I want soy sauce! But I can’t make soy sauce without soybeans, so I guess I’m outta luck... Okay, gotta pull myself together. Think about what I can make with the stuff I do have. I’ve got salt, and there might be fish in one of these lakes. If I can get some fish, I can probably make fish sauce.
I vaguely remembered seeing fish sauce being made on some TV show. As far as I recalled, it was as easy as mixing salt and fish and leaving the mixture to ferment for a year or two. Fish sauce wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea—it had a pretty distinctive smell and flavor—but I’d always been fond of it.
Well, if I can find some fish, I’ll give it a shot. Tomorrow I’m heading to the lake.
Hio and Kurou were my chaperones today. Thanks, you two.
The morning sun sparkled as it reflected off the clear water. It was a beautiful, tranquil sight—but I wasn’t here for the scenery. I was here for fish—if the lake had any to offer. I peered inside to no avail.
Idiot. Of course I wouldn’t be able to see ’em from up here. So what should I do? Probably make a fishing rod, but how? I can get wood easily enough, and the Three Eyes can probably make some fishing line. Then I need a hook and bait... Hmm.
A blur of motion startled me out of my train of thought as Fluffy darted in front of me. It had appeared out of nowhere in the morning when I’d set off and followed us all the way to the lake, bobbing around me in excited circles. Well, I’d assumed it was excited since Fluffy’s expressions were nearly impossible to read. It had seemed really enthusiastic, so I’d been happy to let it accompany us—a happiness that had been short-lived. Fluffy had spent the entire journey rapidly circling my head, which was both distracting and frequently obscured my vision, just like it was doing now.
Are you trying to tell me something? Hmm... Nope, no idea. Sorry, but it’s way too hard to read your expressions.
“Hey, Fluffy. Sorry, but can you calm down a little? I’m trying to figure out how I’m gonna catch a fish.”
Fluffy froze for a moment before spinning around in a circle and spreading its wings.
Oh, so you can use your wings? First time I’ve seen it. Where are you flying off to? Oh, you’re diving into the lake... Wait!
Fluffy plunged deep into the water.
Are you okay?!
A moment later, a blue streak of light flashed underneath the lake’s surface, and something shot out of the depths, landing right at my feet.
“Ah.”
Apparently, Fluffy was something of a skilled fisherman. I’d been hoping to catch a nice small fish, just big enough for an attempt at fish sauce. However, the fish flopping around at my feet was closer in size to a shark than a river fish. Fluffy darted back out of the lake and over to me, once again circling my head in frantic, bouncing loops.
Yep—I was right. It’s excited.
I chuckled. “Thanks, Fluffy. You really helped out...I think.”
Either way, fish acquired! Bit bigger than I expected, but that’s not a problem. Could do some grilled fish for dinner. I need to kill it first, though... Usually I think you knock ’em out with a spike to the brain, but I’ve got no idea where this one’s brain even is... Quick wind magic slice to cut off the head. Done. Next is gutting... No organs for me. Teleport and Incinerate. Refrigerate to keep it cold, and Chronostasis to keep it fresh. Then it’s just Ascend to carry it back... Magic is so damn cool.
I got started on my attempt at fish sauce the minute we got home. First, I cleaned and filleted the fish. I never made fish sauce before, so I decided to start with a very small portion of the fish for my trial run.
Crap. I’ve got no clue how much salt I need to use... I think it’s a pretty heavy amount. Let’s see... Lemme try a five-to-one fish-to-salt ratio. That sounds plausible... Wait, how am I gonna measure the salt? I don’t have scales. Okay, visualizing scales... How do scales work again? Oh, this is impossible. I’ll just eyeball it.
I shaped a new container from the silvery metal and hit it with a precautionary Clean, and I was ready to go.
The fillet I’d selected was leaking a fair amount of blood.
Blood... I don’t remember if I’m meant to leave it in. If I’m not, and I leave it in, isn’t it gonna stink worse?
Somewhat hesitant, I used magic to remove any trace of blood from the fish. Next, I smeared the fillet with a thick layer of salt—maybe a little too thick, but I didn’t want it to rot. Thankfully, I’d gone back and harvested more of the black fruits and spent a day or two mass-producing salt, so I had plenty. When salt was your only seasoning, it ran out pretty damn quickly.
The salt-covered fish went into the container, along with a little more salt for caution’s sake. I was very apprehensive about the measurements.
Well, it’s my first time, after all. Failure is part of the process!
The final step was to put the lid on and wait a year or two, which obviously, wasn’t going to work for me. I zapped it with a bit of magic, fast-forwarding time for three months exclusively inside the container, gave it a good shake, and repeated the spell. When I nervously peered inside, the fillet was no longer distinguishable, and fermentation had begun, but it didn’t seem quite right yet. I repeated the process again, and again, and again. When I opened the lid after the fifth fast-forward, the smell hit me— the scent of pure, undeniable fish sauce. It was milder than the one we’d used back home, and it smelled a little extra salty—I might have added too much—but I was still pretty sure I’d succeeded. Finally, I strained the sauce through a thin sheet of cloth, leaving me with a light brown liquid.
I quickly grilled a monster-meat steak and finished it off with a dash of the sauce.
It’s... It’s perfect. Nostalgic. Delicious. I feel so moved...and a little scared. Like I’m... Like I’m being watched.
I turned to find a neat line of wolves staring at me with hungry eyes.
Um, I don’t think salt is good for dogs... You probably shouldn’t have any— Oh, I give up. You’re too scary when you’re like this.
I grilled a few more steaks with magic and seasoned each with a few drops of the sauce, putting a plate in front of each of the canines.
Whoa! Your teeth sure are sharp. And scary. Your eyes are too. I’ll... I’ll get started on some more steaks. Uh, what’s that gnashing sound— Oh, it’s you, Shuri. And your fangs. I’ll make you a plate too, okay? Just stop doing that...
Shuri tore into the freshly grilled steak. I was a little worried—it was probably the first time the giant ant had ever eaten cooked meat—but everything seemed fine, so I shrugged it off and went back to making the next round of steaks for the wolves. I spun back around when a catastrophic symphony of noises rang out. Shuri and the antlets had started fighting over the steak—and neither side was giving an inch. On the other hand, the spiders, who’d always preferred their meat cooked, were calmly enjoying—
No, wait a minute. When did you take that?!
The spiders had stolen the sauce container from right under my nose and doused their plate in the stuff. Spider Boss was currently kicking out wildly, sending baby spiders flying away from the plate.
I’m not sure how things ended up like this.
The fish, once salted and grilled, was delicious—and even more so with a dash of fish sauce on top. I hadn’t eaten fish in ages. River fish weren’t usually my favorite because of their distinctive smell, but this one didn’t have even a whiff of it. Fluffy and I enjoyed our meal in peace, sitting a considerable distance away from the others.
The trick was to not look at them.
This would be great with some rice...