Tamriel Data:The Imperial Kitchen II
 The Imperial Kitchen II |
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The Imperial Kitchen, Part 2
If Colovia is known for its simple kitchen, then the Nibenay must by necessity be the land of extravagance. There is little need for me to repeat stories of the grand Heartlands cuisine, of courtly decadence, rare ingredients, and refined master-chefs with elaborate concoctions and deadly rivalries.
But the average Nibenean does not feast on sugared quail and pomegranate wine. Like anywhere, the common people have their own local flavors and delights, sourced in their rice fields and riverlands. It is this quaint kitchen which interests us most.
***
Pauper's Poppad Marrow
The poppad gourd grows plentiful in the eastern Heartlands, especially in the foggy grasslands surrounding the eponymous Lake Poppad. Local rice-farmers, too poor to afford a decent cauldron, hang these hardy, fireproof gourds above a fire to cook the white, soft pulp inside, which is then scooped out over rice.
Memories of this dish were brought to the Imperial City by laborers, who sometimes longed for a taste of the simpler, less complicated life they led back home. In time, this led to the dish described below, which is a staple of the Imperial City's taverns.
One poppad gourd
Two carrots
A lump of lard
One onion
A pinch of salt
A handful of figs, fresh or dried
Some nuts or dried seeds
Pinches of grated muscat, cardamon, curcuma powder and Rihad pepper
A bit of honey
Some olive oil
A splash of mokre
A cup of sour wine
Peel and slice the poppad gourd and boil it for about half an hour. Arrange the slices in a pot or baking dish alongside chopped carrots and onion, then sprinkle with a little salt.
Take the figs and add them in a mortar and pestle with the nuts or dried seeds (if using dried figs, soak them in a little wine first). Mash into a paste. Add the spices and mix, then add the honey, mokre (a type of fish sauce, see below), wine, and stir into a smooth mixture.
Poor [sic] the mixture over the poppad slices, cover with a lid, and place in a heated oven until the sauce is warm and bubbling.
Note: keep the Poppad seeds and toast them for a nice snack.
***
Garlicked Snails
A signature dish of the Valley of Altars. Anyone seeking to reproduce this recipe at home should first ensure themselves that the local variety of land snails are as edible as those of the southern Nibenay. Much like the Colovians and their garlicked goat, this recipe is heavy with garlic and cheese -- a preference which transcends the Imperial cultural divide. For those seeking authenticity, goat cheese from Buccita is widely recognized as the superior choice.
A heads [sic] of garlic
Crushed or grated hard goat cheese
Some St. Jahn's Wort flowers (or other garden herbs)
A pinch of coarse salt
Some olive oil and vinegar
A handful of siris snails (or equivalent)
Ground the garlic with salt in a mortal until reduced to a paste. Add the cheese and the finely chopped herbs. Add the olive oil and vinegar, then work the mixture together until it is a smooth paste. Let it rest.
Next, prepare the snails (in the Nibenay, the siris snail with blue and brown stripes is the canon choice). Remove the snails from their shells using a hook, then boil them in water for about fifteen minutes. Cover the snails with a layer of garlic paste, then stuff them back into their shells and seal up the entrance with more of the paste. Once all shells are prepared, grill them over a fire until fragrant (make sure not the heat them too much, lest the shells pop).
Through garlicked snails were once a delicacy enjoyed only by the Potentate courts, they are now common street food, and often eaten cold as a snack.
***
Glazed prawns
This dish is eaten all along the Niben, which is home to a kind of freshwater prawn endemic to the river and surrounding ricelands.
A handful of raw, peeled prawns
A splash of olive oil
Two spoons of mokre
A spoon of liquid honey
A pinch of curcuma powder
Freshly ground Rihad pepper
A cup of rice
Add the olive oil, mokre and honey in a pan, then add the prawns. Gently bake the prawns in the mixture until they are tender. Remove the prawns from the pan.
Boil the rice in a pot. Meanwhile, continue to reduce the honey sauce until it has become thickened. Add the curcuma and pepper, then pour the glaze over the prawns. Serve the prawns over a bowl of warm rice.
Rice is a staple of the central valleys, but Imperials maintain several varieties for different purposes. Spike rice is a hardy variety common to Colovia, where it can grow in dry fields. Common white rice is grown and eaten nearly anywhere, but is sometimes seen as a commoner's choice. Red rice is grown only in the tinmi soil of the Heartlands, and is consider the superior type: the Emperor and his court dine exclusively on red rice, and to give a dignitary anything less is considered an affront.
***
Brandied plums
Cyrodiilic brandy is known across the Empire as the subject of songs and tarriffs. Despite being made with Colovian wines (of a lesser variety), the great distilleries creating this desirable product are all located in the Imperial City and its surroundings.
As most brandy is destined for export, common Imperials rarely enjoy the taste of true Cyrodiilic brandy. Most make do with cut brandy (mixed with mori and water) or pomace brandy (made from a fermented detritus of the winemaking process, often in illegal stills).
While imbibing these products is inadvisable, they (alongside cheaper provincial brandies) lend themselves well to the making of brandied plums, a true Heartlands treat.
A jar-full of plums
A pinch of dried hibiscus flowers
Two cups of honey
A pinch of salt
Two cups of brandy
Clean and stem the plums, then pack them into a clean, sturdy jar, cutting up and removing the pit of about half the plums. Add the hibiscus.
Bring the honey, salt, and a cup of water to a boil in a saucepan. Simmer until it becomes a syrup. Let the syrup cool, then add the brandy and poor [sic] the liquid into the jar of plums, making sure it is filled to the brim. Make sure the jar is sealed tight, then allow it to rest for about five days.
Of course, plums made with real Cyrodiilic brandy are vastly superior, but such delicacies are rarely consumed outside of noble circles.
***
Mokre
A fermented fish sauce enjoyed by both rich and poor: the courtly master-chefs mix it with wine, vinegar, pepper, and olive oil to create a peerless marinade, while the poor fishermen of the central valleys often finish their day with little more than a bowl of rice flavored with mokre.
A jarful of fish or crab intestines (most fishmongers are happy to part with these)
A bottle of vinegar
A bottle of mori (rice beer)
A cup of salt
A tankard of salt water
Special ingredients to taste
A cup of rice
Take the fish and crab guts, chop them up and throw them into a large pot or vessel. Add vinegar, rice beer, and copious amounts of salt. Leave the mixture to rest for a day and a night, then fill whatever space is left in the pot with the salt water. Seal the top of the pot tightly with wax or cords, then leave it to ferment for two months (Nibenese peasants leave the pots hanging on trees or on the eaves of their houses).
Powder dry rice using a mortar, then roast this powder in a pan or skillet. Open the jar and mix the half-fermented mokre with the roasted rice powder, along with any special spices you wish to include. Seal the pot again for one more month, until the fermentation is finished.
Mokre is made with a wide variety of spices, depending on the region. Common additions are garlic, roasted Rihad pepper, fennel seeds, plena pepper, anise, and caraway seeds. Some Nibenese spike their mokre with drugs like thyrwort, moon sugar, or sursum -- always think twice before accepting a dinner invitation in the Nibenay.
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