Goblin Library - Chapter 131

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 131.

Gluttony Goblin looked at Pot Goblin.
“I’m done.”
“I’m….”
Pot Goblin lifted the skin slightly and spoke.
“A bit longer. Go ahead and cut yours first. After you taste it, I’ll cut mine.”
Gluttony Goblin nodded and picked up scissors to cut the skin.
Then he placed two pieces on each person’s plate.
“Here, dip the first one in soybean powder and eat it. For the second one, dip it in whatever sauce you like.”
At Gluttony Goblin’s words, the group picked up the skin, dipped it in soybean powder, and put it in their mouths.
“Hmm….”
“Mmm….”
“You really grilled it perfectly chewy.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, Gluttony Goblin nodded and looked at Yu Tae-poong and Dung Carrier Goblin.
Both of them nodded as well.
“It’s delicious.”
“It’s delicious.”
Seeing their positive reactions, Gluttony Goblin wore a proud expression.
“Especially the texture, right? It’s chewy yet tender at the same time.”
Yu Tae-poong nodded. The texture was exactly as Gluttony Goblin had described.
“Alright, mine is ready too.”
By the time they were eating the second piece of skin, Pot Goblin cut the perfectly grilled skin and placed two pieces on each person’s plate.
“Try it. You’ll understand what skin truly is.”
The group picked up the skin one by one, dipped it in soybean powder just as before, and then dipped the second piece in their preferred sauce.
Among the various sauces—salt, ssamjang, pickled vegetable sauce—Yu Tae-poong chose the pickled vegetable sauce and ate it with a slice of garlic.
And Yu Tae-poong nodded.
‘Delicious.’
While Gluttony Goblin’s skin had a pleasant chewy texture, this one had a different charm—crispy on the outside yet chewy when bitten into.
‘They really grilled it well. If it had been cooked any longer, it would’ve been hard instead of crispy.’
Yu Tae-poong nodded while savoring the taste, picked up another piece, and this time dipped it in soybean powder and salt before eating it.
Then he glanced at Oh Mi-hee. She too was enjoying the flavor of the skin with a delighted expression.
And once Oh Mi-hee finished both pieces, Pot Goblin and Gluttony Goblin stared at her intently.
“Well?”
“Which one was delicious?”
At the sight of the two goblins, Oh Mi-hee paused thoughtfully before smiling and speaking.
“Well, the question you’re both asking me is which of the two skins you made tastes better, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Both were absolutely delicious, honestly.”
“You have to pick just one.”
“Right. Just one.”
At the two Goblins’ words, Oh Mi-hee pointed to each of the shells in turn.
“The shell roasted from the inside first has this wonderful chewy texture and great flavor. And the one roasted from the outside—you get that crispy sensation first, but then when you chew it, you feel this softness, which is also really nice.”
“What kind of answer is that? Just pick the one that tastes better!”
At their urging, Oh Mi-hee laughed silently. Seeing her like that, Dung Carrier Goblin let out a soft chuckle and looked at the two Goblins.
“Ah… you’ve already given your answer. You don’t see it?”
“What are you talking about?”
“What answer?”
When the two Goblins still didn’t understand, Dung Carrier Goblin pointed to Yu Tae-poong and spoke.
“Yu Tae-poong and I often eat jjamppong when we go to the Chinese restaurant.”
“So you like jjamppong?”
“We do. But when we order two bowls of jjamppong, we also order one more bowl of jjajangmyeon to share. We love jjamppong, but we also want to eat jjajangmyeon together.”
“Right, choosing between jjamppong and jjajangmyeon is… oh.”
Pot Goblin let out a small sigh of understanding, and Dung Carrier Goblin continued.
“Whether it’s jjamppong or jjajangmyeon, each has its own distinct flavor. So you can’t rank one above the other. That’s why people who love jjamppong also eat jjajangmyeon, and people who are crazy about jjajangmyeon also eat jjamppong.”
Then Dung Carrier Goblin looked at the two Goblins and continued.
“Delicious food is just delicious food. There’s no ranking to be made.”
Dung Carrier Goblin looked at Oh Mi-hee.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are.”
Oh Mi-hee smiled and looked at the two Goblins.
“Both of your shells tasted good. That’s why I enjoyed both. There’s no way to rank them.”
Oh Mi-hee picked up one shell from each and took a bite, then spoke.
“If someone prefers a soft and chewy texture, they’d probably love the one roasted from the inside. And the one roasted from the outside, with that slight crispness and crunch, would be perfect for people who like that kind of texture.”
“Shells are only good when they’re roasted crispy.”
Pot Goblin muttered regretfully, and Gluttony Goblin shook his head.
“No. What the taste expert said is right.”
“You’re admitting that?”
Pot Goblin asked in surprise, and Gluttony Goblin nodded.
“I enjoy gastronomy, so I respect the distinctions in taste. Crispy has its own flavor, and soft has its own flavor too. It’s just…”
Gluttony Goblin paused for a moment, then picked up the shell Pot Goblin had roasted, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and looked at Oh Mi-hee with gentle eyes.
“Just like me and this friend here, everyone can have different texture preferences.”
His eyes were on Oh Mi-hee, but “this friend” referred to Pot Goblin.
“The texture I like, someone else might dislike. Even food that everyone praises as delicious tastes bland to me if it doesn’t suit my palate, and no matter how cheap the food is, if it matches my taste, it’s more delicious than hotel cuisine.”
Gluttony Goblin smiled and bowed his head lightly to Oh Mi-hee.
“I’ve learned a lesson from you today, taste expert.”
“Not at all. I learned even more today by discovering how the flavor changes depending on the roasting method.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, Gluttony Goblin placed a glass in front of her.
“Come on, let’s have a drink to celebrate learning something good from each other today. You’re okay with alcohol, right?”
“That’s fine.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s response, Gluttony Goblin smiled and poured alcohol into her glass.
After they clinked glasses lightly and drank, Yu Tae-poong spoke to Oh Mi-hee.
“By the way, you must enjoy traveling around to eat delicious food for your mukbang YouTube channel.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Oh Mi-hee laughed and replied.
“I do enjoy it. I really love eating delicious food that I like.”
“You enjoy it? There are downsides too?”
Yu Tae-poong asked with a puzzled expression at her use of “I do enjoy it” rather than “I enjoy it.”
In response to Yu Tae-poong’s question, Oh Mi-hee pulled out bellflower root from her insulated bag and answered.
“These days I’ve been searching for restaurants and going out to eat.”
“Of course. Since you do mukbang, you need to find good restaurants to eat delicious food.”
Sizzle! Sizzle!
As Oh Mi-hee grilled the bellflower root on the grill table, she spoke.
“I want my broadcast to show people eating delicious food in a more delicious way. But when I looked back at what I’ve been broadcasting, all the seasonings were the same.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, Pot Goblin laughed.
“That’s because you don’t know any better.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
When Oh Mi-hee made a bewildered expression, Pot Goblin spoke.
“Seasonings fundamentally have three elements: salty, sweet, and spicy. Beyond that, you can add aroma. Like the trendy salts and sauces infused with garlic, onion, and mushroom flavors. Or fermented seafood pastes like the myeolchi-jeot you love.”
Then Pot Goblin continued with a smile.
“Our country has so many ingredients. And among them, there are probably ingredients even I haven’t tasted somewhere. The same goes for seasonings. How many seasonings haven’t you tried?”
“You have a point.”
“You can get most common seasonings in Seoul, but there are unique fermented pastes and sauces that you can only get in the provinces. Since they’re made in small quantities, only the people in those regions eat them.”
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Pot Goblin clapped her hands and asked Oh Mi-hee.
“Ah! Have you ever tried Songhwa miso?”
“Songhwa miso?”
“It’s miso made in a place called Songhwa Village, and the entire mountain there is covered with pine trees. That’s why the miso tastes so good.”
“Because of the pine trees?”
“I only know how to eat it, not how to make it, but… in historical dramas, they say that when pine pollen and such are added during fermentation, it ferments well and tastes better. That’s why the flavor is a bit different.”
“Songhwa miso… just hearing the name makes it sound delicious.”
“If you make miso soup with it, it’s delicious. Ah! But if you order it online, it might not taste the same.”
“Why?”
“How many brands are called Songhwa? It’s better to go there and buy it yourself.”
Pot Goblin looked at Oh Mi-hee.
“I don’t know how many seasonings and ingredients you carry in that insulated bag, but… in the Eight Provinces of Joseon, there are far more ingredients you haven’t tried than ones you have.”
At Pot Goblin’s words, Gluttony Goblin nodded.
“This one’s right.”
Gluttony Goblin hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“The best way to truly savor delicious food is to taste as many different dishes as possible.”
“As many as possible?”
Yu Tae-poong’s question prompted Gluttony Goblin to nod.
“Truly skilled chefs aren’t just blessed with talented hands.”
“Then what?”
“Their tongue and nose matter far more than that.”
Gluttony Goblin lifted a codonopsis root from the grill table with tongs and placed it in Oh Mi-hee’s bowl.
“You approached us out of curiosity about what it would taste like to grill codonopsis and meat together—isn’t that right?”
Gluttony Goblin looked at Oh Mi-hee as he spoke.
“If it cooks too long, the texture suffers. Eaten now, it’ll have just the right crisp bite with a subtle bitterness that complements the meat perfectly.”
“Thank you.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, Gluttony Goblin nodded and continued.
“I was saying… the reason a chef’s tongue and nose are so vital is because they must truly experience the flavors and aromas of food.”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s remark, Gluttony Goblin laughed and countered.
“The flavors and aromas of food… how many different ones do you think there actually are?”
Dung Carrier Goblin paused to think, then shook his head.
“Countless, I’d imagine.”
“Exactly. Countless. But the fundamental tastes number only five: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami. The basic tastes your tongue perceives never exceed these five.”
“That’s all there is?”
“Yes. Though there’s savory taste too.”
“That’s just a blend of umami and richness from fat.”
“Is that so?”
“I can’t explain it perfectly myself, but… regardless, these five tastes form the foundation of nearly everything we experience. Even spiciness, in a sense, is a variation of bitterness.”
“True—when spice is intense enough, you definitely taste bitterness.”
Gluttony Goblin glanced briefly at Dung Carrier Goblin, who was nodding, then continued his explanation.
“Chefs combine these five tastes to create an infinite variety of flavors. And most of those creations are born from the foods they’ve tasted and the ingredients and seasonings they’ve experienced.”
Gluttony Goblin looked at Oh Mi-hee.
“That’s why truly great chefs will taste anything that won’t kill them—or at least anything that’s safe to eat in reasonable quantities. They put it in their mouth, chew it, and experience the flavor. That’s how they expand their palate.”
“That makes sense. Since chefs create flavors, they need to know as many tastes as possible so they can craft the ones they envision.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Gluttony Goblin nodded and spoke to Oh Mi-hee.
“And wanderers like you and me—those who seek out delicious food—we must also know many tastes.”
Gluttony Goblin looked at the codonopsis in Oh Mi-hee’s bowl.
“That way, you discover new flavors, and you can enhance dishes with tastes that complement them, making them even more delicious.”
At Gluttony Goblin’s words, Oh Mi-hee gazed at the codonopsis and nodded.
“A wanderer of taste… I like that.”
Then Oh Mi-hee smiled and met Gluttony Goblin’s gaze.
“I want to be a wanderer of taste too.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, Gluttony Goblin laughed.
“You already are an excellent one.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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