Cuisine of Hashuru

The Cuisine of Hashuru arises from the rich variety of ingredients that the land affords. While Hashuru is an inland country, the abundance of rivers provides its inhabitants with a plentiful supply of freshwater foods. At the same time, the generally warm cimate and wide variety of habitats means that, while certain methods of food preparation might be prevalent throughout the region, it is rare to find the exact same dish in two distant towns.

Ingredients
As with any food tradition, the food culture of Hashuru is based on what foods are at hand.

Staples
As an agrarian society, grain crops form the basis of the diet, and therefore of the entire economy. The most common crop grown by the Hashurukasane is rice, facilitated by fact that most of Hashuru is very well watered; the rice, after washing and husking, can then be prepared as is, washed further to make white rice, or milled into flour and turned into all sorts of breads and cakes. Another major grain crop is millet, which can be either red or black; most millet is not eaten, however, but used for making liquors such as the Black Millet Liquor, an essential for more rituals and ceremonies.

Another staple, more common in the south of Hashuru, is the yam, which can come in white or purple varieties. These are often mashed and steamed or grilled into cakes. In the north, near the Cloud Mountains, chestnuts are also an important part of the diet.

Meats
Since the agricultural economy of Hashuru depends heavily on beasts of burden like the ox and water buffalo, those animals are not often eaten, except when one dies naturally. The most common source of meat, rather, is pork; this is followed by the many waterbirds that populate the area, including ducks, geese and swans.

In the more hilly lands of the northeast and northwest, lamb is also quite a common source of meat; the Hashurukasane generally believe that lamb has certain medicinal and physical properties, however, which necessitate that it be prepared in certain ways. As a result, lamb has some methods all to its own, and is often considered a tonic, healing meat, being fed to those recovering from illness, as well as after childbirth.

Insects constitute another major source of protein, both wild-caught and cultivated. Apiculture, besides providing honey, also yields bee pupae and larvae; beetle grubs are also eaten in many areas of Hashuru. Indeed, beetle grubs are often reared for eating, in old tree logs; while mushrooms grow on the surface, the grubs feed on the insides, and both are then used as food.

Seafood
While meat is always welcome, food taken from the water is an absolute dietary staple for the Hashurukasane. The Ansarién, its lakes and all its tributaries often contain rich habitats for all sorts of aquatic life, most of which can be caught and eaten. This includes shellfish, crustaceans, fish, amphibians, reptiles and even mammals such as the Duton, an aquatic rodent, and cetaceans like the Ansarién porpoise.

At the same time, aquaculture is very widely practiced in Hashuru, being integrated with the normal agricultural practices. Reservoirs for storing water in rice cultivation are themselves used to breed and rear fish and frogs, and even snakes, which then become a key source of protein for the farmers. Mudflats are often used to cultivate snails and freshwater mussels.

An example of the importance of fish in the diet of Hashuru is seen in the annual flooding of the major lakes along the Ansarién, namely Lake Murandova, Lake Condova and Lake Thukdova. With each cycle of flood and recession, vast amounts of fish breed and are in turn caught; many large towns around these lakes are centred around the industry of preserving fish and seafood, whether by sun-drying, curing, smoking or manufacture into the infamous Nikrelun fish sauce.

Greens
The year-round warmth of Hashuru means that greens and fruits are often available year round, though pickling is also quite common. Salted mustard greens and fermented cabbages are the most common preserved vegetables; the first is often used to add saltiness and bulk to dishes, and the second used in stews for its tanginess.

The water spinach is a prevalent vegetable all over the region, and is often eaten stir-fried with pepper and nikrelun for flavouring. Chrysanthemum greens, red spinach and kale are also used in the same way, or steamed.

Seasonings and Herbs
The cuisine of Hashuru is stereotypically portrayed as being full of spices, which is partly true. Much of Hashuruilé cuisine is seasoned with one of the Four Spices, namely horseradish, mustard, ginger or peppercorns. The Hashurukasane believe that their local climate makes them susceptible to illnesses related to heat and humidity, and that these spicy dishes can ward off or relieve that humidity, making them very healthy foods.

Other spices and herbs include the basil, of which a variety with purple and white streaked leaves is the most prized; turmeric, a potent colouring agent; and tamarind, prized as an accompaniment for fish. Garlic and sesame are also frequently seen, whether pounded into paste, toasted, or sometimes both.

The general impression outsiders have of Hashuruilé cuisine is of very heavy seasonings, including all sorts of sauces from fish and shrimp paste to soy and honey mixtures, rice vinegars and the like. This is not incorrect, though it is a partial impression; the climate of Hashuru often necessitates strongly flavoured foods to whet the appetite, but it is also the case that foods with stronger flavours and more impressive ingredients were served to guests, and therefore more exposed to foreigners. Another stereotype is of constant, relentlessly spicy dishes - it is said in the north, for example, that 'The people of Sovon faint when thinking of spice; the people of Shar do not; but the people of Hashuru faint at non-spicy foods'.

Famous Dishes
This list is, naturally, not exhaustive.

Seafood
 * Grilled Murucha
 * Ginger-fried Catfish
 * Steamed Crab with Pepper
 * Prawns in Rice Liquor with Beans and Peanuts