Chapter 104

Translator: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠True Detective

Chapter: 104

Chapter Title: Grand Chef Korea - Sea Bream with Apple Scales

1.

"Noona. What was the most delicious dish I've made for you?"

I asked while lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. From over the phone, my sister's voice could be heard.

"That's... why suddenly? Is it perhaps related to this mission?"

"Yeah."

Since my sister might write a post on the community, I couldn't tell her exactly. Still, this much should be fine.

"The most delicious thing among the dishes you made? I have to name just one?"

"Right."

She hesitated for a long time over the phone before sighing and speaking.

"I don't really know. To my taste, everything was delicious. So picking just one is actually harder."

"Really? It's not much help, but still, I feel good."

Feeling uplifted, my two feet stretched out on the bed began to shake up and down.

"Since I don't know what the mission is, it's a bit difficult to advise precisely..."

"Even if you lead me on like that, I won't tell you the mission. I saw everything you wrote on the community last time, Noona."

"I keep telling you, that wasn't me! I'm seriously wronged!"

"Yeah. Don't believe you."

Anyone could see it was a post she wrote. In the first place, the only person who would know that was Noona.

"I said it's really not..."

She mumbled and protested. After pausing for a moment, she carefully brought it up.

"I don't know what the mission is, but can't you just make the dish you are most confident in?"

At those words, I flinched reflexively. To think she would say the core of the mission. It didn't seem like she did it on purpose, but that was the theme and also my dilemma.

"...The dish I am most confident in? How should I decide that?"

"I wouldn't know that either. Still, a dish that only you can make, if there is such a thing... wouldn't that be exactly your signature dish?"

"...Signature dish, huh."

Certainly, if it's a dish only I can make, it could be called 'the dish I am most confident in'. The problem was whether such a dish really existed for me.

"If you really don't know, try recalling the dishes you made or ate in the otherworld. Wouldn't there be a clue there?"

"Otherworld cooking..."

I chewed over those words and closed my eyes for a moment. The scenery of that place brushed through my mind.

The Hero party members I traveled with, the meals we shared every time a fight ended. Memories that were hard but full of laughter came back fresh.

"There is a dish that had a particularly good reaction back then. It was something I tried copying in my own way from a dish we ate when a noble held a banquet..."

"Then try making that. You know it gets harder to decide the more you think, right? Just try attempting it first for now."

"That sounds good."

As expected, it was Noona. My worries naturally resolve when I talk like this. It has always been like this since we were young.

"...It would be great if only you didn't do community stuff."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

If I got caught for no reason, she might sulk, so I glossed over it.

"Okay. Then it's about time to sleep, so let's hang up now. You sleep soon too, Noona."

"I just woke up though? My main activity time starts now."

At those words, I couldn't help but be dumbfounded for a moment.

"It's 11 PM right now. But you just woke up? Are you living in Paris? How on earth are you living while I'm gone?"

"My life pattern just returned to how it was originally. I'll take care of myself just fine. You focus on your mission."

"...Just you wait when I go home later. I'll return it to a normal pattern right away."

I let out a deep sigh and said,

"You don't even know I'm doing this to protect you! Phew~ Seriously, Noona is sad, so sad."

"How does fighting in the comments on the community become an act of protecting me? And what are you going to do if you get caught fighting like that?"

"Then, that's regretful."

"Are you really crazy? Hurry and sleep. And cut back on the community stuff."

"You sleep. If you come back without winning... you know, right?"

"Yeah yeah~ Hanging up."

I hung up the phone with those words as the last. Putting the mobile phone down next to the pillow, I pulled the blanket up to my neck.

'I should nag her a bucketload when I go back later.'

I wonder if she's eating properly. Probably, she's just making do with delivery food unconditionally. I was worried, but right now I had my own fish to fry.

'Let's definitely win.'

Since I've come this far, shouldn't I aim for the win.

*

Three days passed. During that time, I repeated cooking endlessly, and after dozens of trials and errors, I was finally able to make a decision.

Perhaps because I touched the ingredients too often, a faint fishy smell still remained on my fingertips.

Today was the day to show the results of my effort and contemplation. I closed my eyes quietly in front of the kitchen and waited for my opponent and the judges.

Creak-

Along with the sound of the door opening, light footsteps could be heard. A faint scent of flowers brushed the tip of my nose.

'It's Chaeyoon.'

She didn't come towards me, but sat quietly in a seat a bit of a distance away.

Whether that was consideration for me, or an act of drawing a line that we are clearly 'enemies' from now on.

It was silent in front of the kitchen. Without a word to each other, we sat quietly in our spots. Soon, along with the sound of the door opening, the sound of dress shoes echoed in the space.

"Hello."

I opened my eyes. I saw the three judges walking towards us.

"Hello."

Chef Kang Taeyeon bowed his head first, and the two chefs following behind also offered greetings. I also rose from my seat and bowed my head to them.

"The day to present each other's dishes has finally come. Did you both prepare well?"

Chef Han Seojin asked looking at the two of us in turn.

"I think I did my best."

Chaeyoon answered first.

"Me too."

I also answered belatedly. Chef Han Seojin smiled lightly and opened her mouth.

"Good. I'm really looking forward to what dishes you two have prepared. I hope the effort and contemplation of the three days were all worth it."

"What you have to do today is simple. You just have to make the dish you believe you are most confident in."

At this time, Chef Moon Taeo immediately followed and started explaining the mission.

"Today there is no time limit, so you can cook comfortably. However, be careful as a time limit will apply on the day of the main judging. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

Chaeyoon and I nodded and answered simultaneously.

"Good. Then now, please start each other's cooking. You may use the kitchens on each side respectively. We will watch from this spot. Good luck."

With those words as the last, the judges stepped back. Chaeyoon and I met eyes for a moment and split to both sides.

I headed straight to the pantry. From there, I brought a sea bream, along with an apple and white wine. And celery and onion. Bay leaves and a lemon. I also grabbed some heavy cream and shallots.

I should grab plenty of butter too.

This dish was a dish that required a lot of butter. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Because butter and pepper were essential at noble banquets.

I placed the sea bream on the cutting board. First, I removed the scales with a knife. Since scales can fly elsewhere too, it was safer to remove them in advance at the first stage of trimming.

Next, I opened the gill cover and carefully cut the part connected to the inner membrane.

Using the tip of the knife, I slit slowly down to the belly side. If I went too deep here, the internal organs might burst; in that case, the fishy taste would seep into the fish flesh and make it unusable.

'Careful.'

I split the belly completely and took out the intestines and gills all at once. I gently scraped out the red blood clots remaining under the backbone with the knife tip. Such residues became the cause of fishy smell, so they had to be removed.

I trimmed up to the root of the fins with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the knife, and cut off the tail too.

After washing the trimmed sea bream cleanly in running water, I wiped the moisture inside and out with a kitchen towel to finish neatly.

Now I removed the bones attached to the gut side of the sea bream. To not miss even the fine bones hidden inside, I pulled them out one by one with tweezers. I had to be careful with the angle so the flesh wouldn't tear.

For the sea bream with bone trimming finished, I held the end of the tail and slowly pushed the flesh with the knife tip to separate it from the skin. Consistent force and speed were important.

The sea bream, completely trimmed like this, was covered with wrap and put in the refrigerator to rest for a while.

'Let's start now.'

First, I put hot water on the pot, and placed a bowl on top of it. When I put butter inside, it started to melt slowly by the heat.

While the butter melted, I took out the apple. Since the skin could feel tough, I peeled the surface with a peeler.

I pushed the trimmed apple into a slicer to slice it thinly. I put the thinly sliced pieces into a round metal mold and pressed firmly to shape them.

I put the shaped apple in a bowl, and slowly poured the butter melted in the double boiler over it. Finally, I added a small amount of potato starch and mixed carefully.

I took out the trimmed sea bream from the refrigerator. I placed it on the prepared parchment paper, then arranged the thinly sliced apples on top of it in order.

'Just like fish scales.'

The apple slices stacked in layers sparkled receiving the light. I covered it with parchment paper again, placed a slight weight on top, and moved it to the refrigerator as is.

'This is done...'

A moment later, I cut the head and remaining bones of the sea bream and put them in a pot. I added celery, lemon, onion, whole pepper, and bay leaves to it.

As I started boiling it on high heat, a subtle scent began to rise.

I peeled the shallot and minced it finely. After drizzling olive oil on the pan, I added the minced shallot and stir-fried until it became transparent. It was to evaporate moisture and condense the scent.

In this state, I added white wine and raised the heat to burn off the alcohol. I poured the boiling fish stock little by little with a ladle.

I simmered slowly until the sauce in the pan became thick. Around the time the stock reduced by half, I added heavy cream and adjusted the heat to low.

'Lower the heat...'

A white and soft sauce lingered on the bottom. I stared blankly at it, then turned my gaze to the side.

'I wonder what Chaeyoon is doing.'

From here, that kitchen wasn't visible at all. It must be to prevent peeking secretly.

'She must be doing well.'

I thought up to there and focused on the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dish in front of my eyes again.

I took out the sea bream from the refrigerator and carefully peeled off the parchment paper. Along with the cold touch, I saw the thin apple slices aligned smoothly.

I lifted the pan, pressed it closely to the sea bream, and flipped it. I had to make the apple part face the bottom unconditionally. Only then would the pieces stick together without scattering.

I carefully peeled off the parchment paper on the opposite side too. I drizzled olive oil around the sea bream.

I didn't touch it at all in this state. I waited slowly for the fish to cook itself. I only seasoned lightly with salt on top, and added a little minced garlic and butter to add scent.

'From now is important.'

I couldn't flip it side to side to cook like other meats. If I did that, it was obvious the scales made of apple would all scatter.

'I had to finish it in one go.'

I watched the bottom of the sea bream and judged the cooking speed. And when I felt the timing I thought was optimal had come...

'Now!'

I inserted the knife slightly as if scraping the bottom, lifted it, and flipped the sea bream. The apple and fish flesh grilled to a golden brown were revealed.

"Phew..."

Immediately, I put a piece of butter in the pan to melt, then lifted a spoon to pour it over the top constantly. This was called Basting.

The nuttiness of the butter and the scent of garlic covered the apple and sea bream. When the color came up perfectly, I took it out of the pan carefully.

'Now let's finish.'

I put a generous amount of butter into the sauce I was boiling until just a moment ago. As the butter melted in slowly, I seasoned with salt for the last time.

'Just right.'

I spread the sauce with the rich flavor spreading wide on the bottom of the plate. I carefully placed the sea bream coated with apple skin on top of it.

The texture of the apples attached in layers sparkled like scales. The sheen of the fish and the golden edges were like a landscape painting.

Finally, I placed a few young herb leaves on top. Just that much was enough.

'Complete.'

I caught my breath for a moment and looked at the plate. The result I had contemplated for three days was contained in this one plate right now.

Actually, I still wasn't certain. But I did everything I could do. What remained was to leave it to the heavens.

'Let's go.'

Ding-

A clear bell sound rang out in the quiet kitchen. Now it was time to be evaluated.