Could this be Ghanaian waakye?

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Anita Emefa Hato 

During a tour of Chungcheongnam-do Province on July 15, 2017, for international bloggers, we stopped at a Korean restaurant, Hyang Woo Jung, after visiting the Gongju Hanok Village.

The restaurant was filled with lots of tourists, both domestic and international. So, with great expectations that the food here must be good, in order to have that many customers, I joined my friends at our table.

We're served rice and beans wrapped and steamed in a lotus leaf. It's delicious and nutritious. 

One thing that caught my eye as I walked to our table was the rice and beans wrapped and steamed in a lotus leaf. At first glance, I thought, "Wow! Could this be waakye?" a common rice-and-beans Ghanaian dish eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. 

I wasn’t surprised to learn that the restaurant was actually famous for its rice-and-beans-in-a-lotus-leaf dish, since everyone at the restaurant was eating it.

Korean lotus-wrapped rice

As I sat and started to unwrap my Korean version of Ghana's waakye, I knew very well the probability of finding true waakye in a Korean restaurant -- or even anywhere in Korea -- to be quite low.

The ingredients and contents of this lotus leaf wrap are rice and beans, but the proportions are quite different from my homemade waakye.

 

Ghana's waakye looks similar to the rice and beans wrapped in a lotus leaf that's found in Korea, but the taste is a little different.

Ghana’s waakye

Waakye is a traditional Ghanaian food that originated in the northern part of the country. It consists of blackeyed beans with rice that's cooked together with herbs that gives it its brownish color.

How waakye is served

It's usually served with a tomato stew and a traditional shito black sauce. It’s served with side dishes, such as fish, beef, spaghetti, gari, wele cow hide, eggs, salads or fried plantains, all of which are nicely garnished and served hot in a special leaf. It's eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

You can see a video of Korean rice and beans wrapped and steamed in a lotus leaf here.

wisdom117@korea.kr

Facts about barbecuing: Korean, Argentine styles compared

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Cintia Mancilla

While I was watching TV, I realized that Koreans enjoy grilled meat as much as Argentines do, but the grilling meat process is a bit different. I can say that in Argentina, eating barbecue or asado is more than a tradition. It's a way of life. Being Argentine, I like Sundays because we gather together as a family and my father cooks asado. This is the busiest place to be because he's always running to one place or another grilling the meat and serving it to others, with no time for himself to eat. However, the saying, “Un aplauso para el asador,” or, "A big hand for the asador," makes them all smile and forget about the high temperatures suffered in front of the grill.

An Argentine asado consists of a wide variety of cuts of meat. They can be from beef, chicken or pork. They're cooked on a grill, called a parrilla, or an open fire, frequently outdoors.

  

Add caption Argentine barbecue is called asado. (Cintia Mancilla)

Korean barbecue is called gogi gui (고기구이). It's related to a Korean technique of roasting beef, pork, chicken and other meats. Gogi means meat, and gui means grilled. 

1. Meat types

At Korean barbecues, you'll find meat such as pork belly, short ribs, beef tongue, brisket, squid and traditional Korean bulgogi marinated beef (불고기).

Korean meat is often thinly sliced for quick cooking. Instead, in Argentine barbecue, the meat is cooked slower and thicker, with a good amount of grease.

Bulgogi is made up of thin slices of sirloin or others prime cuts of beef marinated in soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, pepper and scallions. Another popular form of it is galbi (갈비) made from marinated beef short ribs.

In Argentine barbeques, after appetizers, costillas or asado de tira (ribs) can be served. Next, comes the vacío flank steak, the matambre, the chicken or chivito (baby goat), the achuras (offals), the chinchulines (cow intestines), the morcillas blood sausages, the mollejas sweetbread and then a variety of other organ meats.

In Argentina, many kinds of meat are cooked together for barbeque dishes. (Cintia Mancilla)

2. Side dishes

Typically, Argentine dishes that accompany grilled meat are rice with mayonnaise, la ensalada rusa, a mixed salad of tomatoes, lettuces and eggs. To hold back hunger before the asado, grilled tortilla made of flour, water, beef grease and salt is commonly eaten.

In Korean restaurants, side dishes could be a kind of kimchi, a green onion salad, pickled sliced onions or a radish pickle. Even if that makes you full, ordering a bowl of rice, a cold noodle dish in a broth, like naengmyeon (냉면), or doenjangjjigae soybean paste stew (된장찌개), is a must.

If you want to make a traditional Korean barbecue at home, sides dishes or banchan (반찬) can be anything you want, like pickled or fermented vegetables, such as radishes, cabbage, green beans, or cucumbers, grilled mushrooms, tofu and eggplant.

A variety of delicious side dishes come together with Korean barbecue. (Korea.net DB)

3. Who's the cook?

All Argentine families have their own “grill master,” usually male, and someone who can accompany him but who's rarely that involved in the cooking with him. The entire procedure is outdoors.

In many Korean restaurants, the server will begin the grilling process, but the rest is up to you. You have to turn it and serve it. At home, however, everyone usually takes part in cooking the meat, unless there's someone who takes charge.

4. Cooking utensils

In Korean homes, tabletop butane gas burners with a grill plate on the table is the most common way to do barbecue, but some people use an electric grill.

In Argentina, cooking can be done al asador or a la parrilla. In the first case, a fire is made on the ground or in a fire pit and is surrounded by metal crosses, asadores, that hold the entire carcass of an animal splayed open to receive the heat from the fire. In the second case, a fire is made and after the charcoals have formed, a grill with the meat is placed over top.

Using kitchen shears to cut the meat is frequently used in Korea. I was surprised by it at first, but now I realized it's connected with the nature of Korean cooking. Other popular utensils are chopsticks and tongs.

5. Grilling technique

In Argentina, the meat for an asado is not marinated. The only preparation is adding salt before or during the cooking process. Also, the heat and distance from the coals are controlled to provide a slow cooking process. Don’t let the flames touch the meat, but try to make good contact with the grill so it creates a thin brown crust. It's useful to have a wheel crank that raises or lowers the grill.

To make the fire, charcoal or firewood is needed. Using gas is infrequent because it's believed that it would affect the flavor of the meat.

To begin the Korean grilling process, it's essential to place sliced onion or garlic onto the grill plate and let the flavors spread. Soon after, vegetables are added on one side of the plate grill. Lastly, it's time for the meat. Grill near to the center for a few minutes on each side, and then it's all set to eat.

6. Time to eat

When an asado is ready, the grill master will bring a tray with different types of meats. After you serve yourself your side dishes, he will ask what you would like to eat, and puts it on your plate. French bread is popular to accompany meat, especially chorizo grilled sausage.

In Korea, along with your meat, you’ll get a big bowl of greens, usually romaine lettuce, which is used to make little wraps with your barbecued beef. This is the traditional Korean ssam (쌈) style.

Sliced sirloin (불고기) and galbi sliced short ribs (갈비구) pair perfectly with lettuce. You can add whatever you like, like garlic, sesame oil, kimchi and rice, and pop the whole little delicious wrap into your mouth.

In Korea, barbeque is commonly eaten with layers of vegetables. (Korea.net DB)

7. Condiment options

The traditional sauce in Argentina is very simple but also savory. This is called chimichurri. It's made of parsley, garlic, oregano, red pepper, vinegar and olive oil, and is used on top. Another popular cold sauce is salsa criolla prepared with onion, red bell peppers, tomato, vinegar and oil. Some also have green bell peppers, parsley and garlic. I personally love this sauce on matambre flank steak.

Korean barbecue in general comes with garlic and kimchi, sesame oil, fermented vegetables, and ssamjang paste (쌈장), a sauce made from a mixture of fermented bean paste and chili pepper paste, perfect for beef wraps.

8. Where to eat Korean barbeque in Buenos Aires

As the author writes this article, we're looking forward to trying some delicious Korean barbecue. In Buenos Aires, the best place to eat traditional Korean food is Una canción coreana, run by a local Korean woman named An Ra Chung. Her mother in law, Mrs. Joo, cooks the best Korean cuisine in Latin America. It's located at Av. Carabobo No. 1549 in Bajo Flores.

9. Where to eat Argentine barbeque in Seoul

If you want to try some Argentine barbecue, there's a restaurant in Hongdae at No. 220-5 Donggyo-ro in Mapo-gu District called Caminito, where you can also enjoy other Argentine dishes, like empanadas.

Another option is Buenos Aires Wine & Steak at No. 8-2 Jamwon-Dong in Seocho-Gu District. It not only offers great typical Argentine foods, but also good quality Argentine wines and tango shows. This is a good opportunity to experience a true Argentine dining experience.

wisdom117@korea.kr 

London Korean Festival 2017, part 2

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Diya Mitra

Photos∙Video = Diya Mitra

  

Cooking demonstrations and a taste of Korea

With my bag of stuff getting fuller, and feeling hungry, I proceeded to visit the Authentic Taste of Korea exhibit that showcased Korean food and explained further about dasik tea cookies, organic snacks, hangwa traditional snacks, guksu traditional noodles and traditional sauces. There were also leaflets about places around London to enjoy Korean food. I quickly picked one up.

At this exhibition there was a round table where you could drink green tea and experience how to make dasik tea cookies, as well as eat them. These cookies are made of powdered rice, chestnuts or beans, and are combined with honey and pressed into a patterned wooden mould. I had a go at making one, which seemed fairly easy. They were also giving out rice cakes that I took with the intention of eating later, but it soon disappeared into my mouth.

I try to make the cookies using a wooden mould.

The Korean cuisine cooking class, which I have called a food demonstration or workshop on the map, taught people how to make bibim guksu spicy cold noodles, kimchi mandu dumplings, kimchi jeon savory cakes and japchae stir-fried glass noodles. You had to sign up on the spot and by the time I had arrived, all the classes were full. 

However, there was nothing to stop me staring and drooling for a bit. I said a quick hello to Da-Hae West of Busan BBQ fame. She was one of the chefs at the workshop providing the classes and demonstrations. I peeked into the H-Mart stall, which was busy, and scanned over the six food stalls that provided delicious sustenance to the hungry customers. There was Little Korea, Lime Orange, The Cups, Goko, Yami and The Massita. Once I was able to battle my way through the queues, I made my way over to the tourism section.

People make kimchi jeon savory cakes in the Korean cooking class.

Tourism and the PyeongChang Winter Games

This was the last section on level two. For people who are unfamiliar with Korea as a tourist destination, it was a lovely eye-opener. I also enjoyed the photo exhibit showing the top 10 must-see attractions in Korea. These were largely prompted by them being UNESCO-registered world heritage sites, or places of historic interest. They are listed below.

A photo exhibition depicts the top 10 must-see attractions in Korea.

1. Jongmyo Shrine According to UNESCO, the shrine is the oldest royal Confucian shrine that has been preserved, and the ritual ceremonies continue a tradition established in the 1300s. 2. Seokguram Grotto Is part of a religious retreat and is part of the Bulguksa Temple complex. 3. Bulguksa Temple The temple is considered a masterpiece of the golden age of Buddhist art in the Silla kingdom (57 B.C. to A.D. 935). 4. Seongsan Ilchulbong Park Also called "Sunrise Peak," this former volcano is an archetypal cone formed by hydrovolcanic eruptions upon a shallow seabed about 5,000 years ago. 5. Hahoe Village and Yangdong Village Founded in the 1300s or 1400s, these two villages are seen as the two most representative historic clan villages. 6. Triptikata Koreana The temple of Haeinsa on the slopes of Gayasan Mountain is home to the Tripitaka Koreana, the most complete collection of Buddhist texts that were engraved on 80,000 woodblocks between 1233 and 1248. 7. Joseon Dynasty Royal Tombs These are 40 tombs of members of the Yi dynasty that ruled over Joseon from 1392 to 1910. 8. Namhansanseong Fortress One of the four castles built to protect the capital, Hanyang, which sat on the site of today's Seoul. 9. Suwon Hwaseong Fortress This fortress was built between 1794 to 1796 by King Jeongjo (r. 1776-1800) to house and honor the remains of his father, Prince Sado. 10. Gyeongju Historic Areas These were designated as a world heritage site by UNESCO only in 2000.

This photo of Bulguksa Temple is taken by the author on her first trip to Korea, in 2007.

There was one section devoted to the upcoming Winter Olympics to take place across Gangwon-do Province in February 2018, and there was a chance to take a picture with the two mascots Soohorang and Bandabi, the white tiger and the Asiatic black bear. As I had the pleasure of already making their acquaintances in Seoul last year, I watched as people took selfies and giggled in delight. An information kiosk was there to help visitors learn more about the Winter Games. There was a chance to win a Korean fan by having a go at an electronic slots machine. By pressing a button, the screens would randomly change and hopefully end up with colors representing the Winter Olympic Games. If it did, you could walk away with a fan. The queue for this was quite long so I decided to give this a miss. You could also play ice hockey and experience the sensation of doing a ski jump using VR.

People experience ski jumping using VR at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics stall.

In the section after the Olympics stall there were miniature stalls hosted by Asiana Airlines, Korea Health & Development, Peoples Travel, Hana Tour, Korean Air, Lotte, Holiday Planners, the Governors Association of Korea and the Korean Tourism Organization. Here I stocked up on maps and books about Korea and chatted with the lovely people from Korean Air who gave me two fluffy toy planes, in fact. There were further chances to experience VR by putting on a set of goggles and selecting your choice of tour, from Jeju Island and Nampodong in Busan, through to Daegu, Myeondong in Seoul, Gyeongbokgung Palace and Tongyeong.

During my visit to Korea in October and November 2016, I had the opportunity to visit Tongyeong, a coastal city in Gyeongsangnam-do Province. I was there with a lovely group of honorary reporters from Korea.net. Unfortunately, on the first day we went the city was sweeping down with rain, so enjoying the surrounding area was challenging, especially when it came to experiencing the cable car. However, using these VR goggles and somehow listening to the experience in Korean -- I had it on the wrong setting -- I was able to marvel at the splendor of the cable cars in Tongyeong all in glorious sunshine. If you didn't want to do try any VR apparatus, there was a giant screen where you could select particular tourist destinations and experience a 360-degree view by swiping up, down, left or right.

People learn about travel in Korea at the tourism stalls.

Time really flew and I was able to immerse myself in the majority of the activities. While I was going around the stalls and the events, the daytime entertainment was taking place on the central stage. There was even the regional rounds of the KBS K-pop World Festival taking place. Events and stalls started wrapping up at 5:30 p.m. I had managed to converse with a parent or two during the day who had been dragged to the festival by their daughters who were enamored by Korean pop music. However, they really seemed to have enjoyed themselves as they were taking part in the traditional games and they were able to learn so much about Korea.

Having been given a press pass, I was able to attend a sort of press conference by the only band I was excited to see during the transition from the day events to the evening. Not all five members of the band were able to fly over, as one was not well. During the day, the events were hosted and emceed by Josh and Daniel of "Yeonguk Namja" YouTube fame. They were also going to host the evening part, but at this time they were joined on stage by Hani, a member of the pop group Exid and fluent in English and Mandarin.

The pop group Exid talks to the press at the London Olympia in 2017.

I took a break between events and was able to pop outside to see the dedicated queue for the evening in enthusiastic spirits, as the concert was drawing near. Many people had homemade signs for the bands they loved. As for me, I was only ever looking forward to seeing Exid, which appeared third on stage out of the four bands. Inbetween, band member Hyelin sang a wonderful rendition of "You Raise Me Up" as a tribute to what London had been experiencing in regard to recent attacks. It was moving and I live-streamed the song via my Facebook profile.

https://www.facebook.com/diyaonkorea/#!/diyaonkorea/videos/vb.657295854357475/1436502619770124/?type=2&theater

  

For their set list, Exid sung the following four songs in this order:

Hot Pink 

Night Rather Than Day

Oh Yeah 

Up & Down

  

Of course, they performed the most popular song last and got the audience singing along with them: my favorite song "Up & Down." I was able to film them using a selfie stick, but realized later that I had no sound. I managed to fix it by borrowing the sound from another video by a fellow YouTuber. You can see the video below.

All in all, it was an enjoyable day attended by over 12,000 people throughout the day and evening. There were sold-out tickets during the evening performances, largely due to it being Korean pop, and although it's in its early days, I would say the craze and fervor is only just beginning to take hold in the U.K.

Try watching this video here.

(All photos and videos used here were taken by Diya Mitra and cannot be used without permission.)

wisdom117@korea.kr

Korean and Japanese foods, the remarkableness of each

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Nuran Sami Hassan Ibrahim

Each East Asian cuisine is distinct from its neighbor's cuisine. However, there's a slight similarity between two countries in two authentic dishes. One is Korea's most popular dish, gimbap rice rolls, which often gets confused with Japan's sushi by people who are still not well-versed in the cultures and culinary aspects of East Asia. Some people incorrectly refer to gimbap as "Korean sushi," but let's break down the differences to learn the uniqueness of each of these dishes.

To start with, gim in gimbap means "roasted or edible seaweed," as there are inedible types, too, such as bottlebrush seaweed. Bap means "cooked rice," or else a full "meal." This means that seaweed is an essential ingredient in gimbap. On the other hand, sushi's commonly mistaken for containing raw fish, when it shouldn't. The varieties of both may vary, but the traditional kind consists of specific ingredients. A standard gimbap rice roll contains seasoned vegetables, pickled radish, beef, fish cake and egg, whereas a traditional sushi roll contains only raw fish as the supplementary ingredient.

Gimbap rice rolls are loved by many people around the world. (The King Sejong Institute)

Both gimbap and sushi use white rice as the base, core ingredient, since it has the most convenient texture for these dishes. It is, however, noteworthy that gimbap rice is cooked with sesame oil, while sushi rice is cooked with vinegar. Some Korean chefs replace white rice with a healthier or more nutritious kind of rice, such as brown rice.

Gimbap is seasoned enough to be enjoyed individually. No dipping sauce is needed. On the contrary, traditional sushi is usually accompanied with soy sauce, wasabi and ginger. Both are wrapped in dry seaweed, but gimbap can be either plain or flavored, while sushi is only enjoyed plain.

There's a wide variety in terms of shape or type of these two dishes. There's chungmu gimbap and nude gimbap, as well as nigiri and maki sushi, to name just a few.

Chungmu or Choongmoo gimbap looks like the Arabic dish grape leaf wraps, except it's prepared only with rice on the inside, while grape leaf wraps are intensely-seasoned with tomato sauce and are usually stuffed with minced onion, dill and parsley. Chungmu gimbap is usually served with radish kimchi or marinated baby octopus. Regarding nude gimbap, it's basically the same as typical gimbap, but in a minimally reversed manner. As traditional gimbap is wrapped with seaweed, nude gimbap, on the contrary, comes with the seaweed on the inside and rice as the external layer, though the filling is the same.

Chungmu gimbap is also one of the most popular kinds of gimbap. (Korea.net DB)

Speaking of sushi's aforementioned types, nigiri sushi is made of delicately sliced, seared or raw fish over pressed rice with an absence of seaweed. On the other hand, maki sushi is wrapped in seaweed. Maki is any sushi wrapped or rolled in seaweed and, accordingly, has several subtypes, like futomaki, which comes in a thick texture, and ramaki which is an inside-out roll.

There are several kinds of Sushi you can enjoy. (Nuran Sami Hassan Ibrahim)

The thing about gimbap is that it's considered to be a street food and the go-to meal for busy people, especially students with crammed schedules. That's why it's pretty affordable, not just in Korea but in Korean restaurants around the world. Its simplicity makes it enjoyable, whether bitten like a sandwich or eaten with chopsticks. In contrast, sushi is perceived to be fancy and costly. Furthermore, it's routinely eaten by hand.

Apparently, Korea and Japan aren't the only two that share a similarity in such rice rolls. There are also Arabic dishes that look like gimbap, with slight differences in ingredients according to each country, weather and beliefs.

As is well known, seaweed, along with the other ingredients in both gimbap and sushi, are of great nutritional value. There are many types of each, and each of them is truly unique in terms of taste and cultural background.

wisdom117@korea.kr

A Korean pantry

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Alexandra Gray 

Photos = Korea.net DB

If, like me, you love to cook Korean food, you should put together a Korean pantry.

A collection of commonly used sauces and spices are used to make all sorts of dishes. If you've made a few dishes already, you've probably noticed that a lot of the same ingredients go in to many Korean recipes. I put together a list of the most-used ingredients. All the things on the list should last you a while, as they're all made to be used over time rather than all in one go. 

Dried red pepper flakes (고추가루)

This is the main spice used in Korean cooking. It’s available coarse or fine, but coarse is most common. It’s best stored in an air tight container in the fridge, as it can go mouldy at room temperature.

Sesame seeds (참깨)

Sesame seeds are used as a garnish for many Korean dishes, side dishes being the most common. They add color but, also, add a nutty flavor and crunchy texture.

Sugar syrup (올리고당)

Available from a variety of different sources -- rice, corn, fruit or other base ingredients -- it's basically sugar syrup used to add sweetness to dishes, but also to give food a shine. If you don’t want to add this type of sweetener, you can use honey instead.

Garlic (마늘)

Garlic is probably the most used ingredient in Korean cooking. Unless you’re making a dessert, your recipe will most likely call for some garlic. Almost every type of Korean dish has garlic as an ingredient, to be honest. You can even buy a jar of minced garlic, which makes it easy to follow recipes calling for smaller amounts.

Red pepper paste (고추장)

This is probably the most well-known Korean condiment. Though it’s quite spicy, it also gives dishes a sweet note. It’s used in a wide variety of dishes, from soups to side dishes.

Soy sauce (간장)

There are two broad types of soy sauce: regular soy sauce, and then soy sauce for soups (국간장). Soy sauce for soups is a little lighter in colour and a little saltier. It's used for stews and to make broths. Everything else uses the regular soy sauce.

Dried anchovies (멸치)

These tiny dried fishes are sold in a variety of sizes. The smaller ones are used in side dishes and the larger ones are used to make soup stock. 

Soybean paste (된장)

Soybean paste is made by fermenting soybean bricks over a long period of time. Homemade soybean paste is known to have a very pungent smell.  

wisdom117@korea.kr

Korean cuisine comes to Manila food fair

The author and an acquaintance enjoy the cooking demonstration put on by Lily Min and hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines. 

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Lira Frenzelle Ruiz

Photos∙Video = Lira Frenzelle Ruiz

Filipinos are very fond of Korean cuisine. That's not a surprise, though, because Korean food is very delicious and healthy. Through Korean TV shows and the increase of Koreans visiting and living in the Philippines, Filipinos are exposed to Korean food and products. As a result, various Korean restaurants and stores have opened in the Philippines, most especially in Manila in the neighborhoods of Makati, Manila and Quezon City, in Angeles and in Cebu. Currently, Korean food is very popular in the Philippines and it has become a favorite “go to” meal.

A Korean cooking demonstration is held with help from the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines.

On June 17, Lily Min and the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines held a “Chef of the World” cooking demonstration at the 11th Manila Foods and Beverages Expo (MAFBEX), at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. The MAFBEX showcases various ranges of food and related products, and is a good platform to promote new products. This is the 11th year of the MAFBEX and it's considered to be the Philippines’ premier food industry event. Min demonstrated how to cook bibimbap mixed rice and kimchi jeon savory pancakes, two of the most popular Korean dishes in the Philippines. Additionally, both are easy to cook. 

Chef Lily Min gives tips on how to cook Korean food.

Chef Lily Min also talked about the philosophy of Korean food. Korean food typically consists of five colors: green, red, yellow, white and black. It's not only physically appealing and has nutritional balance, but also has various meanings, as well. They are more than colors. They represent the traditional five material "elements": wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Moreover, each is associated with an organ in the body. These colors also represent the cardinal points: north, east, west, south and center. These five colors are very important to Koreans, and no color is more than any other, as they are all considered to be in balance.

Aside from the popular bibimbap mixed rice, attendees also learned how to make kimchi jeon savory pancakes. Savory pancakes are very popular in the Philippines, and it's interesting to learn that kimchi savory pancakes exist here. This fusion between the West and the East made guests curious as to how to cook this meal and what it tasted like.

After the cooking demonstration, the audience had a chance to taste some of Min’s bibimbap mixed rice and kimchi jeon savory pancake. It was really delicious!