Cat out of the bag! A popping party is not appreciated thank you!

We both discussed different types of ingredient combinations, which was basically Ken just talking and filling up the hole in my knowledge about everything related to food in this world. Jumping from simple common chemical reactions that happen to most ingredients like the purpose of boiling foods in this world, to which food combinations have been known to be poisonous. As I crazily absorbed all this knowledge that I would have known if I was naturally from this world, I could feel my brain swell and throb with all the information that I have received.

When he looked at me in suspicion regarding my lack of knowledge, I could only give a small low chuckle and give the classic excuse. Amnesia! That's right! When I asked Sazzy how in the world was I going to explain my lack in knowledge about, well, everything. She just casually spit out [Amnesia.]

At that time when she said that, I gave her such an incredulous look that even she had to avoid my eyes.

[I mean, there really is no more convenient excuse on why you don't even have the knowledge of a five year old. Normally, if we were part of the transmigration department there would be an adjustment period where all the common sense in that world would be drilled into you. But, unfortunately, we are part of the villain rehabilitation department! So just say amnesia! Because if you try to explain everything truthfully you might get recommended to an asylum planet and we can kiss everything we have worked for goodbye! As well as unlimited access to information! Worse still, you might attract some of the extremist or weirdos in this world and either be targeted or even worshiped! Let's just stick with amnesia.]

"...villain rehabilitation department? Not the world enrichment department or something like that?"

[...]

After that, Sazzy literally ran away from our conversation.

"Ok! The fish filets have dried in the sun for 30 minutes!"

Hopping out of the chairs, we both crowded beside Candice as she continued cooking.

Candice had dropped the sun dried fish filets into a bucket of cold water. Then once she had the oil on the fry pan boiling and making popping sounds, she fished the fish out of the bucket and casually dropped them into the frying pan. Instead of making larger popping sounds and exploding hot oil everywhere, the water seemed to merge with the oil and silenced the popping sounds.

Once the popping sounds appeared again, Candice used a pair of tongs to flip the fish filets to the other side, exposing the perfectly golden browned fried skin of the fish filet

"We need to cool the fish filets before frying to achieve two goals. First, it's to make the surface crispier. The second is that the huge change in temperature will further ensure that all the harmful parasites are gone. It follows the same reasoning of why we soak the meat and then sun dry them."

Plating the fish that had started making sounds again, this time Candice decided to speed up by doing several fish filets at one time. Paying close attention to which of the fish were making popping sounds, she only took at most 10 minutes to fry all of the fish filets and put them in their respective plates.

"Over-frying any fish meat will lead to the 'popping' of some of the parasites. Some parasites have little 'eggs' that will pop and hatch when the conditions are too extreme in order to move away from the harmful environment. The skin of these popped parasites are extremely resilient and it will waste all the work we did if we popped them. So before we serve the food, we must always check to see whether anything is wiggling or if there are huge holes forming in the meat."

To demonstrate for us, specifically me, Candice took one tiny bit of fish and placed it into the frying pan. She then increased the heat. After a couple of minutes of popping sounds, the meat started bubbling and several white things were wriggling and swimming away from the meat.

"The body is not extreme enough of an environment to activate popping, so eating them pre-popped is fine. Post-popped and you might experience diarrhea. They aren't deadly though, just pretty unpleasant to look at."

Throwing that small piece of fish away, Candice rinsed the frying pan and washed all the popped parasites down the sink.

Leaving the plates of fish filets aside, Candice turned off the flame for the fish burgers and scoped them out of the slightly murky water.

"Boiling water isn't extreme enough to pop the parasites, so safety wise you don't have to be too strict with the boiling time. Taste wise is another issue though."

Looking at the murkiness of the water, Candice nodded her head and put the cooked fish burgers next to the fish filets.

Being led to the seats in the dining area, Ken made me sit first before Candice arrived with some extra condiments and embellishing on top of the dishes.

"I'll teach you how to make the fish soup after you eat this!"

Glancing at the dishes in front of me, and thinking back to how they were cooked, I can see how it might feel pretty hard to put these inside your mouth. But at the same time, I told myself.

You already boiled rat meat in milk. Every single word in that sentence would have made people want to either vomit or revoke your ability to cook back in your original world. If we got over that barrier pretty easily, we should also be able to cross this one!

Using the fork to separate a piece of the fish burger, I pierced through it and threw it into my mouth. Chewing carefully, the soft insides were juicy and full of flavor. Instead of chewy, it would be more accurate to describe them as meat so soft it would melt in your mouth. There was no resistance in the meat at all!

Cutting a piece of the fish filet this time to try, I was completely amazed at the crispiness of the outside layer, especially the skin of the fish that was not removed before frying. The thick and tough skin that I saw had now changed to a chewy texture that seemed to stretch like cheese. The fish filet itself was also incredibly soft on the inside, melting almost as it touched my tongue. It was also sweet but slightly salty.

"It's soft right! That's thanks to the parasites. For some reason, the parasites on this planet know how much to give and take from the other animals here. There are rarely any parasites that are lethal, and since the parasites ensure that the fish doesn't store anything that will harden the meat, the meat of parasitized fish is incredibly tasty! This only affects us, who eat the fish though, and it's not like the parasite gives back anything to the fish. In a way, making the fish tastier is kind of a detriment for the fish so they are still called parasites. The negative connotations that come with the word does make life quite a bit harder though."

Sighing, Ken forked a piece of fish filet into his mouth.

Using his fork, Ken split his fish burger, took one of the condiments on the table, and spurted a little of it right in the middle.

"Try it like this! It's delicious!"

Following his actions, I added the condiment to my fish burger and took another bite. The condiment was kind of like custard, just with a bit more salt, and this added to the slight saltiness of the fish burger, making a sort of sweet and salty heaven within my mouth.

"This fish is amazing, but the most amazing and delicious dish has got to be the Red ribbon fish! The parasite on it produces the most delicious eggs ever!"

My head shot up at his words.

"The parasite is edible?!"

Ken continued chewing as he spoke, dreamily, with his eyes closed.

"Yeah big parasites are usually edible! And they are mostly delicious! With all those nutrients they suck from the host, most of them have sweet flavors that can compare with their host! But the type of parasites like the red ribbon are the most delicious! Not only can the main body be eaten, but it also grows eggs that can be harvested along the inner lining of the ribbon. The taste can be compared to fish porridge but a bit more grain like. However when you bite down onto it, the longer you leave it in your mouth the sweeter it gets! I just can't wait until the ribbon fish season comes so we can cook and eat them again! It's always one of the best seasons on Aquarius!"

Hearing Ken, I could also feel my drool start to increase even though I was eating. Sounds delicious! Furthermore, did I hear him mention porridge? Grain like? Gets sweeter the longer you leave it in your mouth? Doesn't that sound like rice?

Fish porridge! Rice! Sweet and salty!

Swallowing my food, I could already feel my mouth start to fill with drool. Wait for me rice! I am coming for you!