Dining in Dhanû
Hunger is a spice that makes all food wonderful.Even by the standards of Araea, chefs in Dhanû are particularly inventive with what they consider edible. They have to be. Sheoin Region offers few things in excess and famine is a fact of life in Dhanû. The warrior-chefs of Dhanû is a highly respected and highly competitive profession, deeply rooted in the tradition of the Feast. To them, foul flavors are a challenge to be met and defeated. Such difficult ventures are not always successful.
Kaia are not trusted in Dhanû. The explorers are seen as clanless drifters, void of any obligations and anything that makes them trust-worthy. Kaia who visit Dhanû can expect a chilly reception... Except for the Hākari-Kaia. The food-explorers resonate wildly with Dhanû and its chefs. Out of all the outsiders that come to Dhanû, the Hākari-Kaia are perhaps the most welcomed.
Food
Grilled Polyp Sausage
Dragon Tooth Polyp is a common feature in many Dhanû dishes, owing to its relative ease of acquiring. Polyp shells are cracked open and the spongy meat ground down together with fungi, salt and other seasonings. The resulting mash is pressed into cleaned intestines for casings and grilled - though smoking it is another popular method of preparing polyp sausage.Organ Stew
Usually a fare for the poor on holidays or at the generosity of their clan-leader, Organ Stew is the collective name for a number of dishes with the same base. Any organ will do, but usually the cheaper or less flavorful ones are spared for the stew. They are heaped in a large cauldron together with water and boiled. As it boils, blood or ichor from slain beasts is added, along with mushrooms and seasonings. It cooks together into a thick, sludge-like stew with chunks of deeply cooked organs. Typically eaten with something dry and crunchy on the side, such as dried skin chips.
Chnagahn is as popular in Dhanû as it is everywhere else and frequently served during Feasts. Dhanû Chnagahn tends to forgo the insects and add more blood, meat and organs instead. Deeply cooked eyeball of certain beasts are especially good.
Irok Ball
Irok Balls are made out of hundreds of insects that have been caught in nets and mashed together into a pulp. It is kneaded out and the resulting patty is either made into small balls or patties, then grilled. It is usually black in color, but often streaked with other hues depending on what bugs were used to make it. Often, the clipped wings of Ahi Bug or other lower quality fillers are added for cheap bulk. Sometimes used to create a thick, black broth.Gizzard Gulp
Gulpers are small, newt-like lizards with oversized mouths used to sift through the waters for morsels to eat. A Gizzard Gulp takes the Gulpers, skins and butchers the lizard before cramming its meat and edible organs into its own stomach casing. It ferments with its own viscera, sometimes adding mushroom, fungi or seasoning, then boiled, smoked or grilled inside. The lizards skin is sometimes fried as a crispy treat on the side. Some chefs, wishing to use every bit of the lizard, will grind the entire animal to a meaty pulp before stuffing it into its stomach casing, filled with blood.Drink
Fung-Ale
Found in a staggering variety across Araea, ale or beer brewed from a mushroom and fungi is usually bitter, earthy and relatively weak. Dhanû's variant is usually brewed from a short, blue-hatted mushroom found scattered around small gardens. The mushrooms are either mashed and drained or added whole into huge brewing vats that must be constantly monitored for unpleasant mold. Different distilleries have their own recipes to the brew, adding different fungi, molds or seasoning for taste and branding. When not drunk, it is often used in cooking.Ichorette
Found almost exclusively in cold, frost-claimed caverns, the Drekkahr is an enormous slug-like thing with skin like thick rubber. Its blood is intoxicating without preparation and Ichorette is the drink distilled from the creature's blood and secreted slime. Aged in copper vats, the Ichorette is fed a slurry of fungi and bug-meat to dissolve and gradually grow stronger and sharper. It must be regularly sifted and strained, with the end product used to create a number of different alcohols as a base. Some prefer it "straight", and Drekkahr are sometimes brought to feasts still alive for the freshest possible drink.Dhanû A city-state of proud warriors and skilled poets, Dhanû lies in the heart of the dangerous Sheoin Region. It is a hard land its chefs have learned to tease edibles from the most unlikely sources. Read More About Dhanû
by Bar Jaron
Spices and Seasoning
The most common seasoning used in Dhanû is salt, typically mined in great quantity from whatever cavern that holds it. Blood or meat is sometimes dried then ground to a powder and used to add flavor, while some monsters have secretions that can be used to add an extra kick to the meal. The Yaukkah lizard secretes a black phlegm that burns when ingested that wards off predators or add a delightfully spicy burn, depending on who is asked. Bone-marrow is frequently used when it can be spared. Powdered lead is occasionally added for sweetness, though it is an unusual flavor for the Dhanû palette. Alcohol can be mixed into almost any dish as far as the Dhanû are concerned.Desserts and Treats
Treats in Dhanû tend to be savory rather than sweet. Crispy, seasoned bugs and dried blood jerky are common snacks while watching Saen-Kaw. Fried stretches of skin or hide and boiled chitin are made into desserts with the use of liberal seasoning.
by Keiko Pham
Yummy :P