Well Sugar!

20

(Chapter 20)
How to bake - royal style

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Author POV

Location: Batia

Jimin took the bench offered to him by the head chef. She was just happy he was here to fill the cooking order for the over eager Aureathen guests. He had been ordered to make several batches of meat pastries since they were the ones going down the fastest.

With Aureathen being in the coldest region of the country, being in permanent winter, they had to hunt almost all of their food, they needed the meat and the hides to makes their clothes. So it was natural that they went for the meat pastries.

"Taehyung will help" Taehyung declared.

"Can you skin the rabbits, I need the meat for the pastries." Jimin assigned him the task he knew Taehyung would be able to do with ease.

Taehyung nodded, clearly glad he had been given a task and one that he could do well.

"Jimin we also need some red bean pastries as well" a servant dropped a bowl of whole red beans onto his work table.

"They'll be ready soon" the servant nodded her head, happy with Jimin's response.

Jungkook was hovering around Jimin's shoulder, clearly he wanted to help like Taehyung was.

"Jungkook could you crush these down with the pestle and mortar till they are as fine as you can get them" Jimin handed Jungkook the bowl of red beans. Pointing to the pestle and mortar.

Jungkook nodded, he began to work and Jimin could see he was trying to show off. He smiled good naturally as encouragement to the younger prince. Jungkook smiled back a shy smile and continued to work.

Jimin got to work mixing the ingredients to make the pastry. He worked with a sense of ease and a clear knowledge for his craft. Taehyung and Jungkook found themselves stopping to watch on occasions as Jimin skilfully manipulated the pastry to his will.

"We'll need to cook the rabbit and season it before we can put it in the pastries." Jimin stated.

"What about the beans?" Jungkook held up the bowl of ground beans.

"They can go straight in they don't need as much cooking." Jimin stated.

He took them both to the work station, he demonstrated how to fill the pastries and Jungkook got to work, they were alittle messy. But that was to be expected from the hands of an amateur and complete beginner.

"What seasonings do your people like, since it seems to be the Aureathens devouring the meat pastries." Jimin asked.

"We don't really have much seasoning. Nothing grows apart from in the caves" Taehyung revealed.

"So I'll just do some simple seasoning then" Jimin responded.

He showed Taehyung how to mix the spices and seasoning with the rabbit meat. The Aureathen prince watched with fascination, food was so hard to come by in his kingdom of ice and snow.

So to watch Jimin work with a wide variety of seasoning and spices was new and unknown. But the smell was wonderful and Taehyung fell in love with the Batian food right there and then. But only Jimin food, only the food of his honored friend.

Jimin removed the cooked rabbit from the pot draining it, it was cooked through and safe to eat. He broke a bit of the tender meat off, he held it up to Taehyung. The prince took it out of Jimin's fingers with his teeth, lips pressing to the pads of the baker's fingers. Jimin blushed alittle.

"Good?" He asked, cheeks burning red.

"Good" Taehyung nodded enthusiastically.

Jimin took the meat over to the spare pastries and with speed began to fill them, closing them up neatly and carefully. Jungkook just gawked, he had spent the entire 30 minutes of Jimin cooking to finish 10 of the bean pastries as Jimin had done 10 in under 10 minutes.

He helped Jungkook with the rest of the red bean paste pastries and soon was sliding them into the oven to cook.

"What do we do now?" Jungkook asked, he had loved cooking so far, he never got to do it at home. He had 'far better skills to learn'. Plus he would always have servants to do it for him, there was no need for him to learn how to cook.

Taehyung nodded, he had learned how to cook in basics. Mostly it was soups and stews and they were mostly just boiled water and whatever meat and herbs they could acquire to go in it. The occasion root vegetables found their way in too. They had managed to be able to grow some root vegetables in special caves in the capital of Frigus.

"Well we either wait for the pastries to be done, or we get assigned a new task to do" Jimin responded.

And no soon as he had said it they were tasked to make some more sticky rice balls. It was a simple vegetable filling with sticky rice and and breadcrumbs around it.

Jimin set Taehyung to work cutting up the vegetables and Jungkook shredding the bread and he worked on cooking the rice. It was seen as a delicacy so he knew he had too be careful while cooking it, not trusting the beginner princes with the task.

"Done" Taehyung held up some vegetables that were cut pretty well  they could have been alittle neater, but it was clear Taehyung was skilled with a knife. He probably had to be since he had to kill and skin all of his meals.

Jungkook held up his breadcrumbs. Jimin showed them both how to assemble the sticky rice balls. They copied him and soon they had a large pile of them. And Jimin was putting them in the oven and taking the pastries out.

The princes both delighted when they saw the pastries feeling proud they had helped make them. Once they were cool enough, Jimin took one off each plate and called the cook over so they could be taken out to the hall. The cook looked relieved to see the baking creations. They went out immediately.

Jimin, Jungkook and Taehyung were left to eat the 2 pastries Jimin had swiped from the trays. They decided they liked the being in the kitchens with Jimin more than he did in the stuffy hall with all the nobles.

They might have fallen abit in love too in that moment. Both entirely unaware of it yet.

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Did you like it?

I hope you did.

Funfact:
Aureathen don't trade with any other kingdoms as they haven't got anything to offer that other countries want

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Bye,
Winter