Chapter 19
- Tiramisu (2)
“The name of this dish is… ‘Tiramisu.’”
“What? Tira… misu…?”
“That is correct.”
“A peculiar name indeed. What does it mean?”
“Far away in the West, there is a country called Italy, and in their language, it means ‘Pick me up (Tirare mi su).’”
At Ji-young’s answer, Yeonsangun burst into a hearty laugh as if amused.
“Kuhahaha… Indeed, it lives up to its name. The soft, sweet, and slightly bitter taste is uplifting. But what is this unique flavor? I have never tasted anything like it before…”
“It is barley that has been roasted and ground.”
“Barley… roasted…?”
Yeonsangun looked at Ji-young with an expression as if he had heard something unexpected.
In truth, this was a product of Ji-young’s desperate measure in a pressing situation.
To make tiramisu cake, a dish to please His Majesty, several ingredients unavailable in Joseon at the time were needed.
The first hurdle was ‘Mascarpone’ cheese.
‘Thankfully, there was milk in the Royal Kitchen used for making Milk Porridge.’
Using that, she could create something similar in a pinch.
Mascarpone cheese is a fresh cheese that does not require fermentation or aging.
By warming the milk in a lukewarm water bath, adding acetic acid to separate the whey, and straining it through a cotton cloth until it reaches a thick consistency, it can be made without much difficulty.
‘It needs to sit in the refrigerator overnight to achieve the proper texture, but even freshly made, the taste isn’t bad.’
Even if she managed to prepare the mascarpone cheese, there was still one more thing lacking to make tiramisu.
Something unimaginable in Joseon at the time.
That was ‘coffee.’
‘Originally, tiramisu is a dessert made by soaking Savoiardi (Italian ladyfingers) in coffee and topping it with mascarpone cheese… It utilizes the flavor of coffee and the stimulating effect of caffeine.’
The reason why tiramisu was once rumored to be an aphrodisiac in Italy, with its pronounced ‘mood-boosting effect,’ is because it contains a large amount of coffee along with sweet sugar.
But for coffee beans to be introduced to Joseon, it would take several hundred more years from this time.
Here, Ji-young came up with a desperate measure, recalling one anecdote.
During World War II, when the supply of coffee was insufficient in Italy due to the war, they found a way to create a similar flavor.
‘They roasted barley like coffee beans and brewed it.’
This barley coffee was what was called ‘Cafe d’orzo.’
Although it doesn’t contain caffeine, its flavor is similar to coffee, so even today, Italians enjoy it as a ‘decaffeinated coffee.’
There is also a way to add caffeine.
Sparrow Tongue Tea, a Tribute goods from the Hadong region, called Sparrow Tongue Tea because it resembles the ‘tongue of a sparrow.’
‘The Sparrow Tongue Tea of this era was a semi-fermented tea, so its caffeine content is definitely not low. If served with tiramisu, we can expect a stimulating effect from the caffeine.’
So, Ji-young soaked the cake bread baked in the stove in ‘Cafe d’orzo,’ topped it with mascarpone cheese, and sprinkled finely ground barley powder.
She served it with a strongly brewed Sparrow Tongue Tea, so it was no wonder that His Majesty’s mood improved so much.
“In that country, they roast barley, grind it into powder, and brew it like tea. This is an application of that to cooking.”
“Hmm, I am hearing all of this for the first time. Have you perhaps been there?”
Yeonsangun stared at Ji-young with curious, boyish eyes as he asked.
The blatant gaze was burdensome, but she had to answer somehow.
“Y-yes, I have.”
“What is that place like? Is the scenery beautiful? Are the women beautiful?”
“…It was a place full of beautiful songs and paintings, and people dressed to the nines.”
Yeonsangun had approached Ji-young until he was right in front of her, his face close.
“Is there anything else wondrous? Tell me more about that country. What is the music like? What is the food like?”
Ji-young couldn’t bring herself to meet Yeonsangun’s face, which was so close.
It felt as if a cruel and violent, yet beautiful beast of prey was smelling its quarry.
Thump, thump, thump…
Ji-young’s heart beat incessantly.
It was at this moment that Jang Nok-su intervened, making a flirtatious sound.
“Your Majesty, if you have finished your meal, the Royal Cuisine Table should be cleared. It is not proper to linger too long with an empty table.”
Nok-su spoke in her uniquely coquettish voice, pulling on Yeonsangun’s arm.
But on her face was a forced smile, barely concealing the rising displeasure.
It was no wonder.
His Majesty’s mood, which she couldn’t easily soothe, had melted away in one go after eating that bizarre Western Cake.
Moreover, the interest was not only in the food but was shifting to the woman who made it.
Seeing that, a strangely twisted emotion was rising from somewhere within Nok-su’s heart.
Nok-su was not one to silently suppress that emotion.
Her innately cunning nature was what had allowed her to crawl from the bottom of the marketplace to this position.
Was it at that moment that something flashed like lightning in Nok-su’s mind?
“Your Majesty, eating this dish makes my heart ache. How is the Royal Consort in the Queen's Residence doing…?”
Yeonsangun, who had been staring intently at Ji-young’s face, finally seemed to come to his senses and turned his head.
“…Did you say Queen's Residence?”
“Yes. She is not in a good condition, and I heard that she has lost her appetite… If she were to taste such a delicacy, surely her lost appetite would return…”
A complex and subtle expression suddenly crossed Yeonsangun’s face.
Queen's Residence. Royal Consort Shin, Yeonsangun’s Royal Consort.
Her existence was a primal guilt and a sore spot for Yeonsangun.
‘I will protect you, no matter what.’
On the day he held the ceremony with her, who was the same age as him, at the young age of twelve, the young Yeonsangun had said that when he first saw her.
Royal marriages were, after all, merely alliances between families.
There was no room for emotions from the start.
But it was true that around that time, complex feelings for Royal Consort Shin had sprouted in Yeonsangun’s heart.
About fifteen years since then.
In a corner of Yeonsangun’s heart, stained with a dissolute life, the Royal Consort still remained like an old wound.
The more Yeonsangun’s excesses continued, the more Royal Consort showed a dignified and modest appearance.
That may have been what made Yeonsangun feel uncomfortable.
Moreover, what has been making Yeonsangun even more nervous recently is the fact that the Royal Consort is currently pregnant and about to give birth.
She was originally a woman with a weak body and many minor ailments.
Recently, news had been coming from the Queen's Palace maids that she was suffering from severe morning sickness.
“Having tasted something so sweet and precious, I can’t help but wonder how delighted the Royal Consort, who has lost her appetite, would be if she tasted it…”
Nok-su pretended to wipe away the tears welling up in her eyes with the ribbon of her jacket, as if she were truly worried about the Royal Consort.
It was a shallow act that was obvious even to Ji-young, but amazingly, Yeonsangun was making an expression of genuine emotion.
“…How admirable.”
From the mouth of this young tyrant, who had wrapped his arm around Nok-su’s shoulder, a firm order soon fell.
“Royal Cuisine Master, listen. Make the exact same thing that I just ate and send it to the Queen's Residence. And after confirming with your own eyes that the Royal Consort has eaten well, inform me.”
“As you command.”
Ji-young bowed her head as she had been taught and stepped back out of the royal chamber.
And,
While held in Yeonsangun’s arms, Jang Nok-su watched that figure for a long time with a strange look in her eyes.
* * *
“Haa…”
Ji-young, who had barely escaped the royal chamber of Chuihongwon, finally let out a long sigh.
At the same time, her whole body was trembling strangely.
Was it because of the relief that she had survived by presenting a dish that pleased His Majesty?
Or was it because of something else?
‘This is no time to be having useless thoughts.’
Ji-young shook her head to shake off the distracting thoughts.
The priority was to make the tiramisu as His Majesty had ordered and take it to the Queen's Residence.
As she entered the Royal Kitchen, the Royal Cuisine Master and kitchen maids, who had been anxiously waiting inside, finally let out sighs of relief and began to stir.
The fact that Ji-young had walked back on her own two feet meant that the Royal Cuisine Table had been successful.
“I thought I was going to be attending a funeral today, I was so nervous,”
Royal Cuisine Master Jeon said with a fuss, but Ji-young still had a face that said she had things left to do.
“We’ve put out the immediate fire… but His Majesty has ordered us to send the exact same dish to the Queen's Residence.”
“Huh? Did he really order us to send the Royal Cuisine Table for the Queen's Residence from here?”
A light stir occurred again within the Royal Kitchen.
The Royal Kitchens of the palace were not one.
The Royal Consort’s meals were, in principle, prepared separately in the Queen's Residence Royal Kitchen.
Moreover, at this time when the Royal Consort was pregnant, that distinction became even stricter.
So, for Ji-young to present the Royal Consort’s Royal Cuisine Table was not only against the law but also inappropriate.
But one could not disobey His Majesty’s command.
“Don’t worry and just prepare it as we did earlier. If it satisfied His Majesty’s picky palate, what worries could there be no matter where it’s presented? Besides, the Royal Consort is a person of gentle character, so there shouldn’t be any big problems.”
Royal Cuisine Master Jeon soothed the Royal Kitchen staff and began to prepare the ingredients again.
“I’ve never met the Royal Consort before… Is she perhaps not feeling well?”
At Jang-geum’s naive question, who had just become a court lady, the other court ladies clicked their tongues and answered.
“Tsk tsk… What are you saying? It is the law of the palace that the Royal Consort, being pregnant, does not come into contact with strangers.”
“Besides, you must never talk to the people of the Queen's Residence without permission. If Royal Concubine Jang finds out about that, then… Ugh, I don’t even want to imagine it.”
The court lady shuddered as if it were terrible.
Hearing those words from the side, Ji-young suddenly recalled what she had experienced in the marketplace this afternoon.
The Navy robe man who identified himself as a Royal guard.
And the small scroll that man had placed in Ji-young’s hand.
‘He said that scroll was a message sent by the Royal Consort.’
After grasping the situation up to this point, Ji-young suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
The one-line Vernacular Script that she couldn’t understand when she read it in the marketplace.
She now realized what it meant.
“R-Royal Cuisine Master! It’s an emergency. There’s an ingredient that you absolutely must get right now.”
“At this hour, you’re saying there’s an ingredient that we need right away?”
At Royal Cuisine Master Jeon’s question, who was making a bewildered expression, Ji-young nodded with a desperate look in her eyes.
“If we don’t have it… not only me but probably the entire Royal Kitchen will face severe punishment.”
* * *
At the same time, a building located behind His Majesty’s residence.
Queen's Residence (the name of the Queen's Residence in Gyeongbok Palace).
In the deepest room of the Deep Royal Palace, a young woman dressed in white was sitting calmly, embroidering on silk.
She was probably in her late twenties.
Her white and clean face was as delicate, elegant, and beautiful as a doll made of porcelain.
But it was also a face that was difficult to know what was inside.
Perhaps it was because she bore the destiny of a queen, who must never reveal her emotions to the outside world, even while going through all sorts of hardships.
The young lady of the prestigious Geochang Shin clan, the daughter of former Chief State Councilor Shin Seung-seon.
And, Yeonsangun’s Royal Consort. Royal Consort Shin.
“Is anyone outside?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
No sooner had the Royal Consort finished speaking, indifferently, while embroidering red thread on white silk, than the answer of the head palace maid, who had been waiting outside the door, returned.
The Royal Consort continued to speak calmly, without taking her eyes off the needlework.
“Light up the courtyard. I have a feeling that a guest will be arriving soon.”
