Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Exploration

But the Earl of Derby still seemed unable to give up matelote, the French-style eel stew.

"Isn't skewering eel one by one and grilling more cumbersome? Why doesn't eel stew work? When selling jellied eels they put warm broth on top, right? Isn't that stew?"

"Stew is a bit difficult, Earl. Have you seen stew sold at street stalls?"

"...No."

In fact it wasn't that they didn't sell soup dishes at stalls at all.

Pea soup made by mashing and boiling peas or oatmeal porridge made with oats and milk were also quite popular stall foods in winter.

Still there weren't many places that sell. First for stall vendors who have to cook lighting fire with coal or wood continuously boiling something was also a considerably cumbersome matter, and once moving heavy ingredients like liquids including water itself was a big deal.

And the liquor sauce occasionally put on jellied eels was simply the broth left after boiling jellied eels with simple seasoning with parsley etc. and reduced so it was unreasonable to call stew. That also had a tremendous fishy smell!

"Because eel gives off a severe fishy smell when meeting water a process of removing that is absolutely necessary, and there spices go in quite a lot. That matelote the Earl ate, probably almost spices were covered at bomb level. Such things can't be made at stalls."

"Hmm, right. It seemed so. Sorry."

"No. Just bringing out ideas is a big help to organizing thoughts. Please continue speaking."

"Ahem, if it helps..."

In Korea there's also eel soup similar to Europe's eel stew, and this also rubbing the eel skin with salt and washing, rinsing several times in cold water to remove the mucus that is the cause of the fishy smell was essential.

Even that not enough putting a lot of powerful spices like chili or ginger, pepper, garlic, doenjang, green onion and boiling thoroughly for over an hour is when the fishy smell of eel is finally caught.

That is, eel stew rather takes twice the hands than grilling that talk.

After putting heads together for a long time like that, in the end the conclusion returned to the beginning.

"In the end you're saying eel grilling is the best, right? But when making sauce you said soy sauce is needed? Stall vendors can't easily obtain soy sauce, right? And if trying to make directly they said beans that only come from the Eastern 'Qing Empire' are needed?"

"Right. Soy sauce is hard to obtain. So this time I'm thinking of looking for something that can replace once. Miss Edith, by any chance can you help?"

"If you need my help! It seems fun!"

"Good. For now... It's unavoidable but is it okay to rest the restaurant's afternoon business only one day on Friday? Because this is an urgent matter right now. Is it okay, Mr. Henry?"

"Do as you please. I'd like you to inform the result later."

"Really thank you."

###

The reason I earnestly wanted soy sauce was clear.

In East Asia the ones who grilled and ate eel from old times were Korea and Japan, and both used soy sauce as an essential ingredient of seasoning.

If putting a lot of sugar and starch syrup in soy sauce base seasoning it becomes Japanese-style eel grilling sauce with strong sweet taste, if mixing gochujang and chili powder, plum syrup, sesame oil etc. in soy sauce base seasoning it becomes Korean-style eel grilling sauce with spicy taste.

And both countries commonly used soy sauce, because the reason that eel is a fish with very much fat and strong fishy smell was big.

Soy sauce is a food ingredient that exerts excellent performance in removing gamey smell and fishy smell among East Asian fermented food groups.

Neutralizing the tremendous oiliness of eel while simultaneously maximizing the savory taste of eel utilizing the umami of soy sauce.

But the problem was the production process of soy sauce.

Until the acid hydrolysis method is developed in the early 20th century soy sauce was considerably expensive. From the start to make this one has to first make meju, and ferment over several months. If mismatching temperature and humidity in that process the fermenting microorganisms die and it becomes completely nothing so production know-how is essential.

But looking back people's thoughts become similar anywhere in the world.

The idea of adding various sauces to eat eel deliciously, I thought wouldn't be only East Asians'.

Because Europe has been eating eel since Roman times.

If only internet now I would have really comfortably lain in the corner of the room and searched materials.

Still Britain running the cutting edge of early 20th century technology, it wasn't that there was no method to find information at all.

Even if analog material search is search.

Friday noon, Miss Edith and I headed to the place Mr. Doyle strongly recommended.

British Museum Library.

They say it was established around the 18th century, according to Mr. Doyle it's the largest library in the world currently.

Millions of volumes of books, a place that has most books published in Britain, especially if life field books it also holds many books published in France and Germany, Spain?

I only heard the talk too and it was the first time visiting.

Of course not anyone can enter. Recommendation of a socially recognized person or institution, and one had to prepare several documents that confirm identity like identity certificate and residence confirmation.

Fortunately in my case there was nothing to be a problem.

"Royal Society! And that with the handwritten signature and seal of President Crookes! With this it's sufficient. Browse as much as you want. Here, I'll cut the pass again. The validity period is one week. Of course, proxy use other than the party is impossible."

"Thank you."

With only the pass President Crookes gave at the Royal Society last time everything was free pass.

"Mr. Jean, when on earth did you go to the Royal Society? Were you also acquainted with the President?!"

"If talking it's long. Do you remember the time Mr. Tesla and Mr. Edison visited last time?"

"Ah! That tofu incident then!"

"It was that day. It's already a matter of a few months ago. At that time there was an old gentleman who grew a lot of beard."

"Ah, that regular customer! Surely that person...?"

"Right. That person is exactly President of the Royal Society Sir Crookes."

"Really? I didn't know! Because I don't seem to have seen recently."

Sir Crookes a while ago went over to America making the excuse of academic research saying he'll help refrigerator research.

Around this time a telegram from Mr. Tesla should come. How far has the research progressed?

Is obtaining a refrigerator next year unreasonable? Since that many smart people gathered, expectation couldn't be helped.

In the last telegram there was content that they're negotiating a technology agreement with Germany's Linde company that made refrigerated warehouses.

They have the important core patents there, but when trying to bypass America also has patents so it's not easy that talk.

If during the world war they would have ignored even the patent rights of German companies, but it was still the peaceful Belle Époque era.

Still no war is better, somehow.

Anyway we received the librarian's help and found the corner piled with life books, especially cookbooks.

I was intending to look for British folk eel cooking recipes, Miss Edith French and German recipes.

I only know English and barely speak the standard pronunciation upper class uses, but Miss Edith befitting a child of a noble family was considerable in French and German too. They say she learned as culture?

But on my side there wasn't much income.

In British books zero eel cooking related recipes.

On the other hand France and Germany seemed to have considerable expertise on eel grilling, but as expected France that damn mother sauce was the problem.

Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Tomato.

The five mother sauces that are the foundation of French cooking.

Even if only one of these is missing one can't make French cooking, but there was nothing of ready-made products that can be obtained cheaply at London general stores! All sauces that have to be handmade one by one! Such things can't be used at stalls!

Germany also mainly centered on smoked eel dishes, and along with that dipping sauces like mustard or dill cream developed, but there were no recipes for spreading seasoning.

What was fortunate was, that there existed some translated other country recipes in French cooking books.

"How about this? Ang, anguila? How should I read?"

"It seems Spanish. Anguila a la Parrilla (*Anguila a la Parrilla, Spanish-style eel charcoal grilling)? Well pronunciation isn't important. It would just be Spanish cooking. What's the content?"

"Spreading Romesco Sauce on eel with innards removed and grilling and eating is really delicious... In the Catalonia region they've cooked eel in this way from long ago... Sorry, the next content interpretation doesn't work well."

"Romesco? What is that?"

"It's a sauce that mixes roasted chili and tomato and gives spicy taste. Oh my, I'm really curious about the taste of this sauce! Shall we try making this once later too?"

"Wait, you said chili is needed...? Can one obtain chili in London?!"

"Of course! Even at our house we occasionally use in cooking!"

"...Yes?!"

"Didn't you know? Chili also goes into Indian curry?"

What, one could buy chili in London?!

At the grocery stores or general stores I went to I didn't see things like chili?

But as expected, chili was all imported.

Hearing the talk in warm climates like Spain it grew to the point of being called native plants, but Britain was a food ingredient one could obtain only by paying a considerable price. Especially it could only be obtained at stores handling Indian cooking ingredients, and even that was said to be quite expensive.

If only chili could be obtained cheaply I would have implemented the perfect spicy taste I really want!

Anyway Romesco also wasn't the direction I want. Because I needed a sauce that can be conveniently bought and used anywhere in London Britain.

In the end what I found out was two things.

That herb marinade mixing lemon juice with olive oil and herbs, or garlic butter marinade mixing lemon juice with butter and minced garlic is the universal seasoning recipe used when grilling and eating eel in Germany and northern Europe.

The acid component of lemon removes the fishy smell of eel and softens the meat, so it was a sufficiently understandable recipe.

However lemon had the disadvantage of not being easy to handle.

The acidity is very high so if just slightly misregulating the amount the balance of the entire cooking easily collapses. It was absolutely not a recipe to recommend to stall vendors.

Anyway I decided to remember this well for now too. But what I want was really a different direction.

Umami that can replace soy sauce.

How to implement...?

"Mr. Jean, don't you use Worcestershire sauce? Because it's about 8 pence per bottle one can obtain cheaper than peanut butter or Golden Syrup!"

"Miss Edith, how on earth do you know the price of Worcestershire sauce?!"

"Ah, because whenever bored I stroll the market. In case there's usable ingredients!"

Somehow your face often wasn't visible!

"That's... Somehow Worcestershire sauce has a part that bothers physiologically..."

The main ingredient of Worcestershire sauce is anchovy (European anchovy). Fermenting anchovy with vinegar, onion, garlic etc.

And I had a memory of almost dying from wrongly eating spoiled anchovy when young in London! Just thinking of that I absolutely couldn't put my hand on Worcestershire sauce.

Strong trauma toward anchovy. That's already several years.

"But last time you ate the galbijjim I made well? Worcestershire sauce also went into there?"

"Ah."

In fact to confess, I had never properly tasted Worcestershire sauce in Britain.

Because just recalling anchovy it was to the point of nausea.

But the words Edith threw at the end gave me a big realization.

"According to what I saw in the newspaper, one of the sauces London people like the most is Worcestershire. Anyway if it's food to sell at London stalls, isn't it better to match London people's tastes?"

"...Right. That's right."

Popular dishes matching the universal taste of the people eating is the best.

I had forgotten this important fact until now, and had the narrow thought of somehow competing only with Korean food knowledge in 1901 London.

Yes, if I can replace soy sauce with Worcestershire sauce right now there was value to try.

If making and tasting isn't bad, just spreading that recipe is fine, right?

Worcestershire sauce the price is also appropriate so it was optimal for making into spreading seasoning.

Trauma? An opportunity to overcome once came. There's still physiological rejection but...

"Thank you. I realized something. Let's return to the restaurant and try eel seasoned grilling with Worcestershire sauce. Just in time there's a seasoning recipe I thought of."

Let's try making changing only soy sauce to Worcestershire.

If the thought taste comes out, this will be a big hit.