I Became a Food Developer in Another World

Chapter 22: These are indeed beans (4)

The spread of tofu was successful.

Young elves who had been out and about were drawn back to the forest by the beans, and they fell in love with the taste of tofu and settled in the forest.

The variety of dishes that utilized tofu was like a “cultural revolution” for the elves, who had been eating only hard beans.

Now they couldn’t imagine living without it, and tofu became a valuable resource for the elves.

With the elves’ social problems solved, the food department’s worries were also solved.

“Thank you so much. Thanks to you, the sugarcane cultivation is running smoothly.”

“No, the supply of sugarcane is important to us here at the Tower, so of course we’ll help.”

“Haha, I wish everyone else was like you.”

The bureaucrat was used to dealing with people who didn’t understand him, so he was pleased with my normal reaction.

“By the way, the elves are really amazing, the production has jumped tenfold in just one month of cultivation…….”

The bureaucrat’s admiration reminded me of the way the elves used to grow beans.

To be honest, it was more of a ‘watching’ than a ‘growing’.

It was the spirits, not the elves, who grew the crops.

─Here, Undine, could you water the plants a little more?

─Gnome, the soil has lost its strength. Please do me a favor.

─The sun isn’t shining today, April, could you do a little work?

It was a strange sight that made me wonder if the slaves in the cotton fields in the olden days worked like that.

It felt even more so because the spirits looked like children.

Of course, that’s just the way they look, not that they’re slaves.

The spirits were given ‘magic’ in exchange for helping the elves.

The elves’ magic allows the spirits to evolve into higher level spirits.

It was a give-and-take, so it was a fair trade.

In fact, the relationship between the two races was very good.

It was not as if the elves had no work to do.

─Good night, children.

─Good morning, everyone.

The plants responded to the elves’ words by shaking their leaves.

The rice bows its head, and the flower buds open their leaves.

The magic of the Elves, a race of forest dwellers, affected everything in nature.

They were known as the Gardeners of the Continent and the elves’ abilities were put to good use in the cultivation of sugarcane.

In exchange for my tofu recipe, the elves were mobilized to cultivate sugar cane, and the result was a miraculous increase of more than tenfold.

Naturally, it was the people who benefited from this increase in sugarcane production.

“Finally, there’s a rice plant in our area!”

“I heard this is so famous in the capital?”

The increased supply of Mizong, which had been sold only in the capital, led to its nationwide distribution.

Crucially, as the supply increased, the price of Mizong became cheaper.

The people who had been unable to buy Mizong because of its high price or could not see it outside of the capital, were now able to enjoy the taste of MSG.

While Mizong was becoming the universal condiment of the people, screams were coming from the White Tower.

“Are you sure this is right?”

“Ew, my nose is going to rot.”

“It’s supposed to stink, just hang in there.”

Zion and Aria clutched their noses and frowned.

“I’ve never smelled anything so horrible before. Are you sure you can eat this?”

“Not as it is.”

The two were washing a square object in a basin of water.

It was a meju (fermented soybean block).

‘It reminds me of old times.’

In a previous life, when I lived at my grandmother’s house, I used to make meju.

She would put mashed beans on a flat surface and everyone in the house would hang on to them to make meju.

We would put the mashed beans on a wide cutting board and press them down firmly, like kneading, to form a square shape.

Once the meju was shaped, I had to stay in bed for the rest of the day.

Of course, this time, the whole process was done with magic, so it wasn’t a big deal.

However, the stench from the drying process was unbearable.

The garden of the tower smelled like rotting meju for a while.

Still, the reason I made meju was for the tofu.

‘It’s a shame,’ I thought.

I actually made tofu, but I didn’t like the otherworldly sauce.

There was no sauce that could match tofu as well as soy sauce.

I used to use a similar sauce, but the flavor was subtly wrong.

That subtle difference is what inspired me to make meju. It wasn’t hard to make soy sauce if you had meju.

‘It helps that I lived in my grandmother’s house.’

When I was younger, I found her old ways difficult, but I didn’t realize it would help me in the other world.

I guess experience is something to be put to good use.

I dipped the well-washed meju deeply into the vat of salt water so that it was completely submerged.

I remember this is where they used to add all sorts of things to ‘sterilize’ it.

I didn’t want to introduce any bacteria other than the bacillus that fermented in the cellar.

‘I didn’t know that.’

I didn’t know what was in it because I was looking over my shoulder, but it didn’t matter.

That’s what magic was for.

“Cleanse.”

The magic from the heart’s circle flowed through my hands and into the vat of meju.

I put the lid back on the vat, enchanting only the meju to keep it free of germs.

“Is that it?”

“Uh, we can leave it alone now.”

After three months, the meju would become miso, and the water in which it was soaked would become soy sauce.

Of course, I couldn’t just leave it alone.

I had to cast a purification spell once a day, albeit an annoying one.

Purification magic is effective at sterilizing, but it doesn’t last.

‘But it’s just this once.’

Once the soy sauce was perfected, the next batch would be easy to extract with alchemy.

The rewards were worth the effort.

*

“What is this?”

“It’s called pan-fried tofu.”

“Every time I come here, you give me food first.”

“I thought you might be hungry, so I prepared it for you.”

“Hmm, I’m sure there’s another reason, but I’ll take it.”

I served the tofu stew to a saint who hadn’t visited the tower in a long time.

It happened to be lunchtime, and as she said, there was another reason.

“So, what brings you to the tower?”

Instead of answering, the saint placed a book on the table.

[Fairies’ Feast, Savoring Heavenly Cuisine]

From the title, it seemed to be a book about cooking.

“Have you seen this book?”

“I’ve never seen it before.”

I had never read a cookbook before, so I couldn’t tell what it was even from looking at it.

“It’s a popular book in the capital these days.”

“I see.”

“I came to the tower to show you this book.”

“You mean to me?”

“Yes. I thought you might have made the ‘heavenly dishes’ in this book.”

The saint smiled wryly.

“Well, it turns out we were right.”

“?”

“The heavenly dish in the book is called ‘tofu’.”

“…….”

“This is the food that Yuri gave me.”

I had no idea that the tofu I had made for the elves would be known throughout the Empire as a ‘heavenly dish’, so I kept my mouth shut.

“What is this?”

“It’s a sauce called soy sauce. You dip the tofu in it.”

Skillfully wielding chopsticks, the saint cut the tofu, dipped it in the soy sauce, and brought it to her mouth.

“Mmmm.”

Wiping her small mouth, the holy woman made a pleasant snort.

“How is it?”

Deciding to stop being coy, she revealed her true feelings.

“The seasoning is just right and the texture is so soft.”

Her eyes twinkled.

“I could eat it every day. I can see why they call it a heavenly dish.”

“Saint.”

“What?”

“This soy sauce, don’t you want to keep eating it?”

“Yes, it would be nice to, but why?”

“Then I need you to infuse this vat with some holy power.”

“……?”

I pointed to the vat of meju I had brought with me earlier.

“Then I’ll give you some soy sauce.”

The holy power of a saint was the ultimate in purification magic. Once cast, it would last for at least a few months.

*

The soy sauce that was created with the help of the saint was replicated by alchemists.

The soy sauce was replicated by the alchemists, and the various types of soy sauce I remembered were created: soup, dark soy sauce, and brewed soy sauce.

And when the elves tasted the resulting soy sauce, their reaction was.

“Oh my God, this sauce!”

“It goes so well with tofu!”

“It’s perfect on salads.”

It was an explosion.

Elves and otherworlders alike had a taste for salty flavors, and soy sauce was a well-recognized sauce in the otherworld for its saltiness.

It was called soy sauce and was even called Europe’s favorite Asian sauce.

It was a universal sauce that went well with everything, not just tofu, whether it was tossed with greens, tossed with rice, or used in cooking.

“You can easily enjoy soy sauce with eggs on rice.”

The elves quickly adapted to soy sauce as I showed them different ways to use it.

The most popular one was the “soy sauce egg rice”.

It couldn’t have been easier: just rub soy sauce on the eggs.

Some elves even dipped their cutlery into the soy sauce before eating, which became a trend among the elves.

“Soy sauce is the best appetizer.”

“Yeah.”

It was hard for me to sympathize with the idea that it was meant to whet the appetite, but I hadn’t gone that far.

It was only a week until the soy sauce spread throughout the Elven Forest.

By the time a month had passed, it was hard to find an elf who hadn’t tried soy sauce.

It was even said that soy sauce had caused an explosion in egg consumption.

In just a month, soy sauce had become a staple in Elvish cooking.

While Elvish society was being rocked by soy sauce, strange things were happening in the Empire.

[Fairies Feast, Savoring Heavenly Cuisine]

The book that the saint had shown me, but I dismissed with disdain, had caused a ripple in the Empire.

“It says that if you go to the Elven Forest, there is a heavenly dish.”

“Tofu, what kind of food is that? I wonder what it tastes like?”

The book told the story of “tofu,” a legendary food made from a mysterious soybean that only grows deep in the Elven Forest.

Its soft yet elastic texture, savory bean flavor, and subtle sweetness were said to be indescribable in human language.

It was too good to be true for the people, who had become desensitized to gastronomy due to processed food.

The Elven Forest was a mysterious place, little known to humans.

An unknown land where it was said that one could never enter elven society unless invited.

That mystery, the word “celestial cuisine,” moved people’s hearts.

“I must go to the Elven Forest.”

“I must try that tofu, and I will return.”

A few adventurous souls set out for the Elven Forest.