Chapter 97

Chapter 97

New Taste

The treatment Jews receive in Britain was, in fact not much different from the treatment received in other European countries.

Misers doing usury.

Originally in Christianity interest play was prohibited, but Jews followed other religious rules so some just forced loan business and continued earning money, and that became a problem.

When a few financiers succeeded an image of greedy and immoral stuck to all Jews.

Of course even if such vicious Jewish rich people existed some historically it didn't become a reason to ostracize the entire ethnic group in European society and treat like strangers even now.

But whether visible or not various discriminations made Jews unable to obtain proper jobs in Europe, and so there were not a few who had to live poorly all their lives.

Even Sir Samuel now saying worst British cooking whatever, actually I thought might have been trauma of eating such dishes when he was poor as a child.

Looking like that it wasn't a matter one couldn't accept.

Anyway it was fact that my dishes are exerting great influence in London now.

But in my view, this person had to remove some venom from his eyes now.

What I reluctantly felt was also such a part.

From the position of thinking I've done dishes that give joy to people in my own way as a chef, a specific individual selling my name value as a means of revenge was uncomfortable no matter how much money given.

This person also changing direction quickly was good. Rather than knocking down coexistence! Rather than conflict peace!

If getting along friendly who knows? A sad future scheduled like world war might disappear? Colonies also quickly liberate faster than original history!

As an orphanage origin that was honestly a matter hard to just watch.

And now a bit of sense was caught, just discovering new cooking methods or informing around didn't move the change degree at all.

When other people communicate with each other through my dishes, and change to a future where everyone becomes happy like that, only then the change degree moves that thought!

A realization that suddenly surged!

And at the same time my status window also greatly flashed!

【 Random Box Confirmation Ticket Fragments H, I x1 (9/10) 】

As expected my guess was right.

This is the reward for finding out an important rule of the game, right?

Now the last piece remained to obtain the confirmation ticket.

The time to decide what to obtain from the random box was gradually approaching. There was a decided plan. I don't know if it'll be properly reflected.

Anyway I lightly shook my head and looked at Sir Samuel. His face had turned red unable to hide the heated excitement.

Make gochujang a secret weapon? But if tasting even this thoughts will change? He'd be anxious wanting to spread quickly?

Just in time I had one recipe I was conceiving to solve Chairman Balfour's last homework.

One is a Jewish businessman guessed to have grown up eating the worst dishes in Britain. One is the queen madam of social circles.

Perfect experimental subjects?

"Since it became like this as a connection, is it okay if I specially entertain a new spicy taste dish I researched? It might help business conception and policy development of the cooking innovation department."

"New dish?! Expectations arise! Of course that also uses that special sauce of yours, right?"

"Of course. But it might not suit the taste so don't expect too much."

"Those words themselves call more expectations! In fact I chattered a lot at the party and ran so now my stomach was gradually getting hungry!"

"Oh my? That famous Sir Durand's spicy taste dish? Sir Durand might not know how much men chattered about that taste at the party! I'll also look forward! At that time I couldn't visit due to personal circumstances!"

"Haha... Really don't expect!"

Anyway I took the two people to the lodging next to the restaurant. Because all the preparations needed for research were there.

And I started taking out the prepared ingredients by digging the icebox and underground cellar.

Spanish chili powder, soy sauce bought at Chinese shops, some gochujang scraped even the remaining from the Joseon legation. If having doenjang it would be good but that was still impossible to obtain so pass.

Scraping all existing and non-existing I created a special seasoning paste.

Additionally needed here are spices.

Onion, minced garlic, ginger, olive oil, pepper and sugar, radish and leek. Some chili a few were sliced whole and dropped as is into the pot.

In the meantime on one side I put some of my minced fish ball instead of beef bone in water and quickly boiled broth.

The broth, hmm, to quickly make broth I decided to borrow the collective intelligence of all London citizens.

Like the recent trend deciding to mince my fish ball and extract!

Unexpectedly it was okay! Anyway what's important in broth is umami so just extracting broth and removing the solids is enough. Rather using fish broth instead of beef bone the broth taste becomes cleaner so good too.

"Sir Samuel, by any chance do you have vegetables you dislike?"

"Not particularly such."

"Fortunate. Not being picky with vegetables is best for health. Right, Countess of Albemarle?"

"Thanks to you? Hehe."

"What? Is there some secret between the two of you?"

"It's a small secret only Sir Durand and I know!"

Fortunate not being picky. From now I was thinking of adding a lot of vegetables.

Button mushrooms to assist texture, as vegetables kale, beet leaves and turnip leaves.

Anyway if leaf vegetables it didn't matter what one puts. Because it's a dish whose charm is being able to utilize various ingredients matching the situation without fixed ingredients.

Even listing up to here one would roughly get a sense of what I'm trying to make.

Hot pot.

Yes, what I'm preparing is a very familiar hot pot.

I previously presented bulgogi hot pot to His Majesty Edward VII and received a reward so hot pot or so I could make even with eyes closed.

But what I'm trying to make this time was much different. A new hot pot that can't be established without gochujang, so one can't reproduce unless now.

Anyway when stacking seasoning paste, spices to catch off-odor, vegetables layer by layer in the pot Sir Samuel sent a curious gaze.

"What is that dish? A cooking method I've never seen at all, is it like stew?"

The kitchen was open so one could see as is from the dining room, so they could also clearly see what I was doing.

Like this it somehow seems fine dining?

Anyway I had nothing to hide.

"You can think of it as stew. In fact I didn't decide the name. You two can name it."

"Really? An interesting proposal!"

"To tell the truth this dish is the same kind as what was presented to His Majesty Edward VII. His Majesty also praised it very delicious."

"Oh my? Surely then this... But is it okay to use that recipe here?!"

"The taste is completely different from what His Majesty ate. No need to worry."

The bulgogi hot pot made at Clarence House was a recipe I directly created for next year's coronation.

But what I'm trying to make this time was a completely different dish with only the name the same.

Bulgogi hot pot was soy sauce base, what I'm trying to make was gochujang base.

And I quickly took out the most important food ingredient from the icebox and dropped it into the pot and closed the lid.

Bubble bubble.

The kitchen instantly filled with spicy aroma. But with this something is lacking.

In broth dishes like hot pot where taste wells up as time passes, just with spicy and sweet taste it's easy to become boring or monotonous.

So if slightly adding bitter taste here the flavor expands multilayered and umami is maximized that effect!

Usually I've done only dishes excluding bitter taste, but in hot pot that bitter taste was exactly the key to completing the flavor.

So even in Korea often used perilla leaves or mugwort, chwinamul etc. in hot pot. But in Britain one can't obtain perilla leaves, right?

But when going to the flower shop in Covent Garden together with Mr. Doyle last time there was one treasure-like plant I discovered.

Japanese perilla called shiso in Korea, shiso. When finding that even I was surprised.

Britons seemed to have thought of it simply as an ornamental plant and imported...

In fact this was a perilla variant about cousin of perilla leaves.

Even in Japanese nabe similar to hot pot, a regular vegetable used to bring out deep bitter taste.

So even putting in hot pot instead of perilla leaves the effect was actually similar!

The timing is right now! To bring out the aroma and taste of shiso quickly putting at the last stage of cooking was the secret.

I cut shiso with scissors like perilla leaves and put in the hot pot.

The fragrant aroma unique to shiso and subtle bitter smell, mixed with the smell of fully cooked hot pot and created a complex subtle aroma!

"Wait, Sir Durand did you just cut leaves with scissors?!"

"Yes?"

Then Sir Samuel astonished as if seeing something one shouldn't see.

Oops, in Britain using scissors in cooking was unfamiliar. In Korea used scissors to cut all cooking ingredients quickly and conveniently, but in Britain thought if not knife all is a trick.

A stereotype of thinking if trimming ingredients with something other than knife the sincerity of cooking drops?!

Still at the lodging I cooked comfortably as I liked, but while making Korean food the habit unconsciously came out that seemed.

While pondering what to gloss over, Sir Samuel suddenly started clapping!

"A tremendous idea! Innovative! Using scissors conveniently instead of knife! If doing so one can do more quickly and efficiently trimming ingredients! Until now I didn't think at all! This I'll definitely remember and include in the official gazette of the cooking innovation department! British citizens must also know this method!"

"Uh..."

He seemed really moved.

What reaction is this?! As expected because Jewish thoughts are open? Jews teach to accept anything if only practicality.

Anyway I moved the pot full of vigorously boiling hot pot to the dining table.

"Already ended? The smell is very... Oh."

"Yes, ended. Ah, wait a moment! I missed one important thing."

The finish is as expected performance.

The standard of hot pot is sprinkling perilla powder at the end. But here is Britain. Perilla powder also can't be obtained. Instead I took out prepared peanut powder. Ground with the grinder at the restaurant.

Anyway the purpose of perilla powder is adding savory depth to the broth. Even replacing with peanut powder that role was not inferior at all.

Even in West African and Southeast Asian cooking peanut powder occupies the position of perilla powder so as expected compatible well!

The completed result like that, gochujang hot pot arranged in British style one absolutely can't see in 21st century Korea!

With this level almost no different from my pure creation recipe, right?!

"The amount is a lot so enjoy sufficiently. According to British home cooking tradition... Placing the pot in the middle and scooping with a ladle way everyone is okay, right?"

"From the position of receiving what problem? Even as a child I ate stew like this."

"Me too."

Ah right, there was one more necessary preparation.

I carefully placed two utensils in front of them. Iron spoons.

This hot pot must be eaten with these iron spoons. Otherwise one can't enjoy the taste 100%!

"What is this? It looks similar to Qing's spoon?"

"Ah, it's a spoon specially made at the workshop. This stew has a lot of broth and solids so with ordinary soup spoons it'd be bothersome to eat. And very hot, so one has to use thin and long spoons like this so no worry of burning the mouth."

"Oho! So that's why they used such things. A feeling of opening eyes to new common sense..."

What continuously receiving emotion without even tasting?! Receive emotion after eating! Because wasteful!

I scooped the hot pot onto the front plate with a ladle, and slightly tasted the broth with the iron spoon.

"Kkeu..."

This deeply concentrated spicy taste!

Whether because using fish broth instead of beef bone broth the broth felt cool and refreshing rather!

If just putting flour-made noodles here one could quickly boil one instant ramen?!

Moreover this deep umami exploding harmonizing spices and gochujang!

The subtle bitterness of shiso put instead of perilla leaves, the savoriness of peanut powder used instead of perilla also perfectly melted in the broth without lack!

Such a taste I didn't feel even in the previous life... Although I created it literally a blockbuster of spiciness!

"Ueo, ueoeo... Hueoeo..."

Following Sir Samuel who tasted the broth also trembled his whole body to the fullest!

Goosebumps, right? I knew it would be so!

In this era there aren't many spicy taste dishes let alone spicy taste? This is a taste one can't find even in Joseon or China of the same period!

The full popularization of spicy taste in the East was from after the mid-20th century.

Even in Joseon current broth dishes clear soups like gomtang or seolleongtang were mainstream.

Spiciness isn't simply spicy stimulation touching the tongue.

This is going one step further from spicy taste, the essence of broth dishes completed only when the warmth of the broth and umami, the deep flavor unique to soybean base fermented foods harmonize together!

A complex taste experience one can feel only when several multilayered flavors harmonize together and fill the mouth! I don't know but goosebumps would have risen sharply.

That is, because I also got goosebumps... Oh dear, this French origin body also had almost no resistance to spiciness!

The intense longing for ramen I had forgotten in the meantime, suddenly surged as if exploding from inside my heart.

The Countess of Albemarle who moved fork and spoon without rest was the same.

"Sir Durand! This that entered here, is it meat?! How is it this soft?! Moreover chewy, elastic, and moist!"

"Delicious, right?"

"Slightly tough too... Oh my! The more one chews the more fun! Hmm!"

That was the secret food ingredient I additionally put in. The Countess of Albemarle mindlessly fished only that ingredient and ate while trembling in thrill.

Even in the previous life women particularly liked it, here the same?

"What? I'll also taste once. Hmm, hmm... T-this?!"

Only then Sir Samuel also seemed to have realized the identity of that ingredient.

"Surely, surely! This...! Is it tripe?!"

"Yes, right. I mixed offal parts of cow and pig evenly."

"Impossible! Not even one smell and this savory this is offal?! The ingredient of that kidney pie I ate?!"

Right. What I made was offal tripe hot pot.

Even in Britain London there were various home dishes made with offal originated from Ireland or Scotland, Midlands, most of those had repulsive or fishy taste so many people disliked.

For example haggis, tripe, kidney pie or faggot such.

But in fact even offal if only cooking well as broth dishes the taste is quite chewy and okay that talk?

The problem was off-odor. In British cooking because maximally restraining spice use they couldn't catch off-odor at all. So disliked and treated as monster dishes.

But the East? In fact even with only one doenjang properly catching was off-odor.

So I willingly accepted the method of just erasing off-odor with overwhelming umami bursting from gochujang, garlic, ginger, various vegetables and broth etc. and enjoying only flavor and texture.

No matter how thinking the solution was only this!

Rather offal like tripe with a lot of fat while cooking in the broth adds greasy taste and umami to the broth, so an element that can't be missing in delicious hot pot!

Offal if just cooking can have tough and rubber-like texture, but if slowly boiling as broth dish it changes soft and moist. Also the warm broth and rich aroma played the role of reducing the rejection of offal. If dropping into the red broth where contents aren't visible no bad feeling because of shape!

Thinking about it why didn't Britons utilize offal as stew and put in pie or sausage? If making as stew it would have been much better.

Ah, because no chili powder hiding the taste was unreasonable?

But this spicy tripe hot pot also had a disadvantage.

Suddenly Sir Samuel, started earnestly begging me with both hands gathered!

"Sir Durand! By any chance drink here... Is there no drink?! W-whiskey! Or even wine or beer...!"

Exactly the side effect of alcohol intensely craving.

Sir Samuel made an expression almost about to cry.