Seokbakji with Slowly Simmered Bone Broth (3)
Seokbakji with Slowly Simmered Bone Broth (3)
It was finished.
There had been a minor incident—though "incident" might be putting it strongly—but in the end, I'd completed the third and final brew of the sagol-guk.
I skimmed off the chilled, congealed fat and obtained a creamy white bone broth.
Now all that remained was to heat it up before serving and it would be ready to set on the table.
Alongside the seokbakji, kimchi, seasoned chive salad, and salt and pepper, of course.
Conventional wisdom holds that sagol-guk tastes best on the second or third brew.
The first brew simply carries too much fat—no matter how diligently you skim, it remains heavy on the palate.
Many consider the second brew supreme, since that's when the marrow truly releases its deep, savory essence.
Personally, though, I've always preferred the third brew.
When you eat the softened marrow that has collapsed into rich, gelatinous chunks alongside a spoonful of rice, the pure depth of the bone's flavor hits you in its rawest, most unapologetic form.
"Is it finally done?"
The knights who had stood the night watch with me turned their exhausted, dark-circled eyes my way.
Thanks to their help, I'd managed to catch at least a little sleep.
"You may return now. I'll speak with Commander Lancelot about letting the four of you take a morning nap."
"That's a relief. If we couldn't even get that much sleep, I would've definitely deserted."
Heimer rose unsteadily to his feet.
The other two knights staggered up as well.
Hamilton, whose dark circles were especially pronounced, stood with them.
He'd apologized profusely and then stayed up the entire night helping me simmer the bone broth.
"After I serve the lord, I'll set aside portions for you knights as well. Sir Hamilton has already had more than his share, so he can eat at the next opportunity."
At those words, the haggard knights' faces broke into smiles.
All except one.
"I look forward to it."
"Thank you, Sir Lucas."
"I won't do it again."
Hamilton bowed his head deeply and trudged away.
He'd worked hard, sure, but you reap what you sow.
If I let every little transgression slide, who knows what kind of trouble that would invite.
You have to be firm when it counts, or it'll come back to bite you.
The braised tail meat and seasoned chive salad could wait until the post-lunch break.
I watched the sun climbing over the eastern hills and began prepping for the day's business.
Thus concluded my sweet (it was not sweet) holiday (it was not a holiday).
"Time to get back to work."
After all, I had a bone marrow set to serve tonight.
***
"Sir Lucas, that meat you sent over yesterday was superb. Truly excellent flavor."
The moment he saw me, Viscount Britten smiled and took his seat at the table where I'd already arranged the tableware.
Beside him sat the Viscountess.
Across from the two of them was Henry, so the viscount's entire family occupied one table in warm, close-knit fashion.
"Did you have any trouble finding the place?"
"Ha ha, it's right next to the lord's manor—finding it was hardly a hardship. And if one wants the finest flavor, one ought to eat at the establishment where the chef works, wouldn't you agree?"
Behind the chuckling viscount stood Lancelot.
"Ahem. I heard from the young knights. They said there is a dish called sagol-guk, so I accompanied his lordship here. I am acting as his escort, you see."
Lancelot met my eyes for a moment, then quickly averted his gaze and fiddled with his sword.
Commander, it rather seems you've been frequenting my restaurant an awful lot lately.
This isn't quite what you ought to be doing.
You should be raising Ivan and sending him my way instead.
Not coming here yourself.
But tonight's table wasn't set for Lancelot.
It was set for the viscount who had sought this place out.
Serving the finest meal possible to the man who so generously paid with the lord's expense account—and who just so happened to be my landlord—was the whole point of tonight's dinner.
"Then allow me to present the bone marrow course."
"I've been looking forward to it. Show me what you have."
I brought out the brustar and set the hot plate bearing the finished braised tail meat on top.
Tender, thoroughly cooked tail meat topped with seasoned chive salad.
In front of the brustar, I placed a side-dish platter heaped with well-fermented kimchi and seokbakji.
'A bit of a shame there's no salted squid.'
Finally, I ladled the sagol-guk—its broth a beautiful milky white—into earthenware pots and set them on the table alongside bowls of steamed rice.
The sagol-guk, with chunks of marrow and bits of meat floating on its surface, was placed before the viscount's family.
"This is braised Tuu tail meat and sagol-guk made by simmering the bones for a long time. Season to taste with salt and pepper."
I offered them the salt, pepper, and thinly sliced green onion.
I caught a flicker of interest cross Lancelot's face where he stood behind the viscount.
Commander, there is no portion for you here.
Give it up.
"Understood."
Confronted with an entirely unfamiliar style of food, the viscount's expression brimmed with curiosity.
"First, allow me to adjust the seasoning of your lordship's bowl."
I added a light touch of salt and pepper to his sagol-guk.
Watching me, Henry followed suit and sprinkled salt into his own bowl.
The viscountess did the same.
Once the seasoning was properly balanced, I handed a spoon to the viscount.
"Please, have a taste."
I stood quietly beside him and observed.
The viscount carefully scooped up a spoonful of the sagol-guk, its steam still curling gently from the earthenware pot.
"Ooooh... this is..."
His face brightened the moment the smooth white broth touched his lips.
"Such profound depth from a mere pale broth."
"It's an essence in which the marrow, the beef fat, and the meat's flavor have all dissolved together. To the eye it's just a white soup, but you could say it contains the entire life of the Tuu."
"Is that so? Ho ho, when you put it that way, it truly feels as though I'm being served something monumental."
He lifted another spoonful.
By now, the warm sagol-guk would be sliding down his throat and gently warming his empty stomach.
That was the charm of sagol-guk.
The tenderness of a mother's embrace wrapping itself around an empty stomach.
I could practically sense him tasting the rich flavor of the marrow filling his mouth, the faint notes of fat seeping through in between.
Without my having said a word, he scooped up a piece of the marrow with his spoon and ate it.
"Ho ho ho..."
Having tasted the marrow, the viscount could only laugh.
"Ho ho, this... this is astonishing flavor. Truly..."
"Oh my, this really is delicious!"
The viscountess looked at me with startled delight.
"I knew it, Lucas! I believed in you!"
Henry even shot me a thumbs-up.
"We've only just begun. Now, mix the rice into the sagol-guk and eat them together."
"I simply mix it in?"
"Yes. And if you eat it with the kimchi and seokbakji alongside, you'll experience the finest possible flavor. You may also eat them separately, if you prefer."
The three of them each mixed their rice into the broth and loaded their spoons generously with marrow and rice.
The white broth clung between the grains of rice, and droplets the spoon couldn't catch trickled bead by bead down the handle.
Using chopsticks, they placed bright red pieces of seokbakji on top of the gleaming white marrow rice.
Once the seokbakji—cut into just the right size—was perched on top, the color contrast grew even sharper.
They lifted a spoonful of the perfect combination to their mouths.
Crunch!
Slurp!
The crisp sound of biting into perfectly fermented seokbakji and the clear sound of spooning up the rice soup formed a pleasant harmony.
"Mm!"
"Ooh~"
All three of them rounded their eyes as they looked at the seokbakji.
"The flavor turns much bolder. Ho ho."
If the sagol-guk had wrapped them in the gentle comfort of a mother's arms, the seokbakji would have struck them with something a little rougher around the edges.
Its texture and flavor were the polar opposite of the bone broth, after all.
Slightly spicy, pleasantly sour, with just the right note of saltiness.
Maybe it resembled a rebellious adolescent boy.
And precisely because they were opposites, the two dishes paired better than anything else could.
"How is the flavor?"
The viscount did not hesitate to raise his thumb at my question.
"This is the finest dish I have ever tasted."
"Thank you."
At his heartfelt praise, I inclined my head in a slight bow.
I'd known this would happen.
Nobody dislikes sagol-guk with seokbakji.
"Then please try this as well. Braised tail meat made from the tail of a Tuu. It is reputed to be every bit as beneficial to male stamina as the marrow."
Braised tail meat was, like sagol-guk, a dish created by slowly simmering the meat on the bone, so I understood it produced a similar effect.
How much the marrow actually boosted stamina, I couldn't say—but since the empire's citizens firmly believed it, a little lip service wouldn't hurt.
"Oho, fascinating. You boiled the tail whole?"
"That's correct. The seasoned chive salad on top is also known to benefit men and is frequently consumed to promote harmonious marital relations. It is said that Emperor Moritanus, the empire's third emperor, ate this very seasoned chive salad and went on to father ten children."
At that, both Viscount Britten and the Viscountess flushed crimson.
"Ahem. Yes, I—I take your point. You've made the effects quite clear. No need to elaborate further."
Kept warm over the gentlest low flame, the braised tail had held its heat without drying out, still resting at a cozy, spoon-tender temperature.
The Viscount lifted a tailbone with his chopsticks and looked at me.
"How exactly does one eat this?"
"Ah, you grip the bone with one hand and tear the meat off with your teeth."
"Well, well. A touch, how shall I put it... rather knightly in its etiquette, isn't it? No utensils to speak of."
"Which is precisely why it suits a man so well. Doesn't it practically make your masculinity surge?"
"So it does."
The Viscount accepted this wisdom and picked up a bone with his bare hand, tearing into the flesh.
The slow-braised tail meat parted from the bone in soft, tender ribbons and slipped cleanly into his mouth.
"Hoh? Far more tender than I expected."
"I gave it plenty of time to cook through."
He chewed the meat slowly, eyes closed, savoring it.
The corners of his mouth crept upward as he worked through the mouthful, tasting as though he were deciphering something.
"Astonishing. Truly... I'm at a loss for words. How does one even describe this?"
Only the person eating it knows the sensation — meat assumed to be tough, instead tearing cleanly along the grain and melting on the tongue.
Only they know how magnificent the juices taste as they seep out with every tear of the meat.
The Viscount seemed to feel all of it, no explanation required.
A satisfied smile spread across his face, his mouth full of meat.
"It's excellent dipped in the soy sauce, or taken with a bit of the seasoned chive salad. The seokbakji pairs nicely as well."
"My dear, you must try some. The flavor is outstanding."
"I'm fine, thank you. Please, you finish it all yourself."
"...Is it because of the, ah, masculine benefits?"
Face now thoroughly red, the Viscountess lowered her head and gave the tiniest of nods.
She seemed the bashful sort, easily flustered.
"This dish is also excellent for a lady's complexion. Please, have a taste."
"Oh—is, is that so?"
Only then did she delicately pick up a bone.
One hand holding the bone, the other discreetly covering her mouth as she ate — the very picture of a noble young lady's grace.
But her expression, at least, she couldn't quite control. Mid-chew, her eyes grew wider and wider.
"It's delicious. I've never tasted anything quite like it."
Watching her smile with poised elegance and offer unreserved praise after swallowing, someone else came to mind.
A fellow noble young lady. Except she was the opposite of poised — earnestly, bullishly devouring everything in sight.
- Doenjang-jjigae!
- I'm here for the doenjang-jjigae again today!
- The princess isn't even here — won't you recommend me a special menu?
- Mmm! This is wonderful!
Camilla Wagon.
I couldn't forget her. She'd shown up every single time the princess was absent, always asking for doenjang-jjigae.
She must have liked my cooking enough back then to send Kobi sniffing around for a headhunt.
Henry picked up a piece of the braised tail, too.
He loaded his fork with a generous scoop of the chive salad and ate it together with the meat.
"Whoa! This is amazing! Lucas, it's so good!"
"Henry, you should address him as Sir Lucas. He is a knight, after all."
"Mother, Lucas said it was fine! Right?"
The boy fixed me with big, sparkling eyes.
"My lady, it's no trouble. It just means we've gotten friendly."
"Ah, I'm truly sorry."
The Viscount bit into a piece of seokbakji alongside his braised tail and let out a steady stream of exclamations.
"This really is something special. Nothing like ordinary meat... The depth of flavor, and every time you chew, the richness of the braised marrow seeps through — simply sublime."
"If you suck the marrow from the bones, you'll discover a whole new dimension of flavor."
"Th-that might be a touch beneath a nobleman's dignity..."
"Dignity crumbles before stamina, my lord."
Those words were all the permission he needed. He sucked the marrow straight from the bone.
Slurrrrp!
Broth and marrow rushed into the Viscount's mouth, and his whole expression shifted.
That was the signal, apparently.
Whatever restraint had been keeping him tethered to at least the bare minimum of noble decorum — it snapped.
Spooning up sagol-guk, snatching kimchi with his chopsticks, gulping down marrow with an audible slurp, cheeks puffed out full, the dignity of a lord tossed entirely aside.
He attacked the white bone-broth gukbap like a man who hadn't eaten in days.
Just watching it made my own appetite stir — a full-blown mukbang unfolding in real time.
'A fine sight.'
Before long, the Viscount had emptied the sagol-guk completely, lifted the earthenware pot, and tipped the last of the broth straight down his throat.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
"Khhhaaaahhh!"
A deep, soulful exhale escaped him, and as a finishing touch, he popped the remaining seokbakji into his mouth.
Crunch. Crunch.
With even the pickled radish polished off, he leaned back in his chair and surveyed the graveyard of bones he had personally created, his face slack with contentment.
More than half the ox tail prepared for the viscount's family had been consumed by the Viscount alone.
"A bitter struggle between me and the meal... and I have claimed victory."
He murmured this in a drowsy, satisfied voice, gazing at the spotless dishes.
"A true shame, though. That this is all there is. Such profound depth of flavor. Every last essence of the marrow, gathered into a single taste. A dish this luxurious — I've never eaten its like in my life, nor am I likely to again."
He seemed to be under a slight misapprehension.
"There's plenty more sagol-guk."
"...You mean that sincerely?"
"Yes. Did you think a beast that large would yield only this much?"
"Even with that depth of flavor?"
"Take a look at the pots over there."
The Viscount rose from his seat and peered into the kitchen.
The moment he spotted the creamy white broth filling three enormous pots, his face lit up.
"Hahahaha! There was more! I don't think I've ever been this delighted. Hahaha!"
He beamed with relief at the discovery that more sagol-guk awaited him.
He looked so genuinely overjoyed that I held back the follow-up remark.
'There are still a few unused bones, actually.'
Those, I'll freeze and save for myself.
As the Viscountess and Henry basked in the profound contentment of a meal well eaten, the Viscount turned to me.
"Sir Lucas, I wonder if perhaps..."
"I must respectfully decline."
"I hadn't even spoken yet."
"You were about to ask me to become the keep's personal chef, were you not?"
"..."
Your face gives you away, my lord.
You really ought to stay far away from gambling.
"Was it that obvious?"
"Yes. And I must refuse. I came all this way because I want to open my own establishment."
"Ahh, what a shame. To think I might have eaten your cooking every day..."
"Please do visit from time to time. I never turn away a customer at my door."
"Well, well. I can hardly make a habit of it. The keep already employs its own chef. It wouldn't do to let a man I went to such trouble to hire sit idle now, would it?"
Even as he said it, the Viscount clicked his tongue with lingering regret.
"Once a month ought to be acceptable, I suppose."
The sagol-guk had clearly made a deep impression.
"Send all the payment requests to the keep. I'll have them forwarded through Liana. How could I do any less for the soldiers who protect this village?"
"Understood."
Generous of him.
***
The distance between the restaurant and the keep was short, and as Viscount Britten walked back, he slipped an arm around his wife's waist.
"My dear, tonight — let's go straight to the bedroom. I won't be able to sleep otherwise."
"Oh, goodness. Stop it."
Walking a step behind his parents, Henry watched their sudden surge of affection with a mixture of fondness and secondhand embarrassment.
Tonight, I'm sleeping in the annex.
==============
★★★★★
I'll put it in a single sentence.
These dishes awoke the masculinity I had forgotten I possessed.
That one sentence is enough.
Recommended dishes: Sagol-guk, Braised Ox Tail
- Louis Britten, Viscount Britten -
==============
***
The highway linking Rupel Town to Viscount Britten's territory — a city some distance removed.
"Kobi, how much farther to the Britten viscountcy?"
"We'll arrive within three days."
"Ugh, has it been ten days of riding already?"
"It has."
"Two whole weeks at Golden Wagon speed just to get here from the capital? Isn't that absurd? Our horses are faster than the other trading companies'."
"Still far better than the eastern border. The mountains there add at least two more months each way."
"They have a portal gate too. If you put your mind to it, it only takes a week."
Kobi shut his mouth at Camilla Wagon's rebuke.
"Honestly, why isn't there a single portal connecting the cities in the south?"
Kobi could not bring himself to speak.
'Because you yourself were the one who said the south has nothing worth the investment and proposed we not build any.'
That, he could not say.
Camilla Wagon, head of the Golden Wagon Merchant Group, spurred her horse onward with Kobi, irritation written plainly on her face.