I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 174



Only Noblemtl

174 Grandfather, I alone am enough

I bought land on the outskirts of Pyeongtaek.

A village where people still farm and live as they did 300 years ago, and where access to the metropolitan area is just an hour away.

Since Pyeongtaek Port was nearby, it was easy to obtain the seafood needed for salted seafood, and it was also a good location for securing manpower.

Even if I start pickling right away, it will take quite some time to get started. While it takes time, I plan to pickle various kinds of salted seafood together this time to add a deeper flavor.

I traveled around Yeongnam and Honam and collected data on various local foods.

As I studied Korean cuisine, I came up with new ideas that could be applied to my major, Italian cuisine. I wrote them down one by one in my cooking notebook.

A week later, as promised, I visited Florence Park’s restaurant with Joohee.

Joohee was reluctant, but she reluctantly followed me after I convinced her that she was a chef who could develop further.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Chef.”

He comes out into the hall and greets us with a solemn expression.

“I look forward to a delicious meal.”

The course he took last week wasn’t bad at all.

But that must have been my feeling because I know Italians’ eating habits well and can digest local food without difficulty.

Even Joohee, who has a lot of dining experience, left some food behind, so it was obvious without even looking what the average customer would have felt when visiting this place.

“I’ll show you how to cook it.”

He enters the kitchen and begins preparing the course.

“The menu has changed?”

Joohee reads the menu and whispers in my ear.

Not only has the cuisine changed, but the prices have also gone down significantly.

The food started coming out right away, as if it had been prepared in advance. The first course was salad and lampredotto.

“What kind of food is this? Is it a burger?”

Joohee tilts her head at the sight of meat stuffed into a round bread.

“It’s called lampredotto, and it’s a street food that’s popular in Florence. You can think of it as a tripe sandwich. It might be a bit difficult for Koreans to make, but what do you think?”

Lampredotto was a dish enjoyed by the poor people of central and northern Italy. It originated from workers who could not afford expensive meat, who boiled the intestines of cheap cattle and ate them with bread.

Koreans like beef intestines, but they prefer to eat them fried in oil. Since the texture and smell of boiled intestines are likely to be unpleasant for those who are not used to it, I was worried before tasting it.

Joohee picked up the bread and took a big bite. I followed her and tasted it too.

“Hmm? It’s different from what I thought. It’s delicious.”

The savory aroma of stir-fried intestines wafts in. The intestines, boiled in vegetable broth for a long time, are stir-fried again in a pan.

The seasonings are paprika powder, turmeric, fennel, coriander, cinnamon, and ginger. Chef Park Seon-woo must have mixed the spices based on garam masala (गरम मसाला *Indian spice blend).

The texture and flavor were improved by frying the intestines in beef fat. The familiar curry flavor was added with spices to remove the unpleasant smell. It was a dish that was thought through a lot, and it goes well with salsa verde made with fresh parsley and basil.

I closed my eyes and savored the taste. When you add spices to the meat and stir-fry it, the flavor becomes explosively activated. After that, the chewy texture of the meat and the mild flavor of the intestines go well with the bread, giving a solid sense of satisfaction.

“I like the start.”

“Yeah. I think today will be different, just like you said.”

The server cleared away the empty plates and brought out the next dish.

“The pasta is already here?”

Unlike last time, the course has been simplified. It is a good choice. In casual dining, serving more than four dishes not only reduces turnover but also causes the price to rise.

“It’s Spaghetti alla Puttanesca.”

This dish, a pasta from the Naples region, is all about the combination of enzovi and tomato sauce.

“Hmm. It smells good.”

Joohee lowers her head and smells the food, as if she likes it. Then she rolls up the noodles with her fork and puts them in her mouth.

“It’s delicious. Excluding my brother’s restaurant, it’s the best pasta I’ve had in Korea.”

Koreans love salted seafood. The tangy flavor of Enzobi blends well with capers, olives, and garlic to create a strong, savory flavor that sticks to the tongue.

Perhaps because of the price, the tomato sauce is canned, unlike before. However, it is boiled for a long time with various spices to create a rich flavor.

Even if you lightly chew the shaved ice filled with the sauce you just pulled out, it spreads smoothly in your mouth.

“If you can make it this delicious, why did you make it like that last time?”

Joohee asks me as if she doesn’t understand.

“I couldn’t put my ego down. Let’s look forward to the main part too.”

The server smiles at the sight of the neatly emptied plates.

The plates were quickly cleared away and the main course was served shortly thereafter.

“Wow! This looks delicious too.”

Costoletta Alla Milanese was featured as the main dish.

It seems that they have broken their stubbornness of serving only Florentine cuisine, as they are now serving the representative dishes of Milan, a region in northern Lombardy.

This dish, the prototype of the Austrian dish schnitzel, is made by frying the sirloin of a cow with the ribs attached like a tonkatsu.

Let’s cut it with a knife and the medium-cooked cross-section is revealed. The beautiful pink flesh tells us that he is a skilled chef. When I pick it up with a fork and put it in my mouth, the crispy outer layer is chewed and the meat juice bursts out. The rich taste of the tender sirloin harmonizes with the batter to create a luxurious taste.

The garnish is arugula and cherry tomatoes seasoned with olive oil and salt. No matter how delicious it is, eating a lot of fried food can make it greasy, but the raw vegetables that are not stir-fried add a refreshing aftertaste and prevent this.

“A lot of thought must have gone into making this dish.”

“why?”

“I would have liked to show you the technique, but the recipe is too simple. I’ve had similar concerns.”

He must have had to give up a lot.

This kind of dish comes about when you realize that customer satisfaction is more important than flashy techniques, fancy plating, or difficult sauces that create complex flavors.

“You’re a pianist who can play La Campanella, but you have to play an easy ballad? I guess I get it.”

Joohee’s perfect analogy makes me laugh.

After we finished our meal, including the cheese ice cream for dessert, Chef Florence Park came out to say hello. Unlike before, his expression was bright and unadorned.

“It was really delicious.”

“I had a great time today too.”

Sincere words are felt without needing to be added.

“I’ve been thinking a lot this past week.

The chef’s words about not blaming the customer for the problem really resonated with me.

“I’m embarrassed. I was forcing my tastes on my customers, thinking I was the only one who was better.”

It was great to see him grow.

“Do you feel that my attitude is duplicitous?

When I appeared on TV and made risotto, I denied localization. But the chef’s dish was definitely a local recipe.”

“I think I thought about it for a moment at the time. But now I know exactly what it means.”

“I understand your feelings, Chef.

Many Italian dishes have been ruined in the name of localization. I think risotto made with cold rice is not localization, but a degradation caused by pursuing convenience. When I see things like that, I want to insist on uncompromising Italian.

However, there is a need to adjust the food to the tastes preferred by local residents without damaging the original recipe. I call this consideration, not localization.

Segreto Seoul actually reduced the saltiness a bit. Italians might find it a bit bland.”

I didn’t tell him, but the overall sauce mix is ​​also subtly different.

In order to suit the taste of Koreans who prefer sweet flavors, the proportion of citrus (citrus fruits such as tangerines, oranges, lemons, and grapefruits) was increased. Taste buds differ from country to country, so it is pointless to force a uniform recipe.

“It’s not localization, it’s consideration… I see. My food definitely lacked consideration. Thank you for enlightening me when I was being stubborn.”

I am confident that his cooking will continue to improve in the future.

“Chef, please take a picture with us. It will be an advertisement.”

Even if the cooking is improved, it is of no use if no guests come. It may be a simple task for me, but it will be a great help to him.

“Really? Thank you.”

His face brightens as if he had had a hard time running the store.

Click

* * *

[With Chef Florence Park, who rarely serves authentic Italian food in Korea.

# Yeonnam-dong restaurant # del Fiore # Italian]

As soon as the post was uploaded to Jehee’s Instagram, which has a large number of followers, reservations at the restaurant started to fill up in an instant.

How long has it been since you last saw a fully booked reservation page?

Seonwoo cooked all day long without even realizing he was tired. Then, the reviews from satisfied customers were posted on SNS, which created another virtuous cycle. It was a huge hit.

“What about Park Seon-woo? Shin Je-hee, it’s nothing special?”

John Lee looks at him incredulously.

“What I’m saying is, when did you curse your senior like that and then have such a bright expression on your face?”

Byung-sik looks at Instagram and lets out a laugh.

In the photo taken with Jaehee, Seonwoo is smiling with utmost happiness.

“Shin Je-hee? Senior? Aren’t you guys calling them correctly? Is the chef your friend?”

Seonwoo gets angry at the two people.

“The change in attitude is crazy. Did you know that your values ​​were this free-spirited?”

“I’m starting to get scared too.”

“Chef Shin is the light and salt of the Korean dining scene. If anyone is rude in the future, I won’t let that happen, so know that.”

Although Seonwoo’s shameless appearance made them laugh, the two of them sincerely congratulated him on his success.

* * *

“Mr. Chairman, the investigation results are out.”

Director Kim politely hands the file to Chairman Seo.

“okay.”

Chairman Seo ordered Director Kim to investigate his son-in-law’s background.

At the time of marriage, I thought that if the person was good, what did their background matter? My second child had a very strong in-law family, and my first child had no problems in his family life, so I thought it would be okay to leave my youngest child alone to do as he pleased.

But when his precious grandchildren were born, Chairman Seo’s mind became complicated.

It would be better to block any potential problems in advance. Besides, Joohee seemed to know who her son-in-law’s biological mother was.

Let’s look at the file, which contains detailed background information about how my son-in-law was born.

“I thought he was an extraordinary guy, but I guess there was a story behind him.”

Both of his parents graduated from Seoul National University.

As the child of an elite bureaucrat and a world-class pianist, his brilliant mind and artistic sense are now understandable.

The grandchildren also developed language skills faster than expected for their age. Having raised three children, Chairman Seo could intuitively sense that they were born with extraordinary intelligence.

I thought it was all thanks to my smart daughter, but it seems that wasn’t all.

The report accurately researched and recorded almost every history about them.

The chairman’s eyes turn red when he thinks about Je-hee’s circumstances, having to endure the hardships alone.

“You managed to get here by yourself in this situation.”

Chairman Seo sighs and says.

“I have been amazed more than once while doing research. I felt like I was lost until high school, but after meeting you, the two of you have been pulling each other up and have come this far.”

“I know my daughter well. If it weren’t for this guy, Joo-hee wouldn’t have been able to achieve the same results.”

“It appears that the young lady occasionally communicates with Seong Yeon-ju by sending her pictures of her children. She has no contact with Vice Minister Song Min-seok. It is understood that Vice Minister Song recently realized the full extent of the matter and resigned from his appointed position as minister.”

Scrub

When I hand over the documents, Song Min-seok’s recent activities are recorded in detail.

“Tsk tsk. Joohee is too weak-hearted. You have to put up a fence so these people don’t come near the kids.”

In Chairman Seo’s opinion, the two people were of no help to Noah and Yuna. The thought of them appearing in front of his grandchildren as grandparents made his heart twist.

“All right.”

Jiiiiiing

I shredded all the useless documents and destroyed them.

Before I knew it, I looked at my watch and realized it was almost time to leave work.

I drive to the mansion and ring the doorbell.

Crash

I walked through the garden and opened the front door.

“Grandpa.”

“Installment.”

The time and effort I put in was worth it. Before I knew it, the kids I had become close with crawled up to the front door and hugged me.

“Hahahaha! You guys, did you miss this old man that much?”

Chairman Seo bursts into laughter as he holds the two children crawling toward him.

“You’re here, Father.”

Joohee looks at the sight with a happy face and greets him.

As expected, a grandfather is satisfied with himself to his grandchildren. Chairman Seo’s heart is filled.