I’ve Become a S*ave Bride - Chapter 68
Lenette threw herself into preparing the food for the Markal.
The location was Karan Palace, where the Markal resided. She chose this restricted area as her cooking space, rather than the Karta Palace where she stayed, to avoid any potential interference.
‘They wouldn’t dare pull any tricks in the place where the Markal is.’
On the other hand, Karta Palace was crawling with people like Jaran.
The dish she was about to prepare was already a high-difficulty meal—one that required a massive amount of manual labor and time, a literal embodiment of devotion. The thought of having to swat away annoying pests while attempting such a difficult task was simply too exhausting.
“The beans should be well-soaked by now.”
Arriving at Karan Palace before dawn, she was greeted by a kitchen maid.
“Lady Lenette, I have soaked the beans just as you requested.”
“Is that so? Thank you.”
As she headed straight to the cooking area, she saw a wide basin filled with pale, ochre-colored beans.
While this wasn’t a bean commonly cultivated throughout the Empire, the Empire’s vast territory meant it contained diverse climates. Fortunately, in the northern regions near Ecaron, these beans—known as ‘soybeans’—were being distributed, and it wasn’t difficult to find them in the capital, where all the Empire’s goods converged.
Lenette took one of the beans that had been soaking for over half a day, put it in her mouth, and chewed. The unique fishy scent of raw beans spread through her mouth.
“They’ve soaked just right. We can start cooking now.”
“But… are you really going to cook them with the sprouts showing like this?”
The kitchen maid asked hesitantly because these weren’t ordinary beans; they were germinated beans that had been submerged in water for about a day and covered with a dark cloth until they sprouted.
“Yes. This will be more effective for the Markal.”
Of course, Lenette could make the dish she had in mind with regular beans. However, in that case, it wouldn’t be as effective for the Markal’s ‘Meat Deficiency.’
‘It was a truly accidental discovery.’
She was thinking of the moment she realized the difference between germinated beans and regular ones.
In the past, someone in Ecaron had left beans to soak for too long, accidentally letting them sprout. Not wanting to waste them, they ignored the protruding shoots and used them anyway. Strangely, the condition of patients with Meat Deficiency improved subtly faster.
And what kind of place was Ecaron? It was a nation consumed by the madness of war, filled with people obsessed with research. Following that incident, they conducted rigorous comparative experiments between germinated and ordinary beans. The results proved that germinated beans were superior in terms of both nutrition and the treatment of Meat Deficiency.
“I’ll begin immediately. Please call the other maids.”
“Yes, understood.”
A moment later, about fifteen palace maids entered carrying various tools. These were tools for grinding—since grinding fruits and grains was a common cooking method here as well, they weren’t difficult to obtain.
“First, we will wash the beans thoroughly. Please rinse them several times.”
Just like using germinated beans, rinsing the beans multiple times before cooking is more effective for patients with Meat Deficiency.
“Yes, understood.”
After rinsing the beans in clean water over and over, Lenette and the maids sat down with their tools.
“From now on, we are going to grind these beans.”
Saying this, Lenette sat down and demonstrated first.
“You just add the right amount of water and beans like this and grind them.”
“We understand.”
“Then, let’s begin.”
As Lenette sat back down and started grinding, the maids panicked and tried to stop her.
“We will handle this!”
“It’s fine. We have to do it together to finish quickly.”
“But…”
“The Markal will understand.”
It wasn’t an empty claim. the Markal would likely prefer that Lenette take direct action like this.
“…Understood.”
Since she had invoked the Markal’s name, the maids had no power to stop her. They quietly sat down and began grinding the beans.
Drrrk, drrrk. The sound of stones clashing as the beans were ground echoed through the cooking area, and the unpleasant fishy smell of raw beans filled the air. However, not a single person complained.
After some time had passed, all the beans that had filled the basin were ground.
“Now, we are going to strain this bean liquid through a cotton cloth.”
This was the critical part. The texture and taste would vary depending on how many times the liquid was strained and boiled.
‘Since I don’t know the Markal’s personal preference yet…’
She decided to give different instructions to different groups of maids.
Notably, Lenette did not gather the ground bean liquid into one place. She chose a method where she demonstrated the process first, and the rest of the maids followed suit with their own assigned portions of the liquid.
Thus, Lenette divided them into several groups and varied the number of times they strained the liquid.
“Now, pour hot water occasionally like this as you strain it. We’ll use what remains on top later, but for now, we only need the bean liquid below.”
The work proceeded smoothly. Since these were palace maids originally in charge of cooking, they understood her explanations quickly and followed along perfectly.
“Now, we’re going to pour this liquid into the cauldrons and boil it.”
Perhaps because of the many residents in the palace, there were several hearths in the cooking area. Lenette used the central hearth, while the maids placed their cauldrons on the surrounding ones.
“We will boil it while stirring gently, and you’ll see bubbles rising rapidly. You must skim off the foam and be careful not to let it boil over.”
“Yes, understood.”
Lenette began first. The maids did not follow immediately but gathered in a circle around her, watching her every move.
“Do you see this? When a thin film like this forms, that is when you remove the fire.”
Lenette personally pulled the firewood from the hearth to extinguish the flames. Then, she closed the cauldron lid and let it sit for a moment.
“This should be enough.”
When she opened the lid again, clouds of steam billowed out. The heat and vapor brushed against Lenette’s face, and through that sensation, she could tell the temperature had reached the proper point.
“Since you are all palace cooks, you will be able to remember this feeling well. The steam should be about this hot.”
“Understood.”
Whether they found her cooking mysterious or were simply diligent by nature, the maids peered into the cauldron with bright, curious eyes.
“Could you bring me the bittern I’ve been preparing for the past few days?”
“Here it is.”
This ‘bittern’—the coagulant—was even more difficult to prepare than boiling the bean liquid.
‘It’s my first time making it with my own hands, so I’m a bit unsure… but this should be right, shouldn’t it?’
She knew the theory well, but this was usually a task for the servants. Therefore, she lacked absolute certainty.
‘The salt was old enough, at least.’
She recalled that it had to be made from salt aged for over a year. That was why she had requested the oldest salt available.
‘And I poked a hole in the salt bag to primary filter out the impurities.’
The bittern in the gourd was water made from that filtered salt. She had placed the purified salt into a ceramic pot with a tiny hole at the bottom. Then, she had poured in slightly more water than the amount of salt, letting it submerge completely.
One couldn’t add too much water; it had to barely rise above the salt, but she couldn’t recall the exact measurement.
‘So I kept the water to a minimum… I’m not sure if this is right.’
The bittern was just as crucial as the number of times the bean liquid was strained through the cloth. This was because the final result would change entirely depending on the coagulant.
‘Let’s just try it.’
Just as she had varied the straining process, she had also varied the amount of water used when making the bittern. She planned to experiment with slight differences within the groups she had divided earlier.
‘One of these is bound to suit the Markal’s palate.’
Lenette slowly poured the gourd of bittern into the cauldron. She didn’t dump it all at once, but added it in several intervals.
Fortunately, clumps began to form.
“See? This is the food I’m trying to make.”
“It looks so fluffy and strange. What do you call this?”
Stirring the ladle slowly, Lenette spoke.
“You can call it Dambaekdan.”
In Ecaron, it was actually called ‘Nubeto.’ However, that wasn’t a word that the people of Tazetra could pronounce easily. So, she had coined a new one.
“Its original name is ‘Nubeto.’ But since this is the Tazetra Empire, we need a new name that fits this place, don’t we?”
The maids nodded their heads in agreement.
“But why ‘Dambaekdan’?”
“Because the taste is clean and light—dambaek.”
At that, the maids hesitated for a moment before bursting into laughter. The intuitive name seemed to have tickled their funny bones.
This was exactly what Lenette intended.
‘A name should be easy to remember and leave an impression.’
Once Nubeto—or rather, Dambaekdan—became famous, Lenette’s standing would naturally rise along with it.
“Now, we’re going to scoop this out.”
“Is it finished then?”
“No. This is actually an incomplete state. For the final step, we have to put this into a square frame lined with cotton cloth and drain the moisture.”
Lenette took the Dambaekdan out and placed it into the pre-prepared square mold. After spreading it evenly inside the frame, she placed a lid on top and pressed it down firmly with a stone.
“You can apply pressure occasionally to squeeze the water out. Similarly, the taste and texture will change depending on how much water you remove.”
“Oh…!”
“Try adjusting it yourselves. The reason I asked you to prepare two molds each is so we can taste the different results everyone produces.”
“Yes, understood!”
“Now then, shall we all go to our stations and try making it?”
—
All food tastes best right after it’s been made. While there are dishes that remain delicious even when cold, eating them immediately after preparation is always superior. In that sense, the kitchen maids were able to taste the Dambaekdan at its absolute peak.
“Oh my, this is delicious!”
“It’s so light, but savory at the same time!”
“It seems like a mild flavor, yet I can’t stop reaching for it!”
Hearing the exclamations popping up from all sides, Lenette gave a wide smile and added,
“It pairs well with various sauces, too. If it tastes too bland, you can eat it with something on the side.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Not only that, it goes well with other dishes, so you can create many different variations of it.”
While it was delicious eaten as is, Dambaekdan was a versatile food that could be grilled, boiled, or even fried.
At that moment, a kitchen maid who had been eating the Dambaekdan in serious silence stood up abruptly, as if she couldn’t wait another second.
“This must be served for breakfast.”
Lenette’s eyes widened.
“Today’s breakfast?”
“Yes. It’s most delicious if eaten right now.”
“Well, that is true.”
The other maids nodded their heads in fervent agreement.
“It is fine with me, but is that actually allowed?”
In the palace, it was rare for a menu to be changed so spontaneously. Usually, the dishes to be served were decided at least a week in advance after consultation with the royal physicians.
“We can just say it is a dish made by Lady Lenette and serve a small portion as a special delicacy. We have that much flexibility.”
“Is that so?”
Since they had started preparing long before dawn, it was just about time to serve the morning meal.
“Then it really would be best to serve it now, while it’s at its tastiest.”
