Chapter 47

Jo Miwon picked up his chopsticks and raised an eyebrow toward the camera.

“I’ll try it.”

[MalteseNeverHoldsBack: lol what’s with the host’s face]

[ChubbyBossam: The visuals pass!]

[MomsTouchLatte: I’m curious what it tastes like lol]

Jo Miwon picked up a ramen piece and slowly put it in his mouth.

Crunch!

Because he was wearing an ASMR microphone, the crisp sound echoed vividly.

He chewed slowly, savoring the flavor.

Then suddenly his eyes widened and he froze for a moment.

Then he quickly grabbed his chopsticks again.

“Wait. This…”

One more bite. Then another.

This time he lifted the plate itself and started eating rapidly.

“Wow. What is this? Everyone, it really tastes like stir fried anchovies. Honestly the texture might even be better than real anchovies.”

[BringPopcorn: ??? Is that real?]

[KidWithShield: The host is exaggerating again lol]

[BloodTasteCocoaBalls: I’m so curious. Should I try making it right now?]

Jo Miwon didn’t care about the reactions.

There was genuine shock in his eyes.

Not joking, not exaggerating. He truly looked surprised because it tasted good.

[MangoMan: If nobody told me I’d swear that’s real anchovy stir fry. Agree?]

[GrowlingDog: I actually want to try making that.]

[CookoPang: What brand of ramen was that? Tell us already.]

[AntBooger: He actually pulled this off lol]

[PinkDumbbell: I’m dying of curiosity. What does it taste like!!]

Amid the explosive reactions from viewers, Jo Miwon scraped the plate completely clean and set it down.

The tasting was finished.

Only one step remained.

Jo Miwon opened the voting window on the broadcast screen and bounced his shoulders excitedly.

“Alright! Now let’s decide whether this anchovy free stir fried anchovies was a success or failure! Voting starts now. You’ve got exactly one minute. Let’s go!”

In the end the success of the dish would be decided by the viewers.

That was the core rule of today’s broadcast.

Of course viewers couldn’t taste it themselves.

But they would vote based on the cooking process, the final appearance, and the host’s reaction.

Success VS Failure

The success and failure bars flickered back and forth as votes poured in.

Every time the result flipped, my heart thumped strangely hard.

I explained the cooking process while making it.

But at the end of the day this was still anchovy free stir fried anchovies.

‘What will the viewers think about this ridiculous dish?’

[MangoMan: I feel like it’ll fail lol]

[ApricotFlavorCat: The visuals were good but the host exaggerated too much lol]

[ColdCabbage: I’m seriously torn…]

The voting gauge was neck and neck.

It would lead by 0.1 percent, then flip again.

It felt like a tug of war.

Even when I competed in world class cooking competitions, I had never been this nervous.

Finally one minute passed.

The result appeared on screen.

Success 50.3% VS Failure 49.7%

“Woooooow! Success!!”

Jo Miwon shouted excitedly.

Only then did I finally breathe out.

That had been incredibly close.

[PineapplePizza: lol he actually won]

[CabbageDeathSentence: My hands were sweating]

[SlurpSlurpGu: That was insanely close]

[Sadness: I voted success lol]

[RiceRiceMeal: This stream is crazy today lol]

But it was too early to relax.

There were still two menus left.

* * *

The second ingredient and menu selection went almost the same way as before.

Spin spin spin spin spin…

Click!

Ramen

[YoonTeacher: lol ramen again]

[BaseballDemonKing: He’s good at cooking but terrible at luck lol]

[LivingTogether: I’m seriously curious what the menu will be]

Spin spin spin spin…

Click!

Soy sauce

Spin spin spin spin…

Click!

Tomato

Salt, cooking oil, sugar, cheese, eggs, shrimp, vinegar and other ingredients kept appearing.

But somehow ramen showed up again even though it only occupied a single slot on the roulette.

The ingredient variety improved.

But the real problem appeared again in the menu roulette.

Spin spin spin…

Click!

Potato pancake

“Huh?”

“…Whoa.”

After anchovy free anchovy stir fry, now it was potato free potato pancake.

I had wanted to show my skills with a normal dish this time.

But the roulette delivered an absurd result again.

“We don’t have potatoes.”

[PineapplePizza: lol]

[IWantYoungRadishGimbap: What’s the point of splitting the roulette evenly when the luck is this bad lol]

[CaliforniaDoenjangStew: Chan’s pupils just froze lol]

Jo Miwon had barely recovered from the last crisis and now his eyes were shaking again.

But I just chuckled.

“Well, what can we do.”

Looking at the viewers’ reactions, this might actually make the broadcast more entertaining.

In fact potato free potato pancake was easier than anchovy free stir fried anchovies.

[SlurpSlurpGu: Are we about to see miracle alchemy again?]

I picked up the ramen packet again.

Then I immediately tore it open and dropped the noodles into boiling water.

The key was boiling them briefly so they wouldn’t get soggy.

Once the noodles softened slightly, I took them out and drained them thoroughly.

Then I pressed them with a kitchen towel to remove as much moisture as possible.

[PepperJustALittle: Ramen replacing potatoes? That makes no sense]

[OctopusJjamppong: Chan really loves ramen lol]

[TigerCuticle: Won’t the noodles get soggy if you leave them like that?]

In response to the viewers’ questions, I lifted the frying pan.

“The noodles are already fried. When heated again the surface gains elasticity. And if we add one more ingredient it creates binding and turns into batter.”

[DungBeetlePowerPlant: What ingredient?]

[NewJinse: He sounds like he’s improvising but somehow it makes sense]

[SpyMint: How does ramen end up tasting like potato pancakes?]

I stirred the pan slowly while explaining.

“The real key to potato pancakes isn’t actually the potato flavor. It’s the texture. Crispy outside and chewy inside.”

I lifted a bundle of noodles.

“Boiled noodles release starch which gives chewiness. If we fry them again the outside becomes crispy.”

Then I smiled meaningfully and picked up an egg.

I cracked it into the noodles and mixed everything together.

Soon the egg seeped between the noodles and bound them together.

I poured plenty of cooking oil into the pan and spread the batter thin.

Sizzle!

Oil crackled loudly as the batter turned golden.

The nutty aroma of ramen began to rise.

[PineapplePizza: lol he’s actually pulling this off again]

[CookoPang: That just looks like potato pancakes]

[PotLidFullOfMeat: That must be insanely crispy]

[LollipopCrush: How does someone even think of that?]

Seeing the result match exactly what I imagined gave me some confidence.

Since we had extra ingredients, maybe I should add something.

I tore a slice of cheese into small pieces and sprinkled it over the pancake.

The cheese melted and spread across the crispy surface.

“The key is cooking it with two layers. Crispy outside, soft inside. The cheese improves both texture and flavor.”

[CookingEnthusiast: Hearing the explanation makes him sound like a real chef lol]

[AnnoyingGuardian: That looks better than normal potato pancakes]

[AnotherMojito: If we hadn’t rigged the roulette this stream would’ve died lol his skill level is basically bullying beginners]

I smiled and prepared dipping sauce.

Soy sauce, vinegar, sugar in a one to one to one ratio.

Add a little starch water and simmer briefly.

Meanwhile the pancake turned golden while cheese melted along the edges.

I tapped the pan lightly and transferred it onto a plate.

The cheese settled slightly in the center.

Next to it I placed the dipping sauce.

I presented the plate to the camera.

“Potato free potato pancake. Finished.”

Jo Miwon stared at it and quickly picked it up with chopsticks.

The cheese stretched as he lifted it.

He looked at it for a moment before biting carefully.

Crunch!

The crisp sound rang out.

“…Huh?”

Jo Miwon’s eyes widened as he chewed.

“Wow this actually tastes like potato pancakes. There’s no potato so why does it taste like potato? The texture is insane.”

[SlurpSlurp: That crunch sound is crazy lol]

[ThatsNotGood: The host’s reaction looks real]

[LonelyPoop: He’s exaggerating]

[MagicWand: I want to cook that]

Jo Miwon slowly finished the last bite and stared at the empty plate regretfully.

Then he raised his hand toward the camera.

“Alright everyone. Potato free potato pancake. Success or failure. Vote now!”

The vote window appeared.

The chat already looked confident about the result.

I waited calmly.

Unlike the first round there wasn’t much tension.

Stir fried anchovies depends heavily on anchovies for flavor and appearance.

Potato pancakes don’t rely that heavily on potato flavor.

So what I made clearly looked like potato pancakes.

And the result was exactly as expected.

Voting closed.

Success 89% VS Failure 11%

“Wow! That’s completely one sided!”

Just as expected.

[ThatsNotGood: I couldn’t imagine making the anchovy one but I want to try this]

[MagicWand: Host you’ll upload the recording right?]

[SlurpSlurp: Please upload it. No editing needed. Just the full version]

While I cleaned the kitchen, Jo Miwon laughed and chatted with viewers.

Watching him run the broadcast now, he truly looked like a professional.

I nodded slightly and took a sip of water.

‘One more left.’

Once things settled, the final challenge began.

[IWantYoungRadishGimbap: Next dish let’s go lol]

[CaliforniaDoenjangStew: I didn’t expect today’s stream to be this fun. I can’t even look away]

Then the final challenge appeared.

Spin spin spin spin spin…

Click!

Monkfish

An absurd combination appeared again.

[BlackTea: Monkfish out of nowhere lol]

[Hazelnut: I thought this round would be normal lol]

[StormyBluff: What if monkfish stew doesn’t appear? These ingredients look awkward]

“Miwon. You spin this one.”

“What? Me?”

“Yeah. My luck seems terrible.”

“That’s pressure… alright.”

“Please…!!”

“Monkfish stew!!”

[MechaFein: Like that’ll happen]

Spin spin spin spin spin!!

Spin spin…

Tick tick…

Click!

Monkfish stew

“…”

“…WAAAAAAAH!!”

Jo Miwon jumped up screaming while I froze.

The timing was unbelievably perfect.

[RoadOfStarlight: That looks rigged]

[SoloKing: Are you kidding me? Monkfish stew actually came out?]

[KidWithShield: lol Chan really had terrible luck]

[CottonKitty: I’m pretty sure the host rigged it lol]

Jo Miwon blinked rapidly and protested.

“What do you mean rigged! You all saw it. Stop accusing me!”

[SunCream: True stop twisting it]

[WhiteCactus: Honestly rigging something like that would be harder lol]

[SkyArrow: But isn’t monkfish stew a difficult dish?]

I smiled with satisfaction and quietly picked up the knife.

“Alright. Let’s start monkfish stew.”