I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 39

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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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Episode 39. Culinary Showdown (2)
What possessed her to suggest a cooking competition in the first place? So Yeon-hee cursed her past self with venom.
Three days after being dragged before the Wei Family servants and humiliated, she steeled her resolve.
Three days had passed since that mortifying affair at the Wei Family Residence.
So Yeon-hee returned to the Wei Family once more for the cooking showdown she’d brought upon herself.
‘I’d hoped the Lady would step in and smooth things over while I was waiting. Instead, I can’t tell if I’ve found a benefactor or made an enemy.’
How many headaches must one endure for saving a single life? She felt like vomiting back the Good Deed Points she’d received that day.
‘Well, I chose this path. No one twisted my arm.’
At least she’d managed to finalize the menu—barely.
Working alone might have been difficult, but drawing on collective wisdom made all the difference.
Her younger sister So Yeon-su, notorious for her picky palate, and grandmother Hong had been invaluable partners in the effort.
‘All I need to do is complete a Course Meal—or rather, a Korean Table Setting. That’s what matters.’
Her opponent was a professional cook. If she could best him in even a single dish, it would be some small consolation.
So Yeon-hee, tense and focused, surveyed the Wei family members seated on the raised platform.
The Lady Baek, the master Wei Hyo-gwang, the first wife Gyo, the concubine Ok, the concubine Du, the eldest son Wei Jeong, three other sons, and four daughters.
With Ju Ha-yoon included, thirteen judges in total.
‘Can I possibly satisfy the palates of so many people?’
Even in a single dish?
“Then let us begin.”
At Ju Ha-yoon’s quiet command, both contestants moved at once.
Yet naturally, their movements differed greatly.
First, Baek the cook moved with ease.
His hands, refined by decades of practice, cleaned Shiitake Mushrooms with practiced dexterity and soaked Wood Ear Mushrooms, each motion flowing like water.
Having overseen the Wei Family Kitchen for ten years, he handled every utensil as though it were an extension of himself.
So Yeon-hee was another matter entirely.
The moment she approached the stove, she gauged the fire’s intensity.
The flames burned hotter than the stove back home—the wood was better quality.
The pot was a different size, and even the measuring spoons varied.
Nothing felt familiar; her movements halted repeatedly, lacking the fluidity of an experienced hand.
Baek noticed her clumsy fumbling and let a smug smile play at the corners of his mouth.
‘Steady. Don’t panic. Just time the sequence right and work through the steps in order.’
Why was that furniture brand so celebrated?
Because ordinary people with no carpentry skills could assemble furniture with detailed instructions and a clear assembly sequence—that was the secret.
So Yeon-hee consulted her recipe notes and rapidly sequenced both the menu and cooking order in her mind.
‘Steaming takes the longest, so I’ll start the rice and get the Lotus Root on the steamer first.’
She rinsed the rice, then dyed it with beet juice and spinach water before stuffing it into the Lotus Root.
She placed the stuffed Lotus Root in the steaming basket, and the moment she closed the steamer lid, she set the mushroom stock for the soup over the heat.
Knowing that broth deepens with time, she didn’t forget to add vegetables like leek roots and daikon to draw out the flavor.
Next, she julienned carrots and stir-fried mushrooms to prepare the filling ingredients.
Then she ground sesame and made a sauce, sealing it in a container—but just as she finished, the savory aroma of Baek’s soy-braised dish wafted across the kitchen.
“My, that smells wonderful!”
Wei Jeong sniffed the air appreciatively.
That tactless fool.
‘He was the one who proposed this competition, so shouldn’t he be rooting for me?’
Just as indignation gave way to exasperation, Ju Ha-yoon stepped forward with a remark.
“Miss So appears to be using quite a diverse range of ingredients. Most intriguing.”
That slight compliment—what a difference it made.
So Yeon-hee’s shoulders lifted slightly as she accelerated her work.
She cut Tofu into bite-sized pieces, coated them in starch slurry, and began frying them in hot pork fat. A satisfying sizzle erupted, and savory aromas burst forth.
Meanwhile, she mixed minced vegetables into okara and kneaded the filling for meatballs. Monitoring the frying with one hand while kneading with the other created a frantic yet captivating spectacle.
“Well now. That young lady’s technique doesn’t seem entirely without merit.”
“Indeed. She appears more practiced at cooking than I’d have guessed.”
Of course! Agricultural work isn’t just weeding fields, you know.
The women have to prepare meals for the field hands throughout the day.
So Yeon-hee gritted her teeth and stirred the fried pieces with chopsticks to prevent them from sticking.
They didn’t need long to cook, and the Tofu pieces were soon done.
Next, she rolled the filling into neat balls and began preparing the soup.
She removed the vegetables she’d used to infuse the stock, then seasoned it with soy sauce and a pinch of white powder.
Then, one by one, she dropped the meatballs into the pot—plop, plop, plop—and before long they bobbed to the surface.
‘Good color. Good smell. Better than I expected.’
She’d add the greens later so they wouldn’t lose their texture, and began preparing the Vietnamese rolls.
She filled pre-prepared Rice Paper with finely julienned vegetables and added strips of Tofu as a meat substitute, rolling each one with care.
She sliced the rolls in half with a sharp knife to show the cross-section, arranged them on a plate, and added a drizzle of peanut sauce beside them. The appetizer was complete.
“Right, I still need to make sauce for the Tofu soup and the Lotus Root.”
So Yeon-hee quickly prepared a simple Soy Sauce by boiling soy sauce, sugar, and ginger. Then she mixed soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar in precise proportions, heated the mixture, and gradually added starch slurry while stirring.
As the clear liquid transformed into a glossy sauce, she added lightly stir-fried carrots and onions at the end.
‘Since I don’t know which sauce they’ll prefer, I’ll serve them separately.’
After portioning each sauce beside its corresponding dish, So Yeon-hee finally smiled—a mere forty minutes into service.
‘Now for the grand finale.’
She retrieved the fruit skewers she’d prepared earlier and placed in a basket, then set a Tanghulu pan over the burner.
With sugar and water already prepared, all she needed to do was heat the syrup and coat the fruit.
It was at precisely that moment.
“Oh dear! My foot slipped!”
A servant passing nearby suddenly stumbled and struck the basket with his elbow.
The skewers scattered across the floor, and dust clung to the fruit.
“What do you think you’re doing!”
“I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to—it was an accident!”
The servant reacted with exaggerated shock and frantically tried to pick up and wipe the fruit.
But in doing so, he only mangled and crushed the skewers further.
‘He’s doing this on purpose, isn’t he?’
So Yeon-hee stared at the scattered skewers on the floor, utterly deflated. Then her gaze slowly shifted to Baek the cook.
Baek appeared absorbed in his own work, paying no attention. Yet the corners of his mouth curved upward, ever so slightly.
No evidence. No time.
Even if she stood and accused them of treachery, there was no guarantee anyone would believe her.
‘And Baek is connected to the Lady—he’s family.’
On one side stood a benefactor who’d happened to save her life; on the other, a blood relation of the household.
If anyone were to choose a side out of deference to the Lady’s standing, it would be Baek’s.
Her will crumbled in an instant.
So Yeon-hee said nothing. She looked down at the basket once and got to her feet.
‘I’ll do what I can.’
She clenched her teeth and removed the Lotus Root from the steamer.
The perfectly cooked Lotus Root and the glutinous rice within only deepened her sense of despair.
She held back tears and carefully sliced the Lotus Root with her knife, arranging it on the plate. That’s when Ju Ha-yoon approached quietly.
“What’s wrong?”
So Yeon-hee didn’t know it, but his gaze had never left her since the competition began.
He was the master’s nephew and of noble standing, but ultimately an outsider.
He’d held back, fearing that his interference would only complicate her position. But seeing how events were unfolding, he’d finally stepped down from the platform.
Unaware of his concern, So Yeon-hee answered in a low, measured voice.
“I need ice.”

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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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