Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: The Mi'Seul'in Guide
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“Now, we mix these finely minced scallops into our Fre-nch flour! The niacin and folic acid from the scallops combine with the flour, making it even chewier.”
-Is that scientifically proven?
-LOL for real
“And that's not all.”
-LOL I knew it. There's more.
The shop owner came out with a kettle of boiling water.
“We're going to make a hot water dough. Honey, please pour.”
The husband kneaded the dough while the wife trickled in the water. The couple was diligent, but was it just my imagination, or did they look a bit clumsy?
“Okay, a little more... a little more... more—waah, hot!”
Just as expected. The husband, having burned his hand on the splashing hot water, fussed his way over to the sink.
*Sshhhhaaa.*
“Honestly, you! We've been doing this together for years and you still can't get that right!”
“You told me to pour a lot, so I poured a lot, and now you're making a scene!”
The husband and wife began to argue, him cooling his burnt hand under cold water. The production crew and cast held back their laughter at the stark contrast to their affectionate demeanor just moments before.
“Oh my... *pfft* what should we do? Are you... okay?”
“This will be edited out, right?”
“*Hoo...* Of course, it will.”
Seul-bi, who had been holding back her laughter, averted her gaze and saw a basket full of red beans. The smile vanished from her face in an instant.
Filming was paused for a moment while the owner soothed the burn under cold water.
“Yoo-jun, my phone, please.”
“Here you go!”
Choi Yoo-jun, who had quickly approached, handed Seul-bi her phone. Taking it, Seul-bi stepped outside the shop for a moment to make a call.
-Oh, Seul-bi. Aren't you in the middle of filming?
“Min-jun oppa, I have a problem. You know how much I hate it when people mess around with food, right?”
-Why? Is it one of those places?
“I'm filming 'Gourmet in Love' right now, and the recipe is just ridiculous. They're putting pen shell scallops in bungeo-ppang dough, they're claiming to age a hot water dough they're clearly making for the first time for 48 hours, and they're pretending to make a special recipe for what is obviously store-bought red bean paste full of starch. Do I still have to act like it's good? This is deceiving the viewers. I'm so disillusioned right now, I'll do whatever you tell me to.”
Min-jun was silent for a moment before he began to speak.
-If you treat it too much like a documentary, it'll cause big problems for the production crew, so just think of it as being on a variety show. Instead, how about you phrase things in a way that gives viewers room to think? For example, something like, ‘The chewy and fishy scallops are so tender, they're practically odorless and tasteless, as if I'm only chewing flour,’ or ‘When you make red bean paste from scratch, the skins inevitably give it a coarse texture, but this is surprisingly smooth, just like a starchy sweet and sour sauce.’
“Oh. I might just say that. At least people who have their doubts will know I'm being sarcastic, right?”
-Yeah. Anyway, I'm sorry. This was scheduled a while ago. I won't book any more uncomfortable schedules for you from now on.
“It's okay. How could you possibly worry about every little detail like that, oppa? I was just frustrated and wanted to vent. Thank you.”
-Okay. Seul-bi, finish up filming and come back safe.
“Uh-huh. You too, oppa.”
After her call with Min-jun, Seul-bi felt much more relieved.
“Phew. As expected.”
“Talking to hyung cleared things up, didn't it?”
Choi Yoo-jun asked as he took Seul-bi's phone back.
“Yoo-jun, I'm sorry.”
“For what? There's nothing to be sorry about. I should be the one who's sorry for not being helpful. In our industry, there's no one like hyung.”
“Yeah. You're the second best in the industry, Yoo-jun.”
“Pahaha! It's an honor. I'll continue to do my best!”
Seul-bi gave Choi Yoo-jun a gentle smile and went back inside.
“...Once the dough is finished like this, it spends 48 hours in this low-temperature proofer. As you tasted earlier, this is what completes its savory and chewy texture.”
The white dough the owner had just mixed the minced scallops into was placed next to a yellow dough he claimed was prepared in advance.
Seul-bi, looking much more at ease after her call with Min-jun, spoke up with a bright expression.
“Ah. So after this white dough ages for 48 hours, it turns yellow like this?”
“That's right. When the microorganisms in the scallops ferment, it produces this color.”
Seeing Seul-bi so much more energetic and proactive than before the break, the other cast members and the crew took notice.
“Ah. The dough earlier was so yellow, I thought you'd added gardenia food coloring and noodle soda—the chemical that makes flour chewy.”
“!”
“Because noodle soda makes it chewy.”
At Seul-bi's cheerfully delivered words, the owners' faces momentarily stiffened.
“Th-that couldn't be possible. It takes a lot of effort to capture the tastes of so many people. You're very knowledgeable for someone so young.”
“Wow, seriously. Seul-bi, for a second I thought Chef Lee Seung-chan himself had descended upon us.”
Han Sullae's quip made the cast and crew laugh, changing the mood, but a flicker of bitterness crossed Seul-bi's face for an instant.
Unlike the mood of the crew, the owners, who were on the receiving end of Seul-bi's sharp, veiled criticism, suddenly became flustered and unnatural in their movements.
“N-now that the dough is done, shall we move on to the red bean filling?”
“Oh my, you must be worried about your break time ending.”
As Han Sullae reacted to the owner's haste, the couple quickly shook their heads and said.
“Yes. We normally do our prep work after closing, but we need to show you quickly.”
The owners, who had looked at Seul-bi with curiosity at the start of the shoot, were now avoiding eye contact with her altogether.
“First, we boil the well-soaked red beans in a pressure cooker. No, no, before that, we have to select good red beans. Anyway, we take the boiled beans and put them in a mortar...”
The male owner put some pre-boiled red beans into a stone mortar and began to mash them.
“Doesn't it end with just boiling them?”
“Of course not. As you tasted earlier, our red bean paste is incredibly smooth! We have to remove the skins!”
“Oh my. This bungeo-ppang really requires a lot of work.”
“Yes. It's loved as much as the effort we put into it! And this isn't the end!”
Seul-bi watched the owners' exaggerated actions with an expectant look on her face.
‘I wonder what kind of ridiculous recipe will come out this time?’
The owners put the steamed red beans into a fine sieve and began to filter them by mashing them with their hands.
Finely broken-down particles of red bean flowed through the bottom of the sieve, leaving only the skins that couldn't pass through on top.
“Wow. That takes a really long time. I'm just amazed you can go through this preparation process every time you sell them.”
Han Sullae diligently filled his screen time.
The break time was already over, and the female owner and an employee went outside to start selling.
“Here, have a taste. See how delicious it is.”
The male owner said, handing out spoons. Seul-bi and the other cast members took a small taste of the finished red bean paste.
‘Just as I thought, it's completely different from the red bean paste that was in the bungeo-ppang. This coarse taste is the taste of homemade red bean paste.’
“Wow, it's delicious! But I think you have one more secret process you're hiding, don't you? The bungeo-ppang filling I had earlier was so smooth, as if it had starch in it, but this is much coarser!”
“!”
As Seul-bi spoke with a bright smile, the owner's face turned beet red.
“Th-this! How did she know?!”
The owner's pupils quivered in confusion, then suddenly widened as if he'd remembered something.
“Hahaha. I wasn't going to reveal this, but there's one more step. We simmer the strained red bean paste over low heat for 12 hours, stirring constantly. The whole time.”
“Oh my! You must not even have time to sleep.”
“O-of course, my wife and I take turns. When the water reduces, we add more to maintain the consistency.”
“Wow. That's truly amazing!”
The owner broke out in a cold sweat, his actions stiff and unnatural. The sight of Seul-bi beaming at him was almost terrifying.
‘Am I going to ruin my business just for trying to earn a few extra bucks?’
The owner spent the rest of the time in a daze, barely aware of how the filming was progressing.
And with that, the filming inside the shop concluded. The owner let out a sigh of relief, wiping away his cold sweat. Then, the show's writer approached him.
“About the red bean paste recipe. We'll need to shoot some additional insert shots. Would that be possible? It's a part of the process you didn't mention to us beforehand.”
“O-of course.”
“Then we'll set up an observation camera in your workshop and leave. We'll pick it up tomorrow.”
“Ha, haha. Please do.”
Leaving the owner's forced laughter behind, the production crew returned to the opening location and resumed filming.
“Today's first location was the 'Soboro Bungeo-ppang' shop. Seul-bi, what were your thoughts?”
“I strongly dislike people who play games with food, because what we eat has a huge impact on our health and lifespan.”
The crew's attention was drawn to Seul-bi's suddenly firm words.
“I pay my respects to the owners of the Soboro Bungeo-ppang for choosing to use a difficult secret method for their dough, when they could have just used glutinous rice flour, trading labor for a higher ingredient cost. Ah, but on second thought, aren't pen shell scallops more expensive than glutinous rice flour? Then it's not even about cutting costs...”
-Huh? Now that you mention it, that's true? Using glutinous rice flour would taste better, waste less labor, and actually be cheaper? This might be the most absurd recipe in the show's history.
-Her wording is really long and complicated... but she's being sarcastic right now, right?
-That's right. I think Seul-bi is certain. It's famous on Starstagram, but it feels like one of those places you're forced to believe is good?
Seul-bi continued.
“Oh! There's more. The red bean paste, too. The unique charm of homemade red bean paste is its coarse texture. But I applaud the owners for their tremendous effort, pouring more than 12 hours of dedication into making it just like a starchy, store-bought product!”
-LOLOLOL Seul-bi's sarcasm is on another level. Why go through all that trouble? Just use the store-bought stuff then LOL
-I don't think that's it? Isn't it more like, 'I know you're using store-bought stuff, so why pretend to work so hard?'
-LOL seems like they really do use commercial products. I'm going to go try it myself and leave a review.
-But at this point, isn't Seul-bi basically a food expert? I thought she was Chef Lee Seung-chan LOL
-She looked so excited at the beginning of the show. Right up until the moment she bit into that soboro bungeo-ppang.
-That's right. She must have figured it all out after just one bite. Amazing.
-If you use too much noodle soda, it leaves a unique bitter smell and aftertaste. Even I know that.
-So the reason bungeo-ppang filling is so smooth is because of starch. I never knew.
-So the coarse texture is actually the sign of homemade red bean paste.
-I hope Seul-bi comes on this show more often. I like that it doesn't feel like a concept, but like she's for real.
-LOL a girl group member who's a food expert. I've seen ones who eat a lot or eat weird things, but a food expert is a first. She's unique.
The production crew aired Seul-bi's conscientious remarks on the food show as they were, and viewers who had grown tired of absurd recipes seized the opportunity to support both Seul-bi and the program.
After that.
Many curious people visited the so-called famous soboro bungeo-ppang shop, and one after another, they poured out scathing reviews about the disappointing taste that contradicted the recipe shown on TV.
Naturally, the bungeo-ppang shop's customers decreased exponentially. On top of that, the wife, who had to stir the pot of red bean paste all night because of her husband's slip of the tongue—something she never usually did—ended up falling ill. To make matters worse, customers who felt betrayed and held a grudge even reported them for selling adulterated food.
In the end, the bungeo-ppang shop, stained by fabrication, went out of business just one month after the broadcast. Various online communities and internet comments went wild over it.
-The Mi'Seul'in Guide... looking forward to the next installment...
-The beginning of a legend... My heart is swelling with awe.
-At this point, isn't she on a restaurant-busting quest? LOL
It was the beginning of a smooth path for Seul-bi, who would gradually establish herself as the 'Gourmet Idol.'