The Definitive Guide to Cuisine: A Sunar Tongue

The Definitive Guide to Cuisine: A Sunar Tongue is a book recovered from the lair of Acrimos.

## Description

A series dedicated to the cuisines of Ahlus intended to serve as a general overview instead of more in-depth studies performed by experts in specific disciplines, this copy of the Definitive Guide to Cuisine focused on the food and drink of the Kingdom of Sunstone, a Realm of southwestern Ahlus.

## Research

### Completed by Isra Ssalla

Shortly after completing my research in Lachlen, I found myself fortunate enough to be invited to the Sunar capital of Halima by the Morning Court themselves, for it was said that Princess Safina was a close follower of my writings. Over the course of several months, I travelled the length of the Realm with her by my side, sampling all that the city and countryside had to offer.

The Sunar people have always been driven by innovation and invention, as well as being heavily influenced by their surrounding Realms, owing to the high-density of foreign populaces passing through by means of merchant ships calling port in Astaz and Sathar, or trade caravans bound through Conda and Halima itself. In spite of this, Sunar food has a definitive identity to it, but trying to gleam a purely native dish uninfluenced by such profuse trade-based mingling is about as futile as trying to strain free the spices from the blends used in the most famous of Sunar dishes - Sopaesa.

With an etymology pertaining to a slang term for "leftovers", Sopaesa is a heavily spiced rice based casserole, traditionally cooked atop pine branches and cones in large pans. Along the coast, seafood such as white fish and crab are commonly used, whereas further inland beans and lean game meats are more frequently utilised. Although exceptions exist, it is considered uncouth to combine both meat and fish within such dishes, and doing so in liable to cause a great deal of affront to Sunar people, as well documented in the finale of the Scrivener-written play "Dawn to Dusk." As such, while market stalls across the Ahlusian continent may claim to produce authentic Sopeasa, a connoisseuring eye will be able to quickly dispute this fact on the basis that pork, game and shellfish are commonly found in combination in such occurrences. The spices paprika and annatto are common flavour notes, although use of Giado peppers have grown in popularity - although this too is certainly not considered traditional.

The northern stretches of Sunstone are prone to aridity, particularly in sustained periods of Highreign, and so aided by the Guild of the Speckled Aspen novel irrigation techniques have been employed en masse, supporting vast orchards filled with apricots, dates, citrus fruits and olives. Distillation of oils and essences alike is a reflection of the alchemical prowess of the Realm, and brewers specialise in the distillation of alcoholic beverages, with fruit liquors particularly popular within Sunstone - and beyond. Desserts laced through with spirit decoctions sweetened with sugar cane imported from the east and topped with pine nuts, walnuts and pomegranate seeds are a common conclusion to evening meals, whereas iced sorbets of grapefruit and lemon are used between courses to cleanse the palate.

Whereas other Realms savour fatty cuts of meat, the Sunar generally celebrate leaner cuts, as well as extensive use of game meats such as rabbit, quail, fuck and partridge. Likewise preferring to grill meat and vegetables alike in place of roasting or frying in oil, the Sunar people are amongst the least likely to suffer from podagra of the feet, bursting of the heart and failings of blood.