At those words, Jo Minjoon just laughed without saying anything back. Alan couldn’t turn away his gaze from him, and moved his steps with difficulty. Because they had to go with the other participants too. Emily cautiously opened her mouth at the last moment.
“It seems like there’s one more reason I should get closer with you.”
“There’s nothing bad for a chef to get along with an epicurean.”
“Again, drawing the line. The offer from back then, i’m not planning to force you. So don’t act so cautiously.”
After Emily said that, she smiled brightly and left the place. Even if the judges were there or not, what Jo Minjoon had to do was still the same. To stir for the apple to not get burnt, and prepare the sudachi curd.
The first thing he had to do was to disinfect the sudachi. He had to rub the sudachi with baking soda and a little bit of water until foam came out, and after that he had to rub with thick salt and repeat the process. And after that, putting it in boiling water for 10 seconds, the job would be done.
The reason he used fresh sudachi instead of sudachi juices was because he need the sudachi zest. After only slicing the green part thinly, Jo Minjoon started to beat the eggs in a bowl. It was one egg for one sudachi. He put a pinch of salt on the beaten eggs, and after pouring sugar as much as the beaten eggs, he only had to put in the sudachi juice. It didn’t only give it flavor, but the components sudachi had would make the eggs creamy.
After that, he checked the state of the apple again. The apples were quite soft. As he pressed with the rice scoop, the apples would crumble without strength. Jo Minjoon boiled water to poach the sudachi curd and finish mashing the apples. After placing cotton cloth in another bowl and pouring apple juice, he felt the aroma of the apples and sugar were so strong that it hurt your nose. And the hot steam that surged out wasn’t pleasant.
After tying the ends of the cotton cloth carefully, he just had to slowly wait for the apple juice to flow out. If he squeezed it so hard like you did it with katsuobushi, then the contents on the cotton cloth would flow less than normal. He had to slowly wait for the juice to flow for a clean texture.
After that, he put pectin powder in it and boiled it down, and then freezing it was the end. While the juices boiled down, it was the time for the sudachi custard again. Jo Minjoon placed a stainless bowl on top of the boiling pot, and started to poach the beaten eggs and sudachi water in it. If the temperature was too high, then the eggs would just cook like that. Poaching was the easiest and safest method.
Only stirring with the rice scoop for the curd to not press down took 10 minutes. As he slightly touched the part of the jelly, the end parts trembled. It meant that it was finished. Jo Minjoon put down the rice scoop and put the jelly in the freezer.
As he returned to the countertop, he pressed the curd that was in the rice scoop, and it hardened with the shape it was pressed. It meant that it was completed. After Jo Minjoon put down the bowl on top of the pot, he put in the sudachi zest and butter and slowly mixed it. Because it was still hot, the butter melted easily. The zest didn’t, because it was sliced in short slices. The color was the same, so a sleek sudachi curd was completed. Jo Minjoon savored the green curd with his heart beating.
“……..Good.”
It was to the point he exclaimed in admiration like that. Sweet and sour. Those short three words could explain it all. The sudachi was covering the sweet flavor of the sugar. When it met the green apple jelly, the aroma of the melted caramel inside of it and the aroma of the apple would combine and make a perfect combination.
Actually, he had somewhat guessed the result without even tasting it.
[Sudachi Curd]
Freshness: 94%
Origins: (Too many ingredients to show)
Quality: High
Cooking Score: 7/10