Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: 88 Convenience Store (2)
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"The main issues right now are three big ones. Excess oil floating on top, the fishy and sour smell from the scallops. And finally, that heavy thickness. Right?"
When I suddenly barged into the meeting, the staff looked flustered. But it was too awkward to stop me now, so they just let it slide.
"Truth be told, solving this is simple. Just use better ingredients. But that's not what the company wants, is it."
Convenience store food is different from restaurant dishes. Since it's mass-produced, you can't just throw in whatever ingredients you want.
Taking factory equipment, costs, and cooking methods into account means the recipes are pretty limited.
So instead of nitpicking exact amounts or combinations, I suggested directions for improvement.
I stood up and inspected the kitchen. It was small, but it had everything it needed.
"Looks like you're using just starch to thicken it, right?"
"Yes."
"Starch is common for thickening, but it doesn't suit this dish."
For starters, too much starch makes it heavy. Plus, starch holds water well but not oil. That's why proper emulsification doesn't happen, and the flavors separate.
I pulled out some mashed potato powder.
"To fix the emulsion, texture, and balance the flavors, use mashed potato powder. Just add a little."
"Pardon? Mashed potato powder? Why use a Western ingredient for this?"
Mashed potato powder isn't pure starch. When it meets water, the particles swell, giving a thick, hearty texture. It turns the ramen broth into something that feels like a long-simmered soup.
Even better, as it swells and fills with dense potato particles, it prevents the oil from clumping too much.
And the tiny amount of protein and cell wall components in those particles stick to the oil droplets, helping with emulsification.
I explained all that and pulled out the second ingredient.
"Next is the fishy smell. Honestly, that's the worst problem."
Issues like poor texture or emulsion causing oil to float are common in ramen. Especially with butter in this scallop ramen, there's bound to be a lot of oil.
But fishy is a no-go.
If you're basing the concept on scallops but the ramen still smells fishy, there's no reason to buy it.
"You could reduce the scallop liquid soup or add ginger to kill the fishiness. But I don't recommend that."
The nutty richness of the butter and the scallop aroma and umami.
Those are the core of this ramen.
Ginger would wipe them both out.
Then why bother buying scallop ramen?
"Change the direction. Don't suppress the scallop scent to remove fishiness—instead, turn it into a nutty seafood aroma."
"How's that possible?"
I answered by grabbing soy milk powder from the lower shelf.
Soy milk powder is rich in lecithin and protein, great for emulsification. Plus, its nutty, savory scent covers fishiness and sourness perfectly.
The combo works well too. Both the base miso ramen and soy milk come from beans, so they synergize nicely.
"Won't that erase the scallop flavor? Seems no different from ginger."
"To eliminate fishiness, you need another ingredient that can overpower it. Soy milk powder is the cheapest option."
The staff still looked unconvinced. No matter how expert they were, they couldn't match a chef on food pairings.
Especially since this wasn't a real 'let's renew the product!' meeting—they weren't even prepared.
Showing beats telling a hundred times.
I tore open a new cup ramen pack and cooked it. Boiled the noodles, added mashed potato and soy milk powders to the liquid soup.
Nothing special about the process. Just mix and boil.
"Give it a try."
I scooped toppings, broth, and noodles onto plates. Gave Sister extra toppings.
Munch munch.
"Huh? What is this? It's amazing."
"Hold on. No fishiness? How?"
"Did you add something else besides what you mentioned?"
"No way. Just two ingredients, and the taste is completely different."
The staff chuckled in disbelief, clearly impressed.
No wonder. Sales had tanked due to fishiness and other issues. The company had no plans to revive it.
Better to expand popular lines or launch new products than salvage a flop.
Then some YouTuber shows up, fixes it and upgrades the quality. Hilarious.
I tapped Sister's thigh lightly—signal to check if she got the shot. She nodded.
"Figure out the ratios yourselves. Balance cost and taste."
"Wait. You're just giving this away?"
Honestly, I didn't expect anything. It wasn't groundbreaking advice, and even improved, it wouldn't skyrocket sales.
Just went from inedible to decent.
A thank-you gift for inviting me to HQ.
But the staff huddled, whispering.
"How about this? The recipe contest prize was 5 million won, so we'll pay 2.5 million."
"If you're offering, sure."
They rushed over a contract. The Japan trip ended successfully. We edited the video, uploaded to YouTube, and waited for Christmas.
Lately, the Sky and Kite channel comments were on fire.
The culprit? The recent pizza joint feedback video. Most subscribers loved it, but the hate comments were unusually vicious.
Normally, we'd ignore them—hate's always there.
But a vocal minority spewing excessive venom, plus it being the channel's first big project, sparked a war between haters and defenders.
Even new uploads couldn't cool it down.
Upload day arrived, and the new video dropped.
[Visited 88 Convenience Store HQ in Japan.]
Subscribers were intrigued. Not just any store—the massive corp HQ. Not a place you waltz into.
Started as a simple tour. Then Kim Haneul joins the menu renewal meeting, flipping the script.
He pinpoints issues and delivers quality upgrades that stun the staff.
Hate comments persisted, mostly calling BS on absurd claims.
But Japan footage from a megacorp? Ironclad proof. Plus, 88 Convenience Store posted too.
[Doubters, come out. http:abcde]
Linked to 88's HQ site. Main banner: events, deals, news—featuring the Hotate Butter Miso Ramen Kim Haneul helped renew.
With 88's official nod, the fakesters tucked tail and ran.
Sky and Kite comments returned to their clean, wholesome days.
Kim Haneul grinned at them.
Since the pizza feedback, Sister fretted over reactions—deleting hate aimed at him so I wouldn't see.
Couldn't tell a YouTuber to ignore comments, so she was stuck.
Now, unintentionally cleaned up, no more hate worries for her.
"Shall we plan a date course?"
Christmas was nearing. Day-of crowds meant we'd celebrate early.
Streets already decked with holiday decor.
Kim Haneul searched date spots.
"Hotel sounds good. Wanna hit the beach after so long?"
Past life, zero date planning. This life, none either—just went where we wanted.
But this Christmas, he wanted to plan it himself.
"This looks nice. Huh? Already fully booked?"
Shockingly, every spot he liked was taken. Hotels, motels—gone.
First time ever.
Past life, hosts booked everything for events. He panicked.
"Th-this won't do."
Could day-trip home, but overnight by the sea felt more special.
"Wait it out. Cancellations will pop."
He waited, refreshing sites obsessively as Christmas loomed.
Four days later, Lee Juyeon caught his odd behavior.
Thus, Kim Haneul's dreamed surprise date went poof.