Chicken Burger, or Chicken Sandwich
Chicken Burger, or Chicken Sandwich
What food comes to mind when you think of the most famous carbonated drink of all time, Coca-Cola?
Greasy Western staples hit me first: pizza, fried chicken, hamburgers.
The image of mozzarella stretching over a doughy crust, piled with toppings and anchored by a tangy tomato sauce — then washing down a bite with a crisp sip of cola.
Aahhh!
The cool fizz cutting straight through the richness drew a sigh of pure admiration.
The same went for tender Coco meat in a shatteringly crisp batter.
Bone-in or boneless, the clean, juicy flesh and the deep savory crunch of the fried coating, all lifted by that sharp, popping carbonation.
No wonder combos like chi-cola and chi-maek spread like wildfire.
'Can't have a company dinner without it.'
Fried Coco chicken was something I could serve up on the spot.
But if anyone sat down for a full fried chicken meal, they might miss their departure time all over again.
'I need something faster to eat.'
Pizza I could technically manage. I had a ranch that could supply quality cheese, and I had sauces and toppings ready. What I didn't have was a brick oven to bake it in.
So pizza was out for immediate service.
What could I make faster — and that could be eaten faster, too?
Then it hit me.
The poster child of fast food. The quintessential meal you could slam down in a moving carriage if you had to.
'A hamburger.'
It paired perfectly with a carbonated drink, and for Andy, who had the long road to the capital ahead of her, it would be light on the stomach — something I could even pack up as a travel meal.
Now, I didn't have actual hamburger buns, so I couldn't present anything that looked exactly like a modern burger.
Still.
'When you don't have teeth, you chew with your gums.'
I had bread from the bakery.
Not rye — this was proper white sandwich bread made from refined wheat flour, soft enough that I often used it for lazy French toast on days I didn't feel like cooking.
That was going to cradle a fried Coco patty and become a chicken burger.
What they call a chicken sandwich in the States.
"A decent menu idea just came to me. Give me a little time."
"Truly?"
Andy looked up from the sparkling water, her eyes bright.
"It'll suit your childish palate perfectly, Vice-Commander Andy."
"Ch-childish palate?! That's not— I am not—!"
"Then shall I add a mature touch of spice?"
"Nngh...."
She bit her lip and shook her head.
"S-sweet. Please make it sweet."
"Order received."
"Master! Add a little garlic to mine, please!"
"Boss, I want extra meat!"
Bldi and Andrea jumped in right on cue with their own requests.
I pulled out the Coco meat that Bldi had drained of blood yesterday morning and left resting in cold storage all day.
I'd done a quick seasoning on it, planning to use it for today's staff meal.
I deboned the breast and thigh meat.
Once I'd removed every last bit of cartilage and rendered it fully boneless, I coated the surface of the Coco meat in batter.
For the batter, I used Riman's freeze-dried curry roux — specifically the mild kind, with no heat whatsoever.
'Personally, I'd go spicy....'
But the spicy curry roux would definitely make Andy suffer.
A restaurant owner has to judge flavor from the customer's perspective, every time.
I wasn't the one eating it. They were.
I mixed the curry roux and frying powder with water to make a batter and dipped the chicken.
The pieces went into the boiling oil wearing their thin yellow coats.
Ssssshhh!
The moment the oil began bubbling furiously, Andrea and Bldi poked their faces into the kitchen.
"Master, that's the Coco I bled yesterday, right?"
"Right."
"Boss, so today's menu is fried chicken?"
"It is fried chicken, but it'll be a little different from last time."
"The sound alone already has my hopes up."
Half-ignoring the two employees swallowing their drool, I dropped the battered thigh meat into the oil alongside the rest.
While the oil worked, I prepped the other components.
I sliced the bread just thick enough to hold its structure even once the sauce soaked in.
I melted butter in a lightly heated pan and quickly toasted the sandwich bread.
Even that little bit of toasting infused the bread with a buttery aroma and brought out its natural savory notes far better than leaving it plain.
Onion and tomato got a clean wash and were sliced thin, ready to layer.
I separated the lettuce leaves one by one and rinsed them in cold water.
Sizzle, crackle.
By now the chicken in the oil pot had turned golden-brown.
I lifted the fried Coco pieces and set them on a wire rack to rest, letting the excess oil drain.
During the resting period, I used the same pan I'd toasted the bread in to sauté the thinly sliced onion.
The goal was to cook out the onion's sharp bite and draw out its sweetness.
You could add onion raw, but for kids, the pungency is a major dealbreaker. I had to neutralize it.
I'd made that mistake once — served a sandwich with raw onion.
— Bwaaeeeh!
The crying over how spicy it was had been epic.
Andy wasn't about to burst into tears, but her face would still turn beet-red. To preserve her dignity, I cooked the onion just short of translucent.
The rested Coco fry went back into the oil for a second round.
For an even crispier bite.
While the chicken patties finished frying, I made the sauce.
Mayonnaise, mustard, a touch of ketchup and honey, plus a small squeeze of lemon juice to cut through the fried richness.
"If the sauce isn't to their taste, they can always add straight ketchup or mayo afterward."
I lifted the fully fried Coco pieces and gave them a final shake to shed the oil.
All the components were ready.
I spread the sauce thinly over the toasted, golden-brown bread and laid down the lettuce.
On top of that went the sautéed onion and tomato, carefully arranged, followed by a freshly fried, still-warm Coco patty.
Another drizzle of the special sauce went over the top.
The golden Coco fry draped in yellow sauce made a striking picture.
I capped it with bread and the chicken sandwich — chicken burger — was complete.
I wrapped the outside in paper so it could be held and eaten by hand.
This way, no grease on the fingers.
Didn't they say in America they don't call a chicken sandwich a burger?
'In Korea we call it a chicken burger, though.'
So was this a sandwich or a burger?
Eh, who cares.
If it tastes good, that's all that matters.
I made Bldi a chicken garlic sandwich with sliced garlic tucked in like pickles, and for Andrea a large chicken sandwich stacked with the thickest patty.
I carried the paper-wrapped sandwiches out and handed them to Andy, Bldi, and Andrea, who'd been waiting in the dining room.
Alongside the sandwiches sat the lemonade and cherry-ade they'd tried the day before.
A sandwich and a carbonated drink.
That moment marked the debut, in another world, of a fast-food burger-and-cola combo.
"Paper...? The food is inside here?"
"Yes, just unwrap the paper and eat."
"Such an unusual method."
"Go on, give it a try, all of you."
The three women reached for the sandwiches laid out in front of them.
Andy peeled back the wrapper, her eyes sparkling.
"A sandwich. They're commonly sold in the capital as well. But there's a fried piece in the middle instead of ham?"
"It's a Coco chicken sandwich. Also called a chicken sando."
"Aha."
She nodded and took the very first bite.
"Mmmm!"
Her eyes flew wide the moment the mouthful hit her tongue.
She looked at me with her eyes shining.
"Mmm! Mm! Mhmhm!"
She was practically bouncing in place.
For her to abandon all that famous Warmaiden composure and make a fuss, it had clearly landed squarely in her strike zone.
"Good?"
Gulp.
"I-I don't know yet. I th-think I need to eat a little more to be sure."
"It's even better with the carbonated drink."
She swallowed hard.
"Better than this...?"
Her eyes trembling, she looked between the chicken sandwich and the lemonade, then slowly took another bite of the sandwich.
Crunch, crunch!
The lettuce and fried chicken shattered crisply between her teeth. Before she'd even swallowed the sandwich, she chased it with a mouthful of lemonade.
"!!!!!"
Cheeks puffed out like a hamster with that mouthful of chicken sandwich, Andy stared at me with enormous eyes.
Then, as if catching herself, she finished chewing and swallowed.
She looked down at the chicken sandwich with a face that was trying very hard to be cool and composed again — but the moment had already passed.
"I'm glad it suits your taste."
"......."
"Back when I was a cook-knight, I always assumed my food didn't agree with you."
"...I-I have no idea what you mean. Ahem-hem!"
Even so, she did not let go of the chicken sandwich.
"So it doesn't suit your taste after all? In that case, perhaps this dish should—"
"Th-that is not what I meant!"
"No?"
Just as a knight's highest praise is to be told they wield a sword well, a cook's highest praise is to be told their food is delicious.
Watching her deny it at the exact moment she should have offered that praise stirred up a little mischief in me.
"It is delicious. It suits my taste perfectly. I have no choice but to admit it. Truly, there is a reason everyone loses their minds over Sir Lucas's cooking."
She kept her usual level expression, but she couldn't stop her voice from trembling.
That was enough.
Seeing her enjoy it that much put my mind at ease.
"Masshter, dis ish really delicoush!"
Bldi spoke with her mouth still full of the chicken garlic sandwich.
The special garlic mustard sauce I'd made for her was smeared at the corner of her lips, so I wiped it off with a tissue.
"Mmmm!"
"Chew slowly."
"Hehe, I just wanted to say it was delicious as fast as possible."
"Andrea, how's yours?"
Andrea was so far gone she couldn't even muster a reply, her gaze darting back and forth between the carbonated drink and the chicken sandwich.
"Whoa...."
The combination of carbonation and a chicken sandwich — burger — seemed to have short-circuited something in her brain.
"What even is this...."
"That good?"
Only then did she look at me and nod.
"I know I've said it before, but Boss, your skill is genuinely insane. I mean it. I want to live at your place forever."
Her eyes, fixed on me, blazed with fervor.
Wanting to eat my home cooking every single day.
Now that was high praise.
"I mean it."
"Don't worry. I'll cook for you anytime."
Andy jumped in as if to second that.
"Were I not Her Highness's escort knight, I would have said I wished to stay here and eat your food indefinitely."
"M-me too. Master, I— I want to eat your cooking for— for the rest of my life."
Yeah.
This is why I cook.
The three of them demolished their chicken sandwiches in no time and immediately wanted another, so I handed over the second round I'd been expecting to serve.
This time I added a little extra ketchup to the special sauce.
Andy's expression in particular became dramatically more animated.
She chewed with a face that looked on the verge of tears.
"Eventually I'll add french fries to this. I'll ask you to taste-test then."
"Absolutely."
For Andy's departure, I packed her a day's worth of chicken sandwiches and tucked a separate container of lemon syrup into her bag.
"Is the... sparkling water not possible?"
She sounded so disappointed.
"You'll be able to find sparkling water in the capital."
"Pardon?"
"The technician who developed the process is launching a business with Golden Wagon."
"Aaaah."
Visibly reassured, she clutched the lemon syrup and sandwiches to her chest like treasures and mounted her horse.
"Then I shall report to Her Highness the Crown Princess that Sir Lucas does not wish to return. I cannot promise what will follow."
"I'm prepared. Don't worry."
"Until then."
Andy spurred her horse and departed Britten.
I watched her figure recede into the distance and started thinking.
About the menu for Princess Diana, who would be coming here before long.
'I hope Riman and Ivan are managing well.'
==============
★★★★★
Chicken sandwich, the absolute best!
I'll be looking forward to the french fry combo later, too.
Recommendation: Lemonade - Chicken Sandwich (Chicken Burger)
-Vice-Commander of the Princess's Knight Order, Andy Warmaiden-
==============
└Vice-Commander of the Princess's Knight Order? Is this for real? No matter how famous this restaurant is, why would someone like that come all the way out here?
└Looking at their comment history, they were here yesterday too.
└If they were impersonating a member of the Princess's Knight Order, the owner would've dealt with it. Think he'd just let that slide?
└Seems like this lemonade really is that good.
└Guess I'm ordering a chicken sandwich for lunch today.
***
"I did not expect to find you here, Sir Riman. Did Sir Lucas send you?"
Ivan, in the middle of preparing to leave for Britten, stared at Riman in surprise.
"Yes. Sir Lucas dispatched me, saying I had business in the capital. The day after you departed, as it happens."
"I heard. You've completed the carbonation process at last."
"Yes."
"What will you do now?"
"I must remain here. There is still much to do. Once things are finalized, I'll return to Britten. My research needs to be wrapped up."
Ivan met the calm gaze of the man before him.
Riman's eyes had changed since their first meeting in Britten.
Back then, they held the stubborn glint peculiar to alchemists. Now, that trace was nowhere to be seen.
"And you, Sir Ivan? Are you returning to Britten?"
"Yes. I must. I have conveyed my will to Duke Perdes and told him our business together is concluded."
"I see."
Riman nodded and withdrew a letter from inside his coat.
"What is this?"
"Sir Lucas instructed me to deliver this to you in the event you refused Duke Perdes's demands."
"From my teacher?"
"Yes."
Ivan accepted Lucas's letter and unfolded it.
"...Is this true?"
"Yes. He said to put it into effect if you reject the Duke's request."
"...I will think on it."
"Please give me your answer by tomorrow morning. I will be entering the Imperial Palace in the afternoon."