Volume 1 Chapter 87 The Magnificent Fried Shrimp Of The Highest Quality
I'm looking around the kitchen.
For the standing party, they are preparing bite-sized vegetables, pies, sausages, and meats on skewers. This must be the appetizers.
Then, in a barrel, there are shrimp frozen with ice magic.
There are many types of shrimp, but this one is the Bernard shrimp, which is caught near the Bernard Kingdom and is about the size of my face.
Bernard shrimp is a luxury ingredient, so you rarely see it in the town market, and if you do, it's usually a defective product with some part missing.
Only the upper class usually buys Bernard shrimp, so they really care about how it looks.
Even if it has a little missing whisker or a broken tail, I think the taste of the shrimp doesn't change.
Even though it's a defective product, Bernard shrimp is still expensive, so I don't buy it often.
"Let's go with the shrimp... yes, shrimp."
There are also lots of other expensive meats and fish, but I grabbed a handful of the frozen Bernard shrimp.
Eir-Eir moved from between my chest to above my head, looking curiously at the shrimp and asking, "Pumpkin?"
"Eir-Eir, this is Bernard shrimp. Shrimp. Ebi. It's shrimp."
"Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin!"
So cute.
"His Highness likes shrimp. A long time ago, really, a long time ago, when we talked about favorite foods, His Highness said you liked shrimp. So, I'll go with shrimp."
If I'm going to serve it, it's better to choose something you like.
I placed the handful of shrimp on the cutting board.
"Did you have that kind of conversation with His Highness?"
Sir Ciel said with interest.
It does seem like it would be hard to talk about favorite foods with Sir Stefan now.
"Yes. I didn't get to eat much at the Rest priest family, so when I was invited to the castle, I was happy to eat a lot of delicious food."
"Ms. Lydia..."
Sir Ciel's expression became sad.
For me, the delicious food I had at the castle is more important than the struggles I faced at the Rest priest family, so it's not such a sad memory.
So, I smiled brightly at Sir Ciel.
"The food at the castle was so good that there was too much to eat. But, because I'm not used to greasy or strong-flavored food, I sometimes felt sick. That's why, when His Highness asked about my favorite food..."
I put the frozen Bernard shrimp into a large bowl and ran water over it to thaw it.
As the frost on the surface melted, the Bernard shrimp seemed to come back to life, starting to jump around in the bowl.
"Pumpkin pudding!"
Eir-Eir, surprised, jumped off my head and fluttered over to Sir Ciel's shoulder.
After staring at Sir Ciel's face, I let out a slightly scared voice, "Pumpkin pudding..."
"Uh... Mr. Shrimp, please be calm...!"
The seafood frozen with ice magic is still alive.
Having learned from the octopus incident, I panicked for a moment but quickly calmed myself down.
It's flopping around and splashing water everywhere, but it's okay.
I firmly grab the shrimp with both hands and wrap a towel around its head.
It's pretty rough, so holding it with bare hands can hurt.
I cut a knife between the head and the body, then flip it over and cut the other side too.
The shrimp let out a sad "Uuu uuu" sound. It's so pitiful.
But I'm sorry. I'll cook you deliciously.
I wrap a towel around the body side and twist it to separate the body from the head.
The clear, plump meat appears.
The head is filled with creamy roe. This is delicious when boiled in soup, but this time, I want it to look nice, so I'll boil it and serve it on the plate.
Having the head makes it feel more like shrimp!
"You're quite skilled, princess. I was thinking of helping if it looked tough for you."
Sir Rail said, sounding impressed, and even clapped for me.
I felt a bit good about that.
"Thank you. The shrimp, sometimes Mr. Tsukuyomi gives me a lot... Not Bernard shrimp, but smaller striped shrimp. In Wakoku country, they don't eat Bernard shrimp much; they often eat striped shrimp."
"There are many kinds of shrimp, huh? So, I understand that His Highness likes shrimp, but what does the princess like?"
I suddenly remembered we were in the middle of a conversation.
I had been so focused on the shrimp.
"Well, um... when it comes to food, I like anything. I don't have any dislikes."
I'm just happy to eat.
Right now, I can eat anything without feeling sick.
Sir Rail smiled and said, "You're just like me."
I set aside the still-living Bernard shrimp and washed my hands, then tried to move a pot to the stove.
The pot in the castle's kitchen for making meals for many people is really big, and since Sir Ciel offered to help, I accepted.
Then, I had him pour plenty of oil into the frying pan on the stove.
Since the pot is large, it takes quite a while to fill it with oil.
In the meantime, I made cuts in the body of the shrimp I had set aside and peeled off the shell.
Once the shell was off, leaving the tail, the plump, transparent shrimp was exposed.
Then, to keep the shrimp from curling up, I cut into the muscles to stretch it out.
I removed the black vein, and the prep work was done.
"Sir Rail likes everything. Sir Ciel likes spicy food. Mr. Lucian likes meatballs with cranberry jam. Sir Roxas likes octopus."
"Roxas likes octopus, huh?"
Sir Rail tilted his head slightly and said, "I didn't know that."
"Sir Roxas asked me to soften the octopus many times, and eventually, he said he grew fond of it."
Then, Sir Stefan said.
──"It's a bit embarrassing, but I guess I'm a bit childish when it comes to taste. I'm more drawn to the set meals I had at a street restaurant with my father than the fancy dishes at the palace."
──"Restaurant...? Set meal, you say?"
──"Yeah. My father often goes to town to have fun while hiding his identity. Sometimes I get to go with him. There are restaurants in town where you can pay to eat. A set meal is a cheap lunch combo that includes rice, bread, side dishes, and soup."
──"That sounds amazing, like a dream."
──"The shrimp I had there... what was it? It was fragrant, crispy, creamy, and delicious."
I was remembering my conversation with Sir Stefan after a long time.
Thinking about it made me sad, so I tried not to remember too much.
Fragrant, crispy, creamy.
Yeah. That means...
"Lydia, let me help you prepare the shrimp. Are we peeling all the shrimp?"
"Princess, I'm confident with a knife. I learned how to do it just by watching, so don't worry."
Mr. Lucian and Sir Rail said that, and I nodded.
Sir Ciel finished putting oil in the pot and lit the fire.
"Okay, please!"
After asking for help with the remaining shrimp, I started the next preparation.
I washed the peeled shrimp again, drained the water, and placed them on a paper towel.
I put flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs into 3 bowls and coated the shrimp in order.
Once I checked that the oil was hot enough by using chopsticks to see bubbles rising, I put the coated shrimp into the oil.
Meanwhile, I boiled water on the next burner to cook the shrimp heads.
I fried them slowly until they turned a nice golden brown and the bubbles on the surface got smaller, then took them out onto a wire rack.
I also placed the beautifully boiled red shrimp heads on the rack.
The shrimp's flavor was dissolving in the boiling water.
"Shrimp ramen..."
Shrimp ramen is also really good. Luxurious and delicious.
But now is not the time to be thinking about shrimp ramen.
I laid lettuce on a large plate, placed the shrimp heads on top, and put the heavy fried shrimp underneath.
While chopping onions and soaking them in water, I boiled eggs, peeled them, and chopped them up. Then I chopped pickles from a jar. I mixed the chopped eggs, onions, and pickles in a bowl, added jarred mayonnaise, and stirred well.
I seasoned it with salt and pepper, mixed in dried parsley, and it was done.
I poured that mixture over the heavy fried shrimp.
"It's done! A magnificent fried shrimp made entirely with the finest Bernard shrimp, in a town-style flavor!"
"Wow, it really is magnificent."
"That's really impressive, princess."
"Yes, it is quite large."
Yeah, yeah, Sir Ciel and the others nod as they look at the plate.
The heads of the bright red boiled shrimp and the thick, long shrimp tempura that looks about the size of my forearm.
If this isn't luxury, then what is?
But, shrimp tempura.
Shrimp tempura is commoner's food.
And the strong-tasting tartar sauce is also a commoner's flavor.
I'm sure Sir Stefan will be pleased as well.
On the big plate, the shrimp tempura stands proudly, truly a breathtaking sight.
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