Learn all about the Silver Spiral Galaxy from the hit webcomic "Cosmic Dash" with your host, Meilo Thench. Every week Meilo will dive into a topic he has researched for Galactipedia and share a little personal insight into how life in the Silver Spi...
The pool of questions from readers have been a bit lean as of late, but I did receive a rather innocuous message from a "Joren" who writes:
Meilo, do you do much cooking? Do you have a go-to recipe or one that you are particularly proud of?
I actually do, Joren. Sometimes when it comes to investigative journalism you may not have access to certain foods or staples, but one must feed oneself. It's a biological imperative! Well, I am not one to be found empty-handed. Over the past few years, I generally have a few things packed in my bag, mostly non-perishable components that I can quickly whip up into what I call a "humblash." Yes, the name is a joke, but it is a delicious and filling meal that I can make just about anywhere I am on assignment.
The name of the culinary game here is, of course, flexibility. Hashes are not anything new in galactic cuisine. Generally, a combination of a binder and miscellaneous fillings is one of those pan-galactic culinary techniques that is seen in just about every culture. Mine just happens to be made from basic, everyday goods that you can get easily and keep for a long period of time.
What you'll need is a box, can, or bag of konvu algae flakes, aru syrup (not sweetner, it must be syrup), dansh seeds (pre-spiced are fine).
The recipe is simple enough, prepare the algae flakes by rehydrating them using hot water, broth, or a liquid with the general flavor you're after. They absolutely need to konvu flakes, however, because when konvu algae take on liquid and heat, it expands. This is absolutely vital to make a filling meal. After the flakes have expanded into little pillows of fluid and algae, you'll need to squeeze the fluid out of them. usually, this can be accomplished with a towel or even squeezing the algae in the can with a spoon. You can then drink the broth or pour it out.
The drained algae will be porous and not unlike a cake, this is where the aru syrup and dansh seeds come in. Aru syrup (again, not sweetener) is particularly useful as it heats because it thins out, allowing for the algae to soak in the flavor, then, as it cools, it will grow thick again, resulting in a dense, slightly toasty hash. Again, do not use the sweetener because it is overly sweet and filled with artificial ingredients that do not soak into the algae appropriately. Good Aru syrup is a must.
It should only take a few moments for the algae, on low heat, to absorb the syrup. From there, cut the heat and let the mix cool. After about five minutes or so, you can remove the algae cake and dice it up. You can use it to mix with local ingredients, or, you can leave it as is, and sprinkle toasted dansh seeds on it. It holds well as a snack cake. The flavor of the dansh seeds, especially if pre-seasoned, ends up building the main flavor of the cake, which itself is more of a base.
The "humblash" comes from crumbling or dicing this algae cake, with the seeds, and mixing it with whatever else is available. The cake itself creates a neutral base to fill your stomach while the other ingredients provide the bulk of the taste. For added flavor and texture, assemble the hash, and then fry in the pan using a little more of the syrup.
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