During their Breath of the Wild playthrough, players are going to stumble upon countless NPCs and unlock various sidequests if they take time to speak with them. There are over 70 sidequests, and it's possible to miss a good chunk of them before facing off against Calamity Ganon. Completing sidequests give rewards, which can be very helpful for those starting a new file.
Upon leaving the Great Plateau, Breath of the Wild points players in the direction of Kakariko Village. There are several sidequests that are available upon Link's first visit. One series of sidequests involves helping a young girl named Koko. Thanks to its simplicity, it's recommended that players help Koko before they get too far along in their travels.
Where to Find Koko
Koko can be found near the cooking pot between Impa's House and the High Spirits Produce general store. She'll only appear during the day/afternoon and will return home if it gets too late. There aren't any prerequisites, so as long as Koko has the red exclamation point/quest marker over her head, players can unlock the first in a series of side quests.
Although Koko gives out four sidequests, they follow the same formula:
- Give Koko the missing ingredient.
- Speak to Koko to receive a meal as a reward.
- Repeat this four times.
Half of the missing ingredients can be bought from High Spirits Produce. The other half will involve some potential traveling and hunting. However, if players explored the Great Plateau before obtaining the paraglider, then it's likely they'll already have everything Koko needs.
Players may want to take note of Koko's recipes so that they can be replicated later on. She'll list off every ingredient per dish. Players can also check the Recipe of any meal in the Inventory screen.
Koko's Kitchen
The first sidequest from Koko is Koko's Kitchen. She'll want to make Hasty Veggie Cream Soup which requires a Swift Carrot, Fresh Milk, and Rock Salt. Fortunately for Link, she already has the Fresh Milk and Rock Salt.
Players will want to go to the general store (to the left of Koko) and purchase at least one Swift Carrot for 16 rupees. Return to Koko, and she'll cook up a Hasty Veggie Cream Soup. This meal restores two hearts and will increase Link's movement speed for 3min 20sec. If Link wants to make his own meal, he can add more Swift Carrots to increase the hasty effect of the meal.
Cooking with Koko
Once players have completed "Koko's Kitchen," speak to Koko again to get Cooking with Koko. This time, Koko wants to cook a Hot Buttered Apple. These are a farily easy meal to remember as it only requires two ingredients: Goat Butter and an Apple.
Koko will need a stick of Goat Butter, so return to High Spirits Produce and purchase Goat Butter for 12 rupees. Goat Butter is a common ingredient in desserts, stews, and seafood entrées. Therefore, it's recommended to buy the entire stock if players have enough rupees.
As thanks for the Goat Butter, Koko will give Link a Hot Buttered Apple. This will restore two hearts and has no additional effects. It may be a bit underwhelming compared to the previous reward, but Hot Buttered Apples are ideal if Link needs to recover only a small portion of health.
Koko Cuisine
The third sidequest in Koko's cooking series is Koko Cuisine. She'll want to cook her father's favorite meal: Tough Meat-Stuff Pumpkin. The ingredients are Fortified Pumpkin and Raw Meat.
Players will need Raw Meat, and this time, it can't be bought from the general store. So, leave Kakariko Village and look for a wild animal (fox, goat, or boar) to hunt. The best way to take out animals is to hit them from a distance with a strong bow and arrow, or get close enough to use a melee weapon. Timid animals like the fox will flee if they hear/see Link, but goats and boars may go on the offensive if approached. It's best to crouch and slowly approach the animal before striking.
Keep in mind that the recipe calls for Raw Meat, not Prime Gourmet Meat or Raw Bird Drumstick.
A surefire way to farm Raw Meat is to warp to the Shrine of Resurrection or the Great Plateau Tower. From there, zoom in on the map and look for the Forest of Spirits. There are wild boar in this forest that drop Raw Meat when killed. This is also how players get the Raw Meat for the Warm Doublet sidequest from King Rhoam's spirit.
After this, return to Koko to receive a Tough Meat-Stuff Pumpkin. It will restore three hearts and gives Link a 1min 20 sec boost towards his Defense. If players want to craft their own Tough Meat-Stuff Pumpkins, they should consider adding more than one Fortified Pumpkin and better-quality meats (ex: Gourmet Meat).
Koko's Specialty
The last quest is Koko's Specialty. She wants to cook an Energized Honeyed Apple, and she only has one of the ingredients. Players should already know the drill by now and can probably guess which one she's missing.
Koko is missing Courser Bee Honey, which can be found hanging from most trees. Courser Bee Honey is always swarmed by bees, so be careful when farming them. It'll take two slashes with a melee weapon to chase them off.
Players will want to be sure not to hit the Courser Bee Honey when fighting off bees. The best way to do this is to hit the Courser Bee Honey with an arrow, or get close enough to lure the bees away from the honey.
Here are two surefire ways to get Courser Bee Honey:
- There are two Courser Bee Honey in the woods on the other side of Fort Hateno. Warp to the Ha Dahamar Shrine and travel along the path going east. Be careful of the Guardian near Fort Hateno.
- Another area to get Courser Bee Honey is at Hopper Pond in the Great Plateau. This is right next to the Forest of Spirits. There will be a Stone Talus and a camp of Bokoblins, so proceed with caution.
The final reward for all of this hard work is an Energized Honeyed Apple. This restores five hearts and two-thirds of Link's Stamina Wheel. Consuming stamina-replenishing meals is recommended when Link has to climb towers or if he's having to tame a horse.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available on Nintendo Switch.