Chapter 40

‘A spicy taste and aroma.’

It couldn't be anything other than what Jio was looking for.

“……”

Of course, there was more to the description of the Weeping Garok.

…A medicinal herb that grows in the shape of a concave bell.

When dried in the sun for over a month, it turns pink, and its leaves become plumper.

The refined pink Weeping Garok has a strong sweetness that could tear the tongue.

Rurupu petals pickled in its extract greatly aid in the recovery of the optic nerve.

Elixir Recipe: Dry the Weeping Garok in the sun for over a month. The right time is when it takes on a deep pink hue and the leaves have thickened to about 3cm. Squeeze the extract from the plump leaves that have absorbed moisture from the air. This alone makes a fine painkiller, and if Rurupu petals are placed inside and stored in a cool place, a medicine good for optic nerve recovery can be made within 3 days.

“……”

But it was too long.

I just skipped it.

‘I need a spice, I didn't come here to find medicinal herbs.’

In the end, the only part that caught my eye was ‘spicy taste and aroma.’ Something about optic nerve recovery was mentioned, but I was doing this to eat delicious sausages, not because I needed medicine.

“Does it look similar to a morning glory?”

It wasn't exactly the same, but the shape was quite similar with its lace-like fluttering leaves and the fact that it was a vine wrapped around a tree.

However, its leaves were much larger than a morning glory's….

“It's almost as big as my hand.”

“Kurururu?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty big.”

Even though Jio’s hand was not on the small side, the Weeping Garok was large enough to slightly overflow it.

“The vine being a deep white color is also unusual.”

The leaf, called ‘Weeping Garok,’ boasted a gradation of green that deepened toward the tip.

The vine connected to the leaf was an opaque white, which seemed like it would really stand out in the evening.

“Anyway….”

I had obtained chili peppers.

‘I should try making chili powder with this.’

I was very pleased.

“Let's check its condition.”

I picked a Weeping Garok, tore it, and smelled it; sure enough, the sharp and spicy aroma was superb.

It wasn't exactly the same as Earth's chili peppers, but it was roughly similar, and it had a strangely mellow scent that seemed like it would go well with the nutty aroma of the meat.

The complex aroma also seemed to make my head spin.

‘Is it a mix of chili, mala… and a bit of star anise? It also seems to have a soft sweetness similar to pandan leaf… Since the meat had a scent similar to walnuts or hazelnuts, if I make this well, I could whip up a tantanmen-flavored sausage.’

Thinking that far, Jio muttered.

“But….”

There was a problem.

“Using too much of this would be overwhelming.”

As someone who could eat anything well, Jio was fine with the chili scent being as strong as it could be, but the aromas of mala, star anise, and pandan leaf were a bit too strong.

Mala gives a numbing sensation, and the gentle sweetness of the pandan leaf was just a passing note, so I could let that slide, but star anise.

“This one's a bit too strong.”

“Kururururu….”

“……”

Tearing off a small piece and putting it in my mouth, it was even more so.

“Yeah, it's too strong.”

The scent pierced through my nose and into my brain.

“Is this an assassination.”

Technically it would be suicide, but it was a very intense aroma.

Star anise is a spice mainly used to get rid of the gamey smell of pork and it is characterized by a sharp yet somehow bittersweet scent.

The problem was that the 'sweet' part combined with the subtle sweetness of the pandan leaf to create an excessive heaviness.

“I shouldn't use too much of this.”

According to the description earlier, this thing becomes incredibly sweet if you do something to it, and seeing the strangely sweet scent mixed in here and there, I vaguely understood. It’s plausible it could become that sweet if you handle it well somehow.

“But it's not bad.”

“Kuru….”

“I won't give it to you to eat raw, so you don't have to worry, Honey.”

They were all going into the sausage anyway.

“……”

“……”

At that point, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

“…Are all the ingredients medicinal herbs?”

“Kkuk.”

“What kind of sausage am I trying to make?”

Anyway, if there was too much, I would give the leftovers to Yu Seong-un.

***

After a long adventure.

Jio, who had returned to the cabin, declared proudly.

“I did it.”

I found ginger.

“It's very different from the ginger I know, but the scent and taste are similar, so let's just call it ginger.”

“Kkung kkung.”

“I'm not just glossing over it, it’s because they’re really similar.”

Arum

It has a light brown skin and a faint pinkish hue.

The flesh is a deep red.

It contains a large amount of starch, making it highly efficient when dried into a powder.

It can be eaten without a separate refining process. A plant of the ginger family, characterized by a pungent aroma.

Elixir Recipe: Thinly sliced and dried, it is good for headaches when brewed as a tea. Made into a powder and dried in the sun, it is good for the digestive system and excellent for recovering immunity.

“Right?”

“Kururu….”

It wasn't like Earth had only one type of ginger either.

“There’s one called galangal. It has a more complex aroma and a milder taste than the ginger I used to use back in my hometown….”

“……”

“It’s okay to say if you're bored.”

“Kkuk.”

“Alright then.”

The ‘Arum’ I found this time was to Jio's liking.

The taste was quite spicy, but it was closer to a fiery sensation than a numbing one.

The aroma was as pungent as the ginger commonly used in Korea and I thought it could be used as a spicy and pungent spice if used well.

“Ta-da.”

I found many other things this time.

“This is nutmeg….”

Raven Walnut

The peel is red, the flesh is white, and the seed is black. It is mainly….

“Sir, am I not speaking right now?”

…The seed part is what is utilized, and it can be used both raw and dried.

It was mainly used as a spice characterized by a soft and deep aroma.

The peel and flesh can be made into medicine.

Elixir Recipe: The seeds can be peeled, and eaten steamed while still soft, or finely minced or dried hard to be used as a spice. The peel, when dried in the sun for more than a day and then steeped, becomes a medicine good for the joints. The flesh, when its juice is squeezed out and hardened, becomes an ointment good for healing external injuries.

“A stubborn friend, I see.”

“Kururururu….”

“I’m glad you agree.”

Honey seemed to acknowledge it too.

Anyway, I found nutmeg, called Raven Walnut.

On Earth, it was a popular spice for its ability to mask gamey smells without being too pungent, making dishes more refined.

And the biggest gain.

“Discovering vinegar is a truly great discovery.”

Wow, the mystery of nature!

“It's not an exaggeration, vinegar made by nature itself….”

“Kururuk?”

“I think trying to eat everything that looks absorbable is a bad habit, son. You might get a stomachache from eating something weird later, so let's try to cultivate an attitude of self-control.”

“Kururururururu….”

“Right, vinegar isn't normally made by itself in nature.”

Life was truly interesting.

“I was already thinking about making vinegar or wine with Mangdung fruits.”

There are various ingredients that can be used to make vinegar.

“You can make vinegar from grains like rice, barley, and wheat… fruits like jujubes and peaches, flowers like lotus and rose, and even honey.”

But the method of making it required quite a bit of effort.

“That’s how all fermented foods are.”

The important thing about fermentation was that if you messed up, it would just become spoiled mush.

Only by maintaining the right temperature and quantity and cultivating the right bacteria can a proper fermented food be completed.

And as I had thought several times already, this place was a paradise for chefs.

“To think that vinegar comes out of a big tree all by itself.”

It was a rather peculiar-looking tree.

The base of the trunk near the roots was swollen round like a bead, and among them was a tree that was particularly hard and had a dark red color.

A sour smell drew me closer and I saw vinegar seeping out little by little from the swollen trunk.

“It was quite a sight.”

Jio had to call upon the gods of heaven and earth once more.

Candy Trap Tree

A tree with a base that swells like a round candy.

It is monoecious, with its leaves on the outside, but its fruit grows inside the swollen trunk.

If the fruit of the Candy Trap Tree, which has a strong sweet and bitter taste, is not taken out in time, it begins to rot inside.

Depending on various conditions, this fruit mixes with the tree's sap to become vinegar, juice, or fruit wine.

Elixir Recipe: Taking out the fruit before it ferments and soaking it in the sap of a Dorongdorong tree can be used as an excellent nutritional supplement.

‘I should look for trees that have juice or fruit wine in them too.’

Anyway, all those miscellaneous ingredients.

“The time has come.”

I was ready to make sausages.

“This is true content.”

“Kkung?”

“You have fulfilled your purpose with your cuteness. Now, watch.”

Jio washed his hands.

“I wonder how the intestines I soaked in advance are doing.”

Jio approached the basin where he had soaked the deer's intestines.

Modern sausages usually use collagen casings.

That would have made production much easier, but this was the middle of a forest completely detached from the modern world, so Jio had no choice but to stick to the classic method.

“No matter how much I searched, I couldn't find any casings in the cabin.”

“Kkuk?”

“Drawing the casings is a bit much.”

Casings made of paint seemed like they would tear easily and felt rather unpleasant.

I also thought that drawing thin, transparent casings one by one would be a tedious task.

Honey, looking at the intestines, cried out kururururuk.

It seemed to be saying that it was different from what it knew.

“It's been prepared, so it will look a bit different from what you know. All the fat and impurities that were filling the inside have been removed, leaving only the skin, so the shape has changed a bit.”

The intestines, marinated in sour fruit, had no gamey smell.

“Is it because the meat didn't have a musty smell to begin with?”

After checking the cleaned and deodorized intestines, Jio lifted the basin containing them.

He planned to go down to the kitchen now and start mincing the meat.

“When making sausages, it's better to use tough and strongly flavored cuts. Part of the fun of cooking is deciding how tough of a meat to use and what parts to mix it with, depending on your preference.”

“Kururururururu….”

“You can't eat it now, so shall we step back a bit and watch?”

He immediately minced the meat.

“At this rate, the pig-bird will steal it all.”

I had to make the sausages quickly.

“It's fine to add a bit more of this part.”

“Kkung?”

“That will make the texture better.”

How the meat was minced also had a great impact on the texture of the sausage.

Chopping it into coarse chunks made it difficult for them to stick together but resulted in a chewy and lumpy texture, while mincing it finely resulted in a soft texture that crumbled gently in the mouth.

“Mixing it moderately is even better.”

On Earth, the size of the minced meat is kept uniform due to issues with drying, but this place was inside a painting overflowing with the mysteries of nature.

Thanks to this, Jio was able to design a sausage with a unique texture.

A little coarsely chunked, or completely minced.

‘This way, the texture will be good, and it will fill the casing without any gaps, so the appearance will be better too.’

After mincing all the meat, Jio brought over the ingredients to mix with the minced meat.

'Milky Way Mary' to add the aromas of pepper and chili, 'Weeping Garok' to be in charge of the intense and stimulating taste and aroma, and 'Arum', a member of the ginger family with a distinctly pungent and spicy flavor like chili.

'Raven Walnut' to gently remove any gamey smell and add a luxurious flavor, and the sweet and sour 'Sugar Trap Tree Vinegar' to add variation to the taste....

“……”

I’m excited.

“Nice.”

I couldn't control this excitement.

“Who else could have an experience like this?”

Mysterious ingredients from a deep, silent forest where no humans can be found.

The experience of cooking while smelling the refreshing phytoncides, with ingredients that hold flavors I had never imagined.

That day, Jio made about 10kg of sausage.

“……”

“……”

I got a little carried away because I was excited.

“I admit my mistake.”

He nodded his head.

“You don't have to worry.”

“Kkung.”

“We have Mr. Yu Seong-un.”

“Kururuk.”

The two's opinions on the bad stock aligned.

***

“Jio, are you here?”

Yu Seong-un, who had gone to give Jio some bungeoppang after a long time.

“The student I met last time was selling bungeoppang, so I bought a bag.”

“I see. Thank you for your kindness.”

“It’s nothing, so take it. If you must repay me, I'll take something simple to eat like last time.”

“I have just the right food for that.”

“Oh, really? I was feeling peckish, so that's great.”

How much time had passed?

“……”

He came out of the gallery holding a paper bag full of sausages.

“…It's not appropriate at all.”

Although he knew it was a completely different case, he felt a bit scammed.

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