While Wind does have many traditional cooking styles and techniques, it is not uncommon for Wind chefs to be a polyglot of the culinary world. Traveling frequently, always on the search for new foods and cuisine, these chefs know no bounds. Eating is often interactive between chef and customer or even between customers. It is the art of sharing in the chaos of the kitchen, it is a story, a painting, a feast for the eyes and stomach.
(also Wind has rice, despite the fact that FR does not have rice...nor tomatoes or garlic- but they do have Edamame so at least soy sauce could be a thing)
Noodle Racing- popularized in the Reedcleft Ascent, a racing game in which slides made of halved bamboo shoots are filled with running spring water and thin noodles (made of Quinoa) are dropped down them to the customers to catch. The customers can then dip them into a broth made of Dried Anchovies and Fairy Ears. There is a great debate about how to catch the noodles, whether one should use horn, tail, or claws… or the chopsticks offered by the host.
Bamboo Steamed Medley (or Melody)- another interactive effort in which a green bamboo is cut open to make a vessel for whatever ingredients are brought by the guests. The bamboo is then closed back up and then placed over a charcoal grill to slowly steam its contents. Common ingredients for this dish are Zephyr Sparrows or Cottontail Rabbit, Wild Onion, Bean Beetles, and Fairy Ears along with soy sauce and Fragrant Orchid wine.
Windsinger’s Treasure Wraps- Treasure plants are considered great gifts of luck and are often given during the Mistral Jamboree. Their leaves are also edible, and are used as wraps for thinly sliced vegetables like Wild Onion, pickled Green Shoots, Sour Spinach, and Cliff Lion stalks. Served with a sauce made of Wild Mustard and soy sauce.
Springswarm Stir-fry- having the Springswarm during a festival month is a fortuitous event for a Flight filled with insect eaters. The insects are caught by the millions for festival, and are salted, dried, and preserved. But the most favored variation is freshly caught and stir-fried in a hot wok along with Green Shoots and Fairy Ears in a Royal Oyster sauce. (thanks to @tinygryphon-58570 for the idea!)
Last Song Adobo- Reedhopper Frogs are a common delicacy of Singer’s Brook, and every home cook has their own variation of this adobo. Essentially it is frog legs braised in a stew made of Granny Smith Apple vinegar, sugar, dried Golden Pepper, Royal Oyster sauce, garlic, and Chikweed till reduced into a sweet sticky glaze. Served over Quinoa or rice.
Tigersblood Soup- high up in the clouds, the taste of food is dulled so dishes that are extremely spicy, sour, or sweet are favored. Tigersblood soup is a such a dish and the broth base is made of spicy Blacktongue peppers, Wild Onion, ginger, and dried Fireflies. Greater Plantain leaves are placed in the bottom of the bowl, then the boiling broth, and then thin slices of Armored Catfish are quickly poached in the broth. Served with a large bowl of rice and a gourd filled with Minty Jadevine juice to cool the tongue.
Sweet Grass Dumplings- a favorite of Cirrus dragons, a steamed dough made of Sweet Grass that can be filled with anything and everything. Some popular favorites are Lunar Lacewing and Sunbeam Fig (drizzled with Bumble honey), Green Plantains and Jumbo Shrimp, Sour Green Apple and roasted Woodland Acorns (dusted with Cinnamon Sugar), and Greenworms and Sour Spinach (with a Bumble Honey and Wild Mustard sauce).
Blueberry Pinwheels- the root of Pinwheel Paddy’s stuffed with glutinous rice and Blue Rose jam (tastes like blueberries!), then simmered in a sweet Blood Acorn syrup. Once removed from the syrup it is cooled, sliced into rounds, and Blue Honeycomb is drizzled over the top.
Strawberry Clouds- this dessert starts with a Sweetpuff egg meringue which is piped into a nest shape and then baked. It is then filled with a sweet custard mixed with Pale Pink Rose syrup, before being topped with fresh cut Strawberries. Harvesting eggs from Sweetpuffs may turn them into Ragepuffs, but it is worth it for this sweet treat!
Eleven’s Tisane- a mark of a true Wind adventurer is this brew made from plants from all of the Eleven Flights. The most common mix is made of Pelagas Feathers (Light), Cindermint (Fire), Dandelion Seeds (Shadow), Winterbelle (Ice), Speckled Petunia (Water), Peace Lily (Wind), Starfall Blossom (Arcane), Stonecorn (Earth), Engineered Superberry (Lightning), Jungle Lilies (Nature), and Bonebark Mold (Plague). Some dragons spend years trying to collect every plant needed for this tisane, and the brewing of even a small batch is considered the greatest honor.
Painted Sunrise Cocktail- this cocktail starts by adding Golden Camellia tea, Sunbeam Fig syrup, Clover Wine, and fresh cut Strawberries. Using a muddler, the strawberries are squished so they release their juices and tinge the drink pink. Ice and sparkling water are added to top off the drink, and then the drink is stirred. Garnished with more strawberries and Cliff Lion petals.
