Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 59. Kinpira Gobo
Some of the herb gathering requests from the Adventurer’s Guild involve picking leaves, while others involve digging up roots.
I had been avoiding the ones that require digging because they seem like hard work.
But then it struck me—maybe there’s some kids who are good at digging?
Some kids even said, “If it’s in the forest, leave it to me!”
So, I decided to go with three people? Honestly, I was starting to think, “ the forest is scary! Stay at home!” So this was a big help.
The bear is scary…
“Yes. This is the request for root clusters of Itadōri, Gonpachi, Tajihi, Tajii, Tanja, Saitazuma, Saitana, Saishingo, Sukanpo, Itanko, Itazuri, Suppon, Kappo, Itanpo, Yutanko or Itazui. The request has now been accepted.”
What???
I was surprised at the extremely long name of the herb that Matilda told me.
Is it possible for a scientific name to be that long?
Is it even possible to remember all this?
Apparently, these herbs are very useful and grow in various places, but their names differ depending on the region.
It seems that when they explained this to adventurers from different areas, it ended up like this. And apparently, they plan to add more names. Isn’t everyone kind of find this funny?
For now, just memorizing “Itadōri” is enough to get by.
Yeah, there’s no way I can remember such a long name.
It relieves pain, so it’s called Itadori. The name is easy to remember, and it sounds familiar; plus, looking at the sample they showed me, it definitely looks like Japanese knotweed.
The character is difficult to read, but strangely enough, many people can read it fluently now adays.
At first, I thought it was “Kojō.”
It’s leaves also have medicinal effects, but the request for harvesting is overwhelmingly for the roots.
They grow well on sunny riverbanks or riverbeds, especially near the forest, which seems to be the recommended place to collect them.
“Is it okay to eat the new shoots and stems of Itadōri?” I ask Matilda-san to check.
isn’t it itadori? Gonpachi, right?
Matilda-san looks at me with a puzzled look,
“Since it’s a medicinal herb for drinking, I think eating small amounts should be fine. But then about consuming a large amount?”
You don’t eat knotweed?
It’s delicious, after all.
It seems even though it’s a medicinal herb, it’s not necessarily classified as a poisonous herb, which is good enough.
There’s a fine line between medicinal herbs and poisonous plants.
Alright, I’ll do my best to harvest the roots and new shoots!
Fortunately, it rained yesterday.
It’s a good day for collecting knotweed.
Mimi was more powerful than I expected when it came to gathering.
She was quick to dig out the roots, and she did it very carefully and neatly.
That’s amazing, Mimi.
Maybe I could even plant burdock in the field?
I usually have trouble digging those up.
“That’s amazing, Mimi. You’re so cool! It’s like you’ve got a bulldozer on your shoulder!”
When I praise her, her digging speed increases even more. She’s going a bit overboard…
Kirara and I are snapping off the new shoots into pieces while she digs, but she’s digging so fast that we end up feeling rushed.
“Still not done?” she asks.
Wait, there’s still a thick one coming out over there!
“It feels really good to break it with a snap!”
Kirara is in a good mood.
It’s hard to convey to people who have never tried it how much fun it is to break these shoots.
It breaks with a satisfying snap, or maybe a pop.
It was so fun that I ended up collecting quite a lot.
Since the rain just stopped, the shoots are nice and long.
I get really excited when I find a thick, long one.
About 2 cm in diameter is ideal. And at least 30 cm long.
But the prep work is a bit of a hassle, so I think I’ll stop here for today.
There’s already quite a lot of roots that Mimi dug up.
“That’s a huge amount. Very helpful. I’ve confirmed the root clusters of Itadōri, Gonpachi, Suibaba, Tajihi, Tajii, Tanja, Saitazuma, Saitana, Saishingo, Sukanpo, Itanko, Itazuri, Suppon, Kappo, Itanpo, Yutanko, and Itazui. This completes the request.”
“Thank you.”
It feels like the names are increasing, but I can’t really keep track anymore…
Now, let’s deal with the knotweed we collected.
First, I’ll mash it. Some people peel the skin, but I leave it on unless it’s very thick.
I boil water in a pot, add salt, and then cook it.
Boiling time is about a minute. If you boil it for 2 minutes, it will become too soft.
Once boiled, I quickly remove it from the water and place in a bucket with fresh water to soak.
You want to leave it to soak for at least overnight. Change the water and leave it for about a day. It has a lot of scum.
Some people eat knotweed raw or dipped in sugar, but at our place, we usually process it first, then make kinpira or simmered dishes.
I like kinpira.
It’s a taste of spring.
The next day, I remove the knotweed from the water, cut it into pieces about 3 cm pieces and stir-fry in oil.
I usually cook around 300 grams at a time, but the amount is flexible.
30g of sake
35g of mirin
Add these ingredients and stir.
I think mirin is lighter than water.
After stir-frying for a bit, add 20g of sugar and 35g of soy sauce.
I’m just eyeballing the measurements; I taste and adjust as needed. My family prefer a slightly sweeter and richer flavor.
Stir-fry until the sauce is reduced, then finish with 4g of sesame oil and sprinkle about 2g of roasted sesame seeds. Done!
It’s a stir-fry of knotweed/Gompachi/Suiba from another world.
Time to eat.
Mmm, yummy! This is definitely Itadōri.
It is sour when raw, but boiling it and soaking it in water removes almost all the sourness.
The unpleasant bitterness is mostly gone. If not rinsed enough, it can be a bit tough on the teeth.
It has a nice crunchy texture and tastes delicious.
Why don’t people eat this?
Mimi and Kirara also loved it, saying it was delicious.
“I’ll go pick it again!”
“We’ll dig more!”
It was fun, so let’s go gather them again. I’ve used up quite a bit, so maybe after the rain, we’ll go again.
Since I harvested so much, I forced myself to share a little bit of the Itadori Kinpira with everyone. They looked at me strangely when I told them it was Itadori, but they loved it when they tried it, so I hope that eating Itadori will become more popular here too.
But I was stumped when Martha-san and Milia-san asked me how to make it…
I wonder if there’s somewhere that sells sake, mirin, and soy sauce around?
Maybe imported from the eastern island country?
But koji mold is pretty special and almost like a cheat—it’s a mutant that doesn’t produce toxins for some reason.
Maybe I should learn to make it myself someday.
I’ve bought koji before, during the craze for shio-koji.
I think I once tried making miso after visiting a workshop. I don’t remember much, though.
I’ve never made sake, but I’ve seen parts of how it’s done.
I think I could make something like doburoku (unrefined sake).
How mirin is made is even more mysterious than how sake is made. I wonder how they do it.
It’s amazing that someone can cheat with the knowledge they have in another world.
I think I have some general knowledge, but I don’t really know the specifics.
It’s all just pretty vague.
Cooking wild plants is about as far as I go.
Gonpachi kinpira is really delicious. I want to enjoy this flavor for a while.
Honestly, to those who don’t eat it, it probably looks like just some grass, but it’s so tasty!
Most likely, many people don’t eat knotweed, right?
It’s delicious, so if you learn how to prepare it, it might come in handy in case of an emergency…
It’s also tasty when cooked together with butterbur and bamboo shoots.
Tl note: itadori- Japanese knotweed