I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 53



Only Noblemtl

Tonkatsu

-Brother?

“huh.”

-Why didn’t you call and tell me?

“I just wanted to hear your voice.”

-Is that okay? You talk about it all the time.

“Yeah. It’s necessary to talk about it every day.

-What happened?

“huh.”

-Should I go?

“Okay. Let’s go on a date in Seoul for the first time in a while.”

-Okay, just wait a minute.

Joohee came driving in 20 minutes later. It was a yellow Maserati Grantus Limo. Joohee parked in front of me and rolled down the window.

“Whose car is it?”

Did I borrow one of my brothers’ cars? It feels strangely familiar.

“I was with Soo-hyun, and when I told her that I needed to go see my brother quickly, she told me to take her car.”

I somehow thought it looked like a familiar car.

“I feel sorry. I should have told you I couldn’t come.”

“No. Your voice just didn’t sound good. And what could be more important to me than you?”

I was speechless for a moment. I was so happy that I was someone’s top priority.

“Get on quickly, oppa.”

She gestures to me. As I get in the car, the Maserati sped along briskly, emitting its distinctive exhaust note. Driving with Joohee in Seoul on a weekday afternoon brings back old memories.

“Did you eat lunch?”

It looks like two people are meeting for lunch, but I unintentionally interrupted them. I’ll have to treat them to a big meal later.

“I haven’t eaten yet. Is there anything you want to eat?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to Korea, so I want to eat something I can only eat here. How about tonkatsu?”

“My second eldest brother was right. He said that if you feed men noodles, pork cutlets, and pork, you will never fail.”

“That certainly makes sense. They’re all things I like.”

“Okay. Then let’s go to the place I know. I heard it’s famous for its delicious food, so I was curious anyway.”

We arrived at a recently famous Japanese katsu restaurant in Seoul. We had heard in advance that there would be a long line, but since it was well past lunch time, we were able to get in after waiting for about 15 minutes.

“It’s already past two o’clock and there’s still people lining up? That’s amazing.”

Joohee mutters as she looks at the people continuing to line up behind us.

“Yeah. I have a feeling this place will be delicious. Let’s go in.”

When you open the door and go in, there are only seven tables for two in the hall. Even if you think that two people sit at a time, you feel that the number of customers that can be served at one time is too small. Since tonkatsu is a fast-moving food, you will probably make some sales, but it will not be easy to make a lot of money.

“What is your signature menu?”

“There are only two items on the menu. Which would you like to eat, rosumakatsu or hirekatsu?”

“It seems like the boss has been thinking a lot. First, in order to save on labor costs and increase turnover, we need to reduce the number of menus. We’re only competing with the menus we’re most confident in. Let’s order them one by one.”

“Boss, please give me one fillet and one roast.”

Joohee places an order. The owner takes the order and first brings out pickled vegetables with radish, carrot, and cucumber.

“Is this a pickle?”

“It’s called tsukemono, and it’s basically similar to pickles. It’s Japanese pickled vegetables.”

Let’s taste it. It tastes similar to the pickled vegetables that Hachimura often made in the dormitory. It would be more convenient to use industrial radish in all aspects, but as they say, it is a restaurant with great attention to detail.

“It’s crunchy and delicious. It doesn’t look like it was pickled for long.”

“Tsukemono can be eaten if pickled for as little as a day.”

“The scent is a bit unusual, isn’t it?”

“Usually, sugar, vinegar, and salt are added, but the owner here added mustard powder, which is unusual. It has a good aroma and a refreshing taste, which is nice.”

The owner smiled as he listened to our conversation and took out the meat and coated it with breadcrumbs. When I looked into the kitchen, I saw that there were two fryers that did not fit the size of the store.

We had the perception that tonkatsu would come out quickly, but we ended up waiting for about 20 minutes before we could receive our food.

“It took longer than I thought. Let’s eat them one by one.”

First, I tried the pork cutlet.

“Huh? This restaurant’s meat has been aged for quite some time.”

The meat has a unique aged meat flavor. And the meat is cut smoothly like a confit steak. The crispy batter and juicy tender meat create an extreme taste that can be enjoyed for less than 10,000 won.

“I know it’s delicious, but do you know that?”

Joohee asks while biting into the pork cutlet.

“Of course I know. If you don’t age it, no matter how much you tenderize it, it won’t be this tender. And when pork is aged, it has a unique meaty flavor. It usually becomes tender enough after about a week, but this looks like it’s been at least two weeks.”

The thick breadcrumbs are densely packed and fried. The meat and batter are well-cooked and, above all, perfectly cooked. The color of the batter for a typical tonkatsu is dark brown, but the color is noticeably bright. It seems to be cooked at a low temperature.

“Boss, do you fry the tonkatsu here at a low temperature?”

I was so curious that I couldn’t help but ask.

“You know, we fry them at low temperature for 10 minutes at 120 degrees, and then fry them again at high temperature for a short time. I guess some people like the texture of crispy batter.”

“It’s juicy. This is a characteristic that you see in steaks that have been rested for a long time. How long did you rest it?”

“Haha. I can’t tell you all of our recipes. You have a very sensitive palate. You’re right.”

Frying tonkatsu is a lot like cooking steak in that it involves cooking thick cuts of meat.

Tonkatsu is usually fried at a temperature of about 160 degrees for about 5 minutes, similar to the pan-searing method for steak. The advantage is a crispy outer crust, but the disadvantage is that it is difficult to cook the meat evenly throughout.

The owner of this place tried to compensate for these shortcomings by raising the temperature of the inner part of the meat like a bean curd at a low temperature and then finishing it at a high temperature to preserve the texture of the fried meat. He also rested the slightly undercooked pork cutlet for a long time to reduce the loss of meat juice, so it is perfect in theory.

“This is almost the level of tonkatsu made by Japanese artisans. It’s really well-cooked.

If it’s overcooked, the meat becomes tough. And the degree of cooking varies depending on the part of the sirloin, so it’s hard to get it just right, but the owner, or rather the chef, here calculates it really precisely and fries it.”

“It somehow took a long time.”

“Just looking at the pickled vegetables and sauces, you can see that the store is run with a craftsman’s spirit. The sauce base looks like it’s commercially available, but it’s made with a variety of ingredients added to it and then cooked a second time. It’s delicious.”

“Are you a cook? How do you know so much?”

The boss pretends not to hear, but then he can’t stand it anymore and asks a question.

“I also cook. I think I should call you a master chef. I am impressed that you put so much love into this dish, which is difficult to charge a high price for.”

“Haha. I just like tonkatsu. I was studying abroad in Japan, and I ate tonkatsu three times a day, and it was delicious. Then I started working part-time at a restaurant and got hooked. I’ve been making tonkatsu for over five years now. But every day is still difficult.”

“Is it because of the condition of the meat?”

The biggest problem with restaurants that sell meat is always the meat.

“That’s right. If the meat was always consistent, it would be easier for me, but even if you order the same meat, it varies from time to time. I try to age it as much as possible to match it, but it’s not easy. When I serve meat that customers don’t like, I sometimes feel sorry for them.”

The most difficult thing when dining is procuring good ingredients. It would be impossible to maintain the same quality while receiving pork loin and tenderloin that cost less than 1,000 won per 100g.

I tried the hirekatsu again. It was smooth on the teeth. The juicy meat and the crispy fried outer layer were in contrast, and the taste of the sauce tied them together. It was really well made.

I would like to support someone who makes this kind of food. It is a store that is doing well now, so there is no need for investment, but looking at the food, it seems like the margin is too low. They will have to raise the price, but raising the price is always a burden.

“Sir, if you ever feel like you’re having trouble keeping your store running, please let me know. I’ll figure out how to help.”

I gave him my business card. I have never heard of a restaurant that serves tonkatsu of this quality. Even if it didn’t go out of business, it probably wouldn’t have been very successful.

“Ah! You’re Chef Shin Je-hee. I’ve heard your name. I’m glad you enjoyed the food, Chef. All your hard work paid off.”

He says with a bright smile.

“The food here is really good. I hope it doesn’t go away. I don’t think they have a 10% margin right now, do you?”

While others fry tonkatsu in 5 minutes, here you have to wait 20 minutes. The quality of the raw meat is good, so the delivery price must be more expensive than other places. There are not many tables in the store. It seems that they do not deliver. No matter how I think about it, the cost is too high compared to the price.

“I know I need to raise my prices a bit, but it’s not easy. There are a lot of 6,000 won pork cutlets around here.”

It’s still before the Japanese cutlet boom. I hope he can do well until then. Given his personality, it seems like he needs to rebrand as a premium tonkatsu rather than lowering the quality to match the price.

“If you have any difficulties, please contact me.”

I said hello and went out. I drink coffee in a quiet cafe on a weekday afternoon. It feels good to eat food prepared by someone else after a long time. I have to explain to Joo-hee about my biological mother, but I can’t open my mouth.

“So what happened?”

Joohee asks me while holding her coffee cup.

“I met my mother. To be exact, she is the person who claims to be my biological mother.”

“really?”

Joohee’s facial expression changes dramatically, as if she is very surprised.

“Yeah. I was surprised too. And what’s more, he was a famous pianist.”

“Do you think what he said is true?”

“You can do a paternity test at any time. Someone with that kind of social status wouldn’t lie. And they look quite similar. Their faces.”

The moment I saw her face, I knew that what she said was true. They were too similar.

“I see. So what did you talk about?”

“I think I was really angry at that time. I said some harsh things and left.”

“So you regret it?”

“I don’t know. I thought it would feel refreshing, but it doesn’t feel that way at all.”

What is the reason?

Why I was so angry at her, and why I’m so confused now.

In fact, I realized that the more I grew distant from Kim Soo-ho, the closer I became to the owner of my body.

Now we have to accept it.

“Then shall I meet you?”

“No. I hope not. We were strangers until yesterday, and I don’t want to get too close to each other.”

“Brother. It’s not like that for me. Even if I abandoned him, he’s the one who sent you to this world, so I want to at least say thank you.”

Joohee doesn’t usually act stubbornly, but once she makes up her mind, she does it without fail.

“It won’t do any good for me to stop you. But I don’t plan on seeing you anymore.”

“That’s enough.”

Joohee smiles and takes my hand.

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