Breath of the Wild #32: Herb Saute

Ingredients: Any Herb, Flower, or Vegetable, Goron Spice

Description: "A fragrant mixture of herbs and spices. It's easily recognized by its unique aroma."

This one seems nice and clear, I got some pak choi and a big ol' swede (aka rutabaga?). For goron spice we just fry them in a bunch of spices and that's about it!

I carve some of this swede up, the rest i can chop into pieces and save for a stew or something.

Last time I remember frying this vegetable it came out really undercooked, so im gonna boil it in water for a while to give it a big headstart on the greens.

once thats been boiled for, i dunno a while (i was doing chores) I can shove everything in a big bowl and gently toss it in oil and spices.

I've used fresh ginger, a couple bay leaves, cayenne pepper, curry powder, cumin, and turmeric.

And then ill fry it up in my big pan.

Oh! i just remembered i was going to add extra cinnamon, because it showed a cinnamon stick on the picture and i didnt have any sticks but I got ground cinnamon anyway.

**

I thought this one would be an easy one but actually nah. Tasting it I immediately realised it could use some salt and sugar or something. And really just needed like some extra element to carry all that seasoning, like yogurt or lemon juice or something? it just tasted like spicy dust. And the swede was STILL NOT THAT SOFT.

Breath of the Wild #31: Salt-Grilled Crab

Ingredients: Rock Salt, Any Crab

Description: "Nine out of ten fishermen agree crab is best enjoyed grilled and with just a bit of salt."

Mind that time we bought a load of frozen crab parts? I also made this on the day I made that crab stir fry. Had a lot of crabmeat that day.

These are going to be grilled straight from raw instead of boiled! I'll spritz it with a bit of cooking oil and grind some rock salt on it. I should put more salt on at the end I guess, I dont really know what the salts got to stick to since its all inside a shell..

It's looking a little brown and crisped, ill add more salt and I think a lemon wedge wouldnt hurt either!

**

Simple crab! The salt and lemon goes really nicely with it. Its got a nice strong flavour, meaty and seafoody... but i dunno... sometimes it tastes a little bit like.. uh.. like.. gym shoes? Hopefully im not poisoned. It's probably just that ocean fresh is best. The grilling instead of boiling makes the shell brittle, which doesnt really help but neither does boiling it which fills it with pockets of hot crabwater. Nine out of ten fishermen can go yell it at the sea because I don't give a crab.

Breath of the Wild #30: Salt-Grilled Fish

Ingredients: Rock Salt, Any Fish

Description: "A simple dish made by rolling a whole fish in natural rock salt before grilling it."

After those sardines I was sooo done with whole fish, so instead I have a big ol' boneless (mostly) filleted mackerel for grilling. Super simple, just fish and rock salt.

Oh, I do actually have a crinkly old lemon in my fridge still, lets get a bit of lemon juice and a spritz of cooking oil on there. Cheats.

 

****

The grilled mackerel has a great standalone flavour, goes particularly well with being crisped on the grill or in a pan imo. Having a big portion of fish on its own though, gives me fish oil flavoured hiccups for the rest of the evening.

Breath of the Wild #29: Salt-Grilled Gourmet Meat

Ingredients: Rock Salt, Raw Gourmet Meat or Raw Whole Bird

Description: "This lavish grilled dish makes liberal use of high-quality cuts of meat."

For the gourmet-est meat I managed to get a nice big joint of lamb, time to make "liberal use" of it!

Again, salt has to be the main ingredient so ive just put plenty of salt on all sides of the meat and thats it!

Actually, its a bit boring on its own so im going to fry up a side of sprouts and chestnuts.

Here it is after about 1h45 in the oven, i took the foil off at the end to let it brown more. Looks ready to serve!

*****

It's great! The meat has quite a fatty rind that crisps up in the oven giving it lots of flavour, along with the salt. You can use the side vegetables to mix up the flavours too. I didn't really eat that whole joint in one meal of course.

Breath of the Wild #28: Salt-Grilled Prime Meat

 Ingredients: Rock Salt, Raw Prime Meat or Raw Bird Thigh

Description: "A simple yet exquisite dish made by grilling high-quality meat on top of rock salt."

I know it says red meat or thigh, but I thought for this one it'd be nice to do a chicken breast for once, that seems like a simple but quality cut. I even got a slightly more premium one. Also yes the lemon "wedge" looks weird its a bit wilted and I cut it weird.

These are certainly nice and plump, i'll score them, brush them with oil, and add sea salt and lemon juice.

***

Nice enough chicken, salt and lemony flavour. Surprisingly tough, though... maybe I should have butterflied and tenderized it? Or maybe the meat wasn't so high-quality and exquisite after all... 

Breath of the Wild #27: Salt-Grilled Meat

Ingredients: Rock Salt, Raw Meat or Raw Bird Drumstick

Description: "Short on ingredients? Just rub some meat in salt and cook it for a simple, tasty dish."

It says meat OR drumstick so im just going to do ONE MEAT for today. I just mostly decide stuff like this on vibes ok. Actually, im gonna have a side of waffle fries with it too.

I'll put a little spritz of cooking oil i guess and plenty of salt, even though pork is already salty. at least its shoulder meat and not gammon/bacon thats extra salty. Whys it kinda look like a human heart here?

**

I DO feel a little short on ingredients. The pork tastes fine its nothing special, the lemon helps cut through the salt... please ignore that i overcooked the waffle fries. Kinda feels like something you'd cook in your first year at university.

Breath of the Wild #26: Salt-Grilled Mushrooms

Ingredients: Rock Salt, Any Mushroom

Description: "A basic mushroom dish made by lightly salting mushrooms and grilling them."

After that copious mushroom skewer I had a nice array of mushrooms. I technically only needed one type for this, but its cool that ive got all these for this otherwise basic and boring dish.

Found a foil pan and gave them a spritz of vegetable oil and plenty of the ROCK SALT. Under the grill it goes!

**

I dont like too much salt, but i think its a big improvement and helps them go down a bit easier. The shiitake mushrooms shone here with their much better flavour compared to chestnut mushrooms. Shiitake may taste like dirt but chestnut/closed cup mushrooms taste like soot. The oyster mushrooms pick up a bit too mush salt with their frilly shape, and the king oyster mushrooms are big and wet, they really should get cut up and pan-fried with some sauce like a steak.