{"id":2342,"date":"2026-09-25T19:27:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theliterarytart.com\/?page_id=2342"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:27:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:27:41","slug":"the-apothecary-diaries","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/theliterarytart.com\/?page_id=2342","title":{"rendered":"The Apothecary Diaries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Apothecary Diaries<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Season 1: Culinary Experience Guide<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Boazi Buns<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this dish, I bought frozen Boazi Buns from my local asian market and steamed them at home per the package’s instructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you would like to make them yourself, here is a recipe you can follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boazi Bun Recipe<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maomao’s Chocolate<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jinshi asks Maomao to make aphrodisiacs, and she uses ingredients like milk, butter, sugar, honey, and cocoa powder to make chocolate. She then dips an assortment of nuts, dried fruit, and cakes in the chocolate for a yummy treat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is the plate of items she dipped along with the cakes. It looks like dried oranges, dates, goji berries, Jujube, maybe peanuts. These are just my guesses. I already had some dried fruit and nuts, so to not be wasteful, I used what I already had. I dipped everything in milk chocolate and let them harden on a parchment-lined baking sheet in my refrigerator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the square cakes, I found these at my local asian grocery store, so I added them to the serving tray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matsutake Mushrooms<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this dish, I kept it simple by marinating the mushrooms in a soybean paste sauce and then grilling them on a cast iron pan with grill marks to give it the illusion of the charcoal grill that is used in the anime. Unfortunately, I don’t have an actual charcoal grill \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To make the sauce, I added about a tbsp of soybean paste, 2 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of honey, 1 tbsp of aged vinegar, a pinch of salt, and 1\/4 cup of water to an airtight container. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I sliced the mushroom lengthwise, added the slices to the container, and closed it. I gave it a good shake to incorporate all the ingredients and let it marinate in my refrigerator for a few hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To cook, I sprayed some cooking oil on the pan with grill bumps and cooked the mushrooms on both sides until the grill marks showed. To serve, I just added some finishing salt on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong> If you can’t find Matsutake Mushrooms, King oyster mushrooms have a similar look and are easier to find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Garden Party Soup<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This scene still gives me chills… It’s so good!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You can actually find the original recipe for the soup served on Reddit. (See Below)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to keep it simple though, and I’ve always thought the soup looked like a miso soup, so that’s what I served. I already had all the ingredients to make it. Plus I organized this whole food tasting for my husband, and he LOVES miso soup, so I knew it would be a big hit with him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below is a good recipe. I just made the broth and added chives on top because the anime soup looked like it only had green onions or chives, nothing else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miso Soup Recipe<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Booze!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this episode, a high-ranking official passed away due to an excessive amount of salt in his booze, so I decided to serve a sake margarita. Sake is a very popular Japanese rice wine, and margaritas use salt on the rim, so I thought it would be a perfect combination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sake Margarita Recipe<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used a small single-serving bottle of sake and poured it out of the bottle into a mason jar. I then added small pebble ice to the bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the mason jar, I added 2 oz of lime juice and 2 oz of orange liqueur. Sake has enough sugar, so we won’t be adding any other sweetener. I also added a pinch of salt, and then sealed the mason jar with a lid and gave it a good shake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using a funnel, I filled the sake bottle up with the margarita mix. It only used about half, so I stored the mason jar in my refrigerator so I could refill the bottles for a second margarita.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, I added some salt to the rim and served with a straw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These were so delicious! Sake was very complementary to the orange and lime flavors!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orange and Honey Ginger Tea<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gyokuy\u014d is hosting Lishu for tea, and she offers this delicious-looking honey that is described as orange peels boiled in honey. I immediately thought of this Citron Honey Concentrate I get from my local asian grocery store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lishu has a lot of food allergies, so they ended up switching to ginger water, so I thought it would be a nice combination to serve ginger tea and then scoop some of the citron honey into the tea as a sweetener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was so incredibly lovely. The flavors worked so well together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eel and Seaweed<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eel, if not prepared correctly, can be toxic, so I would suggest ordering it from a Japanese restaurant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the seaweed, I bought freshly prepared and seasoned seaweed from my local asian market. If you haven’t tried fresh seaweed, I encourage you to do so. I don’t normally like seafood, but it’s not overally fishy tasting when it’s seasoned well. It’s actually very refreshing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicken Skewers<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For these skewers, I bought pre-marinated ones from my local asian market and grilled them at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you would like to make them yourself, though, here is a great recipe you can use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yakitori (Japanese Chicken Skewer Recipe)<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue Roses<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue roses play an important role in the final act of this season, so to illustrate their beauty, I decided to serve a Blue China Cocktail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This cocktail is a beautiful, vibrant blue just like the roses. This cocktail was also created in Japan but is named Blue China. I thought that was fitting for a Japanese anime about a fictional Chinese dynasty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue China Recipe<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n