I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 98



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I got the omnipotent tongue episode 98

There is no kitchen

* This article is a work of fiction. Although it is sometimes inspired by real events, it is also a work of fiction re-created using the author’s imagination. The characters, companies, organizations, and countries appearing in this article are also products of imagination. It is stated that it has no relation to reality.

* * *

“This is where we store the ham before shipping.”

Following him into the warehouse-like building, I see about 500 pairs of ham hanging there. It doesn’t seem to be that big yet. Considering the size of his farm and his financial resources, this would have been the limit.

Even if it is fast, ham takes more than a year to be shipped. It already takes a long time to commercialize, and if the finished ham cannot be sold at a fair price, the deficit would have snowballed.

“It smells good.”

“When ham is aged, naturally occurring molds react with the meat to create a unique aroma. It smells like cheese, right? Since they are aged using the same molds, they have something in common.”

He explains and then leads us to a table.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

Min Bong-seop apologizes and leaves for a moment. Then, a little while later, he returns with a ham and a huge ham holder in both hands.

“You have a jamonera (a holder for ham that makes it easy to cut).”

“Haha. Now, you can easily buy them through overseas direct purchase. When I came back from my trip, it was hard to get them in Korea. I bought a few when I came back from Spain. I’m still using them.”

It was a Jamonera that looked well-used. It was a high-quality product made of wood and metal. He skillfully took out the ham and put the back hoof on the Jamonera. Then he turned the screw to secure the hoof. Naturally, the hoof was tilted upwards, fixing it in a shape that made it easy to cut the ham.

“Cutting ham also requires skill.”

He takes out his whetstone and sharpens his knife. Then he starts cutting the ham. First, he starts peeling off the fat layer on the surface. He does it with skill. When the white fat layer is completely peeled off, the red flesh is finally revealed.

“It’s good. It has a good mix of lean meat and fat, just like Iberico Black Label.”

I can guarantee it. There is no one in Korea who knows Iberico Black Label better than I do. I have been cutting and eating ham every night for almost two years. This ham is good meat, processed and aged in the right way. The aroma of ham is already vibrating.

“Iberico pigs mainly eat acorns, so they have a thicker layer of fat. I also graze, but the food here is not that abundant. The pigs mainly eat grass and fruit.”

“Is it okay if I don’t provide separate food?”

“In the winter, when there is no food, I feed them mainly grains and fruits. In other seasons, I let them out and they eat on their own.”

“You can’t make ham from pigs that don’t move around and have too much fat.”

“That’s right. It tastes good when you exercise it properly. When you slice ham, you throw away all the fat layer, so it’s difficult to make ham from pigs raised in a barn.”

He begins carving the ham one by one, just like a sushi chef would. Then he plates the thinly sliced ​​ham on a plate. The thinly sliced ​​ham sparkles and decorates the white plate.

“Try it.”

“Then let me taste it.”

Ella and I picked up the ham, which was cut as thin as paper, with our hands and tasted it. The first taste was a very strong meaty aroma. Then, a fragrant aroma like aged cheese filled our noses. It was an impressive ham with a rich and clean taste, with the right mix of fat and lean meat.

“It’s amazing. I didn’t know that Korea could produce ham of this quality. It’s a quality that wouldn’t be embarrassing to export to Europe.”

“It’s delicious. But it’s different from Spanish ham and prosciutto. Why is that?”

I interpreted Ella’s words for him. Then he explained with a proud expression.

“Our ham is made from a cross between Yorkshire and Duroc.

After finishing my studies in Europe and returning home, I tried making ham with all the pigs I raised in Korea. Yorkshire had a good fat taste, and Duroc had a good lean meat taste.

So I thought, what if I crossbreed the two species to make ham? The result was successful. I am confident in the ham I make. However, raw ham is not yet a popular food in Korea.”

His regretful feelings are conveyed to us. If he were an ordinary person, he would have been frustrated many times already, having created such a great ham but not having a proper market for it.

“Yes. People who travel frequently or are interested in gourmet food may know about it, but it may be a little unfamiliar to the general public. I have heard that even large supermarkets sell prosciutto these days.”

Min Bong-seop seems to have been very ahead of his time.

“So I tried supplying to large marts and department stores, but they said the quality of the product was lacking.”

“They have a point. First of all, there is no brand power at all. And there is a need to expand packaging and production facilities. Given the current size of Min Bong-seop’s farm, it seems difficult to even produce 500 pairs per year. Even if they start supplying, they will not be able to handle the volume.”

Economies of scale apply everywhere. If you produce on such a small scale, the unit price will continue to rise. If there is no demand, you have to create demand, and that requires a huge amount of capital.

“If we raise it any further, we won’t be able to sustain the deficit. We are distributing the remaining meat after making ham, but we are not getting a fair price for this either.”

Iberian pigs are raised purely for the purpose of producing ham.

So what happens to the remaining parts after removing the hind legs needed for ham? They are sold all over the world at high prices. But unfortunately, this does not seem to apply to him.

“Shouldn’t free-range pigs be more expensive?”

“Haha. I thought so too, but it wasn’t true. If you meet the animal welfare certification standards, you can raise the unit price. But our farm didn’t meet the standards.”

“Why not? Why doesn’t this place meet animal welfare standards?”

“Korea has no concept of free-range farming in the first place. The size of the barn is the standard for animal welfare. All we can do is wait for the law to change.”

Min Bong-seop’s future looks bleak. Even though he raises happy pigs by grazing, he is unable to obtain animal welfare certification, and the ham he worked so hard to make is sold at a dumping price below cost. I can only wonder how he was able to overcome this situation and become the ‘father of Korean ham.’ It must have been very painful. He had to sell the farm in the end, which was also a tragedy for his family.

“I am convinced after tasting it. I am the chef in charge of the opening ceremony dinner of this G20 summit. I would like to use Min Bong-seop’s ham at the dinner. Is that okay?”

He deserves to be paid for his efforts. Even if that weren’t the case, his ham was delicious enough to warrant serving at a dinner party.

“yes?”

He looks dazed for a moment, as if he’s panicking. Then he looks at my face and finally lets out a sigh.

“Ah! I kept thinking that I had seen you somewhere, and you were that famous chef. We are honored that you visited our farm.”

He bows his head excessively when greeting.

“No, please don’t do that. I am honored to meet the only hamong craftsman in the country.”

“You’re using my ham at the G20?”

He asks me again, as if he can’t believe it.

“For this event, we plan to use as many domestic ingredients as possible for the dinner. Min Bong-seop’s ham has a great story and is delicious. We were also looking for ingredients that would go well with finger food, so this is a good thing for both of us.”

“If that happens, it will be an honor to our family.”

He looks at me and Ella with a moved expression.

“If Min Bong-seop’s story becomes known and hamong is used again at banquets, orders will skyrocket. You will need to prepare the appropriate equipment. What do you plan to do in the future?”

“I was already looking into getting a loan using the farm as collateral. I’ll try to get things done quickly and expand the facilities as much as possible.”

“That wouldn’t be a bad thing, but would it be okay if I invested a little bit?”

“Investment?”

“The restaurant I run will soon be opening in Korea. When it comes to fine dining, ingredients are always the biggest issue. In New York, we contract directly with farmers and use ingredients. I plan to do the same in Korea, but if the company that supplies us with ingredients is having financial difficulties, that is not good for me either. I will ease the burden so that you can raise pigs and produce ham with peace of mind. Of course, I will receive a certain amount of share. I will not make any excessive demands.”

In the future, he had fame but no money. He went bankrupt, lost his farm and all his equipment, and was left as a mere craftsman. It is a pity that he is in such a situation. I want to let him avoid it this time, but if he refuses, I have no intention of forcing him.

“I was going to take out a loan anyway. Then, half of it would already be owned by the bank. I really appreciate that you are investing on such good terms.”

He bows his head repeatedly, as if he is surprised, and greets me.

“Don’t believe it so easily. You should read the contract carefully and compare it with bank loans before making a decision.”

“No. Right now, we are in deficit, so there are hardly any banks willing to lend us money. They said they would only give us the value of the farm as collateral. No matter what we do, things will be better than they are now.”

His eyes are red. He must have been looking around for loans.

“But what about things like prosciutto and salsiccia (sausage made from ground pork shoulder, salt, garlic, black pepper, and white wine)?”

“Haha. I do. Actually, it doesn’t sell, so I just make it as a hobby, but I always make some prosciutto and use the leftover pork to make sausages.”

He laughs heartily and points to the drying room.

“Please show me those too. I’m curious.”

“I met a noble person today. Come with me. I will show you everything.”

I was able to follow him around the entire production facility, and then I bought the ham, prosciutto, and various hams needed to make a banquet dish and headed to Seoul.

On the way up the car, I got hungry so I stopped by a famous noodle restaurant nearby. I was wondering if the beef bone soup would be any good, but Ella said she liked it.

“delicious?”

“It’s like a stew, but it’s a very exotic dish. But I don’t feel any resistance to it. Why is that?”

Ella tastes the soup with a spoon, then picks up the meat with her chopsticks and eats it.

“Basically, beef stock is an ingredient used in every country. Chefs tend to not be able to stand the taste being bland. Are you one of those people?”

“I know what you mean. Dishes with only one or two flavors seem empty. That’s why we mix and match ingredients to create balance.”

“That’s right. That’s why we put salty cheese and sweet toppings on pizza, and add sourness and spiciness with hot sauce. At first glance, rich flavors seem good, but local foods often have flavors that have a little bit of margin. And that’s where their charm comes from.”

“This noodle soup is a bit too wild for my taste. But it’s delicious. I learned something about Korean food while working with the chef.”

“What is that?”

“I think people who say Korean food is not tasty have a fundamental lack of understanding of Korean food. Korean food is almost never served without rice. Except for things like barbecue. Even barbecue is served with rice. As far as I understand, there is a big premise to Korean food.”

“Interesting. Korean food from a foreigner’s perspective. What kind of premise is it?”

“All the soups, side dishes, and main dishes in Korean cuisine are just means to make rice taste better.”

“ah!”

It was a perspective that I had never thought about because it was so obvious to me as a Korean.

“You’re right. Korean food requires rice. All soups and side dishes are just a means to make rice taste better.”

“But in Western culture, this is awkward. There’s no rule that says you have to eat food with something specific, right? That’s why Joe said Leon’s kimchi stew on Master Chef was salty. It would have been perfect if you had it with rice.”

“Haha. How did you come to know so much about Korea?”

“There’s a chef, and I’m also close with Soyoung. I naturally became interested in it, so I read books and go to Korean restaurants.”

It’s amazing. Ella has such a keen insight into food. If she keeps growing like this for a few more years, she could be in a big position.

“Let’s stop going up now.”

After finishing the meal and driving for a long time, we finally arrived at the hotel. I went down to the kitchen to test the ham and sausage, but for some reason, everyone was already down there. And Secretary Oh Young-dae was looking at us with an embarrassed face.

“Chef, we’re in trouble.”

Soyoung looks at me and speaks urgently. Her expression looks like she’s about to cry.

“What’s going on?”

“The dinner venue has changed.”

“Why is that? It’s the same cooking anyway.”

At first I was told that the dinner was planned to be held at the hotel, but it doesn’t really matter if it changes.

“This is the National Museum of Korea.”

“So why is that?”

“There’s no kitchen there.”

“what?”

Come to think of it, there’s no reason for a museum to have a kitchen. My eyes are going dark.