Bon Appétit, Your Majesty (폭군의 셰프)

BON APPÉTIT, YOUR MAJESTY

ROYAL KITCHEN

I have never seen anything like this before.

What is this called?

For the third round, where we need to make a soup dish,

we'll use this.

This cast-iron pot

is made to be heated from the bottom,

and it traps the steam,

which allows the pressure to increase.

But we have not even started the first round,

so why are we already discussing the third round?

What I learned from cooking competitions

is that you have to be well-prepared for the last round to win.

Everyone does well in the first two rounds.

The third round is when you become exhausted and run out of ideas,

and that's the round that separates the winner from the loser.

So the key to our strategy is to plan in reverse order.

For the third round, we are expected to make soup with ginseng, are we not?

Ginseng eel soup, ginseng loach soup, ginseng short rib soup.

The only choice is to make one of those nourishing dishes,

so why do we need a pot like this when we already have cauldrons?

The most appropriate ginseng soup that comes to my mind

is ogolgye samgyetang, Silkie ginseng chicken soup.

- "Ogolgye samgyetang" ? - "Ogolgye samgyetongue" ?

What is " samgyetongue "?

Are you saying you will make soup with a chicken's tongue?

Oh, " san ge ," as in "live crabs."

Maybe the soup includes crabs, so it is a seafood soup of some sort.

I see.

So samgyetang didn't exist in this era.

Samgyetang is a soup dish where a chicken, stuffed with ginseng and medicinal herbs,

is simmered until tender.

Not only do you want this ridiculous pot,

but you also want to cut open and stuff an ogolgye , Silkie,

and make it into a soup?

If you stuff a chicken, the stuffing will turn to mash

while the chicken cooks.

You do not know your soups, do you?

Of course I do.

Ingredients cook at different intervals,

and that's why this soup must be cooked

with effort and the help of science.

- Effort? - Signs?

First, we must obtain a pressure cooker to cook the ogolgye in.

Then this is the first effort we put into this dish.

We'll then wash the ogolgye in water filtered through loess soil

to get rid of the gamey smell.

That would be the second effort.

And lastly, we'll use red ginseng that is at least six years old,

jujube, milkvetch root, dendropanax,

bellflower root, lady bell, dried deer antler, and more.

We'll use ten medicinal herbs

to make a broth to cook the chicken in.

Exactly how much effort does it need?

Cook Yeon, is that the last effort we put in?

Once we put our heart into the dish,

it's complete.

It sounds like we could use our cauldron.

To tenderize the tough meat of wild ogolgye

at the same speed as the other ingredients

and achieve the effect of boiling for ten hours within just one hour…

PRESSURE COOKER

…this is absolutely necessary.

I have never seen or heard of it.

What if we cannot get this?

Come to your senses, Cook Min. Where are we to find that thing?

I'll have it made.

Cook Yeon! You are not making any sense!

Who in the world could ever make this?

I understand we must trust her on this matter,

so forget everything else.

But you are saying you want to have a pot made.

This is not a forge.

It won't be easy,

but if we have this pot,

we can cook something with an incomparable depth of flavor.

Are you sure it can be done?

Yes.

If my memory serves me correctly,

there is one man in Joseon

who can make this.

COURSE N° 7 DONGNAE PAJEON ON A RAINY DAY

FIRST ROUND DISH

CHICKEN

We're done for.

What is this strange-looking thing?

PUMPKIN RICE SYRUP

VINEGAR

- Ya Feixiu. - Okay.

- This is gochugaru , chili powder. - Gochogaru ?

My gosh, it is spicy.

This is gochujang.

We'll mix these two

to make a sauce for the galbijjim, braised short ribs.

THIRD ROUND DISH

Ogolgye meat is tough and takes a long time to cook.

But if you cook for too long, it tastes bad.

It is not a suitable ingredient for a competition.

That is exactly why

we need to use this pressure cooker.

Water boils at 100°C, but at 2 atmospheric pressures,

it boils at 120°C.

In other words, it's possible to cook the chicken

until it's so soft you could even eat the bones.

- So how is this thing made? - Well…

Hang on.

What is it?

That's weird.

It's nothing.

That was close.

GANGNYEONGJEON

PRESSURE COOKER, PACKING, COMPRESS, CAST-IRON POT

What on earth do you plan to do with something like this?

I'll use it to cook the soup in the third round.

It's a very important pot that will determine the taste of our dish.

It's where cooking meets science.

Your Majesty, I need this to create a dish that doesn't exist in this era.

Are you asking me

to find someone who will make this?

That's right.

Isn't there someone

called Jang Yeong-sil here?

I think he could make it.

The grand military protector who invented the hemispherical sundial

and water clock?

That man…

The late king thought highly of him.

The late king?

Then are you saying he's not here anymore?

There might be someone at Gungisi, Government Arsenal, who can help.

Gungisi?

It is where weapons are made for the army.

They make cannons, swords, and spears.

The people there can't make this.

I need an inventor.

Your Majesty.

CHANG-SEON CHIEF EUNUCH OF ROYAL FOOD

There is Jang Chun-saeng.

He is the descendant of the grand military protector Jang Yeong-sil.

Jang Yeong-sil's descendant?

Tell us more about him.

He was well-known within Gungisi for making bizarre things.

He was dismissed last summer

for causing an explosion on the grounds.

An explosion?

Where is he now?

I heard he returned to his hometown.

We should be able to get more information if we inquire at Gungisi.

Your Majesty, please let me see him immediately.

There's no time.

There is no need to make a fuss.

Rushing never works--

Without the pressure cooker,

it'll be hard to beat the Ming cooks with soup.

I really need this to tenderize the meat of the ogolgye

and make the ginseng seep into the broth.

We barely have enough time to prepare for the first two rounds.

I have to get the other ingredients too.

There are plenty of ingredients within the palace, are there not?

The thing is,

what I want are fresh ingredients from the wild outdoors.

Freshly-plucked ingredients

determine how a dish turns out.

Then I should accompany you.

You cannot, Your Majesty.

The envoys are at Taepyeonggwan, Official Reception Hall.

That is not all.

Cook Yeon needs to set off to prepare

for a competition that our nation's future depends on.

It would not be right

for you to leave the palace at such a time, Your Majesty.

Very well then.

I will permit your departure.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

However,

I cannot allow you to travel alone.

Pardon?

Travel safely.

I will.

I'll be back soon.

Use it if you need men or horses.

Yes, Your Majesty.

We shall leave now, Your Majesty.

Go on.

Su-hyeok.

Do you not think people would find those two strange?

I am not certain I understand, Your Majesty.

Do they not look like they are married?

Oh, I see what you mean, Your Majesty.

Cook Yeon is too fair a lady to be thought of as his brother,

but they do not look like a married couple.

I cannot let this be.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Will I really get Mangunrok back?

You talk about that book whenever you see me.

His Majesty said he would find it, so stop asking about it.

It's because it's an important book to me.

I'm really going to return as soon as this competition's over.

Do you still want to return that badly?