I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 199



Only Krnovel

199 I don’t have a hobby of bullying weak kids.

I got a call from acquaintances I hadn’t heard from in a long time. From David, Anna, and Daniel, my CIA colleagues, to Jason and Nicole, who I worked with at Luce de Sole, they all called me as if nothing had happened and said hello. And they asked me slyly about the article.

“There are a lot of people who worry about you, oppa.”

Joohee says with a smile.

“Did I look that anxious?”

“That’s probably not it. I guess Le Bernardin had a big problem last year, so they wanted to check just in case.”

“Sometimes I feel like people are expecting too much from me. I’ve always done what I wanted to do the most. Fine dining is probably the most sophisticated form of food culture, but there are areas that it doesn’t cover.”

I take pride in the Korean food and meals I prepare.

It’s suffocating to think that you have to cook only for nobles and kings, like the court chefs of medieval France. Could there be anything more horrible than that?

“What do you mean, they expect each other and then get disappointed on their own? Whenever someone says that my brother needs to have a sense of duty, I want to tell them not to make fun of me.”

Joo-hee pouts and complains. It seems she was also bothered by the Times column.

“Joohee, I feel reassured when you say it like that.”

“But I can understand feeling sorry when a world-class classical musician strays to pop or jazz.”

“Haha! What is that?”

“The important thing is that you do what you want. Then the people around you will be happy too.”

The fine dining industry has contributed greatly to the development of recipes and cooking techniques by not only discovering new ingredients but also using sophisticated cooking methods. There have also been constant attempts to reinterpret past recipes or fuse them with modern cuisine, and these innovations have accumulated to lead to qualitative growth in the entire culinary culture.

In addition, fine dining restaurants provide a platform for young chefs to hone their skills and experiment with new ideas. These talented chefs then travel around the world to spread new recipes and cooking techniques.

Richard’s remark that “with proper talent comes proper responsibility” is also an argument in this context. The dishes I have made are not made from scratch. I am using the results of the blood, sweat, and tears of many chefs in the past without any compensation, so I should make a proper contribution.

What can I tell future chefs?

Am I really the chef who can live up to their expectations and leave behind a legacy great enough to last?

I don’t know yet. But I also feel a sense of obligation to give back to this industry at least as much as I have received.

* * *

“So, is it right to say that I want to become famous and ask you how to do it?”

Soyoung asked me for advice. I was curious because she rarely confided her worries to me first.

“That’s right, Chef. After the last mess, I thought that if I were a famous chef, things would have been different. And I don’t know what you think, but I consider you my benefactor and mentor in my culinary life. I can’t stand the idea of ​​someone doubting Segreto.”

Since it had been a long time since I renewed my course to run various businesses, I was able to accept Richard’s column without much resistance. However, she seemed to take it differently.

Soyoung is a great chef.

Her unique sensual appetizers are so well-made that even I have a lot to learn. I was thinking that I should upload them to CDP or assign them to other stations, but when I see Soyoung’s desire to improve, I see myself from the past.

“I’ll write you a letter of recommendation, so try appearing on a TV show. You know about ‘Best Chef,’ right?”

Best Chef is a program where chefs from famous restaurants gather together to complete missions and select the eliminated ones. The winner will receive a prize of $100,000 and a special article in Food & Wine. It can be said to be a professional version of Master Chef.

The contestants of this program often show pride in the restaurants they are a part of. I remember that the winner of last season was CDP from Per Se, a Michelin 3-star restaurant in New York.

Since it is not a program that anyone can participate in, the producer and writer in charge went around famous restaurants to personally recruit talent. Of course, they also asked me to recommend participants.

Ella and Dominic were not considered because they had already appeared on TV, and Sam was a sous chef so he couldn’t leave his seat. Soyoung is not the type of person who likes to step forward so I didn’t ask her, but if she had decided to do so, there would be no chef who would be better suited to this program than Soyoung.

“Uh… Is this a survival program?”

Hmm? The response is lukewarm. Wasn’t it your intention to become famous?

“Why? You don’t feel like it?”

Soyoung is not a friendly person to cheftainers. I remember one day when she saw Gordon Ramsay on TV and asked me when he cooks. But if you want to get famous, broadcasting is the most effective way.

“No, that’s not it. If I go out there, it’s obvious that I’ll win. I don’t have a hobby of bullying weak kids… .”

Soyoung twists her hair around her index finger and tries to avoid the question.

I guess in her mind, Segreto is the best restaurant on earth.

“You have so much confidence. If you’re only talking about antipasto (appetizers), you’ll be able to go to any restaurant in the world without any problems. But Primo or Secondo is a different story. I think it could be a level up stage for you too.”

I wanted to change Soyoung’s section at this point anyway. For chefs who want to develop, having a rival is essential, so I hope Soyoung meets a good person there.

“If you say so, I’ll give it a try.”

“The PD came and went. I heard that Daniel and Martha are also participants this time. Don’t give up.”

Soyoung’s eyes widen. Both places have 3 Michelin stars and are more famous than Segreto.

“I’m motivated. I’ll come back and prove that we’re the best restaurant in New York, regardless of the number of stars.”

So Young’s participation in Best Chef was decided.

* * *

Perhaps because it is the end of the year, the excitement around me is transmitted to the kitchen. However, I am coming to the lab for the first time in a long while and am working hard on my research. I want to come up with a new menu before spring comes, but I can’t think of a good topic.

I have a reputation in the industry for handling meat well.

Although it has been well-received as a main dish using various meats such as steak with porcini mushrooms, ossobuco, and veal, there is an image that fish is not as good.

There is a stereotype in New York that Japanese chefs are the best when it comes to fish. Japanese chefs certainly cook fish in a variety of ways.

It is not only used in sashimi and sushi, but also in various other dishes such as pickles, stews, deep-fried dishes, and steamed dishes, and is gaining prominence not only in Japanese cuisine but also in fine dining.

This time, I think it would be good to serve a main dish using fish, but I have no intention of imitating Japanese food.

My culinary roots are Italian, so I want to create Mediterranean cuisine that brings out the best flavor of fish.

Red mullet, sea bass, and halibut were excluded because they are ingredients that have been used a lot in the past.

Perhaps the most famous fish in the Mediterranean is cod.

In Europe, cod was called the bread of the sea and was a daily food. People in Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal also love cod.

There are hundreds of recorded recipes, but the common denominator is that the main method is to salt and then dry it before eating.

When the British began using cod as a main ingredient in fish and chips, it became synonymous with a popular, tasteless fish, but that is a misnomer. When properly cooked, cod has a taste that is not far behind that of higher-quality fish.

I caught a cod on a cutting board and filleted it.

After removing the moisture and seasoning with salt and pepper, I started to fry it in a pan with olive oil. I added butter to give it more flavor and seasoned it with chopped garlic, parsley and thyme.

It is also important to add acidity by sprinkling white wine and lemon. Afterwards, it is done by baking it in the oven until it is soft inside.

The fragrant sauce made with herbs and butter drizzled over it made my mouth water.

The subtle scent of butter tickles your nose. The golden-brown codfish is golden and the parsley sprinkled on top adds a refreshing touch.

The meat was cut smoothly with a fork. I put a generous amount of sauce on it with a knife and put it in my mouth.

The moist, ripe cod meat melts softly, filling your mouth with the freshness of the sea. And as you chew, the aroma of garlic and herbs combine with the butter to create an explosive synergy.

“It’s just plain delicious.”

If you go to a typical Michelin star restaurant, you will be served a cod steak like this. It is a dish that can be enjoyed without being awkward no matter what you pair it with.

But is there a surprise here? Everything tastes predictable.

The reason cod is dried is because the protein is broken down into amino acids during the process.

Codfish is less flavorful than Portuguese bacalhau (salted and dried codfish) and is not as tender as red mullet.

Even now that I think about it, there are many fish dishes that are tastier than this.

Fish flesh begins to break down at about 60 degrees Celsius, causing proteins to denature, changing their molecular structure and losing their shape.

During this denaturing process, the moisture in the fish flesh escapes, causing the fibers in the fish flesh to break down and become hard.

However, that doesn’t mean you can eat cod raw.

It is not a fish with a high fat content like tuna or salmon, and when not dried, it has a low percentage of glutamic acid and amino acids, which are natural savory components. The muscles of cod are firm, so when cooked properly, you can enjoy a softer taste.

There was a clear reason why our ancestors did not eat codfish raw, as it had a unique fishy taste.

I think I know what to do.

I want to create a Mediterranean dish that is both soft and rich while preserving the savory flavor of dried cod.

As soon as the task arose, the experiment began. Dried cod is not suitable for grilling, so it is aged in the refrigerator as a fillet to activate the amino acids.

You should cook it slowly at 60 degrees or lower and observe the reaction.

There are three methods I prepared: sous vide, oven, and smoked.

“Oh my god. This isn’t it.”

But none of these methods gave me the results I wanted.

Sous vide removes all the moisture from the fish, and oven baking dries out the surface. The method of imparting a smoky flavor to the cod also did not suit the material.

Why does moisture disappear? It’s because of protein denaturation.

Even if you boil it in water, it loses moisture due to osmosis.

I sliced ​​the cod meat thinly and examined it closely under a microscope. Cod’s cell membranes were slightly thicker than those of regular fish.

Couldn’t the osmotic phenomenon be resolved by increasing the concentration of salt water and strengthening the cell membrane to prevent water loss?

As soon as this thought occurs, my head starts spinning.

The cod is salted and aged with minimal salt. After that, the salt water is adjusted to find the point where it has exactly the same concentration as the cell fluid inside the fish. This is the so-called ‘osmotic balance’ state in chemistry.

The temperature was adjusted so that protein denaturation occurred as slowly as possible.

Raise the temperature gradually, being careful not to destroy the cell membrane. When the temperature goes from 54 to 55 degrees, the cell membrane begins to break through. Up to 54 degrees, it seems to be fine.

After adjusting the temperature of the tank precisely, I observed the changes in the cod flesh over several days. And finally, I found the ideal point.

It had been exactly 60 hours since the fillets had been in the tank.