“Culinary Soldier” Park Ji-hoon shared an amazing secret to help his mother’s food truck business.
In the 5th episode of the tvN Monday-Tuesday drama ‘Becoming a Legendary Cook’ (Written by Choi Ryong, Directed by Jo Nam-hyung) aired on the 25th, Kang Seong-jae (Park Ji-hoon) was shown working part-time at a tteokbokki shop during his new recruit consolation leave.
That day, Jung Min-ah (Jeon So-young) surprised everyone by admitting she likes Kang Seong-jae. Meanwhile, Yoon Dong-hyun (Lee Hong-nae) missed his leave because of Kang Seong-jae. Hwang Seok-ho (Lee Sang-yi) told Yoon Dong-hyun to step aside for Kang Seong-jae, which left Kang Seong-jae feeling uneasy.
Yoon Dong-hyun advised Kang Seong-jae not to take things for granted. After receiving pocket money collected by his squadmates, Kang Seong-jae went on leave and immediately volunteered to help at his mother’s food truck.
Tasting the tteokbokki, Kang Seong-jae felt the spice was too strong and didn’t blend well with the rice cakes. In response to his critique, Gong Su-yeon honestly admitted she learned the recipe by watching others and couldn’t match the original taste. When his sister Kang Eun-jae (Jo Yu-ha) visited the truck, Kang Seong-jae tried cooking himself, but the taste was more disappointing than expected.
With Kang Seong-jae gone, a vacancy opened up at the base. Yoon Dong-hyun boldly tried his hand at cooking, but the soldiers all headed to the PX instead. Yoon Dong-hyun’s skills remained lacking, as he was seen frying rice cakes that were still full of moisture.
Frustrated that he couldn’t use his cooking abilities outside the restricted area, Kang Seong-jae was advised by a status window to “transfer to an Advanced Culinary Soldier” if he wanted to use his skills outside. He went grocery shopping with his mother in the morning, planning to change the tteokbokki ingredients from wheat cakes to rice cakes. By learning how to pick ingredients himself, Kang Seong-jae began following in his father’s footsteps.
Jo Ye-rin (Han Dong-hee) questioned the food distribution process. ‘Nampyo Distribution,’ the company supplying the base, was a ghost company that simply rebranded ‘Sanmi Distribution’ and could not even be found via internet searches. Meanwhile, Yoon Dong-hyun boiled beef bones sent as a gift by a member of the National Assembly. Despite several warnings from Park Jae-young (Yoon Kyung-ho), Yoon Dong-hyun created a bone broth in the name of sincerity. The broth, boiled for 20 hours without a break, had a taste that surprised even Park Jae-young.
While on a date with Jung Min-ah, Kang Seong-jae was shocked by the taste of tteokbokki at ‘Ghost-Catching Tteokbokki,’ a famous spot with a 2-hour wait. He visited the shop at closing time, explained his situation, and asked to learn how to cook. During his leave, he studied hard under the Marine owner. Jung Min-ah teased him, saying he was “weird before, but now he’s even weirder” as he reminisced about the cooking process. When he indirectly asked her about the status window, she responded positively, advising him that he is “already a good enough person.”
Kang Seong-jae spent the end of his leave drinking with the owner, Ha Byeong-dae (Jin Goo). The owner showed his affection by telling him to bring his girlfriend next time, promising to make space for them even if the shop is full, and gifted him ripe persimmons (hongsi). Upon eating them at home, Kang Seong-jae realized that ripe persimmons were the secret to his father’s tteokbokki. By adding ripe persimmons, the food truck regained its vitality.
Upon returning to the base, KCTC professional opposing force training began. Unfortunately, because the timing overlapped, Yoon Dong-hyun missed his leave once again. Kang Seong-jae received a quest to gain experience by boosting the soldiers’ morale and succeeding in the training.
