Chapter 318: Waiting for independence (1)

“What’s up? Is there anything weird?”

“What are you talking about? It’s weird!”

“What do you mean? I don’t understand.”

Even when the white guy was surprised, his Asian friend could not reply properly because he enjoyed the taste he had expected. Gyukatsu. It wasn’t difficult for him to guess its taste. He knew what taste it was, but the thing was, it was much more savory than he expected.

“Wow, how come beef can feel so soft?”

“You are surprised, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, absolutely. I know the meat becomes very soft when cooked with Sous vide. But this is much softer than I think. I can’t figure out how to express its taste.”

As always, one was supposed to feel so proud when someone praised the restaurant where one invited one’s friend. A broad satisfied smile was on the white guy’s face. His Asian friend once again carefully picked up the sous vide-treated Gyukatsu and put it in his mouth.

‘It tastes so…’

The Asian man closed his eyes. Even though he tasted it for the second time, he felt it tasted as good as he did at first. Rather, he felt it tasted more savory since he tasted with more expectations than before.

The crispy batter, the beef broth that moistened the batter, and the wasabi with soy sauce spread out over his tongue. It was hard for him to express its rich taste properly.

Most of all, it was the softness of the meat that touched him deeply. He found its texture so soft, which was chewy, but not tough. And it wasn’t just Gyukatsu made with meat ripened in Sous vide.

In the case of Gyukatsu with uncooked, aged beef fried in a fryer, it had the same texture that people usually thought of. It had the crispy taste of live beef, and its outer part covered with the batter had the unique fat smell of slightly cooked meat, and the marbled beef hidden inside it showed why it was still loved by many people, even though wagyu was criticized for its breeding method.

Gyukatsu, which was cut off then grilled again for a short time, had a different flavor from the ungrilled one. Of course, this wasn’t cooked all the way to the core, but only its outer part was cooked to the extent that it was slightly grilled to trap the juice inside, but it was enough to make a difference.

“How on earth can it taste like the grill in this briefly grilled beef?”

“Taste of the burn?”

“It’s an expression used in Korea. In this case, I would say the smoky taste is more correct. Very exotic.”

It was natural that the Asian guy expressed such feelings. When Min-joon chose Gyukatsu as the main menu, he regretted that there was no blazier without which customers couldn’t feel it tasted like fire. However, it was hard for him to recommend them to eat the roasted one among the five types of Gyukatsu.

So, while pondering over the problem, he thought of using oil first. After heating the oil for some time, he lightly sprinkled beer on the inside of Gyukatsu and put it on an iron plate before cooking the grilled Gyukatsu, which was enough to make the customers feel that it tasted like fire even on a food truck.

‘Wow, this is definitely an exotic dish.’

Someone who overheard the conversation between the white and Asian guys nodded. He was a curly-haired man with a shaggy gray beard and glasses with horns, who seemed to be in his 40s. He cut Gyukatsu in half with a fork and put it with jelly in his mouth. Then he closed his eyes and relished the taste for a moment.

‘What the hell is this jelly made of? The ginger tastes so subtle… Oh, this is wasabi flavor. It looks like he has replaced the sauce itself with this jelly.’

The man smiled. It had been a few years since he found it so fun to interpret the dish itself like this. Looking at the man, a woman next to him carefully said, “Chef Serhi, everyone around me is praising its taste. You, too?”

“What do you think, Emma?”

“I was very surprised. I have never imagined that food trucks would serve this kind of high-end dish. Apart from food trucks, they could serve this kind of food even at restaurants without any problem at all.”

“I agree. I think you and I are a perfect couple. How about getting married this weekend?”

“Stop that impish joking. I don’t feel up to it. So, did you get some inspiration? You came here in excitement because these guys are from Rose Island. I think you have to come up with some idea about a new recipe.”

“Yeah, I can feel something, but I’m not sure. Let me go back to the kitchen and think about it.”

When he said that, Emma silently looked at the food truck. Obviously, more people than those waiting in lines right now picked up Gyukatsu bags and went back, the queues outside the food truck were still long. So much so that Emma was worried that the ingredients they prepared might not be sufficient enough to serve the rest of them in long lines.

“… I just envy the chefs here…”

“About what?”

“Customers want them. No matter how good you are as a chef, you are useless if you don’t have customers, which is so sad.”

“Hey, do you know you are very good at adding salt into my wounds sometimes?”

“Well, I’m not doing it casually, with a firm determination. It’s time you need to be alert. It’s already been two months since we didn’t make any profits. If this trend continues, we might have to close the shop.”

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When she pointed it out, Serhi scratched his temple awkwardly. She tapped her heart in frustration at his carefree look. Her hand that was holding the Gyukatsu trembled as if it was about to fall off anytime. Startled, Serhi took away the Gyukatsu box in her hand.

“You might drop the Gyukatsu box, Emma!”

“Hey, just focus more on your own cooking before you meddle in my affairs!”

“I think I have no problem with my cooking.”

“But customers’ feedback is not good. Besides, we lost our Michelin stars. You know that our sales were down after that, right? I wish we had kept even one Michelin star, but we don’t have one now. We had two stars, but we don’t have even one now. Don’t you think you need to work harder?”

“The reason my food was delicious wasn’t because we had two Michelin stars. It was because I was a cook who could make delicious dishes. So I wasn’t that happy because I got two stars, and I’m not so discouraged yet, Emma. Just trust me and wait. Delicious dishes get recognized anyway.”

“I hope so, too.”

“Good!”

Grinning at her, Serhi put the last piece of Gyukatsu in his mouth. It was a piece of Gyukatsu made with sous vide beef. Watching him enjoy it casually, Emma frowned a bit.

“Isn’t it mine?”

“Oh, really? Sorry. I forgot because it was so delicious. Sorry, I even took Gyukatsu from you when I couldn’t even make much money.”

“Hey, Chef!”

Serhi pointed at the food truck with a smile.

“Shall we wait in lines again? I don’t think we’ll wait longer than before.”

***

Just like the Asian man and his white friend, Serhi and Emma praised the Gyukatsu so much. Min-joon and Anderson’s Gyukatsu drew so good response from the customers compared with what they had cooked previously. Was it because of that? At the restaurant where everyone gathered that evening, Rachel tapped the two on the shoulders. She smiled more softly than they expected and said, “It seems you guys have realized how important harmony between the staff is in the kitchen.”

Neither Min-joon nor Anderson could respond properly at that.

She continued with a smile, “Apart from your reconciliation, the way you cooked Gyukatsu this time is quite interesting.”

“In fact, I made it the way I cooked Cho Reggiano. At that time, I could bring about five flavors and textures of one ingredient. This time, me and Anderson brought out five flavors with one cooking method.”

“There are a lot of chefs who can’t even do it like you. Rather, they avoid it. The way you look at one ingredient from multiple perspectives is more sophisticated than you think. It’s also very popular these days.”

Min-joon nodded at her remarks silently. Certainly, this approach was very sophisticated, he thought. It was especially so when it was mixed with molecular cuisine. But it was by no means easy. It was easy to say various tastes and textures with one ingredient, but the ingredient was not the same. To make various dishes with the same material required more effort and devotion than ordinary people thought.

“To be honest, I was quite worried about you when I put you two as a team, but I think I can trust you now.”

“Thank you.”

“So, it’s my wish that you guys learn quite a bit here today.”

Rachel looked around, saying so. A middle-aged man with a shaggy beard looked at them with a funny smile.

“I don’t think I can teach you anything, but I can cook something delicious enough to touch you.”

“Hey, Serhi, don’t try to get on your high horse!”

“Isn’t it me who goes about my life in my own way?”

“That’s why you lost the Michelin stars, right?”

“Oh no! I don’t take them seriously. I don’t think my cooking skills are dependent on those stars,” Serhi replied with a smile.

Min-joon was amazed to hear that. He had never seen anybody like Serhi who kept a detached attitude toward Michelin stars. As if he read Min-joon’s mind, Serhi smiled and looked at him and Anderson.

“I stopped by the food truck and ate Gyukatsu. It was so delicious that I ate twice, waiting in lines. Do you remember me?”

“Oh, I wasn’t at the cashier’s desk. I’m sorry, but I can’t remember.”

“Okay. I understand. Anyway, since you served delicious food, let me make something delicious, too.”

“I look forward to it,” Min-joon replied with a soft smile.