[Hyūga Shigure]

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To Himishi Jou

I hope this letter finds you well. I was overjoyed when I heard you passed your exams, so I hope the life as a Chuunin has been good for your. And I hope you are not too busy to the point you can't cook anymore. I've been struggling to find time myself, but we can never let our true love for the cooking arts to die, right?

After our time cooking together, I couldn't take the Donburi out of my mind, so I gave it a shot and it turned out pretty good. Still, I wonder if you know a different or better way to do it. The one I made was a Spicy Tuna Donburi. This is what I did:

For this recipe, the spiciness of the tuna—the Sriracha chili sauce, shichimi togarashi, and rayu. Of course the proportions can vary based on personal taste, and the level of heat you desire.

As for the rice, I used white rice because I like the taste better. I also used kewpie mayonnaise to add some creamy to it. So you are aware of the proportions used, here is the ingredient list:

• 4 cups cooked white rice
• 1/2 pound fresh sashimi-grade tuna, diced
• 2 tablespoons kewpie mayonnaise, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/8 teaspoon shichimi togarashi
• 6 tablespoons rayu, or to taste
• Thinly sliced scallions, roasted sesame seeds, and soy sauce, optional, for optional garnish

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on my recipe. And I hope we can continue to help each other grow in the culinary arts.

Sincerely,
Hyuuga Shigure

Himishi Jou

[Himishi Jou]

(Note: Jou writes in cursive. Sorry about not having an awesome template!)

To Hyūga Shigure

I received your message, and I'm honestly surprised that you sent me one. Not that there is anything wrong with it, I mean. I heard that you passed as well, but I wasn't surprised. Anyone who has seen how well you performed, especially in the final matches, would have had no doubts. But I decided to hold off on becoming a Chuunin, just for a little. Although I passed, my scores weren't exactly the best, ya know? The exams have given me a lot to reflect on and I want to be sure that I'm truly ready before I accept my promotion. Some people tell me that I'm overthinking things, but maybe that just runs in the family.

I'm really glad that you gave the Donburi a try. I never even thought of a Spicy Tuna version, but it's certainly something I'm going to have to try out perhaps for my next dish! I've, unfortunately, not been able to cook as much as I used to, since I've been trying to focus more on my training, but it hasn't stopped me from stockpiling more recipes whenever I get the chance. The soba we cooked was so good. I cooked some more when I made it back to the village, but it just didn't feel the same. Perhaps it was only because it didn't have twice the effort put into it as before? Still, it was really good so I decided to see what other versions I could cook up, and ended up making a Soba salad using summer vegetables.

It's chilled soba noodles that I topped with miso flavored meat sauce mixed with some aubergine and okra with spring onions and fresh tomato.

Here's an ingredient list if you would like to try as well!

-Water for boiling

-2 portions of dry soba noodles

-3 Okra

-1 medium aubergine

-1 medium tomato

-100g / 3 1/2 oz Minced meat

-2 Drizzles sesame oil (one for garnish and the other for cooking)

-1 1/2 Soy sauce

-2 tbsp Mirin

-1 tbsp Miso paste

-2 tbsp Chopped spring onion to garnish

Of course, how much you add is up to you! This is just what I've worked with.

Hopefully, by the time I hear from you again I will have prepared and tried out that Donburi, but right now I can already tell you that I have a few things in mind about what I could add to the dish. I will also be looking forward to hearing your thoughts on that soba, my friend!


Sincerely,
Himishi Jou