Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Gochujang Artisan

Gochujang. A fermented food that uniquely exists only in Korea in the whole world.

A seasoning paste where spicy yet sweet taste exquisitely harmonizes.

If mixing jocheong made with malt, well-ground meju powder and chili powder, salt and soju evenly and aging for a few weeks a very thick paste is made, in Joseon they called this gochujang.

Gochujang like confectionery baking the mixing process, that is know-how about blending was quite important.

As things made by mixing several ingredients in set ratios are generally like that, because even if the ratio changes a little or the order of mixing ingredients changes the taste changes sharply.

But the reason gochujang was difficult to make wasn't only this one.

The core of sweetness jocheong, the core of umami meju powder, the core of spiciness chili powder.

Each mixing ratio is also important, but especially the work when making the raw material jocheong was also quite tricky.

First one has to obtain glutinous rice not ordinary non-glutinous rice.

Non-glutinous rice is soft and sticky rice used when cooking rice to eat, glutinous rice is sticky rice used when making rice cakes, when decomposing with the amylase enzyme of malt and making into sugar one has to use glutinous rice for the sweetness of jocheong to come alive.

Is it because in glutinous rice varieties there are more non-fermentable sugars that yeast can't decompose than non-glutinous rice? Anyway it was so.

One has to mix glutinous rice and malt and manage while keeping certain temperature and time for the starch of glutinous rice to slowly change into sugar by the enzyme, but for now I didn't know that method itself at all.

In fact if going modern style there were mostly cases of completely replacing the sweetness with factory-style starch syrup or oligosaccharide instead of jocheong which is tricky to make. They say that side is much more advantageous in terms of production efficiency and cost reduction, and preservation is also better. If the word glutinous rice isn't attached to the gochujang product name it's all starch syrup substitutes?

In modern times the process improved so the taste itself wasn't much different. Rather there were also many cases of consumers who like clean and straight taste preferring the starch syrup gochujang side more.

Still gochujang made with jocheong somehow had the advantage of more outstanding depth and flavor of sweetness. The reason I was impressed eating the handmade gochujang of the Joseon legation, I thought might be for such a reason.

The handmade side aging would have been much longer. Because they wouldn't sell right after making.

Anyway I succeeded in buying the gochujang manufacturing secret for 20 pounds.

Secretary Lee Han-eung continuously refused saying one can't receive 20 pounds just for informing the method of making one gochujang, so I really had to forcibly hand over the bundle of money to his bosom.

Integrity also has to be to a degree... Isn't it just leaving without spending even one penny?

So I advised with that money at least hang a new legation signboard, and first equip dignity befitting a legation. Also buy better clothes and change.

With that appearance it was attire perfect for being ignored even if invited to a social party. Hearing even such words he also seemed to have thought a bit more.

Later when visiting again I have to check if living properly.

Still because he kept muttering it's too much money, in the end I had no choice but to bring one person under the excuse of an employment contract.

The young woman who was making rice for the international students, I thought she was just a housework helper but she wasn't.

Her name is Lee Ha-yeon. She said she's the 6th cousin niece of Minister Min Young-don.

A female student from Hanyang who was studying at Baehwa School, she went on a study abroad path to learn the latest Western medicine due to connection with a missionary who came over to Britain.

If comparing by past standards should one call her a new woman...?

Anyway since she was the one who found the method of making jocheong and gochujang in Britain, I quickly brought her.

When asking where and how she's learning medicine, she said she has to enter medical school but permission doesn't come from the authorities so she was vaguely waiting.

In the meantime having nothing to do she creatively experimented this and that and in the end even made gochujang they say.

I frowned. She was holding a thread-like hope, but the probability of her entering medical school in Britain was close to zero.

Even if better than black people, one couldn't say there's no racial discrimination against Asians at all, and especially if university the entry barrier was tremendously high even for origin from one's own colonies. Unless upper class like Mahatma Gandhi even admission is impossible.

But if there's background it's not up to impossible.

Just in time I had the connection with St. Thomas' Hospital that recently arose. Later looking into it St. Thomas' Medical School was like the holy land of British medical education.

If asking Mr. Doyle or Grandmother Nightingale somehow it would work? And Sir Joseph Lister of our foundation gathering is also the dean of King's College Medical School? Sir Thomas Barlow is also a royal physician?

If writing an introduction letter hanging my name it seemed they'd accept anywhere. So when saying I'll refreshingly take responsibility for her studies and arrange, she cried a lot so I had to soothe for a long time inside the carriage.

To the point Joe looked out wondering what matter and I broke a cold sweat.

Anyway while safely soothing I attempted a fact check. There's no money either how did you make jocheong? Where did you obtain the malt?

Then she brought out a very ingenious method I didn't think of.

"You said you obtained defective malt from the beer factory and made jocheong...?"

"Yes, sniff, I used discarded malt instead of malt."

Malt. The main ingredient for making jocheong, although oil enters the name in fact it has no relation at all to cooking oil.

They called the thing of pouring water on barley and sprouting then drying malt.

That sprout contains amylase enzyme abundantly, decomposing the starch of grains into sugar, in Joseon they poured glutinous rice and made jocheong and in the West they poured water and made beer.

If the sprout is short it's malt, if long it's malt.

If the sprout is short the starch remaining in the barley grain becomes sufficient. One has to ferment that for it to become beer. But if the sprout becomes too long in the germination process, it uses up all the starch and only amylase enzyme remains and becomes defective malt where beer taste doesn't come out properly.

So she secretly picked up the defective malt with long sprouts that the beer factory discarded by the sack saying it's trash.

Then of course no money is spent. Really smart? How did she come up with such a thought?

Looking into it it was reverse application of the method missionaries tried when making beer in Joseon. At that time she picked up somewhere the story that missionaries tried to make beer with malt.

And glutinous rice, she said while wandering the market she obtained Burmese rice with stickiness similar to Joseon glutinous rice and used.

Indeed, in Korea non-glutinous rice is staple, but in some Southeast Asia glutinous rice is staple. Obtaining rice cultivated in Burma or India at British markets wouldn't have been difficult. Still Burma was part of the British Indian Empire.

"Then meju? It would be hard to make meju in Britain."

Meju also if making one by one from the start required an unbelievably long time.

Just making one meju and aging takes several months, and if making even a little mistake in the process it was ten to one to ruin.

In Britain it was difficult to even attempt. One has to make a square meju lump and hang in a warm place and naturally ferment, but whether because Britain's mold strains are completely different from Korea every attempt failed so I gave up.

Of course one could obtain meju at Chinese shops, but whether roughly made in Britain the quality was completely not great.

"So I asked to send the ground into powder by parcel from hometown. Anyway when making gochujang one has to make powder."

"Aha!"

The reason for making the fermented bean lump into meju form is because it's easy to hang and dry. One has to widen the area contacting air as much as possible for secondary fermentation to go well meeting microorganisms in the air.

But in the end whether soy sauce, or doenjang, or gochujang, all are good to use if made into powder.

And if making into powder it's much safer because resistant to moisture even during long voyage and doesn't spoil.

Rather than bringing soybeans into Britain and making meju locally, obtaining soybeans in Joseon and making meju and grinding that and bringing as powder is much more efficient that talk. Smart?

Decisively the cost of making gochujang all went into buying salt and chili powder. But with a poor household buying chili powder was also hard, so in the end everyone gathered and agreed to give up side dishes or rice and make gochujang they say.

In Britain one can't obtain Joseon sun-dried chili. Importing over long distances is also impossible. Instead Spanish chili if only having money one could somehow obtain. It wasn't cheap, because in the end it was an import.

Why they were eating only spreading gochujang on bread without side dishes I now understood.

I have to refer. Rather than importing ginseng or soybeans from Joseon importing meju powder would be better? Sorry to Mr. Henry but it seemed I have to torment a bit more.

Just in time since I connected with the Joseon legation if rubbing well somehow won't it work?

Or who is the British minister in Joseon now? Shall I put some pressure through the Earl of Derby?

While absorbed in this and that thoughts, the carriage entered Lombard Street.

"Arrived. This is my restaurant... Wait a moment, I'll inform the place you'll stay together for a while. Will you follow?"

"Yes! Thank you!"

I guided her to the building next door instead of my restaurant.

Mr. Pitton lately money was earning too well so he clung holding my pant leg saying he must give a gift, so I told him to purchase the 3-story high-end stone building that was next to the restaurant.

And I decorated that building as a temporary lodging where employees rest. As for me, well, staying and eating at the restaurant is comfortable so I didn't use there, but thanks to that there were overflowing rooms to give to guests.

"C-can I use such a good room?!"

"It doesn't matter. I won't receive monthly rent so stay comfortably."

"Thank you! Really thank you!"

Lee Ha-yeon seeing the room I gave was very surprised and continuously said thank you in clumsy English. That is, because it was a much better environment than the legation she stayed. From the start it wasn't my money so I flexed a lot.

This level of welfare is basic. A person who will continue making gochujang for me ahead, I have to make sure she absolutely can't think of fleeing to Joseon.

Only gochujang? If only having meju soy sauce or doenjang, if making up to doenjang ssamjang is also possible. If mixing gochujang and doenjang that's exactly ssamjang.

Until drawing out gochujang in large quantities at the factory, she had to play the role of my faithful gochujang artisan.

Anyway I buried the gochujang jar brought on the carriage in the backyard together with Joe.

Sorry to the Joseon legation, I just brought it raw. How wait until making all this? I was a person without patience.

Shall I buy a few more jars and make a gochujang field here? Anyway no one uses the backyard?

While busily doing work like that, someone appeared next to the restaurant holding a gas lantern.

"Oh my, Mr. Jean! What are you doing here at such a late time?"

"Miss Edith, haven't you gone home yet?"

"Doing a bit more cooking research... But who is the young Eastern young lady over there? A face I'm seeing for the first time...?"

The person who appeared was Miss Edith.

Lately I gave her Nutella whole saying try using it, her research passion seemed to have ignited again. In fact the reason for purchasing this building was also, if leaving her there were many cases of her staying overnight at the restaurant so the thought of just resting comfortably here.

I wiped the sweat on my forehead and stuck the shovel on the floor.

Uh, but how should I introduce this person? What misunderstanding did she make, Miss Edith's eyes were gradually sharpening.

From after hearing the talk that I got along with Princess Alice at Windsor Castle she often showed such reactions.

But there were words that would definitely persuade her.

"It's a special employee newly employed today! Ahead she'll make Joseon-style soy sauce for Miss Edith!"

"Joseon-style soy sauce...?!"

"Right! Much better quality than obtained at Chinese shops, the East's highest grade traditional soy sauce! Now you won't need to bother going to Limehouse every time!"

"Oh my! Then now I can make galbijjim more delicious?!"

"Exactly that!"

Did she accept? She accepted, right? The expression is gradually loosening?

"Mr. Jean, but the time is too late did you have dinner?"

"No, today's schedule was too tight..."

Snatching bread with gochujang at the Joseon legation was a bit like that.

Because returning right away I missed dinner time. But why such a question?

I looked back following Edith's gaze.

As for me well I ate a lot of pizza at the pizza festival so I wasn't hungry, but the Joseon female student and Joe the situation was different. During movement it didn't bother but after arriving at the destination tension loosened so hunger seemed to have surged.

Miss Edith noticed seeing the two people's expressions.

"Just in time it's good! There's Nutella crepe I made..."

"Ah, I'll prepare dinner."

"Yes? Aren't you tired? You look tired?"

"No, something I want to eat right away arose. After a long time I'll once simply show my skill."

Eating traditional Joseon-style glutinous rice gochujang, a food that severely craved arose.

If not eating it seemed I absolutely couldn't sleep today.

I pushed the backs of Joe, Lee Ha-yeon, Miss Edith and pushed into the kitchen of the lodging.