Cheonggukjang Barley Bibimbap: Barley Rice with Wild Greens, Gochujang, Sesame Oil, and Cheonggukjang on Top
Cheonggukjang Barley Bibimbap: Barley Rice with Wild Greens, Gochujang, Sesame Oil, and Cheonggukjang on Top
From the kitchen, Camilla watched Lucas tending a pot of cheonggukjang.
Whoosh—!
Flames leaped from the flare range, and her gaze locked onto Lucas as he poured himself into the dish, adding ingredient after ingredient.
He'd been cooking for customers before she arrived, and beads of sweat clung to his forehead and cheeks. The heat had flushed his face a vivid red.
Does he really need to go that far just for a single meal?
Yes. One meal out of the three a person might eat in a day. One. And for that one meal, Lucas stood enduring open flame.
She should have gotten used to it by now. To Camilla, the sight remained unsettling.
Maybe it was the shift in him — the way his customary easy smile hardened into a tight-set mouth and total absorption in the work. Or maybe it was simply that he possessed a quality no other chef she'd ever seen could claim.
A peculiar man, no question.
Peculiar he certainly was.
The pungent aroma of cheonggukjang crept through the room. Lucas had warned her the smell was strong — and even she, long since accustomed to doenjang, had to admit this was in a league of its own.
She couldn't say the scent appealed to her.
But.
Whoosh—!
Watching Lucas cook, watching him build this dish, loosened something in her. The distaste faded, however temporarily.
I want to make him mine...
The desire ran deep.
Truly deep.
But no matter what she tried, the man refused to come to her. Offer him a fortune — he wouldn't come. Promise him honors — he wouldn't come.
He said this restaurant of his suited him just fine.
So she had resolved.
If he wouldn't come to her because this little eatery satisfied him so completely —
Then she would make this place a new center of power herself.
She had confidence. It would take time, but Camilla was not a woman accustomed to failure.
From what I gather, the imperial princess drove him out of the capital... but I still don't understand exactly why.
As she studied Lucas at his work, the bubbling cheonggukjang filled the restaurant with its unmistakable scent.
And soon enough, cheonggukjang, barley rice, an array of seasoned vegetable sides, and dubu kimchi — one of her favorites here — covered her table.
She lifted a spoonful of broth, tofu, and the stew's solid bits together.
The deep, savory flavor of cheonggukjang struck her tongue first, flooding her mouth. Beneath the strong smell lay a rich, nutty depth.
What even came close to this? Dishes made with mold-ripened cheese, maybe?
No. Even those felt mild by comparison.
It's in a category of its own.
Cooking could always reach for rarer, more decadent heights — but right now, this dish was leaving a colossal impression.
She bit into the soft tofu. A familiar taste — and mingled with it, crumbling soybeans and minced meat.
Cheonggukjang was undeniably distinct from doenjang-jjigae, from texture to flavor. Both were made from soybeans, she'd been told. Both used tofu, as far as she could tell. So how did they end up so completely different?
It fascinated her.
Fascinated her enough to keep the spoon moving.
"Try spooning some cheonggukjang over the rice and mixing it together. It's even better that way."
Following Chef Lucas's advice, she scooped a generous ladleful over her barley rice.
"You can crumble the tofu in as you mix, or keep the pieces whole — whichever you prefer."
"Is that so?"
Her spoon moved in steady sweeps, and the deep fragrance of fermented beans rose at once.
Nutty and rich, it spread.
Fond of tofu's texture, she left the pieces intact while mixing.
Onion, green onion, kimchi, soybeans from the stew, and tofu — they all melded into the barley rice, forming an oddly beautiful composition.
She gathered a spoonful and topped it with some seasoned greens.
"Ahh."
Before she even registered the taste, the warmth of the food made itself felt.
A beat later, the soft blend of warm rice and cheonggukjang brushed across her palate.
Delicious. That rich, fermented-bean savor was pure satisfaction.
It was always this way. Mix the stew into the rice like this, and every grain carried just the right seasoning, tormenting her tongue in the best possible way.
Grains of rice, pieces of tofu, vegetables, and the minced beef caught between — all of it found its way between her teeth.
She chewed the crumbly rice and the solid bits of stew.
Crunch!
The greens she'd added on top delivered their texture in full. This was deliberate — unmistakably so. She could feel the chef's intent: that crisp bite and salty-savory edge were what would reel her in for good.
"Haaa."
A breath of pure admiration.
At this rate, how could she not take another spoonful?
At some point, the unpleasant smell had vanished from her awareness. What lingered instead — what was carving itself into her memory — was the taste that had taken her taste buds hostage.
One bite. Then another.
Delicious. No joke, it was truly, genuinely delicious.
She couldn't pick a winner between doenjang-jjigae and cheonggukjang.
Cheonggukjang — its first impression undeniably off-putting in smell, yet its deep, distinctive savor somehow addictive. Doenjang-jjigae — a cleaner, sharper profile, probably less divisive.
But if you put chadol brisket in that doenjang?
She'd gladly cast her vote for doenjang.
Still, both were the sort of dish you'd crave on any given day, depending on your mood and your palate.
It was delicious.
Eyes shut tight, trembling faintly with the rice still in her mouth, she suddenly became aware of a gaze on her.
Lucas was watching her, utterly focused.
"Wh-what? Why are you staring like that?"
"Nothing. Is it good?"
"It's good. But... staring that intently is embarrassing, you know."
"Ah, my apologies."
Camilla noted, however, that Lucas's focus had been directed not at her — but at the cheonggukjang.
"Don't tell me you still haven't eaten."
"Well, it's been busy with customers. We were planning to eat together once you'd gone, Lady Camilla."
She glanced at her timepiece.
It was already nearly three in the afternoon. Lucas had mentioned the cheonggukjang smell was overwhelmingly strong, so she'd deliberately come at an hour when the restaurant would be quieter.
"It's a bit ridiculous for me to say this, but — come over here and eat."
"It's fine. A customer's food is—"
"Stop talking and bring your rice. There's too much for me to finish alone."
That part was honest. The spread was genuinely too much for one woman. Cheonggukjang alone, perhaps — but with dubu kimchi and the full array of side dishes, the meal had become a lavish tableful.
It didn't seem like Lucas had done it on purpose.
"...Understood. Then, if you'll excuse me."
Lucas fetched himself a bowl of barley rice and seated himself across from her.
"What about the elf?"
"She hates the smell too. I fed her separately earlier."
Andrea was keeping her distance, pinching her nose. The odor was apparently unbearable for an elf's sharper senses.
Though once she actually ate it, that would change.
"...So it's just the two of us eating, then?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. Is that so?"
"Is something the matter?"
"No. Nothing at all."
He hadn't engineered this, surely.
Camilla found herself overly aware of Lucas, sitting right across from her.
"Enjoy your meal."
Across the table, Lucas began placing seasoned vegetables one by one onto his barley rice.
"What are you doing?"
"Making bibimbap."
"Ah — that item from the menu?"
"It's not identical, but it goes wonderfully with cheonggukjang."
She watched in silence as he assembled his bowl.
Spinach, shredded lettuce, soybean sprouts, and even julienned radish.
She couldn't have named all those greens herself, of course.
Lucas added a touch of the gochujang and sesame oil that had been brought out on the tray, then finished by ladling cheonggukjang over the mound of vegetables.
With his spoon, he mixed everything together.
The gochujang lent the barley bibimbap a faint reddish tint as it came together.
Camilla, who had watched the whole process in silence, stared at the finished bowl as if entranced. It was now an entirely different dish from her own. A few pinches of greens, a few turns of the spoon — and it had become something else.
Like food magic.
"Why didn't you tell me about this bibimbap method?"
"I wanted you to experience cheonggukjang mixed simply with rice first — to fully appreciate that flavor."
"I've appreciated it quite enough. Now do mine too."
She regretted the words the instant they left her mouth.
Wasn't she basically shoving her half-eaten bowl at him? Traces of her own mixing remained.
This was a different level of embarrassment from when she'd caught him staring earlier.
Never mind. She'd retract the request and do it herself—
"Then allow me."
"N-no, wait—"
Before she could get another word out, Lucas had taken her bowl.
Fresh chopsticks and spoon in hand, he deftly added the vegetables — as quick and practiced as when he'd done his own.
Swift, precise motions.
Quick, smooth sweeps.
The barley bibimbap was perfectly mixed. Every trace of her earlier spoon-work had vanished.
"Here you are."
And yet — she could not bring herself to lift her head.
She simply couldn't.
She had always considered herself a woman of flawless refinement. But in one moment of hunger and curiosity, she'd abandoned all that poise and held out her bowl like some gauche commoner. The shame was sharp.
It had been a long time since she'd felt embarrassment like this.
"Th-thank you..."
Eyes down, she accepted the bowl. Then pulled it quickly toward herself.
She did not wish to embarrass herself any further.
Her face burned.
"Enjoy your meal."
Lucas began eating first, and Camilla risked lifting her head just enough to watch him eat his bibimbap — to see how it was done. No other motive.
Come to think of it, is this the first time I've ever watched Lucas eat?
Every other time, he'd served her food and that was the end of it. She couldn't recall them ever sharing a meal like this.
"You eat well."
"Ha ha, it's one of my favorites."
"Cheonggukjang?"
"Something like that."
"...Is that right?"
"Yes."
"I see."
Camilla turned her attention to the bibimbap, stained a gentle red.
It tasted completely different from the version she'd mixed with cheonggukjang alone.
The stew provided the savory foundation, while the gochujang brought heat and the sesame oil a round, nutty richness. Any risk of over-seasoning was neutralized by the seasoned vegetables, which pulled the whole dish into perfect balance.
He'd measured everything by eye. How did it come out tasting like this?
And the most striking thing —
Crunch crunch.
Chew chew.
Each vegetable contributed its own distinct note, so every mouthful carried a subtly different profile from the last.
A sublime dish.
Her hand kept moving on its own.
And for the entire meal, she never once lifted her head — a fact Camilla herself didn't notice.
Whenever Lucas dipped into the stew, she followed. Whenever his chopsticks picked up a side dish, she reached for the same one.
Mimicking his method — that was what made it taste so good.
Cheonggukjang bibimbap. It surpassed every expectation.
"Was it satisfactory?"
"Delicious."
Answering Lucas, she lifted her last spoonful.
A thoroughly satisfying meal. Better than she'd hoped.
Following the chef's recommendations was good — but following the chef himself, watching the way he actually ate, had been far better. Having a live demonstration made all the difference.
After drinking a glass of water and dabbing her lips with a handkerchief, she spoke.
"Lucas, I have a proposal."
"What kind?"
"From now on, every new menu item — I want to eat it with you."
"Pardon?"
"The way you eat? It's more delicious than I expected."
Yes.
Because the food was delicious. No other intention.
"..."
"Of course, I'm not asking you to do it for free. I'll grant you one thing you want."
Lucas regarded her with a slightly bewildered expression.
"I'm glad the meal suited your taste, but I always eat at this hour. You'd be terribly hungry by then."
"...That's fine. I can endure a wait."
"Understood."
"So, what will you have for it? Anything except 'stop coming here.'"
The pleasant fullness lifted the corners of her mouth.
"In that case — please send me a magician on dispatch. Someone discreet, and skilled at alchemy."
"Is that all?"
"That's all."
The deal cost her nothing.
"Very well. Done."