Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 195

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The pirate ship’s kitchen was so convincingly ordinary that it was hard to believe it was inside a ship.

Cainchel’s eyes widened at the sight, which was subtly different from what he was used to in Britannia.

‘This is a Ming Dynasty kitchen!’

He decided he absolutely had to learn cooking skills on this pirate ship.

Because there was no place in Britannia equipped with such exotic equipment.

Elizabeth kept urging Cainchel to join her for seafood dishes.

However, he couldn’t bring himself to go back to Britannia to eat Britannia food when he had a Ming Dynasty chef right in front of him.

In the end, Elizabeth had to leave for Britain first, somewhat disappointed.

‘Lady Elizabeth really wanted to eat seafood. I should make her even more delicious dishes next time.’

Cainchel went into the kitchen, imagining her playfully scolding him if she heard him.

Then, Chef Jeok-un, who had been waiting, tapped a large wooden board that could easily double as a bed.

“This is the space for making noodles (製麵).”

Jeok-un wrote the Chinese characters for noodles (麵) on the stone slab and explained their meaning.

“Flour (小麥) is placed on this surface (麵) and kneaded to make them, so it is called noodles. Wheat is the most important staple food in the Ming Dynasty, along with rice. Noodle dishes, in particular, are incredibly popular.”

Soup-based, fried, stir-fried, and so on.

The noodle dishes in the Ming Dynasty are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

There wasn’t enough time to learn them all.

Inevitably, Cainchel decided to learn how to make noodles first, the skill Jeok-un was most confident in.

Jeok-un piled flour like a mountain on the noodle-making table and began to knead it.

The smell was very savory, indicating high-quality wheat.

“Since you are confident in your culinary skills, how about tasting the noodles you make yourself first?”

“Sounds good.”

It was finally time to see what Jeok-un could really do.

Jeok-un sprinkled salt and water on the flour and began to knead it in earnest.

“No olive oil or eggs are added. It’s a completely different method from pasta.”

“I don’t know what *Hwasuda* [likely a regional term for a specific kneading technique] is. The chewiness and taste of noodles vary depending on the kneading skills. I will make the best noodles in the world.”

“The best noodles in the world……?”

“A dish that creates and serves a bowl of noodles with just one continuous strand. In Shanxi Province, there is a tradition of feeding these ‘longevity noodles’ to children celebrating their birthdays. It contains the wish for them to live happily for a long time.”

It was a technique that even Brilliant Lord [a character or figure of authority] had not shown.

Cainchel opened his eyes wide and memorized all of Jeok-un’s movements.

As the flour clumped together and began to become chewy, Jeok-un added something from a small bottle.

“It is bittern, which is left over after removing salt from seawater.”

“Are you perhaps talking about the bittern used to make tofu?”

“Oh ho……. I never thought I would see someone who knows tofu in a foreign land. That’s right. Adding bittern improves the elasticity of the dough and increases the density, making it easier to clump together.”

‘Bittern has such an effect……!’

As he said, the elasticity of the dough improved noticeably.

Hot air poured out from Jeok-un’s body, who had taken off his top.

Koo-oong!

And his small body swelled up as if air had been blown into it.

“You need to knead with such strong and constant force in various directions for a long time to improve the texture.”

Jeok-un said these words and took out a long rod that he had placed next to him. He began to use it to thinly press the flour dough.

“What is important to make noodles from one continuous strand is the evenness of the force when pressing the dough. So, you press the dough using a rolling pin like this.”

Only then can it receive force in a constant direction, creating the unique chewiness of the best noodles in the world.

Jeok-un sprinkled flour so that the noodles would not clump together and continued to repeat the kneading.

It felt like watching croissants being made.

Only the savory smell unique to grains wafted from the dough, which contained no butter or eggs.

When the dough folded into dozens of layers was cut, the noodles stretched to a length of 3.8m [approximately 12.5 feet].

It had a wide shape like a belt.

Jeok-un put it in a boiling pot and boiled it. Then, unbelievably chewy noodles were made.

Jeok-un put the best noodles in the world on a large plate and sprinkled them with a sweet and sour vinegar and sesame sauce.

“Sesame sauce jelly noodles made with the best noodles in the world. Since no other toppings are added, you will be able to fully enjoy the taste of the noodles.”

Originally, it was a dish that had to be eaten with wooden chopsticks.

However, to Cainchel, who was from Britannia, using chopsticks only looked like a clown’s trick.

“Well, it’s not a formal banquet, so it doesn’t matter how you eat it.”

Cainchel shrugged his shoulders. He picked up the sesame sauce jelly noodles with a fork and brought them to his mouth.

And he was shocked.

‘What is this……? It’s unbelievably chewy and elastic! It’s like the noodles are bouncing off my teeth!’

When he swallowed the noodles, the texture going down his throat was amazing.

The taste was also special when eaten with plenty of vinegar and sesame sauce.

The savory and sour taste spread throughout his mouth every time he chewed, highlighting the taste of the chewy noodles so well.

‘I, I can’t stop eating!’

Cainchel realized why Jeok-un used tools to knead the dough.

In order to obtain such elasticity with only flour, salt, and bittern, tremendous strength and stamina are required.

The role of the tool is to make up for the insufficient parts.

Cainchel instantly became a prisoner of the noodles made by Jeok-un. If he could learn this skill, he wouldn’t mind spending a fortune.

[You have tasted the 6-star dish ‘Unbelievable Elasticity Noodles’.]

[Due to the influence of the gourmet level, some of the experience and aura contained in the dish have been absorbed.]

‘6, 6 stars?!’

He created a 6-star dish just by kneading noodles. He had never met a chef with such skills except for Gordon [likely referring to Gordon Ramsay, a famous chef].

He couldn’t understand why he was being held captive on a pirate ship.

To Cainchel, who was silently demanding an explanation, Jeok-un returned a look filled with sadness.

And he told him what had happened to him.

“I have a daughter named Sang-ah. I lost my wife to illness and have been living alone with her. Then, I received an offer from Junghwaru to open a small noodle shop if I worked there for five years.”

In the end, Jeok-un left his daughter with his younger sister living in the countryside and went to work at Junghwaru in Shanxi Province.

“Junghwaru is one of the top three restaurants in Shanxi Province. I made over a thousand servings of noodles every day. Perhaps my skills were good, as many people flocked to eat the noodles. In the end, I was able to rise to the position of vice chef.”

His skills were understandable for someone in that position.

And the promised five years passed. The owner of Junghwaru promised a much larger reward and asked Jeok-un to stay.

However, Jeok-un wanted nothing more than to live happily with his daughter than any wealth or glory.

“Besides, Sang-ah turns 14 this year. I want to feed her the best noodles in the world that I made myself on her birthday. I am going home…….”

Heartfelt tears streamed down from Jeok-un’s eyes. He said that he was kidnapped by pirates on his way to meet his daughter.

And he had to make noodles for the pirates for over half a year.

Cainchel grabbed Jeok-un’s strangely cool hand and said.

“You will be able to return. No, I promise you right here and now. I will bet everything to send you back to your hometown.”

“Thank you, young hero……. Thank you so much…….”

If he went to the Tuscan Confederation, he could easily find a merchant ship from the Ming Dynasty.

He would rent the whole thing to send Jeok-un to the Ming Dynasty.

The noodle-making skills he would learn from now on were worth it.

@

“There are many ways to make noodles. If you make the dough into a circle and then repeatedly roll it up to make it thin, the elasticity of the noodles will be much better.”

Jeok-un was able to do most of the numerous noodle-making methods that existed in the Ming Dynasty.

In particular, he was confident in knife-cut noodles.

This involves cutting a large lump of flour dough with a V-shaped knife to make noodles.

“Then the thick and thin parts of the noodles give a different texture. It is mixed with various vegetables and spicy sauce, and the more you eat it, the more addictive it becomes.”

In addition, there are Gunsan Ojo noodles made with thinly pulled noodles and duck meat.

Sichuan Dan Dan noodles, which are eaten by mixing cold noodles with meat, various vegetables, and a spicy sauce made with chili oil, etc.

The types of noodles were as diverse as the countless noodles that existed.

“First, practice hitting the noodles by hand. Hand-pulled noodles are chewy and absorb the broth well, making them suitable for most noodles.”

Cainchel, who had already made numerous breads, was able to knead the dough without difficulty.

Jeok-un said in surprise.

“Oh my……. What chewiness and elasticity! This is really perfect dough! How did you get this skill…….”

“The basic skills are not much different from bread dough. However, I tried to keep the direction of the force constant when kneading the dough, following Jeok-un’s method.”

“Hahaha……. To have this level of perfection after seeing it only once……. Your talent is chilling. And an unbelievably sensitive tongue……. It’s like you were born to cook.”

For hand-pulled noodles, the elasticity of the dough is more important than anything else. In that respect, Cainchel’s dough was a passing grade.

‘Unlike pasta, noodles don’t contain eggs or butter. If so, the elves can eat as much as they want.’

When he thought of the elves eating the noodles he made while slurping, a smile naturally appeared on his face.

Cainchel recalled the hand-pulled noodles made by Jeok-un.

Every time he pulled his hand, the noodles stretched out, and every time he hit it on the noodle-making table, new noodles were created.

It was literally a near-miraculous skill.

In order to master it perfectly, he would need to practice thousands, no, tens of thousands of times.

However, Cainchel completely mastered it in just 3,000 times.

It was such a fast pace that even Jeok-un, who was teaching him how to make noodles, was surprised.

And another stroke of luck came.

[You have been taught the ‘Noodle Making’ skill by a master with a high cooking level.]

[The skill of making noodles has been sublimated into the ‘Noodle Making 製麵’ skill.]

‘……This is a new cooking skill?!’

Moreover, because he learned from a master with such excellent skills, there was no need to fill a separate slot.

Cainchel checked what kind of skill noodle making was.

It was a technique to create noodles that would never break, like meringue, by using aura to create bubbles.

When he activated the noodle-making skill, thin strands of aura poured out from his fingertips.

There were so many uses that came to mind right now.

‘This is totally awesome!’

After completely mastering hand-pulled noodles, Cainchel challenged himself to make noodles with other ingredients this time.

“Noodles are not only made with flour. There are noodles made with tofu, noodles made with mashed fish, and many other types of noodles.”

Jeok-un’s knowledge of noodles was enormous.

He made delicious noodles with ingredients that he didn’t think he could make noodles with.

It took 3 months to completely learn hand-pulled noodles. And it took a year to carve out the ideal form of knife-cut noodles.

In the end, Cainchel succeeded in learning all of Jeok-un’s noodle-making skills in 3 years.

Then Jeok-un said with an impressed expression.

“I thought it would take at least ten years. But to finish it in just 3 years……. I never thought I would meet a disciple who could inherit everything from me in a foreign land. Young hero. Will you accept this?”

What he held out was a small jade hairpin. The surface was worn smooth from how much he had been touching it.

“……What is that, Master?”

Before he knew it, Cainchel was calling Jeok-un master.

There was no more suitable title to call the man who had passed on everything to him.

Jeok-un placed the hairpin on Cainchel’s hand and continued speaking.

“It’s a gift I bought for Sang-ah. I really struggled not to have it taken away by the pirates.”

“……Why don’t you give such precious things to her yourself?”

It was a little late, but if he looked for a ship leaving for the Tuscan Confederation right now, he could arrive in Ming within two months.

‘Wait a minute. A little late? What. How long have I been here……? Definitely……. Ugh, my head hurts…….’

However, Jeok-un only repeated the same words.

“Young hero……. Please take me back to my hometown……. Young hero……. Give it to Sang-ah……. Young hero……. I still haven’t given anything to my daughter…….”

“Ugh, Ughaaaaaack!”

A scream erupted from between Cainchel’s tightly closed lips.

And the time that had stopped began to flow.

It was like he was possessed by something.

“What, since when have I been here……. Master Jeok-un……?”

When he opened his eyes, the figure of him talking until just now had disappeared.

Pirate’s Treasure #4