「秋の味覚 -キャスター和食修行編-」 (Aki no Mikaku: Caster Washoku Shuugyou Hen)
“Taste of Autumn: Caster`s Training in Japanese Dish Cooking”

Thankfully, Souichirou’s not the level of bad that Jason was, so his September will have more taro being chopped up than sons. Yes, Caster is our topic of the month for this episode, and I couldn’t be any more thankful. The episode put forth a ton of effort to make Caster the cutest housewife ever with how excited she is to cook for Souichirou and learn how to pick up cooking more proficiently from Emiya. The pattern of deduction that Caster made to piggyback off of Emiya’s skills to hone her own was hilarious as was the shrugs, blushes, and pouts she gave along the way. Similarly, the episode ends on a positive note with Souichirou encouraging Caster to improve her craft in cooking as he gives her as much company as she needs even though he finds her food to be delicious.

Other characters get plenty of attention as well though with Lancer making his reappearance to sell Emiya mackerel pike. He does play into Caster’s easily flustered demeanor, but still cheers her on as she tries to impress Souichirou with her cooking prowess. Saber is as funny as ever with how abrasive she is to other servants like Caster, but it was a nice change of pace to see how quickly she buckled as soon as she tried the simmered taro that Caster made with Emiya.

Luckily for this month, this episode was far more generous with the amount of recipes that were featured with two in-depth methods on how to cook Grilled Mackerel Pike and Stewed Taro:

Mackerel Pike
– Run the whole Mackerel Pike fish under water before preparation. Once it’s washed of it’s sliminess, dry it off thoroughly.

– Lightly salt the mackerel pike and leave them for 10-15 mins to remove odor

– Lightly slit the mackerel pike’s skin, and salt them again, but this time for seasoning, and start grilling.

Stewed Taro, Simmered in Broth
– Peel the taro. Parboil to remove the sliminess: Add to boiling water and simmer for 3-4 minutes, then run through cold water

– Place the taro and enough broth to cover them in a pot and turn on the heat.

– Add sugar, sake, and mirin, cover with a lid, and cook over low heat for five to six minutes until it starts to boil.

– Add soy sauce and then boil down for another 5-6 mins

– Shake the pot when there’s only a little broth left. Once they’re all glossy and mixed together, they’re done.

12 Comments

  1. Lightly salt the mackerel pike and leave them for 10-15 mins to remove odor

    Maybe this is why mackerel pike is generally not considered fit for human consumption in the West. Even in Japan (where it’s usually called saury) it’s often cooked outdoors because of the smell, like in Koufuku Graffiti.

    Angelus
    1. Do you have any advice on how we should cook? Thanks. I always enjoy watching cooking anime but, at the same time, I have the “there is a better way to cook” vibe but I have no idea how or where I can look for corrections.

      Greed
      1. Saury is difficult to get where I live because it’s generally only used for animal feed or fishing bait, but I don’t think I’d try cooking it even if I could get it. My general rule of fish is that if it smells of anything other than the sea, you need a different fishmonger.

        Saury is usually cooked outside over charcoal in Japan, but if it’s anything like mackerel, char-grilling (or any other type of grilling) is probably the worst thing to do with it as the skin is thin and fragile and easily chars. Rather like this:
        https://randomc.net/image/Emiya-san%20Chi%20no%20Kyou%20no%20Gohan/Emiya-san%20Chi%20no%20Kyou%20no%20Gohan%20-%2009%20-%2015.jpg
        But if it’s really stinky then I guess there’s not much choice. So why do people eat it at all? Because it’s plentiful (and therefore cheap) in autumn I guess.

        Angelus
  2. HalfDemonInuyasha
  3. This show is so wonderful. And it is great the cutie Medea finally gets to shine and work to treat her man. Souichirou is so ideal in being the stable as a rock and trustworthy type who although repressed by his background gives Medea something without flash and drive for power that she needs.
    Saber I guess is the NEET of the show is cute again in this one.

    RedRocket
  4. https://randomc.net/image/Emiya-san%20Chi%20no%20Kyou%20no%20Gohan/Emiya-san%20Chi%20no%20Kyou%20no%20Gohan%20-%2009%20-%20Large%2006.jpg
    Kuzuki is in a WAY better position compared to Jason. Notably, random thought, with Caster’s magic, I wonder if it was feasible for Servants to make kids.

    Anyway, I am not sure about other Asian temples, but I can presume that Japanese temples allow women to stay and have romantic relationships with any of the temple’s residence, Kuzuki in this case. Not sure if Japanese monks are attempting to give up desire. Inuyasha’s Miroku never gave up on desires.

    Greed
    1. Not sure if Japanese monks are attempting to give up desire

      The original teachings of Buddhism required monks (and nuns) to be celibate. However, most Japanese Buddhist orders allow marriage, and whilst there are recorded instances since the 12th century of monks marrying, it has only been expressly permitted since 1872. Any type of “fornication”, though, which includes sex outside marriage, is still strictly forbidden.

      Angelus
      1. We *are* talking about the same universe where Catholic priests can marry and have children, to the degree they can even form family lineages like the Kotomines. If I had to guess I’d say anything is fair game concerning this. Most likely the actual existence of magic in this setting forced religions to allow their practicioners to create their own lineages to better keep up with those of the magi.

        OverMaster

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