You may or may not have noticed that despite it having been out for about a month and a half now, I haven’t said too much about Pokémon Shield. There are a few reasons for this, but it’s mostly because I don’t have all that much to say. It’s a stock-standard Pokémon game, but with a cool new multiplayer mode (Max Raid Battles) that is simultaneously the most enjoyable and frustrating part of the game.
What nobody saw coming, least of all myself, is that I would be inspired by this game to try out some new cooking ideas. Specifically: curry. I’ve never made curry before, and only ever eaten curry at white-ass chain restaurants. It’s not a thing that I have any experience with or knowledge about. But when the new Pokémon game included a mini-game where you cook and eat curry with your ‘mons, I decided that it was time to try out something new.
Now, let me note this: I’m not actually making my own curry sauce. I’m using pre-made jarred sauce from the store. Yes, it’s kind of a cop-out, but there’s no way I’m buying all the spices and other junk necessary to do it from scratch. So really, my way of doing it is just to take a curry sauce flavour and then throw in whatever I think might taste good/whatever I have on hand. But it’s worked out well!
My first curry was made of red curry with meatballs and bell pepper thrown in. It was a huge success! Delicious and almost the perfect level of spicy. The second dish was a little wilder: I used a mango curry sauce with chopped up potatoes and bell pepper, then topped it off with apple slices. This one was absolutely inspired by Pokémon’s “just throw in whatever” mentality when it comes to ingredients, and I have to say that it turned out magnificently! The sweetness of the apple was a great pairing with the spicy curry, and the potato was mostly just there as something to chew on.
My presentation still needs a little work (the apples did not want to sit nicely), but I think it’s coming along nicely. At least for a guy whose most elaborate dinner prep is boiling frozen vegetables. My next big goal is to figure out how to keep the rice from getting unreasonably sticky. When I make brown rice it always comes out fine, but this jasmine stuff? It’s like it’s made of glue. Maybe jasmine was a mistake and I should have gone with the basmati. I don’t know anything about rice. Research will be necessary.
So yeah. My life is enriched by knowing how to prepare another type of meal! The lesson here is: Don’t let anybody tell you that video games have no practical applications.
