#stygicniron

braised claypot fish is a recipe you'll find that at least someone who can cook in every nest knows how to make. even revali knew how to make this ( though he wasn't patient enough for it half of the time pre-botw, so his would probably be on the lower end of the list of dishes you'd want to try )! a slow-cooked meal of caramelised salmon soaked in a thick, savoury ( and oftentimes spicy ) marinade while it's braised, the flavour is a bold mix of sweet and salty. the type of cut usually used is steak-cuts ( the other parts are reserved for sauces or other dishes ), and because the fish is cooked for so long on a lower heat, it's also super tender! as with most rito food, it's not typically served on its own when eating is so communal an activity; it usually comes with a milder soup and some bread.

sweet-and-sour soup makes use of the whole ( cleaned ) fish: head, tail, guts, and all! it stands out from most of their other soups due to its wider range of ingredients and stronger, like-a-punch-to-the-tongue ( affectionate ) flavouring, which mostly comes from the zesty spice of the broth, the tarty sweetness of the pineapples, and the sourness of fresh tomatoes. the important parts that make up this flavour profile ( as you can sort of tell ) come through trade, often with visiting flocks or mercantile rito from other flocks with homelands. that this dish is so popular and widely considered a comfort food is reflective of the importance they place on tight relations with each other as a collective people in general — you really won't find any rito who doesn't enjoy at least one aspect of this dish when it's warming to the core and delicious even if you don't want to eat the fish! this can be enjoyed as a fully realised dish with a bowl of millet or rice, or in a hotpot-esque style during celebrations or Gatherings.

rito rice porridge is a savoury must-have when you're sick according to most parents, who inherited this opinion from their parents. with its subtle flavour, smooth body, and how reminiscent it is of what hatchlings would eat in their first months in texture, it's easy to swallow, digest, and keep down — so they're not completely wrong! it can be served as plain porridge, but most of the time it's eaten with salmon flakes or shredded duck. sometimes, it's also cooked with duck offal for a deeper umami touch.

with the rito term for it literally translating to sweet soup, it's probably easy to tell what the dish talked about here is. a simple millet-based, gelatinous dessert that can be served hot or cold, this is also a recipe that is fairly ubiquitous — if only because of how easy it is to make. it helps that it's something that can be eaten at whatever temperature you so desire! easy to make, easy to serve, easy to eat; a lovely treat favoured among chickies and the ones who have to make it for 'em alike :]

and these are just some of the dishes that a majority of the rito from Peaks Among the Ripples' might pinpoint as their comfort dishes if asked, because it really does all boil down to their personal preferences and how they were raised! ( this also isn't to say that dishes like moose stew aren't a thing on their menu, but the fact of the matter is that fish are simply more readily available and don't exactly take as long to reproduce and raise their young to balance out what's been taken. )

tulin and molli share the same preferred comfort food of fish wrapped in fig leaves. these are more side-dishes or appetisers than anything, but you can't beat 'em when they're grilled and served like little bundles of flavour on a skewer! saki's are the best in the world!

kido will always feel some form of better after eating frozen wildberries. which is literally just a snack among the many that the rito have as people who are often away from a cooking pot, but what can he say? frozen wildberries were what the grownups gave him all the time to tide him over on all the flights home when he'd be found on his hopeless search-and-rescue missions for his dad as a young fledgling, so there's a very, very subliminal and underlying relief of i haven't been lost there.

as a travelling fella who doesn't get to eat home-cooked meals often, penn tends to always find himself missing the rito pancakes from his youth. these are not sweet! they're thin pieces of wheat-and-rice batter folded over a savoury filling, which typically includes seafood ( salmon for Peaks Among the Ripples ) of some kind as the primary 'meat', so to say. he's so glad he's able to taste them again, even if it's not the exact same, once he returns to hyrule!

dineli is a simple man. sweet-and-sour soup is his comfort food, as a dish he'd eat the most in his childhood: lovingly made and offered to him and his mother by those who did their best to support them back then.

she  wipes  beads  of  sweat  off  from  her  temple  with  the  back  of  her  hand.  the  sun  hasn’t  lessened  up  since  last  week,  rain  hasn’t  dropped  in  on  the  ghost  town…  and  really,  since  nobody  lives  here,  lavender  has  half  a  mind  to  just  call  it  a  FREAK  SURGE  of  harsh  heat.  alas,  nobody  living  here  is  exactly  the  problem.  spirits  hold  all  sorts  of  useful  information, after all.

apollo  doesn’t  do  scorched  earth  for  no  reason.  the  sun’s  focus  is  here  with  a  purpose.  it’s  her  job  to  figure  out  what  that  purpose  is.

…  at  least,  it  was  SUPPOSED  to  be  her  job.  

lo  and  behold,  she’s  no  longer  alone  in  the  dingy  cowboy-era  NOTHING-BURGER  town.  the  company  would  be  a  welcome  relief  if  it  didn’t  take  the  form  of  the  son  of  hades,  honestly.  not  that  lavender  has  anything  SPECIFIC  against  him,  of  course.  nothing  she’s  willing  to  say  or  grumble  about  aloud,  anyhow.  

she  hops  up  onto  one  of  the  many  rounded  tables  scattered  about  inside  the  town’s  inn.  if  it  weren’t  for  the  lack  of  cameras,  the  town  and  its  skeleton-interior  buildings  would  make  a  convincing  set  for  any  good  western.  with  her  legs  crossed  and  her  chin  resting  in  on  hand,  LAVENDER  could  play  a  convincing  damsel  in  need,  too;  her  horns  are  hidden  away  under  a  sunhat,  one  bought  in  the  same  vibrant  shade  of  yellow  as  her  sundress  and  matching  shoes.  the  basilisk  around  her  waist  forms  a  convincing  belt,  if  one  can  ignore  the  way  it  occasionally  

then  she  opens  her  mouth,  and  any  illusion  of  grace  or  politeness  not  only  leaves,  but  slams  the  door  shut  on  its  way  out.  

❝  alrighty,  prince  of  skeletons,  ghosts,  shadows,  shades,  and  all  things  MENACING,  ❞  lavender  begins,  drumming  the  too-sharp  nails  on  her  free  hand  against  the  side  of  her  perch.  ❝  why  were  YOU  sent  up  here,  huh  ??  don’t  kids  like  you  normally  HATE  hot  places  ??  ❞

“were  you  ever  going  to  tell  me  about  who  i  am?”  a  step  forward,  brows  furrowed,  as  a  flash  of  offense  ripples  across  his  face.  “because,  i  dunno,  seemed  like  you  were  real  happy  to  let  me  just  forget  everything  about  before.”  another  step,  and  that  flash  of  irritation  is  no  longer  just  a  flash.

it’s  a  warning  on  his  face,  as  he  relieves  the  hurt,  and  remembers  just  exactly  what  would  have  happened  if  nico  di  angelo  ‘followed  instructions  given  to  him  by  the  gods’  and  GODS,  what  a  shitty  excuse!  since  when  did  this  kid  ever  listen?  last  percy  checked,  he  was  more  than  happy  to  do  whatever  he  wanted,  WHEN  he  wanted!  another  step,  into  his  personal  space,  and  his  own  arms  cross  against  his  chest,  and  the  difference  in  their  size  is  enough  for  passersby  to  slow  down,  and  stare,  as  a  confrontation  between  children  of  the  big  three  looms  overhead.  

“what  about  my  MOM,  nico?”