Jung Ji-sun challenged the oil bath in Taiwan.
On the afternoon of the 12th, KBS2's entertainment program 'The Boss's Ears are Donkey Ears' (hereinafter 'Sadangui') featured Lee Soon-sil, Jung Ji-sun, and Shin Jong-cheol.
In this episode, Lee Soon-sil visited the Busan Food Expo to sell a new menu dumpling. When no one came to the Pyongyang dumpling booth, Lee Soon-sil scolded the staff, saying, "What have you been doing for two days! Bring what you earned in two days!" It turned out that the sales booth cost 6 million won, but the staff only sold dumplings worth 1.1 million won.
Taking matters into her own hands, Soon-sil actively promoted, saying, "Come here, buy one! If you taste it and like it, it's 5,000 won for 10." However, as most customers just tasted and left, Soon-sil complained, "Why are so many people just coming to eat and not buying?!" and blocked the tasting corner.
Later, defectors Nam Min-hee and Kim So-yeon came and revealed, "Aunt Soon-sil contacted us suddenly a day before, asking us to perform and sell dumplings without any explanation."
Soon-sil told them, "You have to sell everything! Everything depends on you. Just attract customers, no matter what performance you do," and assigned them tasks. Nam Min-hee and Kim So-yeon showcased idol dances that could only be seen in North Korea, which had a slight promotional effect.
After the promotion, Lee Soon-sil cut the dumplings into quarters and forcibly reopened the tasting corner, angrily stating, "If you just eat, you'll all be shot. Line up. You must line up." Strangely, people lined up at Soon-sil's booth to buy dumplings, and to sell out the products, they held an 'Ibuk Cooking Show.'
The second boss, Chef Jung Ji-sun, appeared. He said, "I participated as a representative of Korea in a VIP fine dining event in Taiwan," and met with the representative of a Taiwanese entertainment agency.
The entertainment agency said, "You're really famous in Taiwan right now. The nickname 'Queen of Chinese Cuisine' has spread in Taiwan, and Chef Jung is a model for women," boasting about his students Park Jin-mo and Jo Kyu-sung.
He mentioned, "I plan to make 140 servings of radish black vinegar fried chicken and oil bath," but when he visited the kitchen, he expressed his frustration, saying, "I thought the basic setup was done. Right now, the important thing is that there are no containers to hold the ingredients."
He continued, "The most important thing is that we need fire, but all I see is induction. Can we at least get a gas stove? There's not much time, so we might have to stay up all night. Let's buy the equipment locally right away," calmly resolving the situation. In his haste, Chef Jung Ji-sun opened the ingredients before even putting on his chef's uniform and instructed the staff to buy the ingredients and equipment, saying, "We don't have a bath," to which he replied, "If we don't have it, let's work with what we have," and started cooking.
The day of the event arrived, and Jung Ji-sun said, "Let's make a test plate," and began making the oil bath. However, he faced a crisis, saying, "Is the sugar the problem? I'm just heating water and sugar to slowly evaporate the steam, but the Taiwanese sugar is clumped together." He checked other brands of sugar but was flustered, saying, "The granules are really thick." With over 15 kg of sugar piled up and unable to repurchase, he poured oil over the sugar, explaining, "In China, it's made with oil. The gloss, elasticity, and color are superior with oil, but beginners safely use water, while professionals make it quickly with oil. However, making it in bulk is difficult," marking his first challenge with the oil bath.
After much trial and error, he made the sugar water and placed it on a tray to create the oil bath, storing it in the refrigerator temporarily to prevent it from melting. After checking the refrigerated oil bath, he noted, "It's because the temperature isn't right," and upon seeing the moisture in the oil bath, he suggested, "Let's leave it at room temperature later."
Jung Ji-sun and his staff, who made the test servings of radish black vinegar fried chicken and oil bath, began cooking the event food in earnest. Jung Ji-sun focused on pulling the oil bath alone but faced a crisis, saying, "It's not cooling down enough," and "One tray yields five servings of oil bath." Eventually, a staff member asked, "Do you think you can make it in time for the oil bath?" and Jung Ji-sun replied, "That's why I called someone. When they come, I'll have them just focus on the oil bath," introducing Kim Sook.
The third boss, Chef Shin Jong-cheol, appeared. Even at 10:30 PM, he had not left work, saying, "We are one week away from the 2025 Winter Promotion. We have a final rehearsal," as he prepared food with the staff.
While everyone was busy, Chef Shin Jong-cheol appeared, saying, "Does it make sense that it's insufficient? Where's the champagne? It should be done according to the picture; what's so hard about it? You've been with me for years, and I still have to teach you! Reset it," as he supervised each task.
After watching a staff member's preparation of the yellowtail, Shin Jong-cheol criticized, "It's a zero! When customers are gathered, you need to make comments, but just preparing is something everyone here can do! Where did you get this from? Explain the parts of the yellowtail, and take pictures too," he remarked.
He then visited the Chinese corner as the third inspection target and examined the Dongpo pork. Upon seeing the single-serving Dongpo pork, he asked, "Is the Dongpo pork lying down or standing? Which is better?" and got angry. When a staff member replied, "It looks prettier standing," he retorted, "Then why did you do it like this? Stand it up!" He then tasted the bok choy and exclaimed, "Is this the best you can do? It's all mushy. Even an elementary school student could do better than this. Do it again, Dongpo pork," expressing his anger. Jeon Hyun-moo, who was watching, also sided with Shin Jong-cheol, saying, "But basically, it wasn't made deliciously."
After all inspections, the staff ramped up their cooking in the remaining week, and the new boss set out for the final inspection, giving a thumbs up in satisfaction.
Later, the buffet opened, and guests entered. At that moment, the hotel general manager made a surprise appearance, saying, "Did you use a lot of caviar? Is there any left? Is the price okay? I saw a lot of gold too! Caviar and gold! We need to attract a lot of guests," delivering a pointed remark. Jeon Hyun-moo also expressed surprise, saying, "That must be a lot of pressure."
'Sadangui' can be seen every Sunday at 4:45 PM on KBS2.
[Seo Ye-ji, Star Today Guest Reporter]
