Original subtitles

BON APPÉTIT, YOUR MAJESTY

It is time to begin

the second round of the competition between Joseon and the Ming.

Today's theme is ji for "know," yeok for "change."

You must cook a dish from each other's country.

- Our second dish, Peking duck. - Let us begin.

Where did they get such a massive lotus flower?

It is overwhelmingly big.

A golden lotus?

Okay. We'll start by hanging the ducks to roast.

- Pouring oil over it makes it… - Crispy.

Is that the Northern Capital roast duck?

The Ming cooks in action are truly an impressive sight.

Trust me this once.

This is a temple dish.

This is Peking duck.

The dishes from both sides are complete.

This concludes the tasting of the second round,

and the evaluation will follow.

I will announce the scores for the second round.

ONE

EIGHT

JOSEON: 1, MING: 8

- What? - My goodness.

I do not believe this.

Tang Bailong, step forward.

TANG BAILONG MASTER OF SICHUAN CUISINE

The skills you learned

from visiting temples all over Joseon

in order to create the ultimate taste are truly remarkable.

Not only did your temple dish take us by surprise,

but its flavor also offered profound insight and serene resonance.

YU KUN MING'S CHIEF ENVOY

However…

the scores of the second round

are invalid.

Your Excellency, I am not sure I understand what you are saying.

Bailong's score--

It seems my words fell on closed ears.

What did you say?

Look carefully.

That is the score

the Ming chief envoy gave Joseon's dish.

Just so the Ming could win,

he gave Joseon's dish a ridiculously low score.

However, Your Excellency,

the rule is that we score each other's dishes.

What is the matter with that?

Director Yu, do you truly not see it?

We are the two judges of this competition.

If we do not score the dishes honestly,

what is the point of all this?

Your shallow trickery

is embarrassing your own cooks,

who did their best to make outstanding dishes.

Do you truly not realize that?

However--

In the first round,

the very person who was most ashamed of winning with a dishonest ingredient

was the Ming cook, Tang Bailong.

Yet you, the chief envoy, decided to give such a dishonest score.

What you did not only disgraced the honor of the Ming cooks,

but also that of the Joseon cooks.

He asks how you wish to decide the winner.

We will judge in a way

that eliminates all these problems.

I wonder how.

Listen carefully.

The cooks of each nation will taste and score their own dish.

Humans tend to be blind to their own shortcomings.

Score your food with that in mind,

and that very score

will decide the winner of the second round.

He wants us to score ourselves?

What on earth is he thinking?

COURSE N° 9 PRESSURE-COOKED OGYETANG

First,

Joseon's Chief Royal Cook Yeon Ji-young.

You made a new adaptation

of the Northern Capital roast duck with an exquisite balance of flavors

that adhered to the theme of "know" and "change."

How do you score that dish?

Your Majesty, I'm sorry to say, but it's impossible to score.

What? You cannot score your dish?

Why is that?

It'd be a stretch to say our Peking duck was perfect.

But Cook Eom, Cook Maeng,

Cook Min, Cook Sim, and Gil-geum

poured their sweat, hard work, dedication, and hearts into the dish.

We devoted ourselves to making this dish,

so how could we dare evaluate it ourselves?

Your Majesty,

we can't evaluate and score our own dish.

I apologize.

I see.

Next.

Ming's Chief Royal Cook Tang Bailong.

You have captured profound enlightenment in the lotus leaf wrap

and presented us with Joseon's temple fare.

It was truly a refined dish

that showed the noble grace and skill of a Ming cook.

How do you score your dish?

Tang Bailong also says he is unable to score the temple dish

that he learned to make from many Joseon monks.

The truth is,

both dishes were equally good in every aspect,

including taste, elegance, and appearance.

Joseon's roast duck and Ming's temple dish

were clearly created by cooks who have reached the highest level of skill.

To judge the dishes on taste alone

is close to impossible.

That is why

I had the two cooks score the dishes to assess their mindset.

However,

it seems that both cooks

are evenly matched in that aspect as well.

I believe

that both dishes in this round proved to be equal,

which means

it is another tie.

Do you have more to say?

If the third round is also a tie, we will win the competition.

This outcome is in our favor.

Your Excellency, I believe that you made the most appropriate decision.

He says he has nothing to add.

In that case, the third round

will be held here tomorrow at the same time.

- Yes, Your Majesty. - Yes, Your Excellency.

I lost.

However,

it was a victory in its own way.

No, I won.

But it feels like

I kind of lost.

If our dishes were evaluated tomorrow,

the result would have been very different.

I'm guessing you're saying the Ming would've won, right?

As the temple food would have lingered on their minds until the next day?

I focused heavily on the depth and meaning of my dish,

that I failed to captivate their tongues at once.

That also is a shortcoming of mine.

I focused heavily on captivating their tongues,

that I failed to add depth and meaning to my dish.

That's my shortcoming.

You always have the last word.

Because you keep talking.

I look forward to your final dish.

Thank you.

All right, let's get going.

What was that just now?

He lost, but he won?

Oh, well…

In this second round,

Tang Bailong's dish touched the heart,

while ours captivated the taste buds.

If today's scoring had been done properly, we would've won,

but his dish would've been the one that remained on people's minds.

That's what we said.

Then did you praise yourselves while standing face-to-face?

Well, we acknowledged each other

and praised ourselves too.

Whatever the result,

the best cook in the Ming acknowledged our chief royal cook.

- Right? - Right.

- That alone is a great accomplishment. - Yes.

It's not just me. It's us.

He acknowledged us.

- Goodness, miss. - Oh gosh.

Stop it. Let's go.

- Greetings, Chief Eunuch. - Greetings.

Well done, all of you.

Cook Yeon, His Majesty wishes to see you.

Right now?

Your Majesty.

Cook Yeon is here.

So you asked to see me.

Why do you look so upset?

You did so well today.

Keep it brief and to the point.

I don't have enough time to prepare for tomorrow.

That is why I summoned you.

Here.

Are you personally offering me wine?

This is not wine.

It is tea.

I called you here so you could have some rest.

Go on and try it.

A teacup holding the moon.

How fascinating.

That is what you call "moon tea."

If you sit there and look into the teacup, the tea reflects the moon in the sky.

It's mandarin leaf tea.

How do you feel? Does it ease your tension?

Yes.

It's almost like a warm consolation.

I was worried you looked too weak to even hold the duck.

How will you manage the remaining round with a wounded hand?

I just can't do any delicate cutting, but I can cook just fine.

"Fine"?

Maid Seo had to do the cutting for you.

You are too fearless.

Why, of course I was afraid.

But I put my trust in the sweat and hard work the cooks had put into it.

And that

came out to a tie, did it not?

That tie?

Since we're on the topic,

I assumed you changed the rule in the middle of the competition

because you wanted a fair win.

But then you went,

"Score your dish yourself."

How were we to decide a winner like that?

So that is why you are upset.

We would've won if only the scores were fair.

You are right.

You did incredibly well today.

The truth is,

I did not know it would be this hard a competition.

Just like Yu Kun,

I wanted to give you full marks

and Ming's dish one point.

Your Majesty.

It was my mistake

to risk the future of the nation on a cooking competition.

It is not yet too late.

Let us call off the third round.

All I need to do is just bow and apologize to the chief envoy.

No.

I want to do the third round.

So don't bow to the Ming.

What do you mean?

I was angry at first

by how they looked down on Joseon.

But now,

seeing Gil-geum, Cook Eom, Cook Maeng,

and the other cooks work so hard and put in so much effort,

and seeing how sincerely the Ming cooks participated,

I genuinely want to win.

No.

I'll do whatever it takes to win.

You mean it.

I do.

Has the pressure cooker lid arrived?

Not yet.

But Mister Chun-saeng will come.

I trust he will.

No one can criticize you.

You put in more than enough effort so far.

If things do not go well--

Don't worry, Your Majesty.

Oh, that's hot!

Are you all right? Are you scalded?

No, I'm fine.

This will not do.

Chief Eunuch!

Yes, Your Majesty.

Inform those at Naeuiwon, Royal Clinic, to treat Cook Yeon's hand promptly.

Yes, Your Majesty.

I'm really okay.

Promise me…

that you will never let yourself get hurt again.

Your pain…

brings greater pain to me.

Your Majesty.

How does it feel now?

It feels much better.

This ointment will help even more.

Thank you.

Another tie?

It was just as you predicted, Your Royal Highness.

How dare a mere chief envoy do such a despicable thing?

There is a lot more gochogaru than I thought, Your Highness.

GRAND PRINCE JESAN SUPERINTENDENT OF SAONGWON

If there is too much, you can always leave a sack with me.

IM SONG-JAE CHIEF ROYAL SECRETARY

You are cooks representing the Great Ming!

You brought nothing but humiliation!

How could we let two ties happen in a row?

- Cook Maeng. - Yes.

This is not just ordinary ginseng.

It is wild ginseng!

Wild ginseng?

- Wild ginseng? - What? Wild ginseng?

- My gosh. - This is a precious ingredient.

It is time to begin the third and final round

of the competition between Joseon and the Ming.

Today's theme is…

tang for "soup," sam for "ginseng."

You must make a soup containing ginseng.

You may begin cooking now.

We must win today.

Let us begin cooking fo tiao qiang.

- Yes. - Yes.

It's time for our final dish.

Let's start making ogolgye samgyetang, Silkie ginseng chicken soup.

Cook Min, please put the ogolgye on the cutting board.

Yes, Chief Royal Cook.

- Cook Eom. - Yes?

Please skin three of them and make a broth.

Cook Sim, you be his sous-chef.

What? What was that?

Oh, "sous-chef." It means to assist you.

What if the lid does not arrive in time?

Right. What do we do then?

We'll go with Plan B.

"Plant Bee"?

I mean an alternative.

The cast iron cauldron.

Though it will be harder.

I see we have an alternative.

That is great to hear.

Yes, it is indeed.

Okay then.

Cook Maeng, please prepare the green onions and garlic for the broth.

Gil-geum, you be his sous-chef.

- Very well. - Okay.

All right then.

Let's get started.

Cook Eom, I need the skin to be as wide as possible.

I understand.

Bring the lu jin.

LU JIN: DEER TENDON FREQUENTLY USED TO MAKE NOURISHING DISHES

Hou tou gu.

HOU TOU GU: CHINESE NAME FOR LION'S MANE MUSHROOM

Hai shen.

HAI SHEN: SEA CUCUMBER, A PREMIUM DELICACY KNOWN AS THE WILD GINSENG OF THE SEA

That is…

Cook Sim.

It looks like the Joseon cooks are preparing an ogolgye soup.

The Ming cooks are using ingredients so incredibly rare

that I cannot even fathom what they are making.

The first ingredient Kong Wenli is preparing

is deer tendon soaked in oil for days.

It is one of the Eight Treasures, the most precious ingredients.

What Bailong is preparing

is called lion's mane.

Deer tendon and lion's mane?

That is the rare mushroom that resembles a lion's mane, is it not?

You truly are a gourmet who knows your ingredients.

There are also

sea cucumber, abalone, bamboo shoots, dried scallops,

and even white ginseng,

which is said to be obtainable only with ancestral blessing.

The soup your cooks are preparing…

It cannot be.

Yes.

A dish where precious, rare ingredients are cooked together

for a long time with great care.

It is said that the deep aroma

even made a monk abandon his meditation and jump over the wall to try it.

Thus, named fo tiao qiang, or Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

BULDOJANG: A NOURISHING DISH WITH RARE DELICACIES

So it is buldojang.

"Buldojang"?

Let's prepare the ingredients to stuff the chicken.

- Okay. - Okay.

- Peel it thinner. - Okay.

Tie the legs together tighter.

- Understood. - Understood.

There.

LIQUOR

Let's wait just a bit more.

- Cook Eom. - Yes?

- Keep an eye on the broth for me. - Sure.

Cook Maeng, please make some jujube rice cakes.

Leave them to me.

Gil-geum, get the morel for me.

Yes, miss.

Mister Chun-saeng, I really need you to come right now.

Forget about that Chun-saeng or whatever his name is

and go with your Plant Bee!

He is right. We might fail to complete the dish and lose.

Let us go with Plant Bee!

I guess we have no choice.

Let's go with Plan B.

Cook Eom, we'll use the cauldron.

Very well.

Cook Min, the lid.

Right, Bong-sik.

Hurry.

There is a strange bird in the sky!

It is coming this way at great speed!

On guard!

Get out of my way!

I have no time to waste with you.

Oh goodness me.

- Jang Chun-saeng! - Oh, you!

The palace must be treating you well. You look so much better.

- Did you bring it? - Would I have come empty-handed?

Thank you. The chief royal cook is waiting.

You should head inside now.

- This way. - Let us go.

Mister Chun-saeng!

Jang Chun-saeng.

Chief Royal Cook.

You made it!

Here you go.

What is that?

Who is that man?

He is a new palace attendant.

He brought a cooking tool I ordered.

Let's see.

I said I would bring it to you, did I not?

I was waiting for you.

Thank you so much.

- Was I right on time? - Yes.

It was perfect timing.

But the lid has weakened a bit due to the damage,

so you should keep the heat as low as possible for safety.

What? But I need the heat to be at maximum level.

Then go for it. What can you do?

Will it be very dangerous?

Well…

You will be in danger if you lose anyway.

I'll trust in your skill, Mister Chun-saeng.

- I hope you win. - I will.

- I should go now. - Thank you.

My gosh.

It's here!

- I need more firewood. - Sure.

No.

This dish needs to be cooked on low heat.

Relax, Ya Feixiu.

My goodness, miss.

How much more firewood do we need?

The flames are already so huge.

Water boils at 110°C at 1.5 atmospheric pressures,

and that's enough to make it taste great.

But to ensure it tastes perfect,

I'll raise the internal temperature to 120°C at 2 atmospheric pressures.

So you are saying we need more firewood.

Yes. Just throw in everything we have.

I might break my back carrying firewood.

She says it is to create the perfect taste,

so go and get more firewood.

Yes, Man-su.

It seems you have changed a great deal in the last few days.

Stop talking and bring more firewood.

Okay.

Cook Sim, wait for me.

Please stay strong and hold on.

IGAK, 30 MINUTES, LATER

He is concerned it will explode.

Do not worry.

My chief royal cook knows what she is doing.

My goodness.

It did it!

It held up two atmospheric pressures.

I knew Mister Chun-saeng could do it.

Oh my, miss.

It looks like their dish is done already.

That is strange.

How could it be done so soon?

It looks like the Ming is far from being done.

This is the power of science.

It's much faster, isn't it? And it tastes better too.

It was worth the hard work.

All right.

Now for the last step.

It's a new form of samgyetang

where you can enjoy the nutritious ogolgye from skin to meat.

When it comes to slowly cooked fo tiao qiang,

the last touch completes the taste.

Dumplings made with glutinous rice and ogolgye skin

are lightly parboiled in the broth.

Liquor is poured on a plate covered in salt.

Maid Seo, we must hurry.

The minced meat is piped into the morels.

A dragon carving, symbolizing power, is added.

On top of a layer made with seasoned ogolgye meat

go the dumpling, mushroom, and ginseng.

To complete the dish, the salt is set aflame to warm the bowl.

To complete the dish, wild ginseng broth is poured around it.

The crunchy, savory nurungji is an extra touch.

The dishes from both sides are complete.

The cooks are to step away from the stations.

Today, we will taste the dish made by the Joseon cooks first.

Oh, right.

You tap the nurungji with your spoon to break it,

and eat it with the dumpling, meat, and broth.

What is this dish called?

This dish is called

wild ginseng-infused ogolgye samgyetang.

I stuffed the ogolgye with 100-year-old cheonjongsam, premium wild ginseng,

and cooked them in a pressure cooker with medicinal herb broth,

which enhanced the texture of the meat and the deep flavor of the broth.

I also added a unique flavor to the dish

with morel stuffed with minced ogolgye and nurungji.

The aroma is of a herbal chicken soup, but it is shaped like a dumpling.

He says it does not look refined.

This is "oat sheen," an invigorating dish favored

in palaces of the Western world.

I suppose you do not know much about Western food.

"Oat sheen"?

This is oat sheen?

I know.

A phoenix!

I am an immortal riding a phoenix!

The ogolgye meat is unbelievably tender,

and it is presented neatly so there is no need to separate the bone.

Each time I taste the broth,

the aroma of the cheonjongsam and green onions

spreads subtly throughout.

It almost feels as if it warmly comforts my heart.

Is this truly a ginseng chicken soup

made with Silkie?

The meat melts away in my mouth,

and the broth is incredibly rich and deep.

I feel the warmth and the energy build up inside of me,

which is definitely the effect of ginseng.

However, the taste is completely new.

This is truly a magnificent dish!

It is delicious.

Now, we will taste the dish made by the Ming cooks.

What is this dish called?

It is buldojang.

It is made with delicacies from land and sea,

including deer tendon, lion's mane, white ginseng,

sea cucumber, pine mushrooms, and more.

He says each bite will taste different,

as the ingredients will bring out their flavors in your mouth.

This is a dish truly worthy of the Great Ming!

There is a reason this is called a food of the gods.

There is no need for words.

This is truly a taste

beyond compare.

This concludes the tasting of the third and final round.

To ensure

the third round is scored fairly,

the cooks will taste each other's food

and score it.

Each cook can give up to ten points,

which would make the full score 30 points.

He says that he has accepted His Excellency's scoring method

to apologize for the prior unsavory scoring process,

and for the cooks to score each other fairly.

Now, you may taste each other's food.

This buldojang is no joke.

We wouldn't have stood a chance without the pressure cooker.

You are right.

Having a bite of this dish I had only heard of

makes me feel energized already.

Our ogolgye samgyetang is just as nourishing as this.

They did use rare ingredients,

but the taste is not that impressive.

Why won't he eat?

He can't score unless he tastes it.

I have been watching him,

and he does not seem to eat at all.

The maids say

he cooks without even tasting the food.

He doesn't taste the food?

It can't be.

Is he anorexic?

What is that?

It's an illness that makes one unable to eat.

That makes no sense.

How could a cook have such an illness?

I've seen it before.

Once their cooking reached a certain level,

they couldn't eat any food.

An anorexic cook.

If he cannot eat…

How will he score our food?

Why has that cook not tasted the food?

Ever since Kong Wenli reached the highest level of cooking skill,

he has not been able to eat any food.

He has the ability to create the best flavors

without ever tasting them.

What?

How will he score the food then?

He cannot score what he cannot taste.

I wonder how this will affect the scores.

Yesterday, you reprimanded me for not scoring honestly.

He says you can have them score as fairly as you wish, Your Majesty.

He looks guilty for trying to eat.

He might eat if the food isn't plated nicely.

Cook Yeon, what are you doing?

What are you doing?

He has to taste it to score it.

My goodness.

He says the chief royal cook must be perplexed after tasting Ming's dish.

Chief Royal Cook.

To make food is joy for the cook,

and to taste is joy for the people who eat.

That's what makes cooking rewarding, isn't it?

To be honest,

it tastes extra good when everything is thrown together like this.

Regardless of the result,

as a cook,

I present you with this food with the hope that you'll also be happy.

Why do you care so much about taste?

Do not be complicated.

So what if you cannot cook well?

Nothing tastes better

than when you throw everything in and cook it together.

Try it.

Come on. Try it.

It is delicious.

It is so good.

This is…

the taste I had forgotten

and missed for so many years.

I once was left in shock after tasting my grandmother's food

that was made with all sorts of ingredients thrown in together.

For many years,

I tried to cook something that tasted better,

but nothing I made ever tasted like it.

Since then,

I have gained the ability to cook without tasting the food.

However…

the more I cooked,

the harder it became for me to eat.

He says you recreated

the taste of his grandmother's food.

He says he cannot call himself the best cook,

for he cannot surpass his grandmother's cooking.

The most important virtue of a wise man is said to be benevolence.

To care and be considerate of others.

I made this out of consideration for you, Cook Kong Wenli.

The dish your grandmother made for you

was probably made with the same heart.

I see it now.

A cook who can bring joy to both themselves and others

is a true wise man.

He says that he has lost to the chief royal cook.

How is this possible?

I will announce the result of the third round,

where the cooks scored each other's food.

First, we will reveal the score given by the Joseon cooks for Ming's dish.

It is 27 points.

Next, we will reveal the score given by the Ming cooks for Joseon's dish.

It is 28 points.

Miss!

Cook Eom! Oh my!

It was such a pleasure to compete against such great cooks.

Thank you for the generous score.

Thank you.

I hope

to compete against you properly one day.

Just one cook against another.

Anytime.

What is this?

Where I'm from, this is a greeting.

We call it a handshake.

"Handshake"?

Handshake.

It was a great match.

I learned a lot.

I also realized I have a lot more to learn.

- Thank you. - I learned a lot.

It looks like we have a final winner.

Yes, Your Excellency.

He says he will relinquish the right to harvest Joseon ginseng as promised

and return to the Ming with just one tribute item to show their appreciation.

And what is that?

He says he will offer the chief royal cook to the Emperor as a tribute woman.

What?

You want the chief royal cook as a tribute woman?

What is this utter nonsense?

You've got to be kidding me.

He's asking to take me as a tribute woman?

- Your Majesty! - Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

He is the chief envoy from the Ming…

He struck him with his head!

How could this happen?

Blood?

I am bleeding!

How dare the King of Joseon

behave this way toward the envoy of the Emperor?

Oh dear.

I only meant to show you the Joseon greeting.

Are you all right?

He says in any case, he will take the chief royal cook with him.

Guards, take her.

- Oh no! - No!

Miss.

Director Yu,

it seems

that you brought far too few attendants with you

to take my chief royal cook as a tribute woman.

What?

You should have brought

at least an army of a hundred thousand

to make it worth my time.

He asks if you will dare challenge the envoy of the Emperor of the Ming.

Anytime.

The Grand Royal Queen Dowager has arrived.

What in the world

is happening in this place?

Grandmother.

I was bidding the Ming envoy farewell,

and there was a minor misunderstanding.

A misunderstanding, you say?

I do not know what that misunderstanding could be,

but Your Majesty,

as the ruler of a nation,

you must never act recklessly.

Yes, Grandmother.

I have something to inquire of Envoy Yu Kun.

You have come as an envoy of a great nation.

Why is it that you have set aside your official duties

and suggested such an imprudent competition?

I have the Emperor's command to demand

the right to harvest Joseon ginseng and take tribute women--

How dare you, Yu Kun!

"How dare you, Yu Kun"?

I now see

that your insolence knows no bounds.

Both the King of Joseon

and his grandmother have lost their minds.

An insult to me is an insult to the Emperor himself.

Do you all wish to be punished at once?

Yu Kun.

Do you know what this is?

It is a letter from my aunt

and the late Emperor's second wife,

Consort Yeon.

Do you still dare insist your Emperor

requested the right to harvest our ginseng and our women as tribute?

So the aunt of the Grand Royal Queen Dowager of Joseon

is the late Emperor's second wife,

- Consort Yeon? - Yes.

I have deceived the Emperor and dishonored the Ming imperial family.

He begs for your forgiveness and benevolent grace.

Then let us return to the original matter at hand.

You should keep your promise.

He says he will supply the requested items at any time.

Can I

trust your words?

He says he swears on the heavens to keep his promise.

He thanks you for the hospitality and says he will take his leave.

There is no need to hurry.

Be sure to take the tribute items we prepared for you.

Yes, Your Excellency.

My lord.

I appreciate it.

Well done.

It was very delicious.

What brought you all the way here, Grandmother?

Your Majesty.

Why did you act so rashly?

Matters could have gotten out of hand

if I had not requested a letter from the Ming imperial family.

I apologize, Grandmother.

The nation does not belong to you alone.

Does it?

I will be more cautious.

Your Royal Highness.

I think it is best to leave it at this.

Your Majesty.

I have a request.

Please tell me what it is.

Grand Prince Jinmyeong

is quite curious about the chief royal cook's food.

Would you allow him

the chance to taste her food?

Is that so?

Grand Prince Jinmyeong?

Then I will arrange a meal tomorrow.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Now, hurry and bring an end to the competition.

Yes, Grandmother.

GRAND PRINCE JESAN'S RESIDENCE

What on earth do you wish to do with this?

The plan has already been set in motion.

His Majesty will have his natsura, midday meal,

with Grand Prince Jinmyeong tomorrow.

- Cook Yeon. - Yes, Chief Royal Secretary.

His Majesty will have his natsura with Grand Prince Jinmyeong tomorrow.

I'll prepare buttered and roasted whole ogolgye with ginseng.

They will be having roasted chicken with ginseng.

Grand Prince Jinmyeong?

Are you concerned because he will play an important part in our plan?

Are you saying you do not mind sacrificing him?

If it means we can eliminate the chief royal cook

and make His Majesty explode with fury.

However,

poison leaves a trace.

Only when a poison is a poison.

However, this right here

is not originally a poison.

A poison that is not a poison?

What is the matter, Your Highness?

To be honest,

I expected you to betray me at a certain point.

The position of a young king's consort

is quite an enviable one.

You are the reason I was able to live decently.

That is enough for me.

When the time comes,

I will make you my official spouse

so you can live freely.

GANGNYEONGJEON

Thoroughly investigate the military camps all around Joseon,

focusing especially on those who have deserted or transferred units.

Identify them all.

Is it to find out those who attacked you, Your Majesty?

No.

Treachery.

I must uncover who harbors such a heart.

Yes, Your Majesty. I will do as you command.

This feels so good.

I wish I could just lie down forever.

- Don't you? - I do.

I am tired,

but I really enjoyed the competition.

I will never forget it for the rest of my life.

I could never. I almost died.

I even almost got dragged away to the Ming.

Oh my goodness.

That would have been terrible.

Come to think of it, did we save our country today?

We almost lost all our ginseng.

Seeing that I'm worrying about such things,

I guess I've really become a Joseon person.

This room.

Gil-geum, Cook Eom, Cook Maeng.

His Majesty.

I guess you all grew on me.

MANGUNROK

Well done, Cook Yeon.

How do you feel?

Thanks to your concern, I went back to Naeuiwon.

They said I don't have much longer to live.

What?

That's what I thought they'd say.

I'm just a bit overworked, but nothing's wrong with me.

How could you joke about that?

Did I scare you?

I'm sorry.

Then what about your hand?

Oh, I received acupuncture,

and my condition got better.

"Condison"?

It's in a much better state.

Then are you in

a good enough condison to cook?

Of course. There's no problem.

I'll make sure

to prepare a really great meal.

Is this where you'll dine with Grand Prince Jinmyeong?

Yes.

The special meal for today is battered roasted whole chicken, correct?

Yes, it's buttered and roasted whole ogolgye with ginseng.

He is young, so prepare the…

What was it? Macrong? Serve those as well.

Okay.

This is the perfect place to have a natsura with a younger brother.

It would also be

a good place for us to eat in private.

In private?

Would you not like that?

If you are preparing a dish, Your Majesty,

I will gladly taste it.

What?

Me? Cook?

You dare tell me to set foot in a kitchen?

It's a joke, Your Majesty.

I won the competition,

so please accept my humble jest with grace, Your Majesty.

Fine.

I'll get going then.

Wait.

I am not done yet.

What is it?

Open it.

This is…

It is a new cook's attire.

It's beautiful. Look at the colors.

Well? Do you think this is a flattering color for me?

"Flattening collar"?

I'm asking if the colors suit me.

But…

I must leave once I find Mangunrok.

So why are you giving me this?

Who says you can leave?

Even if you do leave,

you will still need a cook's attire, will you not?

A cook's attire.

Right.

Thank you for this.

One more thing.

After my meal with Grand Prince Jinmyeong,

meet me at Jangwonseo, Office of Royal Horticulture.

Oh, but I have a prior engagement.

A prior engagement?

With whom?

The Ming cooks asked to see me.

Do you want to see them again when you almost died?

I want to give them a gift and say my last goodbye.

I will not allow it.

But…

Your Majesty.

Then make it brief

and come to Jangwonseo.

Okay, I will.

Do not be late.

Yes, of course, Your Majesty.

Today's natgeotsang, daytime meal,

is roasted whole ogolgye.

We'll cook it the same way as the Peking duck.

You will serve chicken again?

There is no "again" when it comes to His Majesty's meals.

You are so silly.

We should hurry up and get started.

I have never seen a cook's attire in this color.

Of course you have not.

His Majesty gifted it to her.

Does it suit me?

- Of course it does. - Good.

I will get the ingredients to fill the chicken with.

- Okay. - I will go get two ogolgyes.

- Cook Min, please get some suyu for me. - Yes, of course.

- Cook Sim, please get me some firewood. - Sure.

Shall I clean the ginseng now?

Jinmyeong.

This is the first time we are dining together.

Yes, Your Majesty.

It is an honor.

You can call me brother when we are alone.

Yes, Your Majesty.

I mean, Brother.

I see you feel uncomfortable around me.

We should do this more often from now on.

Can we really? Do you mean that?

I do.

Are you that pleased?

Yes. Everyone in the palace is praising the chief royal cook.

I wanted to taste everything that was served

in the competition against the Ming.

I am pleased to see you are excited.

We shall make time to eat everything.

Yes.

Your Majesty, the natgeotsang is ready.

It smells light

but rich at the same time.

Just looking at it makes my mouth water, Your Majesty.

This is roasted whole ogolgye

made by stuffing the chicken with glutinous rice,

jujube, chestnuts, and milkvetch root,

and roasting it by hanging just as we did for the Peking duck.

Then this time, did you roast the ogolgye whole?

Yes.

But I coated the outside with butter…

I coated it with suyu and stuffed it with ginseng.

Do you eat this too?

It is bitter, but it is a root vegetable that is good for you,

so chew it carefully.

This was made with ground mustard seeds,

salt, vinegar, and honey.

It's a Joseon-style mustard sauce.

"Mustache sauce"?

Take the chicken and dip it.

Oh, dip and eat.

Exactly.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Dip and eat.

The skin is chewy

and the meat is moist.

I have never tasted anything like this in my life.

It is chewy, light, and flavorful.

This would have been a dish worthy of presenting at the competition.

You are as skilled as I heard.

Thank you, Your Highness.

Jinmyeong.

Try this.

Dip and eat.

Dip and eat it.

Is it good?

Yes, it is delicious.

I was worried for no reason.

If His Majesty is the man I believe him to be,

the purge might not happen.

Wait.

Did I change the course of history?

Ginseng?

When did you prepare this for us?

I thought Ya Feixiu could use it to create a new dish.

Thank you.

We, too, are grateful for these.

Are you not traveling with the chief envoy?

With his permission,

the three of us will go our separate ways

to study and improve our cooking skills.

That's amazing.

I'm envious.

We should compete again someday.

Properly.

I'd love to,

if we have the chance.

You taught me a lot.

I wish you happiness.

Travel safely.

I wish you peace.

Chief Royal Cook.

I am not interested in another nation's politics,

but do relay this message to your king.

The edges of objects are always harder to see,

and when you sleep,

be sure to lock the latch securely.

Okay.

Is that all you want me to tell him?

Okay.

Then let us say our farewells.

- Thank you. - I learned a lot.

Thank you.

"The edges of objects are always harder to see,

and when you sleep, be sure to lock the latch securely"?

You should have asked him what he meant.

Yes, you should have.

I have a bad feeling about it for some reason.

- Your Royal Highness. - Your Royal Highness.

- Miss! - Chief Royal Cook…

Your Royal Highness.

You will never cook for His Majesty again.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

My son Jinmyeong

is at death's door after he ate the chicken you made for him!

Your Royal Highness.

Are you saying Grand Prince Jinmyeong is unconscious?

Why would the food I made…

You should know better than anyone.

Take this wench away this instant!

I will interrogate her myself.

- Yes, Your Royal Highness. - Yes, Your Royal Highness.

- Chief Royal Cook. - Wait. Your Royal Highness.

- Oh no, miss! - Chief Royal Cook!

- Your Royal Highness, it can't be! - Miss!

- There must be a misunderstanding! - Chief Royal Cook!

Your Royal Highness…

Chaos must be unfolding by now.

Yes, Your Grace.

The Queen Dowager is furious,

and she will interrogate the chief royal cook herself.

Very well. What about the female physician?

I brought her out in secret and sent her to that place.

Well done.

I wish I could see the face

of the chief royal cook as she is being interrogated and tortured.

Your Royal Highness, I'm innocent!

Something isn't right!

Shut your mouth!

Until the wench confesses the truth,

torture her!

- Yes, Your Royal Highness! - Yes, Your Royal Highness!

No, wait. Your Royal Highness.

Your Royal Highness!

GOCHO

BON APPÉTIT, YOUR MAJESTY

Are you implying that I was behind all this?

You know better than anyone that I wouldn't do such a thing.

Please prove my innocence.

This is not His Majesty's doing.

I guess it would not be so bad to stand by and watch.

It means the time has come.

I do not want you to leave.

We must silence that female physician.

Did Consort Kang put you up to it?

If you wish to punish me,

bring forth the evidence.

No!

Subtitle translation by: Jennifer Jean Lim