Author's Note: Hi all! This chapter follows the previous chapter directly, so I've posted it as soon as possible. Enjoy!
Chapter 2: Spring Rolls
If Azula said there was just a hint of excitement in the Avatar's eyes she would be lying. Pure, childlike, and untarnished excitement was the dominant emotion, that she could tell. It was too honest, she thought. Surely no Avatar could survive in this world while being so very open about themselves? A small bit of optimism left in her would think he was, after all, exactly as he shows himself to be, but she quashed that thought.
"Right then. First things first, have you ever worn an apron before? One of these half aprons, I mean."
"Wouldn't it just be tied on the back?"
"Not quite. Here, I'll show you how to tie one."
Azula watched as the Avatar brandished his own apron, and began folding the top down, and then as he tied it around himself. There was a certain fluidity to how he moved, she noted.
"So you see, you fold the top one or twice so when you're cooking you are insulated from burning. And after that, you tie it in front, and there you go. I'll get you one and help with the tying, OK?"
Azula eagerly received her own apron and began imitating the motions she just saw. Much to her chagrin, the apron was nowhere near the Avatar's in terms of neatness.
"This apron's disagreeing with me, I think."
"Oh, here. I'll help." Azula held her apron in place as the Avatar approached her side. "First, you fold the top down twice, like so…"
The Avatar's hands were around her waist as he deftly brought the strings around to the front. Azula took hold of the strings from his hands and tied as best a bow as she could. She would need to perfect this skill later on, and alone, she thought. Receiving help like this was something she once shunned but the Avatar's aid just felt nice. She was used to assistance that was more hostile, so this was a relief of sorts. Very dangerous, that.
"There we go. Now you're Chef Azula!"
The beaming smile from her new culinary teacher was almost sickening for how brightly it shone.
"I'll allow this once because you're my teacher, Avatar."
"Hey the apron makes you look really, really cute. Authoritative, and very cut-"
Now that was a surprise. The Avatar seemed to lack a filter, something she did not expect out of an ambassador of all people. The very red blush on his ears would confirm his honesty as he seemed to realise what he had said.
"Your honesty is very much appreciated, Avatar Aang."
"I-I… yeah. So, um… next up, knives! Gotta get you used to the right way of using a chef's knife."
Just days ago, the idea of the Avatar giving her a deadly weapon was laughable, but here Azula was. Knives were more of Mai's thing, but she could tell this one was of good quality.
"I like this knife. Very good balance, in my view. So how exactly does one wield it, Avatar?"
Azula noticed a slight hint of worry in his gaze as she spoke. Was he… afraid of her with a knife?
"Carefully and confidently, Azula. A sharp knife will go exactly where you point it."
"That can be arranged. So, time to deal with the vegetables?"
"I gotta show you how to not slice your fingers off first. Believe me, I've had a fair share of close shaves. Literally!"
"Spare me the puns, Avatar. Now, knife handling?"
"Oh, right, yeah. You've got the right grip for a chef's knife already, so I'll show you the chef's claw. It keeps your left hand safe from being chopped with the vegetables."
The Avatar again approached Azula's side, this time with his own knife. She watched as he held his knife firm with one hand and curled his other into a claw. She did her best to copy him.
"Is this correct, Avatar?"
"Hmmm…. Not quite. Here, let me help."
The Avatar took her left hand and began adjusting her form. He had a very soft touch, she noticed. Light, soft, almost nonexistent, yet uncompromising in its strength, if that was one way to describe it. A small part of her thought it was a very nice touch, especially when previous teachers of hers didn't quite have the same care when they corrected her mistakes.
"The key, Azula, is to keep your fingertips safely covered from the knife. As long as you have your knife safely glued to your knuckles and everything, your fingertips will probably be safe from being guillotined."
"Probably, Avatar? That's not very re-assuring of you."
"It'll take some practise until you get to being 100% sure you won't cut off a finger. Or two, Azula. Here, I'll try to do it on this cucumber."
Azula watched intently as the Avatar did his demonstration. To her, he looked every bit a professional chef with how quickly he seemed to do it. She almost thought he was messing with her on purpose to scare her away from the kitchens, but his previous honesty would suggest otherwise.
"Was that just to taunt me, Avatar? How very unkind of you."
"What? No! You'll get to this point, don't worry. Wanna try?"
Azula nodded, and prepared herself. She approached her task with meticulous precision. Failure would mean at least a few scars from a stray cut, something she would not allow. Morphing her left hand into the claw shape, she began. One slice, two slices, three, and the motion took over from there. A part of her rejoiced in this little victory of a task done perfectly. The rest was focused on not expressing that ecstatic joy too much.
"See? I told you you'd get it. Now, wanna move on to the spring roll veggies then?"
"Onwards, Avatar. Onwards and upwards."
"Awesome! I've already gotten started with this carrot here, so if you want to handle the kohlrabi, here's some. I like to slice it all into long strips first before chopping. Don't forget the claw!"
"Noted, Avatar."
Azula again began her knife-work with careful analysis. And then, channelling the same precision she used during her bending, she began. It wasn't long before their kitchen sounds evolved into a cacophony of rapid chopping and scraping. She even noticed her own speeds were approaching the Avatar's, which bode well. She would have to thank him for this lesson, she thought.
It wasn't long before they both had finished preparing all the ingredients necessary. Before them stood a mountain of carefully chopped vegetables, ready for whatever the next step would be.
"So, Avatar, how would you rate your student's chopping?"
Azula watched as the Avatar took a careful glance over her pile of vegetables. There weren't any visible signs of disappointment, which was a good indicator.
"Perfect! Ten out of ten! Restaurant-quality, Princess!"
For her first try, such a rating from the Avatar wasn't too bad. Azula let herself express a slight smile at the thought. It was as much as she allowed herself in moments of triumph.
"Your flattery is appreciated. Now, what's the next step?"
"Azula it's not flattery if it's true. And now, it's mixing! Time to get your hands dirty!"
"Is mixing by hand the only way to do it?"
"I've tried using spoons and other tools to mix, but…"
"Well?"
"Well… it doesn't work and I end up using my hands anyway. Which is why I brought these!"
The Avatar brandished a box of rubber gloves, and Azula showed no small measure of relief at their sight. It may just be a psychological boost to have gloves, but a good boost still. She put them on, and the gloves fit perfectly.
"Thank you, Avatar."
The smile Azula saw from him in response was almost addictive. A very dangerous thing, that.
As the Avatar began piling the ingredients into a large bowl, Azula plunged her gloved hands into the mix. The gloves definitely helped when the airbender cracked in some eggs, and what seemed like a very generous amount of salt and pepper. Perhaps too generous.
"A bit too much salt, don't you think, Avatar?"
"We're making a lot of spring rolls, Azula. Salt brings food to life, and the right amount of salt will make or break them. Remember that for when you're cooking. Salt is a huge, huge, HUGE principle! As in if I could teach you one thing, it's how awesome salt is."
The Avatar's pure, childlike enthusiasm on the qualities of salt was not something Azula expected to find adorable.
"Duly noted. Any other principles I should know?"
"Um… there's the big four. Salt, fat, acid, heat, those I will drill into your brain. Salt brings out flavour, fat carries flavour and helps texture, acid balances the fat, and heat transforms it all into glorious dishes. Got that?"
The whirlwind of information from her teacher required just a bit more of her attention. For a short lecture on what he called the 'big four' of cooking, the Avatar was very good at emphasising the short bit. All the while, she kept mixing the vegetables, which now had become a well-incorporated filling.
"Understood. Salt, fat, acid, heat. So, is this mixed enough, do you think?"
"Looks like it. On to the difficult stuff! Get ready for… the ROLLING!"
She watched as he brought forth two large baking trays, and for whatever reason, inverted them onto the counter space. Further confusion came when the Avatar placed a few layers of kitchen towels on them and poured water on the paper. Whatever contraption he was devising, she knew not.
"This, this is my little innovation, Azula. Well… it's not mine, I borrowed it from my mentor Monk Gyatso, but I've improved on it!"
"What exactly is it, if you wouldn't mind explaining?"
"Well, it's my way of making spring rolls quick. I moisten the paper, then place the rice paper on that, let it soften, and we roll!"
The basics of this system did seem rather ingenious, Azula thought. Though from what she knew, rolling these things was an art, and an art wouldn't be very easy to master in just a day. That is, of course, until she could put her mind to it.
"Not a bad system then, if the Avatar uses it. Care to do a demonstration then?"
"It's not that bad once you get it, I think. Here goes!"
"First goes the rice paper, Azula." She watched intently as her new culinary instructor began by placing a sheet of rice paper onto his tray. "It takes maybe a minute or two for the water to soak in and moisten it. You want it to be very foldable, but not too wet. If it's wet, it'll fall apart or burst when we fry it."
"Foldable but not too wet. Noted."
"Great! I think it's there now, so time to add filling." The Avatar placed a large spoonful of the mix they'd just made in, and carefully shaped it with his chopsticks. "Here's the fun part of wrapping. First, you roll the paper round the filling and roll it over to have it completely wrapped. And once that's done, fold in the sides carefully, and roll the rest forwards. Wanna have a go?"
The steps seemed easy, Azula thought as she nodded. But she knew the execution may vary, depending on her care. She would not botch it, that she was determined to do.
The Avatar handed her a sheet of rice paper, and she placed it on her own tray. Time to prove her potential, she thought. Adding a careful spoon of filling, she used her own pair of chopsticks to meticulously form the pile into a rectangle. Once she made sure the filling was centred and carefully shaped, Azula made the first roll.
The Avatar seemed to be focusing on his next spring roll, so Azula pressed onwards with hers. Folding the sides in carefully, she made the final step with absolute precision.
"Yeah, Azula, the first one's always the hardest and it took me a few tries to—whuh?"
The pure shock emanating from right beside her was surprising indeed. What had she done?
"Yes?"
"I-you… how did you do that?"
"Do what, Avatar?"
"That's a picture-perfect spring roll, Azula. I didn't even master that until… I haven't even reached that yet!"
He was right. Even to her untrained (well, not for long) eye, her product did have a pleasing, well-made look to it. Azula let herself express another small grin at her little success. This was nice, she thought. Cooking, or at least cooking with the Avatar, was peaceful, something she knew she sorely needed. Though the possibility of developing a dependency on the Avatar was rather dangerous. Very dangerous indeed.
"Your instructions were simple, Avatar. Just a simple matter of concentrating, you know."
"Well, you've made it better than my first one. I've forgotten how that one looked. Or I hope I have forgotten."
"A good sign then. How many more do we need?"
"Let's see… this much filling… that size spring roll, maybe twenty? Twenty-five? Thirty? Thirty each, I mean."
"Sixty spring rolls? Is this how many you usually make, Avatar?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"Alone?"
"Yep! When I get the chance, I make a ton! Here, I'll grab some stools. Thirty spring rolls takes a long time to wrap."
Seeing as she'd finished hers in barely a minute, Azula wondered why the Avatar seemed to prefer sitting down. This appeared to be a very simple dish, all things considered. She'd definitely been served far more complex ones before.
While the Avatar sat, Azula decided she would press forwards standing. She made another roll, which looked just as good as her first, and kept going. Moisten rice paper, add filling, shape filling, and roll. She could very much get used to this peaceful kind of cooking.
It was some ten spring rolls later that Azula realised just how much of a mistake deciding to stand up would be. She would never dare to express any weakness to anyone, not even herself, but in just that time, she was getting tired. So, as quietly as she could, Azula pulled the stool the Avatar had brought for her over and sat down with grace. Even when tired, a Princess must be the epitome of class.
"Took you long enough. I usually make it through five before sitting down."
"I'm not interested in making twenty more of these standing, Avatar. Think of it as… self-preservation."
"You made the right choice, Azula. Means you'll have just enough strength to stand when these get fried."
"Just enough? Bold of you to assume that. Very bold."
"Spring rolls are a difficult job, Azula. None survive the test unharmed or unchanged. That's some monk wisdom for you right there."
"I shall be the first to do so then. Mark my words."
"Deal."
Azula did an internal scoff as she thought about it. The dish at hand was difficult, yes, but surely not life changing. Of course, she'll just have to see. Their little chat slowly fizzled as they both focused on keeping a good pace with their respective share of rolls. By now, the wrapped spring rolls were beginning to clutter their counter, and the Avatar had estimated they had but just a few more to go. She could already imagine just how delicious these would be.
It wasn't long before they both had finished, and the kitchen counter was lined completely with dozens of spring rolls, neatly organised in trays. Azula could tell which ones were hers. Not just because hers were on one side and his were the other, but from the form. The Avatar's carefree attitudes did carry over to his cooking, she thought. His were ever so slightly different, while she made a veritable array of uniform rolls. She counted sixty in total, thirty of each as he had estimated. And it was tiring indeed, but nowhere near the supposed life-changing way the Avatar had said.
Azula could hear a massive sigh come from her left.
"Well Azula, we did it! Sixty spring rolls. Let's see if any explode when we fry them!"
"Explode? I hope not in my face or anything."
"Oh no, that doesn't happen. Not usually, I mean. Sometimes they go 'pop!' when they're wrapped badly. Depends. Might want to do safety squints for when that happens."
"I see. So, frying?"
"Yep. There's no other way to make them that crispy and delicious. I've tried the oven once to get them nice and crispy. Once. I'll get the pan going and you can start the frying if you want."
"Let us begin."
Azula followed the Avatar as he pulled out a large frying pan from the cabinet and placed it on the stove. Blue flames roared into life, and he seemed to pour a rather generous amount of oil in. Indeed, it was far more than she expected. These were heart attack-inducing levels she saw.
"If you're worried about the oil, this isn't enough." How the Avatar read her mind was something she needed to examine. "It's a big pan, and the oil needs to be just about half a knuckle. Bit less, but still a lot."
"Just don't give me heart disease by the end of this meal, will you? Wouldn't be nice if that happened."
"It won't. I promise. Now, the pan's hot so wanna drop in the rolls?"
"If you insist."
Azula turned to fetch one full tray of spring rolls and returned to the stove. She began placing them in one by one with her chopsticks, and carefully arranged them around the pan. The sizzling noise of the rolls was almost music to her ears. A sign of good food to come.
With her spring rolls sizzling away came the smell. The glorious smell. Agni, these things were excellent at teasing the cook when they're frying. Hot oil spattered at her as the rolls continued cooking, but she shook that off easily. Her own fire was far hotter than just oil spatters, and so she pressed forwards.
"How are your spring rolls, Azula?"
"I wouldn't know, seeing as I haven't tried them yet, Avatar."
"They look fine. I think. Get them to golden brown and they'll be beautiful. Quick lesson in heat for ya."
"Noted. Is there anything else to do?"
"Well, there are the noodles to boil and the dipping sauce, but I'll handle that. Or if you want, I can take over spring roll duty and you can get a pot from that cupboard there."
"Noodles it is." Azula went straight for the cabinet the Avatar pointed out and retrieved a large pot. "How much water do we need?"
"Just enough."
"That's not a measurement, Avatar."
"Just enough is a valid measurement, you'll see. Maybe about… halfway up the pot?"
"That's better."
Once the pot was as the Avatar had indicated, Azula brought it right to the stove, and let the blue flames emerge in full. If need be, she would even add her own, since her patience with the spring rolls had just been thrown out of the window. The smell was too much for any human to bear.
"Oop!" An audible pop and a slight yelp from the Avatar startled her. "Well, I think that one's burst a little. Actually, by a lot."
"Was it mine or yours?"
"I can't tell. Probably mine. Oh well, chef's treat!"
Now that was very good news to Azula's very hungry stomach.
"I do hope you are sharing, Avatar. Would be terribly impolite if you didn't."
"Here you go then. Open wide!"
"What?"
"You said you wanted some. Here, I'll cut the spring roll in half and you can get it!"
"That's better. Now, where are the chopsticks?"
"The cooking pair's here. I'll get it to ya."
The Avatar brought half the spring roll over on his chopsticks. If Zuko saw this Azula would never live it down. Though the spring rolls came first, simply because of the smell. Damn the Avatar and his apparently amazing cooking.
"Just this once, Avatar." She reached forwards and prepared for a bite. "Just this once."
The smell was but a small sign of the spring rolls' glory, it seemed. Damn the Avatar again for this. It was beyond good. If anything, it was addicting! Part of her would almost suspect the Avatar had slipped some nefarious chemical in to entice her, but she had seen all that went in. No drugs in sight. They really were just that good.
"So? How was it?"
Azula tried her best to not smile, simply from the very unceremonious way she had received the spring roll. But it was impossible. Between the Avatar's light-heartedness, the food, and the calm freedom of their kitchen, Azula found herself involuntarily smiling for the first time in a very long while. She almost wanted that moment to linger, but decided to quash it.
"Delicious. Just right. To kill for. Well done, Avatar."
Damn that childish smile from him when he heard that. Azula didn't know eyes could inflate so much!
"Awesome! Now I can put Princess Azula-approved on the recipe!"
"Don't you dare."
"Fine. It won't be on paper. Can I still say you approve of them when I make more?"
"No. You may not. That is an order. A royal decree, if you will."
"I'm not from the Fire Nation."
"The laws can be… professionally guided to help with that. So don't. No stamping my name anywhere."
"Fine. It'll still be 'Azula's Favourite Recipe' to me though!"
"So far, you mean."
"What?"
It took Azula a moment to realise what she had just implied. To reveal her own eagerness so early on, that was a mistake she would not have made so easily. Normally she would correct herself, but this time, a very significant part of her wanted to… oh dear.
"This is only my favourite recipe so far. Or are you going to stop our deal so quickly?"
"Azula, we never had a deal. You remember, right?"
"What?" Now it was her turn to be surprised. "But you agreed, just this morning."
"All I wanted to do was teach you some cooking, it's not like that's a huge deal or anything."
That was wrong. Azula knew it, absolutely knew it had to be very wrong. Things in the Fire Nation were never free. Nothing. Every act, every service had a price, a cost to them. That was drilled into every child's mind since they could learn. Even a gift had its strings. She knew that all too well.
"Why?"
"Why what? It's just cooking, Azula."
"Indeed it is, but why? What favours do you need from me?"
"None! Azula, I promise, it's just me sharing what little I know about cooking, from one friend to another."
It was now that Azula realised the Avatar had been telling the truth. She'd been picking up all the clues, all the tells that should have been there, but there were none. No lies, no misdirection, not a single crumb of dishonesty. Only she had forgotten to acknowledge this while she pressed on with her grilling. How prejudice clouds the mind indeed.
"Friend to friend, you say?"
"Yeah! I mean… you've cooked with me now, that kinda puts you into "cool friend" territory, Azula."
The Avatar's friendship. Now that was something Azula never thought she would gain so quickly. How could someone even do that? Befriend in just an instant?
"You would do this… for me?"
"I would do it for anyone, Azula. Friendship is just the least of what you deserve."
Another truth. She would normally dismiss it as being misguided, but those words struck her. For however long, Azula stood there paralysed, trying to resolve conflicting inputs.
"Azula? Are you okay?"
His question almost jerked her back to reality. Azula decided she would do something she had never done before. Her father would murder her if he were here. But he wasn't, and that was good.
"Th-thank you, Avatar. For all of this. Thank you."
And for once, Azula felt she was speaking the truth.
"Azula, you are my friend. And friends help each other out. Now come on, I think I can hear the water boiling now. To the spring rolls!"
A great weight had lifted off her shoulders, Azula thought. A deep breath of free air confirmed her thoughts. And so, she returned to the stove and the spring rolls. The frying turned them into a beautiful golden brown now, and she thought they were almost ready as she flipped them. To her side she could see the Avatar throwing rice noodles into the boiling water. Wouldn't be long now.
The clinking of porcelain came from her right as the Avatar brought her a large plate, and she began removing the spring rolls. Agni, they smelled and looked just right. But no, those had to wait. Another batch needed frying. She quickly added a fresh dozen into the hot oil, and the cycle began anew.
"Oh, we might want to get the dipping sauce ready. You up for making some?"
"What's in it?"
"Fish sauce, sugar, and a dash of lime. The important bit's the lime. Spring rolls are pretty heavy stuff so lime balances it out. Limes. Are. Magical. That's what Monk Gyatso taught me and I won't doubt that. So yeah, I'll squeeze in the lime and you can add the sugar."
"Noted. Limes are magical. How much sugar?"
"For this much fish sauce… juice of a whole lime… maybe a spoonful or two? Try experimenting and tasting it."
Azula began adding the sugar little by little. Lemonade wasn't on the menu today, after all. This meant her first sampling was nothing more than salty lemon juice. Not at all enjoyable.
It took another spoonful of sugar before she was happy with the result. The Avatar seemed to agree when he tasted it for himself.
"That's perfect! That's everything done then. I just drained the noodles so… we have a meal!"
"We have a meal indeed. To the table?"
"To the table!"
As the Avatar dashed to the table with a plate of spring rolls on one hand and noodles in the other, Azula carefully brought the dipping sauce over. She made it safely across the kitchen and finally, their hard work finished. From the whirlwind of a shopping trip to his crash course in cooking, this day has been a day.
"You ready for an awesome lunch, Azula?"
"I've been waiting for this ever since we started cooking, so yes."
"Come on. Let's tuck in."
It took Azula only one bite of the spring roll to confirm their deliciousness. Agni, she could survive entirely on these things for the rest of her life! The Avatar was right. From the crunch of the rice paper to the rich filling balanced by the lime, and then the noodles cooked to perfection, this was one of the best meals she had ever eaten in quite some time. And for once, in company she could relax with. The feeling of it all… it was addictive. Dangerously addictive.
"Spring rolls can be a one-person job, right?"
"Once you can make them, Azula, absolutely. And you can now. Yours are a lot more uniform than mine, too. This one's mine, it's a bit too fat."
"Still delicious. Absolutely delicious. This better not be a regular thing now, you giving me really fatty foods."
"On the contrary, Princess, that is exactly what I plan to do."
"This was not part of our agreement, Avatar."
"Azula, we don't have a deal, remember? I can teach you any recipe I want!"
Azula could tell she would really need to hit the gym this afternoon, courtesy of this amazing lunch. Perks (or not?) of being friends with the Avatar. Friends. Unimaginable, that idea.
"Any recipe? What's up next then?"
"I think I'll pull a this morning again and figure out what we could cook while shopping."
"That better not be a recurring thing. I like to have a plan."
"Hey, it worked, didn't it? And Avatars are supposed to be good at improvising. Just doing my job, Azula."
"You've done very well then. Lunch was phenomenal and I've learned much about cooking. Thank you for that, Avatar."
"Don't worry, there's still so much more to learn. I've given you the basics of cooking, which is fun, but baking's gonna be a doozy!"
The fact that Azula's response to the prospect of having deal with the Avatar more was now one of excitement said a lot about how much this day had changed her. She wondered where the spirits would take her next at this rate. On second thought, she really did not want to know where they could take her.
"I'll be looking forward to that. Any specialties in mind?"
"I'll think of them as we go, Azula. That's all I can say."
Azula let out a reserved harrumph when she heard that response. Does he have to be so opaque about food?
Their little conversation ended when a servant entered the chamber.
"My lord Avatar, the Fire Lord requests your presence." The girl, likely one of her brother's many bureaucrats, approached their table.
"Is it urgent?" The Avatar seemed miffed that this lunch was to be cut short.
"He didn't say, my lord. But he did stress that you were necessary."
"My brother's trying to be sneaky again, isn't he?" This was Zuko's way of trying to be discreet when it came to some serious matter. "You better go, Avatar. Sounds important."
"Tell Zuko I'll be there in ten minutes." The girl left, and the Avatar turned to Azula. "Well, I guess this is it."
"For now. Like you said."
"For now, yeah. Oh, before I go, can I ask just one thing?"
"You may, yes."
"Just one request. The whole Avatar thing… that's just my job. And we're friends now, Azula. Good awesome kitchen friends! So… would it be OK if you called me Aang?"
"That can be done. Now go… Aang."
"I'll see you around, Azula. More food to come!"
And with that, the Avata—Aang breezed his way out of the room. And for once, Azula was looking forward to seeing him again. How quickly she has changed.
Spirits, she's a close friend of the Avatar now.
Author's Note: And with that, we conclude Aang and Azula's first culinary adventure! Not bad for a cookbook disguised as fic, I hope. Thank you, my colleagues, for visiting this fic and reading it all the way through. As always, your reviews are the best way for you to let me know how you feel. See you soon! Up next: things we knead to know!
