Cheat day

Be Happy (5)

Saturday.

It’s the day of the “Make Side Dishes” broadcast.

I had been craving sweet and sour pork all week, so when Ju Ji-seung asked what I wanted to eat, I answered that I wanted crispy sweet and sour pork without worrying about my blood sugar. Soon, Cha Ji-chan and Baek Woo-jin from the group chat joined in, and today the whole gang would be participating in the broadcast.

“Ji-chan, cut the carrots, cucumbers, and onions,” Ju Ji-seung instructed.

“Okay,” Ji-chan replied, taking out a cutting board and knife.

“Chan-yong, I’ll tell you the recipe, so please prepare the batter and sauce.”

“Sure.”

“What about me?” Baek Woo-jin asked.

Ju Ji-seung thought for a moment and then smiled.

“You’ll host the broadcast.”

“Why am I the only one hosting?”

“You’re the best at it.”

“Yeah, you like talking, right?”

“Because you’re a distraction.”

At Ju Ji-seung’s compliment about being the best at broadcasting, Baek Woo-jin shrugged proudly. But when I raised my chin in agreement, Ji-chan hit back with facts like a chihuahua growling.

“When have I ever been a distraction?”

“I just can’t watch you handle knives; it makes me nervous.”

“You could learn!”

“Okay, okay. Woo-jin, then please soak the wood ear mushrooms in water.”

“Got it.”

To soothe Woo-jin, Ju Ji-seung gave him the easiest task.

“Ji-chan, do you have the recipe over there?”

“Yeah.”

“You can start by making the batter.”

The recipe for the sweet and sour pork batter that Ju Ji-seung wrote down called for mixing sweet potato starch, potato starch, and corn starch in a ratio of 70:20:10.

It seems they don’t use flour or leavening agents.

After mixing the starches well, water is added, and they let it sit for a while. Looking around, everyone is doing their tasks well.

Ju Ji-seung is separating the pork shoulder into fat and lean meat and cutting the lean meat into pieces the size of fingers. Ji-chan finished cutting the carrots and is now slicing the cucumbers, while Baek Woo-jin, who soaked the wood ear mushrooms in water, is sitting blankly and reading a message in the chat.

“Is Tae-rin okay? Yeah, she said she’s fine now.”

It seems the viewers were also worried about Ju Tae-rin.

“Do we need to season the meat?”

Not wanting to stay idle while the starch separates from the water, I walked over to Ju Ji-seung.

“No, it’s fresh enough that we don’t need to. We’ll make the sauce separately.”

Ju Ji-seung said to the camera, “If you want to season the meat, you can marinate it in soy sauce and cooking wine, but this meat is in good condition, so we’ll just fry it as is.”

That’s good to hear. It seems I’ll be able to eat proper sweet and sour pork after a long time.

“We need to cook rice. Do you want burdock rice or lotus root rice?”

Ju Ji-seung asked.

“Burdock.”

“Lotus root.”

Baek Woo-jin and I had differing opinions.

“Burdock rice is delicious.”

“Lotus root is tastier.”

“Burdock is better.”

“Those two are always like this. You can argue about it when you’re supposed to.”

Ji-chan, who was cutting onions, chimed in, but I couldn’t concede on the burdock rice.

“Lotus root takes longer because you have to remove the parasites and starch. Do you know what you’re talking about?”

“I can handle it!”

Baek Woo-jin insisted.

“Burdock requires prep too, right? You have to peel it.”

“Look at that. You don’t even know. You don’t have to soak it in water and wait. Who likes lotus root anyway?”

“I love it!”

“Who?”

“Don’t you know ‘The Steel Lotus Root Alchemist’? It sold 80 million copies!”

“Ha ha ha!”

Ju Ji-seung burst into laughter.

“Hey, the weird lawyer ‘Woo Young-woo’ got over 17% ratings. Have you ever heard of the channel ENA before ‘Woo Young-woo’?”

“What’s that? ‘The Steel Lotus Root Alchemist’ also succeeded in a niche magazine, right?”

“Is that all? ‘Woo Young-woo’ has been number one on Netflix multiple times!”

“Oh, but ‘The Steel Lotus Root Alchemist’ hit worldwide.”

└Here we go again with the crazy comments, lol.

└If we think about IP expansion, wouldn’t the Lotus Root Alchemist have the upper hand?

└Seeing you support Japanese content, are you perhaps Iwan Yong?

└Lol, this chat is full of crazy viewers! Why is Iwan Yong coming up here, lol?

└But there is a difference in volume. I think the short-term impact is from ‘Woo Young-woo.’

└Fact: The Lotus Root and ‘The Steel Lotus Alchemist’ have no relation whatsoever. Burdock and the weird lawyer Woo Young-woo also have no connection.

As we were playing around with nonsensical talk, Ju Ji-seung had finished prepping the burdock and set the rice to cook.

It seems Ju Ji-seung prefers ‘Woo Young-woo’ too.

Ji-chan finished cutting all the vegetables, and now it’s time to make the sauce. Just in time, the starch and water had separated.

He drained the excess water, added a raw egg and cooking oil on top of the remaining starch, and mixed it until the batter was nearly done.

Ju Ji-seung checked the batter’s consistency and added a little more water.

“Good. It’s looking good.”

“Is it okay?”

“Yeah, this will work.”

Ju Ji-seung added the meat to the batter.

The sweet and sour sauce was made by dissolving soy sauce in water and bringing it to a boil, then adding the vegetables that Ji-chan had cut.

The recipe called for vinegar, but it seems they decided to leave out the sugar.

“Hyung, isn’t sugar usually added?”

“Yeah. Sugar is added too. We’ll have to adjust the thickness with starch later, but it’s been left out for now. Be careful.”

“Then won’t it be a bit thin?”

“It’s fine. It’ll taste good.”

If Ju Ji-seung says it will be delicious, then it will be.

As soon as vinegar was added to the boiling sauce, a foul smell filled the air.

The air purifier seemed to have noticed, as the sound of the fan increased.

“Wow.”

With the sound of frying, Baek Woo-jin exclaimed.

“Woo-jin.”

“Yeah?”

“Bring over the soaked wood ear mushrooms.”

“Okay.”

When I asked for the mushrooms to put in the sauce, Baek Woo-jin only replied and didn’t come over.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

Turning my head, I was startled to see the wood ear mushrooms had expanded.

Seeing the mushrooms, fully hydrated and escaping from the bowl, both Ju Ji-seung and I were taken aback.

“Hey, you little rascal. Who did you prepare this for like this?”

“Oh, they swell up like seaweed, huh?”

Baek Woo-jin nodded, talking as if it was someone else’s problem, and Cha Ji-chan poked him in the side.

“What do we do now?”

“It looks like we can’t eat them all. Just put in a reasonable amount for now.”

Following Ju Ji-seung’s instruction, we added only some of the wood ear mushrooms to the sauce and set the rest aside.

“Woo-jin.”

Ju Ji-seung called Baek Woo-jin again.

“…Yeah.”

Baek Woo-jin, who seemed dejected because of the mushrooms, answered weakly.

“Come over here. Try this.”

When I turned my head, I saw Baek Woo-jin taking a bite of the fried meat.

It made me envious to see him puffing out hot air while eating.

Just then, the sauce was finished, so I turned off the heat and headed toward the fryer.

Ju Ji-seung repeated the process of taking the fried meat out with a strainer and placing it back in. He said this method adds air layers, making it crispier.

“Me too. Me too.”

“Here.”

Ju Ji-seung lifted the fried meat and placed it on a plate.

Together with Cha Ji-chan, we tasted one piece each, and the texture and aroma of the meat were enough to whet our appetites.

It was hard to believe this was fried without any seasoning; it tasted so good.

***

Cha Ji-chan and Baek Woo-jin dished out the burdock rice and set the table with their utensils.

Ju Ji-seung placed the mountain of fried meat in the center of the table and, of course, poured the sauce over it.

“Ah.”

Baek Woo-jin showed a hint of disappointment, but since he lost the debate over sauce versus dipping last time, he didn’t dare say anything else.

“Let’s eat well.”

“Let’s eat well.”

Everyone dove into the sweet and sour pork.

The perfectly fried pieces were crispy but not hard, soaking up the sauce as they entered our mouths.

Compared to the sauce from regular Chinese restaurants, it lacked sweetness, but when dipped in soy sauce mixed with red pepper powder, the umami flavor was much stronger.

Above all, the fried meat itself was so delicious that even I, who don’t drink, began to think about having some liquor.

“I’ve seen sweet and sour sauces that feel almost like jelly because they use a lot of starch. I prefer a runny sauce.”

Cha Ji-chan shared his thoughts.

“It’s fine even without the sweetness.”

Baek Woo-jin seemed satisfied too.

“Old-school sweet and sour pork had a vibe like this. It changed after delivery services started cutting costs. Chan-yong knows this well.”

“The owners of the Chinese restaurant in my neighborhood probably still remember my voice. I used to eat so much sweet and sour pork.”

We laughed heartily while continuing our meal.

Gathering on a Saturday to cook together and chat made me feel warm inside.

Since we’ve done this today, I want to try making it with pickled cabbage later.

I’ll definitely say it’s easier to buy, though.

“What are we doing tomorrow?”

“Let’s rest tomorrow. I’m tired.”

“You didn’t work out this week. Let’s do it tomorrow.”

Cha Ji-chan’s remark made everyone turn to him.

“What’s with you all? Do you think I enjoy doing this?”

“Yeah.”

“Right.”

“…That’s true. It’s all for health, right? Ji-seung, it seems like you’ve been trying to avoid exercising lately.”

“I’m just too busy. Since ‘Korean Cuisine Appreciation,’ I’ve had too much to do.”

“Hmm. Side dishes. You’re…”

“I’m busy with board games.”

“What board games?”

I was about to mention I was playing with pickled cabbage but realized we were live on air and shut my mouth.

“Baek Woo-jin, you really need to work hard. Ji-seung and I can take a break since we’ve done some side dishes before, but your blood sugar is still not under control.”

“Don’t you know I’m preparing for a project? I’m busy too!”

└What project?

└Didn’t you say you were preparing something big before?

└What is it?

“Ah, I’ll let you know when I’m ready. I’m still in the preparation phase.”

“Isn’t it okay to say that?”

Ju Ji-seung asked.

“What?”

“The company.”

“Oh, right. There’s nothing to hide.”

When I looked to Cha Ji-chan and Baek Woo-jin for agreement, they both nodded.

“We’re merging our companies. Of course, we’ll keep our individual channels, but we’ll help each other with work.”

Ju Ji-seung shared the news that the “Namsadangpae” (a performance troupe) would be merging into one company with the viewers.

It was important to us, but not a huge deal, so I had been wondering how to say it, but it came out well.

“What’s the company name?”

“Good question. What should we call it?”

“Any good ideas?”

It’s easier to ask the viewers for suggestions at times like this.

└Bae Seung-yong Car?

└Sadang Family

└Namsadangpae

└Namsadangpae sounds good

└I like the Korean name

“What kind of name is Namsadangpae? Who would name a company like that?”

Cha Ji-chan frowned in disgust.

“I’m fine with it. How about you, Chan-yong?”

Ju Ji-seung seemed okay with it.

“I’m not really on board either. It’s fine for us to talk among ourselves, but as a company name, it’s not quite right, is it?”

“Is that so?”

“Of course!”

Cha Ji-chan spoke up for me.

“Hey, Baek Woo-jin. What do you think?”

Cha Ji-chan called Baek Woo-jin, and we all turned to look at him, but he was lowering his head.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you full?”

“Do you need to poop?”

As we took turns expressing our concern, Baek Woo-jin slowly opened his mouth.

“…I do!”

“Huh?”

“It’s getting soggy! You jerk!”

Baek Woo-jin lunged at me.