I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 163



Only Noblemtl

163 Restaurants You’ve Never Experienced

-Honey. Are you sure everything is fine?

“Of course! You send me pictures every day. This place is no joke. I didn’t know it would be this big. You even took over a farm, made your own soy sauce, and opened a restaurant on the most expensive land in New York. Wow!”

-I know that. I just think your voice isn’t very good these days. Are you having a hard time?

“What could be difficult? It’s all for our family. Are the kids studying well?”

-Yes. Thanks to you, I’m doing well in school. Don’t worry.

“Okay. I’ll call you as soon as I get settled in. I don’t think it’ll take many years.”

-Don’t overdo it.

Stop.

A month has passed since Sangbeom came to America.

I never thought it would be easy, but following the CEO’s operating policy required more effort than I could have imagined.

The farm has already expanded its scope beyond soy sauce and doenjang to include gochujang and various salted seafood in jars waiting to mature. Every time I visit, the number of employees increases and the jars increase proportionally, making me feel heavy.

How much is the CEO investing here? Doesn’t he think about the risks of failure?

He had a hard time understanding how the young CEO could be so strong-hearted when he himself felt so much pressure even though he hadn’t invested a single penny.

The most important thing you have to do is to discuss with your boss, decide on a menu, and then implement it.

The representative was using the day as if it were 48 hours.

He goes out to the farm at dawn to check the condition of crops and vegetables, and then does his main job at a fine dining restaurant. After work, he meets with himself to discuss the menu, tastes the dishes he has prepared, and gives feedback.

As he worked with him, Sangbeom realized that the number of dishes he had been making was not as many as he had thought. He had not replaced the side dishes that had been popular for a long time, and there were more dishes that he had been making out of habit without thinking than he had thought.

The manager lectured me as to why this side dish should be on the menu.

“Perilla leaves have a strong scent. And it’s not a scent that foreigners like. But when you make garlic chives and soybean paste stew together, their strong personalities create synergy.

When you first receive an award, an ordinary person will taste the main dish first. After the impact of the meat, you eat the stew or soup. After that, your taste buds will have more room to accept the strong flavors.”

Although he has been a Korean food expert for over 20 years, he has never seen anyone approach Korean food this way. There is a reason and basis for every menu he creates.

It wasn’t easy to stick to the simple rule of ‘a different menu every day.’

The kimchi served on the five-course meal rotates among cabbage kimchi, mustard leaf kimchi, turnip kimchi, geotjeori (pickled vegetables), cubed radish kimchi, and green onion kimchi.

It was not easy to choose wild vegetables due to supply and demand issues.

Except for spinach, which is easily available in the U.S., we had to grow almost all of our own vegetables. We decided to produce the essential vegetables, such as crown daisy, bean sprouts, and bracken, on the farm, and we were able to secure discarded garlic stems, pepper leaves, and sweet potato stems at a good price from a nearby organic farm.

Making tofu himself was also a new experience for him. Where on earth did he learn this when he didn’t even major in Korean cuisine?

He was a man whose bottom was unknown.

“We’ll make three types of tofu: stew tofu, pan-fried tofu, and soft tofu. The ingredients and method are the same. The only difference is the degree of hardening, so it shouldn’t be difficult.”

He puts the beans he has prepared into a large blender.

“I like soft tofu. Grind it as finely as possible.”

Place the ground tofu on a cloth to separate the soybean water and the soybean residue. Then, start boiling the soybean water.

“It is important to remove the foam well. Impurities come up with the foam. The coagulant brine is made directly on the farm. It is magnesium chloride extracted from sea salt.”

As he adds the brine little by little, the tofu begins to form lumps. He examines the texture of the tofu, then pours it into a mold lined with cloth, covers it with a wooden lid, and presses it down.

“This will complete it.”

After 30 minutes, when he opened the lid, he saw perfectly formed tofu emitting smoke. Jehee cuts the tofu with a knife and offers it to him to taste.

“Wow! This is on a whole other level than store-bought tofu.”

The texture was soft like pudding. The rich and light taste that spread as soon as you put it in your mouth was of a different quality from ready-made products.

“It’s a hassle, but it’s worth it.”

He laughs as he tastes the tofu together.

The rice was basically served in a stone pot, but Jehee was picky about the rice he chose.

I tested about 20 different rices in the US and finally decided to use Koshihikari (コシヒカリ) from California. He wanted to use Korean rice, but unfortunately, Korean seeds are not grown in the US.

What surprised him the most was Shin Je-hee’s attitude toward food.

When he worked in Korea, he never thought of rice as the main character of the table. If anything, he thought of it as background music for a play. However, the CEO treated rice as one of the main actors of the menu.

In order to match the composition of the menu, white rice, mugwort, brown rice, black rice, and mixed grains are used, and nuts such as chestnuts and pine nuts are actively used to adjust the taste of the rice to match the side dishes. This approach of Jehee to Korean food gave Sangbeom a fresh shock.

His ability to match side dishes with rice was amazing. When I cooked as the CEO said, it was as if the rice and the dishes went together so well that it was almost a lie.

The daily changing ingredients for the pancakes, such as zucchini, pollack, oysters, meat pancakes, donggeurangtang, and chives, look delicious even to me.

“I don’t think New Yorkers have much patience for Korean food. If they come in the first time and are not satisfied, they will leave right away. So the impression is important. It’s about leaving an impact.”

Jehee said while looking at him.

“How can I make an impact?”

“The main is important. I have long been a fan of dishes that stimulate the senses of sight and smell in addition to taste. Korean food can add one more thing to this.”

“What is that?”

“It’s hearing. The sizzling stir-fried pork or bulgogi on an iron plate captivates the guests’ five senses even before they taste it. The same goes for stone pots and earthenware pots. We should make the most of these strengths of Korean food.

Western dining gradually builds anticipation with appetizers and builds the mood, then explodes with the main course. But in Korean cuisine, the main course is the starter and headliner of the show. Its role is much more important. You should never forget this.”

Knock knock knock.

Sangbeom glances at his watch as he slices garlic. It’s time for him to come.

When Sangbeom met Jehee, he sometimes felt like he was back in the days when he first started cooking. There was so much to learn.

“I said I was working hard too.”

He and I had different perspectives on cooking. While I saw rice fields and fields from a low hill, he saw a wide plain from a high peak.

Knock knock.

The door opens and Jehee comes in.

“I’m sorry for always being late.”

He says with an apologetic expression. But Sang-beom was the one who wanted to apologize. He must have hired someone who was a hotel chef with 20 years of experience, but is he really doing a role that matches his experience?

He has never had his recipe accepted without modification by the national and main branches. But today will be different.

“No. Just taste it. I’m confident today.”

Today is the day to decide on the recipe for bulgogi, a dish I’ve made hundreds or thousands of times over the past 20 years.

Jehee picks up the bulgogi on the plate with his chopsticks and brings it to his mouth.

“It’s delicious. The overall level of perfection is high. You used a little bit of soybean paste to remove the smell and add depth of flavor. However, because of that, the flavor and aroma of the soy sauce were lost. The amount of garlic is also a little too much. I’ll make some changes.”

Jehee prepares the ingredients and then grabs the pan. And 15 minutes later, a delicious bulgogi is placed in front of him.

I got goosebumps when I tasted it. It was by far the best bulgogi I’ve ever had.

“I ground walnuts and pine nuts and added them to the seasoning. Doenjang has such a strong personality that even a small amount will ruin the balance of flavor. I thought of a recipe that would maximize the nutty flavor of the nuts and the savory flavor of the soy sauce. The sweetness of the vegetables and the texture of the shiitake mushrooms are also important points. And the bulgogi needs to lose a little more moisture. After all, you have to be able to enjoy the meat, which is the main dish, properly.”

“I really can’t stand it. You’re amazing.”

“Chef, your recipes are a great help to me. Don’t say that. Above all, you are fast, so it’s reliable.”

After two weeks, we were able to finalize the entire menu for Hundred Dishes.

* * *

After months of preparation, the opening is imminent.

I posted job openings on Instagram and local newspapers and hired staff.

I wanted to bring as many people from Korea as possible, but the visa issuance issue was not as simple as I thought.

Unless you are a highly skilled worker with a PhD or work in a high-demand industry such as the medical field, it is not easy to obtain a work permit.

“hmm?”

An American sent his resume.

He worked as an English teacher in Korea and opened a Korean restaurant in the US after returning to Korea. I was interested and made an appointment for an interview with him.

“Hello, this is Justin.”

He greets me in fluent Korean.

“Hello, Justin. Are you applying for the position of Korean chef?”

I also happened to ask a question in Korean.

“That’s right. Korean food is freaking delicious.”

Cool.

I almost spit out my coffee.

“Who taught you Korean?”

“I learn while playing with my friends. I like Hongdae and Gangnam.”

I can guess the circumstances.

“What kind of Korean food do you like?”

“Gamjatang is super delicious. The pickled vegetables are also really good. Boss, please pick me. My friends say I’m the best cook. But I failed when I tried to do it in America.”

As the speech gets longer, it becomes more and more difficult to listen.

“Please speak in English.”

“Yes. Sorry. I got carried away.”

When you speak your native language, people’s impressions of you change. You suddenly become a polite young American man.

“What is your cooking experience?”

“I was always interested in cooking. After returning to the U.S., I learned everything I could while working at a Korean restaurant, but I’m really confident. If you ask me to, I’ll work hard.”

I liked his will to do it. In this industry, there are many people who cannot work for long, no matter how much experience they have and how much learning they have. I decided to give him a chance.

“You will have a lot to learn. Please work hard.”

“Really? It’s an honor.”

He suddenly stands up and bows in the Korean style.

Recruiting hall staff was not as easy as it seemed, because, like Segreto, they had a ‘No Tipping’ policy at the forefront. However, thanks to the generous hourly wages and welfare policies, they were able to hire immigrants from various countries.

As the employees below come in, Chef Lee Sang-beom is showing enthusiasm and training them. I also made the hall staff memorize the menu and taught them serving manners. Since the orders will be mainly for a single menu, if they just serve it properly, there won’t be any major problems.

Finally, everything is ready. I thought about going on TV and advertising it, but it didn’t seem to fit the restaurant’s purpose, so I made a banner.

[A healthy menu that changes daily, a restaurant you’ve never experienced before is coming to New York on April 20th.

100% Handmade Organic Korean Food, Hundred Dishes]

When a banner with stylish colors and fonts is hung on a newly renovated building, all the citizens walking by take a look at it.

We also started advertising in local newspapers.

I think one of the main attractions of Korean food is the endless supply of side dishes. It will be a refreshing shock to New Yorkers that it is not a buffet and you don’t have to pay for additional orders.

And finally, that day has come.