There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 48

“Are you suggesting we extract oil from cotton seeds?”

Choi Hae-san asked with a troubled expression.

“Why? Is there something wrong with that?”

“I haven’t lived a long life, but this is the first time I’ve heard of extracting oil from cotton seeds…”

“Why do you try to judge the world with your limited knowledge?”

How much of what I’ve done so far aligns with the common sense of the Joseon era [Korean dynasty from 1392 to 1897]?

However, Choi Hae-san still looked doubtful.

“If Your Highness needs oil, wouldn’t it be better to collect it from common households?”

“Try squeezing oil from a flea.”

Joseon is a poor country.

Denying this will lead to nowhere.

Soybean oil from the common people?

‘Even if we scrape it all together, we’ll only get criticized and won’t get as much as I want.’

We’re still in the process of building the nation; we can’t burden the people just to fry chicken.

Extracting oil from discarded cotton seeds is cheaper.

Except for the drawback that cottonseed oil is poisonous.

I stood at a crossroads, wondering whether to ignore this ‘minor problem’.

‘Wouldn’t it be okay if they only eat a little?’

Life is a process of dying anyway.

As long as it doesn’t cause a sudden death, right?

Are there people who don’t eat oysters because they might get a stomachache?

‘I ate raw oysters just fine even after getting norovirus.’

That’s how much the taste was worth risking my health for.

‘I was thinking of pressing rapeseed oil too.’

If we create rapeseed flower fields in places where farming is difficult, we can get both honey and oil.

However, if we try to create rapeseed flower fields now, when there’s a shortage of manpower for farming, there will be strong opposition.

“On the other hand, cottonseed oil is just a byproduct of cotton cultivation.”

Rapeseed oil is also toxic anyway.

‘There’s only one answer: remove the toxicity from cottonseed oil.’

With the sole desire to eat chicken, I thought of a way to remove the toxicity from cottonseed oil.

The biggest problem with cottonseed oil is the toxic substance called free gossypol.

The key to using cottonseed oil is to remove as much of this as possible.

There were several methods for this.

A method of removing toxicity by mixing zinc sulfate and boiling it.

And a method of detoxifying gossypol by putting cotton seeds in ferrous sulfate solution.

A method of detoxifying by washing it several times with lime water.

And a method of detoxifying by fermenting it.

Among these, the method of washing it several times with lime water was worth trying.

The rest were either too expensive or impossible with the current process.

“First, have the cotton seeds washed several times with lime water.”

The artisans of the Military Supplies Bureau, who mixed lime to make cement for the Hanyang construction [Hanyang was the capital of Joseon], whenever they had time, were skilled at handling lime.

However, everyone looked uneasy when they heard that lime water would be used to make oil for human consumption.

But I pushed ahead without hesitation.

‘Even though it looks like this, it’s a fairly proven method.’

The cotton seeds are soaked in water diluted with lime for a full day, and then repeatedly washed several times with clean water.

This detoxifies the gossypol, making it edible for humans and animals.

Then, to extract oil from it, the fluff of the cotton seeds was removed, and they were put into a mortar and pounded.

After separating the outer part of the seed from the core, the inner part was squeezed to extract the oil, and oil really started to flow out of the cotton seeds.

“Oh!”

“Oil really comes out of cotton!”

Those who had only used soybean oil and sesame oil until now looked like they were about to fall over in surprise.

Everyone used to throw away cotton seeds, thinking they were useless, but when oil came out of them as I had confidently predicted, their eyes changed.

Moreover, the oil extracted from cotton seeds was different from the oils they had seen so far; it had a brilliant golden color.

“Your Highness has extracted golden oil!”

“Your Highness touches it, and golden oil pops out. Truly the reincarnation of Chiwoo [a mythical figure in Korean history]…”

Ignoring the artisans’ chatter, I was lost in thought as I looked at the oil being squeezed out, filling a container.

‘Even though it’s gone through the detoxification process, I’m still uneasy about frying chicken with only this.’

“Your Highness, shall we take this golden oil to the royal kitchen?”

“Yes. But don’t use only cottonseed oil; mix it with the oils you’ve been using.”

In the original history, cottonseed oil was mixed to increase the amount of soybean oil or lard.

Moreover, mixing it with lard would make it solidify and easier to store for a long time, which was even more advantageous.

It’s not an era with refrigerators—there’s an ice storage, but it’s hard to call it a refrigerator—so to store it for a long time, you have to make shortening in solid form.

‘Vegetable oil can also be made into shortening by adding hydrogen, but how can I do that now?’

This was the best plan I could come up with.

All that was left was to be evaluated.

Not only the taste, but also the toxicity.

===

We were going to make chicken separately for Hwang-hee’s pardon celebration and for the Supreme King, but Lee Seong-gye opposed it.

“I will visit the office, so fry as much as you can and bring it out at once.”

“Yes? Why? I can order the royal kitchen to bring it to you separately.”

I could just receive the chicken delivered to the Supreme King, so why bother coming to Hwang-hee’s celebration?

Then, Lee Seong-gye glared and said.

“You rascal, aren’t you going to attend the office banquet and eat? I don’t even get to eat what I want, but how do I know you’re only thinking about the dishes that will go into your mouth and making the dishes that will go into my mouth carelessly?”

“Do you not trust your grandson that much?”

“I’d rather trust Bang-won [a historical figure known for his ruthlessness] than trust you.”

“Ah.”

He’s still sulking about me asking if he had left the chicken with me last time.

What was supposed to be a small chicken tasting party with a few of Hwang-hee’s colleagues has unexpectedly grown in scale due to the Supreme King’s visit.

“The Supreme King is visiting the office in person.”

“The rumors that he cherishes the Crown Prince were true.”

Cherish? Who cherishes whom?

People who didn’t know the truth whispered.

‘If anything, it’s a grandfather suspecting his grandson.’

Soon, chicken fried to a savory perfection was brought out from the royal kitchen, piled high on a tray.

It was chicken that had been dipped in flour batter and fried twice, so it was more like old-fashioned chicken than crispy fried chicken.

‘In this era, I should be grateful for this.’

Lee Seong-gye and the others sniffed at the savory chicken smell.

“Oho!”

“This smells very good!”

There was no room for discussion.

Lee Seong-gye grabbed a chicken leg and tore it off.

“After all, chicken tastes best when you tear it with your hands.”

“You know what’s up.”

The officials who were gathered there were slightly taken aback by the sight, but Lee Seong-gye didn’t care about appearances in the first place.

Juice and oil flowed from the torn chicken leg.

The people who were gathered there also drooled at the sight.

After the Supreme King tore off the chicken first, the officials all picked up their chopsticks at once as soon as it entered his mouth.

They looked like they were dying to taste this glossy chicken as soon as possible.

Except for one person.

“Your Highness!”

When I looked, it was Byeon Gye-ryang, an official from the Office of Royal Decrees who had been invited to this chicken party.

“?”

I was about to take a big bite of chicken when I was suddenly tackled, so I was puzzled.

The other officials were the same.

They were annoyed at Byeon Gye-ryang for interrupting this important and sacred moment.

However, Byeon Gye-ryang opened his mouth without paying attention.

“I would like to say a word. It is good to congratulate Hwang-hee, the chief of the Seungchu Department [a government department], for being released from his confinement for his achievements, but there should be moderation in food.

I came here thinking this dish was similar to poached chicken, but when I heard the explanation, I heard that it was fried in a lot of expensive oil.”

Uh oh.

This is a familiar repertoire.

If this kind of sound comes out, there is only one conclusion.

“Isn’t this extravagance?”

Byeon Gye-ryang finally uttered ‘that word’.

‘Please stop!’

He said that boiling water to wash your body was extravagant, and now he’s saying that frying a chicken is extravagant!

Should I tell him that oil production will increase further with the development of cottonseed oil?

Then I’ll be able to refute the claim that chicken is extravagant.

‘No, no.’

Even if I get away with it this time, if another situation unfolds, I’ll have to keep making excuses.

‘I have to root out the lecturing about extravagance.’

I nodded.

“That’s right. It’s extravagance.”

“It hasn’t been long since the country was founded, so the foundation of the country has not been established, and there are people starving outside the palace… Yes?”

Byeon Gye-ryang was rather embarrassed when I readily admitted it.

“If, if Your Highness also knows, please stop doing things that waste the people’s strength for the last time…”

I pointed to the cottonseed oil that was manufactured for demonstration purposes and said.

“What do you think this is?”

“Isn’t it… oil?”

“It’s oil extracted from cotton seeds that have been discarded without finding any particular use. Now that I’ve found a way to extract oil from here, I can use as much oil as I want.”

“…”

“Certainly, until this oil was made, frying chicken was a great luxury. It’s not wrong to say it’s extravagant.”

Even I, the Crown Prince, had a hard time collecting oil, so that says it all.

But I somehow found a solution.

With the sole desire to eat chicken.

“I extracted oil from cotton because I wanted to enjoy that luxury. In other words, it’s not because I felt sorry for the people who couldn’t use oil properly, but because I wanted to be extravagant that I created this thing.”

“Th, that kind of…”

“The fact that this technique has been invented today and oil production can be increased is not because of compassion, but because of people’s greed. But can you really say it’s all bad?”

Adam Smith said that too.

The reason we can have dinner is not because of the baker’s compassion, but because of his greed.

Then Heo Jo stood up and said.

“In our Joseon, we have been cultivating cotton since ancient times, which is difficult to trace, but we have never thought that we could get oil from it.”

Eh.

Moon Ik-jeom was a person from the end of the Goryeo Dynasty [previous Korean dynasty], so isn’t he a modern figure at this point?

Why do you say it’s ancient times that are difficult to trace?

‘Wasn’t it Moon Ik-jeom who brought it?’

There’s even a song lyric that says Moon Ik-jeom is a cotton seed.

“The method of extracting oil from cotton seeds was first conceived by our Crown Prince. If it is extravagant for only the king or high-ranking officials to use oil lavishly, what would you say about everyone being able to use oil as much as they want?

His Royal Highness has achieved this, so he has done the greatest extravagance of all.”

“Ooh…”

The people’s eyes changed.

‘Heo Jo speaks well.’

I should write that down and use it later.

Anyway, thanks to Heo Jo’s support fire, I was able to break the frame that extravagance is bad.

Byeon Gye-ryang also couldn’t say anything more.

“Now, if the doubts have disappeared, let’s enjoy this delicious dish!”

Only then did people start gobbling up the chickens.

Exclamations erupted from here and there.

“I’ve never eaten such delicious food before!”

“Your Highness, it’s truly the taste of paradise!”

Several officials said in admiration.

“…!”

It was the same with Byeon Gye-ryang, who had advised me earlier.

Byeon Gye-ryang, who had scolded me for frying chicken with expensive oil, had wide eyes.

Lee Seong-gye also devoured the chicken silently.

‘I heard that old people don’t eat fried food well, but he eats it well.’

Well, what is there that Lee Seong-gye wouldn’t eat?

“Ugh!”

At that time, Hwang-hee, who was eating chicken like crazy, suddenly clutched his stomach.

End

ⓒ Pitkong