I’ve been preoccupied with the plot that I forgot the take notes of BongHwan’s food “start up.” We Bitches love trivia.
This is going to be continually updated.
Episode 3
1. BongHwan created noodles.
Chef: I can smell shiitake mushrooms, green onions, and there’s a rich aroma of meat as well. The aroma of the three ingredients have come together. And this is (tasting the homemade noodles) “Sam” as in three, “hyang” as in fragrance, and “ra” as in a small pot. Three fragrances in a small pot, so it’s “samhyangra.”
Of course, BongHwa critiqued his food and said that it needed a little bit of MSG to be perfect.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a product placement (PPL) for Samyang ramen. According to wiki, the Samyang food company made the first ramen in 1963.
This is the product as sold here in the US. The packaging looks like Tide though.
credit: vision-mart
2. BongHwan had a Yeolgujatang (or sinseollo) contest with the Chef.
He had the Head Inspector at the Royal Cuisine Office judge which Royal Hot Pot tasted better.
Eunuch: I’ve never tasted anything like this before. Like the name, yeolgutjatang, this dish does please my mouth. In my entire life, my tongue has never tasted anything so….
Comment:
The Yeolgujatang is cooked in a pot that looks like a bundt cake pan to me. lol. The pot is filled with variety of meat, seafood, and vegetables, and beef stock is poured on them. Then, hot charcoal is placed in the pipe in the center of the pot to keep the soup hot. The “tang” in yeolgujatang means soup.
According to this blogsite, this dish is a staple in the Royal Court Table in the Joseon period, and the hotpot could have more than 25 ingredients in it. The other name of yeolgujatang is “sinseollo” which means, “food for the immortals.”
3. BongHwan cooked his first French meal for the Grand Queen Dowager.
GQD was impressed. It looks like a “embroidery rather than food,” she said, and when she tasted it, it melted in her mouth.
Yes, I like the idea that his food presentation was like an embroidery. BongHwan was no good with the needle and thread, but he was certainly artistic when it came to plating techniques.
GQD: I think I could eat it every day. How on earth did you make it? The soft texture I have never felt before, and the rich flavor.
BongHwan: I cooked it in oil on very low heat all night. I put oil-brushed fish in an earthen oven with charcoal, so it could be cooked over low heat overnight.
BongHwan: (continuing) I wanted the skin to be crispy an the meat to be tender. For the chewier beef and pork, I put it deep in the oil in the cauldron and cooked it at a low heat overnight. This method retains the nutrients of the food as well as the flavor. It’s also good for health and anti-aging. It’s a very healthy food.
And then BongHwan mentally noted that this is called confit, a French cooking technique.
Episode 4
1. BongHwan cooked gnocchi with cream sauce.
The chef complained that BongHwan was making the potato balls so big. He thought it was “ongsimi.” But he didn’t know that BongHwan was actually making gnocchi which is an Italian version of dumpling also made from potatoes.
Then the Eunuch came with the milk and BongHwan made a cream sauce with it. The chef called it milk porridge or “tarak.” But to me, this creamy white sauce that BongHwan made with milk has a French term as well. It’s called béchamel. It’s also known in Italian as besciamella. The creamy sauce is made with roux (i.e., flour and fat — or butter — cooked together) and milk added to the mixture until it thickens.
Chef: Why are you adding the potato balls into that precious porridge?
BongHwan: Gosh. Are you my mother-in-law? These days, mothers-in-law try not to cross their daughters-in-law.
And he plated it well with garnishing.
2. He thought of the deliveryman.
The GQD liked the food but…
GQD: By the way, as the food got cold, the potato balls have gotten hard. And this precious milk porridge spilled over the bowl. That’s quite a shame. I understand though. No one can be perfect all the time.
On the way back, BongHwan thought about this.
BongHwan: What’s the point of cooking a perfect dish, if it’s not served properly. How could I deliver the food swiftly before it gets cold, without spilling any food? That’s the key.
And that’s when he thought of a solution: his own delivery service.
Episode 5
1. BongHwan made croquettes.
I like that BongHwan was wow’ing the GQD with his international cuisine.
Eunuch: The Queen told me that the theme of today’s lunch is “COSI.”
GQD: “COSI”? I’ve never heard this before. Is it Mencius? No, it is not. Is it from “The Analects of Confucius”?
Eunuch: It means the food is crunchy on the outside, soft in the inside.
lol. The kissasian subbers really worked hard on this translation. Good job, subbers!
C = crunch on the
O = outside
S = soft in the
I = inside
And the GQD was entertained. She reminded me of the King in the “Arabian Nights” who couldn’t kill off his wife because she told him beautiful stories every night. At this rate, the GQD wouldn’t be able to depose BongHwan because he was invaluable.
To me, however, BongHwan made croquettes. She made it with potatoes,
minced onions,
and ground meat.
2. Her delivery service was a success.
Episode 6
1. Where’s the poison?
BongHwan didn’t cook any food here but he was in the kitchen when he collapsed in a coma. According to the ByeongIn’s investigation, arsenic was found in the kitchen. I think this was planted evidence.
However, there was something suspicious that happened that night before BongHwan collapsed. He received a gift of orchids from the King. The King’s steward brought it.
Steward: I brought you a wind orchid, which is very rare.
BongHwan: Wind orchid? Did word get out about my inauguration ceremony already? Who sent me this?
He opened the note and the translation said, “Congratulations, No Touching.”
He could have been allergic to the orchid and had severe allergic reaction to it.
Episode 9
To be continued
Episode 10
To be continued
Thanks for the review of all the yummy food. It makes me miss going out and exploring new restaurants even more. Sure, we can get takeout now, but this kind of food is best served hot. Perhaps we might try to make some of these recipes at home–I’ve always wanted to try my hand at gnocchi.
Meanwhile, I was finally all caught up with Mr. Queen episodes earlier in the week so that I can follow along with BOD, but Episode 11, which went up Saturday, still isn’t 100% translated as of 4 pm Sunday. Does it always take this long?
Yes, Viki subs Mr Queen so slowly. But that’s fine bec I have another kdramas to catch up on the weekends.
One thing I discovered late last year, in time for Thanksgiving, was the hot pot. My husband is now a hot pot addict and we have it for dinner at least once a week now. 👍 We still can’t figure out what kind of seafood balls we’re eating though: fish, squid, shrimp, tofu, cuttlefish, etc. To us, they all taste fishy 🤨 anyway.
Yes, we also order takeout often. It’s to help local businesses to survive. We get Indian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Persian, and Thai. Korean is the only one we couldn’t order takeout bec grilled meat, is best eaten straight from the grill.
But that’s okay because I also bought those Korean tabletop grills. When my sons come home to visit, I just take out the grill and serve them like an eighth beef. 😂
The novelty hasn’t worn off yet.
I tried to show them the kdrama way of eating beef and pork belly with lettuce wraps but they thought that was odd. 😂
@packmule3
Have you tried spicy hotpot? sichuan hotpot is fave in my family.
My fav korean takeout are jjajangmyeon and kfc (korean fried chicken), everytime those two dishes come in my screen can’t help but craving over it.
All the food is making me hungry. Episode 12 will be an epic one 😀 Love the tornado fries!!! and the fortune jelly giving Jwa-Geun’s fortune as a “dud”.
Tornado fries?! 😂 Is if the one with the hotdog in the middle?
Seoul street food is the best! I love Bangkok street food too; more variety and more filling, but I think Seoul street food is more sanitary (or the vendors are more fastidious, lol).
I think Bangkok street food could become my “soul food” if I were Thai. 😂
You are making me hungry packmule3!😂😂😂 Last night I made tteokpokki as requested by my sister. So far I think I have gotten used to making tteokpokki, korean spicy fried chicken and jjamppong (spicy seafood noodles). I wanna try to make my favorite Korean dish i.e. yukgaejang (spicy beef stew) but I could not get the proper ingredients here🤧
I learnt once how to make bechamel for lasagna while in Glasgow but I forgot about it right after😅 My friend made it looked so easy to cook but… I still think I can’t make it like she taught me🤣🤣🤣 I am hopeless…
Bong-hwan made popcorn flavoured one 😁
@miracle23
yukgaejang is one of my fave it needs gosari and torandae to have the right taste
BongHwan made a veggie burger and he called it Maek Dunaldu lol..
The hard part about bechamel or “white sauce” is avoiding the clumps. I used a wooden spoon for mixing the roux, then a whisk for stirring about a third of the milk in the roux. I don’t pour the entire milk in all at once.
Bechamel is considered one of the basic sauces in Western cuisine. Kinda like sweet and sour sauce for Chinese food, and peanut sauce for Thai food, for me. 😂 I don’t know how to make either sweet and sour sauce or peanut sauce, anyway.
Goodness, I’m hungry for dinner already.
I just checked out that yukgaejang you mentioned. I didn’t even know what a “gosari” (or fernbrake??) is, although apparently I’ve eaten it in my bibimpab. It’s that brown stringy thing.
What, Ella? He made veggie burger? 😂😂😂 Too funny. Instead of “Maek-Do,” he should have called it “Burger King.” But I guess the BK franchise isn’t well-known in SK.
He’s really getting into the food thing, isn’t he?
What is a torandae? I just discovered what a gosari was a few minutes ago.
yes gosari/fernbrake are common in bibimbap, it taste earthy for me, outside korea/japan it’s sold on dried form. Also common as banchan or side-dish in korea.
my bechamel always end up too-thick 🤣 even when I follow the recipe.
torandae is taro stem, this one even harder to find outside korea gosari is more common.
not sure of the use in other dishes though, talking about soup one of my favourite korean soup is miyeok guk or seaweed soup. the ingredients are easy to source, easy to made and it taste delicious 😋
I haven’t watch Mr Queen yet but when I saw cuisine in the title, I clicked! These look good.
Along with watching kdrama comes the food culture. The family enjoys samgyeopsal a lot which reminded me that there’s a 2 episode series in Netflix called Korean Pork Belly Rhapsody. We were salivating while watching.
Packmule3 thanks for making this post, I was about to search what foods that Queen have been made for this drama…
I always curious what will the Queen made for every episode.
Whenever the GQD taste the food, I was always craving to eat something too.. Hahaha
anyway, i do like eating beef wrapped with lettuce, because I think it is more fresh that way, i don’t know why.. 😀
If you have Netflix, there’s a “documentary” called “Korean Pork Belly Rhapsody.” It’s a two-episode show. Very interesting. I learned which side of the pork the sampyusal came from. 🐖
Don’t watch it on a hungry stomach though.
@Packmule3
when will you finish writting the queen’s cuisine for ep 9,10,11,12,13,14? 🥺 love your analysis btw! great job! have been checking your page daily for new Mr.queen updates!