Dango Bonding Time
A quiet hum followed the gluttony bun as he continued to carefully knead the dough of the dango hoping to match the texture and elasticity that Dan had shown him earlier when the older bun had been showing him the ropes of dango making. It was obvious that Dan took great pride in his craft and had taken a long time to perfect his skills, and wanted to make sure anyone else he taught held that same grit and determination. It was admirable to say the least, but to be honest Jervis wasn’t used to such slow, meticulous work and it was taking a lot of focus to not grow bored of the process. He wanted to learn how to make dango, it might be useful when running his Haberdashery - Tea shop combination, but he hadn’t expected these lessons to be so strict and boring.
Jervis peered over Dan’s shoulder watching as the stoic pride bun carefully rolled the rice flour into a perfectly round shape before quickly moving onto the next one, lining up a pristine, poised line of perfectly round dango ready to be added into a pot of boiling water to cook. They had been making Mitarashi Dango one of the most popular types of Dango that Dan sold, apparently he had a hard time keeping it in stock because so many buns and imps alike absolutely adored the savory, sweet treat.
“Your technique is quite amazing, how long have you been making Dango?” Jervis piped up, not able to handle the silence much longer.
The corner’s of Dan's lips curled into a smile at the compliment, continuing his work as he spoke. “As long as I can remember, my mentor Kashi taught me for many years. He was a strict old bun and forced me to make dango and mochi until my technique was nearly perfect” He chuckled, this might have been the first time Jervis had ever heard Dan laugh, “I didn’t appreciate it when I was younger and much more stubborn, but I suppose that’s why my skills are so refined” He reminisced.
“That’s amazing, I bet he would be very proud to see you’ve carried on that love and precision even now” A bright smile took hold of Jervis’s features as he carefully placed the finished dough beside Dan.
“I would hope so, I owe a lot to Kashi, I just hope I’m honoring his legacy” Dan murmured before picking up the finished tray of rolled dango. “Come now, we’ve got to get these finished before I open or else I’m not going to have enough stock to keep me afloat all day” he instructed before leading the way towards a large pot of boiling water. “Once the dango is done it will float to the surface, fish it out and we will then finish by putting the sweet soy glaze on top”
Jervis nodded in acknowledgement before hopping onto a stool set up beside the pot of boiling water as Dan started to add the rolled raw dough little by little. It didn’t take long for the two of them to develop an efficient system. Cooking, fishing out the dango, arranging them on skewers, and then finishing them off with the signature sweet soy sauce glaze. Beads of sweat had started to form on Jervis’s head as they finished up the last batch, a deep sigh following suit as he quickly picked up the last sheet of finished Mitarashi Dango before storing them with the rest of the backup.
“Not bad at all for a newbie” Dan praised not wasting any time to start cleaning up the utensils and tools they had used. “I could always use an extra set of helping paws if you ever have a free morning,” he added, giving Jervis a quick nod of approval. “Keep practicing and maybe you’ll get to a point where you’re almost as good as me” He chuckled with a smug, yet teasing smirk.
“I really appreciate it Dan, and thank you! It means a lot to hear such high praise from the likes of you!” Jervis beamed, happy with the amazing introduction in dango making. Hopefully if Dan would allow he could continue practicing and potentially expand his new found craft towards Mochi eventually.
