In a cozy house in a small village, Eloy always eagerly awaits the arrival of his grandchildren. Every evening, around a crackling fireplace and with a mischievous smile, he begins his stories by saying: "Do you know that when I was young, I crossed the Sahara Desert with a camel that thought it was a racehorse? The poor animal believed it could win every race! But that’s not the story I want to tell you today."
Today, I want to tell you something much more interesting: the time I traveled to feudal Japan and became the first chef to prepare sushi for the samurai. Ah, those were the days!
You see, it all started when, during one of my travels in search of new adventures, I ended up in Japan. But it wasn’t just any Japan, no. It was feudal Japan, a time of samurai, castles, and very strict rules. There was no place for jokes... or so I thought.
One day, while walking along a path surrounded by bamboo, I came across a group of samurai. They were imposing, with their shiny armor and sharp swords. And, of course! Me, with my ridiculous hat that looked more like a foldable umbrella than anything else, didn’t quite fit into the scene.
They were in full preparation for a great battle. Everyone was speaking in low voices, serious, as if they were about to face the greatest challenge of their lives. But suddenly, I heard one of them say: "I’m hungry! I can’t fight on an empty stomach." And right there, my dear grandchildren, I had a brilliant idea. I could cook something for them!
So, I approached the leader of the group, a tall and muscular samurai named Takeshi, and said: "Sir Samurai, I’m not a warrior, but I’m a master in the kitchen. If you give me the opportunity, I’ll prepare the best feast you’ve ever tasted."
Takeshi looked me up and down, doubting. "What can you make that will give us energy for the battle?" he asked in a serious tone. Honestly, I had no idea what I was going to make. I had lost my touch as a professional chef, and the most complex thing I had cooked in the past few months was a stone soup. But in desperate situations, one has to improvise.
"Well… I can make something with rice," I said, trying to sound confident, although I was really just improvising. "And… fish, of course. Fish always works! And seaweed? There’s always seaweed nearby, right?"
I got to work, without a concrete plan. While cooking, one of the samurai approached me and offered a small bottle with some liquid inside. "This is vinegar. We use it to clean our armor because it smells so strong that even the enemies flee."
I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it, but the smell of fish in the air was so strong that I thought, "Why not?" And so, I poured some vinegar over the cooked rice, hoping it would at least mask the smell. To my surprise, the vinegar gave the rice a sticky texture and a tangy but pleasant flavor. The samurai peeked over, curious, watching as that rice magically transformed from simple food into something more… intriguing.
That’s when everything got out of hand. While trying to move the rice into a bowl, I accidentally spilled it onto a sheet of seaweed. As if that wasn’t enough, the strips of fish I had prepared slipped from my hands and landed right on top of the rice. In an attempt to save the situation and not look ridiculous, I rolled the seaweed around the mess as best I could. What I had in my hands didn’t look like food but rather some kind of strange cylinder.
"Done!" I exclaimed nervously, trying to keep my composure. "This is… uh… an… ancient roll. Yes, an ancient roll of power!"
The samurai, bewildered, looked at me in silence. Takeshi was the first to step forward. With his powerful hand and his implacable warrior expression, he grabbed the roll and took a bite. The silence that followed was so deep that even the leaves in the trees stopped moving. We all awaited his verdict.
Finally, Takeshi chewed slowly, his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed: "This is incredible! It’s light, tangy, and… I don’t feel like a buffalo after eating it! It’s perfect for fighting!"
The other samurai, excited, began to try my strange rolls of rice with vinegar and fish. As they chewed, one of them exclaimed: "It’s like the sea threw a party in my mouth, but with a tangy twist that makes it dance!" Another added: "I feel as light as a feather, but with the strength of ten warriors!"
And so, without intending to, I had just invented sushi, although at that moment, I had no idea what I had created. In the end, the samurai set aside their heavy soups and tough meats, and before each battle, they would ask for my "ancient rolls." Over time, sushi became the warriors' favorite food, and I, without meaning to, became known as the first chef of samurai… though I never wielded a sword.
And so, dear grandchildren, this story ends. Now, off to bed! Tomorrow, I’ll tell you how I survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii thanks to a giant umbrella. Good night and sweet dreams.