandy Sea.
The tribe is basically all humans, with brown skin and black hair, narrow and tightened limbs that are characteristic of their people.
Their weapons are mainly primitive, using monster bones and fangs, but since the main food are desert monsters, so everyone has a [Noir Soldier]-like [occupation] like red hair shorts.
Because of that, there seems to be a somewhat mixed reaction in their eyes, as if they see prey when they see us, but they are a basically cheerful people.
Even with such a sandboat fleet like the Yangka-Nepa, we were all received with great hospitality this evening at a big ship.
For the time being, it seems it is not an ordinary type of hospitality by a classic trap of getting visitors drunk and capturing them.
It turned out this way when I was figuring out the trick to this place, how the sand flows in where the sandy sea intersects, and at this time I was fishing on a whim.
It is a nice thing to travel quickly to the [Mysterious Dark Continent], but I decided to take a lunch on a huge rock found from the sky among those scattered as if floating around the vast sandy ocean, thinking about the memories gained after coming this far.
The wonderful cooking made by the sisters inside the ship was delicious, it was simply exquisite.
However, I felt that the serving was small and, because I was at a loss, I fished for fresh ingredients without any worry for new kinds of fish.
With that, I picked up the "Sunable / Kraken", which seems to be an individual who had been vandalizing the surroundings recently.
"Sunable / Kraken" is originally a descendant from that "Kraken" species inhabiting the ocean that adapt to live on land.
Since the whole body is a mass of muscles, it a huge mass of about several tens of meters seems to be a grouping of rocks or a similar outcropping, but once it moves it has a ferocity that crushes prey with a thick skilled arm.
Although I eventually caught it, it inevitably started to rampage, so I pierced it with the Vermilion spear on the spot.
After catching it, I wondered how delicious this would be raw, but I thought that it would be even better cooked, and then eaten.
It is an easy recipe to just cut and bake the Kraken but the skin which is left crinkly is, surprisingly, not bad, and personally it is a finish that can be fully enjoyed by yourself.
Then again, because the recipe did not suit the ingredient, it was extremely difficult to bite into. It is nice to have a crunch, but it is too troublesome if chewing it is too much like rubber.
While I was thinking that it might become delicious if I develop the recipe a bit more, I am forced to feel somewhat frustrated.
Should I devise a better way to prepare it? It is enough to seriously leave me worrying.
Anyway, we still caught a "Sunable / Kraken" which leads to the encounter with the warriors of the "Yanka - Nepa" tribe who happened to have come to try to capture the "Sunable / Kraken" themselves.
If I want to learn about cooking local dishes with the materials available here, it is better to learn from the local people who would know best and, knowing that they have a part to play, leads to an invitation to their village like this.
The main course of their hospitality is of course a dish using the "Sunable / Kraken", but there are also a variety of other ingredients used.
It seems that the Kraken this time was a rare thing in recent years, but its whole body is cooked by the wives of the Yanca Nepa's who are familiar with the ways to prepare it.
The children and sisters are eagerly observing the situation, and sometimes they report back to me while studying.
A lot of dishes are taken out side by side.
"Tekko · hub" is the fried tentacles of the Kraken chopped with fish oil taken from a specific sand fish. It is an interesting dish with a taste with a crunchy and refreshing taste, which is fun.
The salad "Kusha Habi" made by carving plants similar to cactus and other several kinds with a fresh taste, many foods that I have never eaten.
"Kashakura" is just fish oil brushed on the sliced tentacles and then baked. However, just unlike when I burned the dish, there was no crisp rubber-like taste, instead it changed to feel soft and have more color, as if there is a secret in the fish oil.
"Hurtsu" is a dish mainly using the small "Blue Shell Scorpion" that lives inside the Kraken and the desert. You can enjoy the Kraken's crispy texture with a shrimp-like taste from the blue scorpion.
"Hakka Paule" is a kind of hot pot cooked with various ingredients. Moisture is a precious resource in the sandy sea but this uses a pot like a tajine pot, which has a characteristic shape that does not waste any moisture from the ingredients. Personally it is fresh but nostalgic taste that I am fond of.
Even though I ate a lot, I was also impressed with the local knowledge, even if I only learn one new cooking method.
Since I was able to learn about one more unknown taste, it could be called a good stop.
The labyrinth wine that filled my belly while I picked at the Tikko and the "Tecco hub" was amazing.
One cup to go along with a view of the moon and stars spreading in the night sky, leaves me with a sense of atmosphere.
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PLACE TRANSLATIONS ABOVE THE BAR. THESE ARE THE RAWS, LEAVE THEM HERE UNTIL SOMEONE DOES A REAL TRANSLATION (NOT JUST A GT OR RUSSIAN TRANS). CLICK EXPAND TO VIEW THEM.
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“四百十四日目”
　死が身近に佇む砂海を巡る者達が居る。
　それは生まれて死ぬまで殆どの時間を砂海で過ごす“砂海の民”と呼ばれる者達の事であり、彼・彼女達は複雑に流れる砂海の砂流を見極め、木材やモンスター素材で造られた砂上船の上で暮らしている。
　他では見られない独特な文化が育まれ、過酷な環境なので数こそ少ないが、それだけに身体能力や独自の戦闘技術は新大陸でも上位に位置しているそうだ。
　そんな“砂海の民”は幾つか氏族に別れているのだが、今回俺達が接触したのは“ヤンカ・ネパ族”と呼ばれる、複数の砂上船を連結させた砂上船団で砂海を移動する規模の大きい有力氏族だった。
　基本的な種族は人間で、褐色の肌と黒い髪、細く引き締まった肢体が特徴的だ。
　武器は主にモンスターの骨や牙を使った原始的なものだが、主な食料は砂漠のモンスターなので全員が赤髪ショートのように【魔喰い】系の【職業】を持っている。
　そのせいか俺達を見る時には獲物を見るような視線も多少混じるが、基本的には陽気な連中である。
　そんなヤンカ・ネパ族の砂上船団でも一際大きな一隻にて、今日の夜、俺達は歓待を受けていた。
　一応言っておくが、酔わせて仕留めるという古典的な罠による歓待ではなく、普通の歓待だ。
　そうなった切っ掛けは砂海を流れる砂流の交わる地で、気まぐれに釣りをしていた時の事である。
　さっさと【神秘豊潤なる暗黒大陸】に行けばいい話だが、ここまで来た記念にと思い、空から見つけた広大な砂海に浮かぶように点在する巨大な岩の上で昼食をとる事にした。
　船内で飯勇や姉妹さんが作ってくれた料理は美味しく、絶品であった。
しかし量が少ないなと感じてしまい、折角だからと何の気なしに新鮮な食材を求めて釣りをした。
　そして釣り上げた“サンアブル・クラーケン”はここ最近周囲を荒らしていた個体だったらしい。
　“サンアブル・クラーケン”は本来なら大海に生息する“クラーケン”種が陸上に適応した種だ。
　全身が筋肉の塊だからかボコボコと隆起した数十メートルほどの巨大は岩の塊か何かに見えるが、一度動き出せば太い触腕で獲物を潰して捕食する獰猛さがある。
　それを釣り上げた訳だが、当然暴れたので、急所に朱槍を突き刺して仕留めた。
　仕留めた後は、これはこれで美味しいのだろうか？　などと思い飯勇達に調理をさせ、実際に喰った。
　切って焼いただけの簡単な調理法だったが、コリコリとした触感は意外と悪くなく、個人的には焼きクラーケンとして十分楽しむ事の出来る仕上がりとなっている。
　ただ調理法が合っていなかったのか、噛み千切る事がかなり難しい歯ごたえだった。歯ごたえがあるのはいいが、ゴムみたいにありすぎるのもそれはそれで困る。
　もう少し調理法を工夫すれば美味しくなったかのしれないと思うと、何だか悔しい気持ちにさせられた。
　仕留め方をもっと工夫すれば良かったのか？　などとも真剣に悩むほどだ。　
　ともあれ、そんな“サンアブル・クラーケン”を仕留めた俺達は、たまたま“サンアブル・クラーケン”を退治しにやって来たヤンカ・ネパ族の戦士衆と遭遇。
　地元の食材を調理するなら地元民が一番よく知っているだろうと思って一部を譲るという話になり、こうして集落で歓待された訳である。
　歓待のメインは当然“サンアブル・クラーケン”を使った料理だが、その他にも多彩な食材が使われる。
　今回のクラーケンは近年稀に見る大物だったらしいが、ヤンカ・ネパ族の奥様方が手慣れた様子で調理して気がつけば全身が調理されていった。
　その様子を飯勇や姉妹さん達は熱心に見学し、時には教えてもらいながら勉強している。
　そうして並ぶ料理の数々。
　特定の砂魚から獲れる魚油でぶつ切りにしたクラーケンの触腕を揚げた“テッコ・ハブ”。コリコリとした触感とサッパリとした味が面白い一品。
　サボテンに似た植物やその他数種を刻んで造られたサラダ料理“クシャハビ”は、普段食べた事のない食材が多く、新鮮な味がした。
　“カシャクーラ”は、切った触腕に魚油を塗ってただ焼いただけだ。しかし俺達が焼いた時のようにゴムのような歯ごたえはなく、柔らかくコリコリとした触感にまで変化していたので、魚油に秘密があるのだろう。
　“ハーツル”はクラーケンと砂漠に生息する小型のをメインに使った料理だ。クラーケンのコリコリとした食感と、ブルースコルピオンのまるでエビのようなプリプリとした食感が同時に楽しめる。
　“ハッカパウーレー”は色んな食材をごった煮にした鍋料理の一種だ。砂海では水分が貴重な資源ではあるが、これは食材の水分を無駄にしない特徴的な形をした、タジン鍋に似た鍋を使っている。個人的には新鮮だがどこか懐かしい味がするこいつはお気に入りだ。
　その他にも色々喰ったが、調理法一つにしても現地の知識には感心させられる。
　未知の味をまた一つ知る事が出来たので、いい寄り道だっただろう。
　腹を満たし、チビチビと“テッコ・ハブ”を摘まみに飲む迷宮酒は最高だった。
　夜空に広がる星月を眺めながらの一杯も、中々風情があるのではなかろうか。
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Category:Novel
Category:Re:Monster ~ The Dark Continent ~ Vol. 1
Category:Articles that needs cleaning