I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 104



Only Noblemtl

I got the omnipotent tongue 104

The most Korean food

Joo-hee looks happy. Seeing her laughing and chatting with her parents with her face free of wrinkles makes my heart swell. I want to keep that face. While I was drinking coffee in deep thought, Min-hyuk looked at me and winked. I followed him out to the garden.

Normally, he would have taken out a cigarette and lit it at this point, but there was nothing in his hand.

“Don’t you smoke?”

“I hung up.”

He speaks in a gloomy voice.

“Really? That’s amazing. It couldn’t have been easy.”

“As Chef Shin knows, I hardly drink alcohol. Smoking used to be the joy of my life. But there are many good things about quitting. When I wake up in the morning, my body feels lighter and my headaches are gone. I can taste food more clearly. It’s also good that I don’t have body odor and I don’t have to worry about what other people think because I smoke, so it’s full of good things.”

“Why do you say that in such a gloomy voice?”

“Even considering all that, it was worth smoking. When you have a hard time, you can just take a bite and your worries will go away.”

“But why did you hang up?”

“I’m going to be a father soon.”

He speaks as if embarrassed.

“Really?”

“Yes. It will be released next year. It was kept a secret because it was early, but now that it has stabilized, I think it’s okay to talk about it.”

“Congratulations.”

“You’re not far behind. Becoming the eldest son has a heavy burden on your shoulders. But it’s not such a bad feeling since you have a reason to live.”

“You will be a good father, brother.”

“Of course. You should do that too.”

He looks at me and smiles.

“Thank you again. I owe you a lot this time.”

“Don’t think of it as a favor. Family helps each other. I intend to continue to do my best to help you and Joohee, as long as it’s not illegal. So please do the same for our unborn child.”

It seems that soon becoming a father has had a big impact on his life. You can feel his sincerity.

“Of course.”

Since she’s Soohyun’s child, I plan on taking care of her with all my heart, even without her being told to. I wonder if there’s anything she’ll need my help with.

“Maybe because of the age difference between Joo-hee and me, my brother and I have been taking care of her without even realizing it. Even though he may not think so.”

“I know very well.”

“I think it’s time to pass the baton. From now on, you will do it. Please take care of me.”

“I can’t say I’ll make you happier than anyone else, but I’ll never make you cry.”

“That’s enough.”

He laughs in a low voice.

“What did you talk about with your brother?”

After finishing the conversation and entering the house, Joo-hee asks.

“Baton touch?”

“What does that mean?”

“There is something like that. It’s something only men know.”

“Tch. What is it?”

Joohee rolls her eyes.

My brothers and Chairman Seo poured wine and started having a drink each. My mother also held out her empty glass to receive some wine. It was a happy evening.

* * *

After the event, the staff had to leave the hotel. I accepted their request to stay in Korea for a few more days and gave them a week’s vacation.

Some people bought guidebooks and left early in the morning to go sightseeing, while others stayed in Seoul and are wondering where to put their luggage. Judging from the stories of motels and youth hostels, it seems like they have no intention of finding accommodations with such good environments.

I took them to the future apartment in Apgujeong. There are several rooms, so there will be plenty of room for everyone.

The morning after I received the marriage approval, I went to the apartment in Apgujeong. I had something to discuss with the staff. It was my house, but I felt bad about just opening the door and going in, so I called, but no one answered. I was worried, so I kept calling, and Sam answered the phone in a sleepy voice.

-hello.

“It’s in front of the house. If there’s nothing wrong, please open the door.”

-All right.

Beep

The door opens and Sam’s gaunt face appears. It looks like he drank too much last night.

“How much did you drink?”

The event must have ended well. Since it was the first time in their lives that they were overseas, everyone seemed to be out of their minds.

“The kids were all young. It was really hard.”

Sam grimaces as if he has a headache and goes to the kitchen to grind coffee beans.

“How rich is the chef? He has a house like this in Seoul.”

Sam sticks out his tongue as he pours his espresso. It seems that the real estate prices in Seoul were not cheap to him either. Americans tend to think of all countries, except Europe and Japan, as developing countries. The Korea in his mind was probably not like that.

The price of apartments in Apgujeong has already gone up a lot. I was thinking of selling the house since I don’t live in it anyway, but I didn’t want to bother with the furniture I had set up, and since it was in a location where prices were expected to skyrocket, I just left it as is.

“What on earth are you arguing about?”

“I went to a club yesterday and it made me realize that I’m getting older. At first, I had fun. But after 2 a.m., I reached my physical limit. I wanted to go back, but everyone seemed to be having so much fun that I just left them. They were dancing and having fun all night, and I couldn’t keep up anymore.”

Sam sips his coffee. His headache seems to be going away little by little.

“You should have come first.”

Wouldn’t it be a bit too much for Sam to volunteer to be a guardian even from overseas?

“How is that? And Soyoung is a bit prettier.”

This seems to have been the purpose.

“Is Soyoung pretty?”

To me, she was just a small, cute girl. But Sam saw it differently.

“Isn’t that obvious? There were more than a few guys who harassed such a pretty girl dancing at the club. I couldn’t just sit by and watch, so I kicked out more than ten of them.”

Sam suddenly becomes angry and starts speaking quickly.

“What good does it do if you can’t even speak Korean?”

“Because it was a club in Itaewon, there were a lot of Americans. When I glared at them and told them to get out, they all disappeared on their own.”

Sam has a macho look. He’s big and muscular, built from working in the kitchen. I heard he played football in high school, and he’s still going strong.

“Ella and Dominic?”

“Everyone had a great time. The atmosphere was like a New York club, wasn’t it? I was so happy that my stress was finally gone. But now I’m all stretched out.”

“That’s a good thing.”

I looked in the fridge. There was nothing in it except water and beer.

“Sam. How do you get rid of a hangover?”

“I eat a hamburger or cold pizza.”

There are many different hangover remedies in the West, but the ones Sam mentioned are common in the United States.

“Today, let’s experience Korea’s hangover cure.”

“Are you going to cook?”

“Yeah. It’s ridiculous that the owner has to pay for his employees’ hangover cures.”

“Can I help you?”

“You’re still drunk and acting all dazed. Why don’t you go and get some more sleep?”

“Then I will clean up after the meal. Thank you.”

Everyone is dead like this, so I feel bad about just going back. I went to the mart outside and did some quick shopping.

First, place the rice in a bowl.

Koreans can eat a diet low in protein just fine, but Westerners can’t. You need a main dish. I don’t plan on doing anything fancy. I mixed pork and ground beef. I chopped onions and carrots and added them. Then I added breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, cumin, and a raw egg. Finally, I mashed the tofu and mixed it in and started kneading. Something between a meatball and a donut is starting to come together. Food just needs to taste good.

What kind of buckwheat soup should I make? I don’t like buckwheat soup with radish.

I never really thought about why, but now that I think about it, it’s probably because the radish flavor is too strong and affects the broth too much. And I don’t like the texture either.

However, pollack goes well with vegetable broth. I thought about other vegetables besides radish. Cabbage would be good. The mild sweetness and the unique refreshing taste of cabbage go well with hangover soup. I washed pollack briefly in running water. It is not advisable to soak pollack in water for a long time. The taste and flavor of the fish disappear with the water.

After lightly wetting the pollack, I squeezed it with my hands, squeezed out the water, and started to clean it thoroughly. I removed any rough bones and any impurities. Then I cut it into bite-size pieces. I chopped the onion into small pieces and cut the green onion into diagonal pieces. I also sliced ​​the garlic into slices. After mixing all the pollack and vegetables, I seasoned it with salt and pepper and drizzled some sesame oil. I mixed it well with my gloved hands so that the flavors would be well absorbed. I marinated it like this so that the scent of the vegetables and sesame oil would permeate the pollack.

The pollack alone is not enough to create enough flavor. After cleaning the anchovies, I sautéed them once in a pan without oil. This removes the fishy smell of the anchovies and further activates their flavor. Grilled anchovies produce a cleaner and more savory broth. After making the broth with the anchovies and kelp, I added all the marinade ingredients and boiled them. I cut the cabbage into large pieces and added the dried red peppers cut into thin thread-like pieces.

After boiling for about 20 minutes while adding water, the hangover soup with a rich flavor of pollack and the scent of the sea was completed. Add the diced tofu and boil for 2 more minutes. If you boil tofu for too long, the soup will become cloudy. Finally, top with red pepper and finely chopped green onion and you’re done.

I took out the cabbage kimchi and turnip kimchi that I bought at the mart. I also made zucchini salad and pickled vegetables that don’t take much time. I started frying the shaped round rice cakes. They were cooking deliciously on the pan. Just then, I heard the notification that the rice was ready.

“Eat.”

Without even saying anything loud, the staff members started coming out of the room one by one. They all looked neat and tidy, so I don’t know when they woke up.

“What? Everyone was up?”

“Hehehe. I was like a dead mouse because the chef was cooking.”

Soyoung scratches her head and laughs.

“We’re afraid that if we go out, we’ll disturb you while you’re cooking.”

“Should I speak properly? You probably just wanted to eat breakfast prepared by the chef.”

Dominic looks at Ella and says.

“That’s it.”

“Is everyone okay with their hangovers?”

Everyone’s faces are grimacing, as if they have a bad headache.

“Yesterday, if it weren’t for Sam, we would have been in big trouble. We were all drunk, but Sam came and brought us in.”

Soyoung looks at Sam and makes an apologetic gesture.

“How could I just leave you there, if you were to freeze to death on the street? Isn’t that right, Dominic?”

“Thank you. I guess I was out of my mind yesterday.”

“You must be crazy about women. You’re so happy, aren’t you?”

“Stop talking nonsense and just get over your hangover. This is a dish that is eaten the day after drinking in Korea. If you come to Korea, you should get over your hangover the Korean way.”

I interrupted and had everyone sit at the table. On the table were buckwheat soup, pickled turnips, pickled vegetables, zucchini, and donggeurangttaeng. It was a typical Korean breakfast.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had Korean food. Actually, I was sleeping when I woke up to a delicious smell. I’m happy that someone made me breakfast.”

Soyoung picks up her spoon, smacking her lips.

“But it’s a little different from the Bukhansan I know?”

“I wanted to make a clean broth. It’ll be delicious.”

Of course it will be delicious. It is a buk-eotguk that erases all the disadvantages and maximizes only the advantages.

“Oh my! It’s real. It’s so clean. And it’s so rich. The flavor is so rich that I wonder if this is the buk-eot-guk I know.”

At Soyoung’s words, the staff members pick up spoons and scoop up the soup.

“I like that I can eat Korean food like this sometimes when I’m with the chef. It’s unfamiliar food, but it’s delicious.”

Ella tasted it, closed her eyes, and seemed to analyze it. Then she began to eat it in earnest to see if it suited her taste.

“This is also the biggest difference between Eastern and Western cuisine. In the West, soup is never the main dish. In the East, expensive ingredients are used without hesitation just for the sake of soup.”

France, Italy, and even Spain have quite a few soup dishes, but they are not more than appetizers. And the closer you get to the Orient, the more soup dishes there are. In Eastern Europe, there are quite a few dishes that feature soup as the main dish.

Everyone is eating rice and soup absentmindedly. Everyone seems to be used to using chopsticks. I thought I had eaten too many Dongrangtang, but before I knew it, I could see the bottom.

“Chef. Is this a donggrangtang or a meatball?”

Soyoung asks with her mouth agape.

“There are so many countries where you can’t find the original dish of a meatball made with minced meat. I think Dong-geurang-ttang is delicious. I added spices to my taste.”

“These meatballs are really delicious. I think they will sell well in America too.”

Everyone nods at Dominic’s words.

“It’s not just meatballs. If you could have a meal like this, wouldn’t you go? I would go every day.”

At Ella’s words, Soyoung opens her eyes wide and asks.

“Does everyone like Korean food?”

“I don’t know if it’s because Korean food is delicious or because the chef’s cooking is great, but even New Yorkers would be amazed by this kind of cooking.”

“i think so too.”

“The soup and side dishes are both delicious. They’re not spicy and are light, but they have a unique charm. I think I’ll go there often.”

Everyone added their own words as if they agreed with Sam’s words.

“You guys have gotten used to Korean food since you stayed with me. But it’s not bad to hear.”

“I wish there was a restaurant in New York that served food like this.”

Soyoung adds a word. I also agree with her opinion. I think the essence of Korean food is Baekban.

The Korean food service industry is more competitive than anywhere else in the world. The reason is simple. Too many people are self-employed relative to the population. And this naturally led to the development of the franchise industry. However, there is one category that companies never consider franchising: plain rice.

Baekban basically has to be cheap. And since the soup and side dishes have to be changed almost every day, kitchen skills and know-how are essential. It is not a business that can be approached carelessly by people without cooking experience. If the business does not go well, the amount of food waste that has to be discarded is also enormous.

However, rice and soup are the basis of Korean food, and Baekban, which is served with various seasonal side dishes, is the most Korean-style Korean food. I wanted to introduce this to New York. It is a Baekban restaurant in the heart of New York, and my heart is full of pride.