Chapter 167
Chapter 167
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: Blind Army Stew Test
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"Let's see whose army stew tastes better. Without knowing who made which one—just judge by taste and vote for the tastier one. What do you think?"
And just like that, the blind test was underway.
The production crew bustled about, selecting participants and setting up ballot boxes. I approached PD Kim Hee-sung and apologized first.
"Sorry about this. I didn't mean to make extra work for everyone."
"Hahaha, no worries. If anything, this gives us some great footage."
Kim Hee-sung grinned widely, his eyes sparkling like he truly meant it.
"But you can't give any instructions, Mr. Song. It'd look too fishy otherwise~."
"Of course not."
"Though it's about to start—aren't you getting ready? I don't know much about cooking, but whipping something up in someone else's kitchen can't be easy. Don't you need to source special ingredients for your secret sauce or something?"
"Secret sauce? Nothing that fancy."
I chuckled lightly.
"The ingredients are all pretty standard. Oh, I did bring my own ham and kimchi, though."
You can't just ask them to whip up perfectly fermented kimchi on the spot, and using the same garlic ham would defeat the purpose.
I'd even picked up a pack of beef bone broth from the mart while I was at it.
"I heard the owner here uses homemade soy sauce from the countryside. Won't that make it taste different from store-bought?"
"I'll taste it and adjust the seasoning accordingly."
"Huh? Without making it ahead of time? Is that even possible?"
Kim Hee-sung's eyes went wide. I just smiled.
"You'll see soon enough whether it works or not."
He looked a bit speechless, shoulders shrugging. Right then, a staffer hurried over to say preparations were complete.
"PD, we're good to start!"
"Okay~. Bring the owner over, then. You too, Mr. Song."
"Got it."
I headed to the restaurant kitchen, humming a little tune in anticipation of what was to come.
Kang Joo-hyun, the junior writer on [Song Woo-yeon's Alleyway Secrets].
Everyone knows what it's like to be the baby of the team. Low pay, overtime like it's breakfast, pulling all-nighters on the regular.
Running endless errands meant skipping meals was par for the course. PD Kim Hee-sung was famous for looking after his crew, but that didn't mean much trickled down to the lowliest member like Kang Joo-hyun.
*Grrrrowl.*
Ignoring the rumble in his stomach, he was monitoring the shoot when—
-Let's see whose army stew tastes better. Without knowing who made which one—just judge by taste and vote for the tastier one. What do you think?
At Song Woo-yeon's suggestion, Kang Joo-hyun shot his hand up first.
"Me!"
"Joo-hyun, you sure? Your face'll be on TV."
"It's fine! Actually, it'd be great. Gotta brag to my friends."
"You might have to eat something gross."
"I can eat anything. Seriously, my stomach's a steel trap."
Not many on the crew were okay with their faces on air, but they scraped together about ten people.
Kang Joo-hyun was one of them.
"Kid, describe the taste in detail."
"Eat with gusto. Got it?"
"Yep!"
With his seniors' advice ringing in his ears, Kang Joo-hyun stepped inside. The participants huddled together, eyeing each other warily.
Right then—
*Thud.*
Two hefty pots settled onto the burners on the table.
"Dig in~."
Song Woo-yeon greeted them with a bright smile, and the staff bowed in unison.
It was Kang Joo-hyun's first time seeing Song Woo-yeon up close, and his eyes lit up. He looked even younger in person than on the monitor.
As Song Woo-yeon moved to greet another table, the two pots of army stew sat alone.
'Okay, so one of these is Chef Song Woo-yeon's, and the other is the owner's, right?'
They both looked appetizing. No labels meant no way to tell which was which.
*Bubbling.*
As the broth heated up, the army stew started looking the part.
They tossed in the ramen noodles from the side, letting them cook through, and saliva pooled involuntarily.
"Shall we eat?"
"Yeah, looks good."
"Let's start with this one."
They decided on the left pot first.
"Bon appétit~."
Everyone ladled some onto their plates and took a bite.
Kang Joo-hyun eagerly shoveled in a piece of ham.
"Ah."
One bite, and he knew.
'Sweet.'
An initial wave of sweetness hit—this had to be the owner's army stew.
It was definitely on the sweet side. But Kang Joo-hyun ate out a lot and was used to heavy seasoning, so it wasn't inedible.
'Sweet, yeah, but isn't that how most takeout tastes these days? Kinda like tteokbokki—in a good way, maybe?'
Not bad, considering Song Woo-yeon's harsh critique earlier.
Sure, it'd get old fast. Not the type to mix with rice. He'd hesitate to pay for it...
Still, it was solidly "decent." Anything with ham is hard to ruin.
"Hmm. Definitely sweet."
One guy at the table broke the ice, and comments trickled out.
"The ham's fine on its own. It carries the flavor."
"With the ramen, it's like rabokki."
"Sweet, but I like tteokbokki, so not bad for me."
The reactions were lukewarm. Not "delicious," but settling on "not bad."
'Hmm. Footage might not pop.'
Song Woo-yeon was the mentor here—needed a landslide win for drama. 6-4 wouldn't cut it.
'Don't tell me it'll get fully edited out?'
Would suck after all this effort.
"Next up, the one on the right?"
"Yeah, sounds good."
If the left was like that, the right had to be Song Woo-yeon's recipe.
A chance to taste the famous chef's dish firsthand. Kang Joo-hyun scooped some up, heart pounding, and took a bite.
"......!"
His eyes bulged.
'Whoa... I thought the other one wasn't bad, but I was so wrong.'
Instantly clear.
Umami flooded his mouth. Not shallow sweetness, but deep, rich broth adding layers of flavor.
The ham soaked it up, elevating everything. Salty ham plus umami? Rice called to him.
He'd barely touched his rice before, but now it vanished. Total rice thief.
Great broth meant mixing and scraping the bowl clean. The explosion of flavors was pure bliss.
"Huh."
He snapped out of it—bowl empty. Everyone was too busy eating to react, just ladling more stew.
Stomach full, pot nearly empty, he realized:
'Should've said something while eating!'
Too late for regrets.
Apparently not just him. They exchanged sheepish looks and spoke up.
"This is seriously good."
"Right? Not sure what it is, but the broth is so rich and deep."
"The kimchi's different for sure. Left one turned sweet with the kimchi, but not this."
"I prefer the ham here too. Broth infuses it, amps up the natural taste."
Everyone felt the same.
'Definitely different.'
Kang Joo-hyun was blown away inwardly.
He'd thought all army stew was the same. Side by side, the gap was night and day.
'No army stew chains, right? But I'd hit this up daily if they franchised.'
Made him wonder if The Song was planning one. That good.
As they left, no need to ask who got the votes.
*Clap!*
Im Hye-eun clapped her hands.
"And that's a wrap on our blind test with the crew! The final vote is right here in my hands."
She amped up the tension, but the vibe was off.
'Just look at how much they ate.'
Choi Mi-sun's pots were half-full on most tables; mine were scraped clean, not a scrap of ham left.
Choi Mi-sun had seen it all, so she could guess the outcome.
"The results...! A unanimous 10-0 for Song Woo-yeon! Comments like 'Deep, delicious broth,' 'Perfect with rice,' 'Gets better with every bite!'"
All praise—no wonder I felt proud. I'd put real work into perfecting it.
"...That's the verdict. Congrats, Mr. Song. Owner, must sting a bit. Your thoughts?"
Choi Mi-sun hesitated, then replied.
"...Disappointing, but blind test says so—what can you do."
More gracious than expected. Some would've thrown a fit.
"Oh, right—we didn't label them."
Im Hye-eun chimed in, and Choi Mi-sun added:
"Curious how different it could be, so I tried the leftovers. It was good."
Ah.
That explained her quick acceptance. Looking a tad deflated, she turned to me.
"I'll humbly start over from scratch and learn."
"Good call."
I smiled and shook her hand.
"Since you're committing, no backing out when it gets tough, okay?"
The first solution session of [Song Woo-yeon's Alleyway Secrets] had begun.