New Delhi, As servers bring out Korean dishes, Chef Jang Yun Jeong occasionally steps in to correct the way they are presented before explaining the philosophy and story behind each delicacy, all colorful, vegan and organic.
From cello to cooking: Korean chef Jang Yun Jeong on why food and music are alike
Jeong, who is on a culinary journey to Delhi, runs a restaurant in Seoul, South Korea.
She was introduced to cooking through her mother, Sim Yeong-sun, a famous culinary researcher.
“I’m actually a cellist. I’m a musician. My mother is a very famous master chef in Korea. So of course I learned and now teach cooking. I have a restaurant in Seoul. I love to cook and other chef -to teach chefs,” she told PTI in an interview.
Music, she said, has helped her explore food in a better way because both art forms are similar in some ways.
“I have the soul of a musician. Both are very difficult things. Cooking, like music, needs strength and patience. You have to practice both regularly,” she added.
On her third culinary trip to Delhi recently, Jeong treated 25 guests to royal authentic Korean dishes at the Dal-Grak cafe of the Korean Cultural Center India.
On Friday, she celebrated Korean Kimchi Day by organizing the ‘Vegan Kimchi Making Workshop’ with the students of the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering & Nutrition, Pusa.
The dishes she prepared, such as Zucchini Porridge with Nabak Kimchi, she said, are good for stomach health. Gujeolpan, a traditional Korean dish with nine different ingredients, was once the food served to the royal family, she said.
She also served Sanjeok and the popular Korean dish Bibimbap.
Guests were also treated to green plum Omij with traditional Korean sweets.
Jeong said that while she hasn’t been able to explore the sights and historical beauty of Delhi, she has been to restaurants and tried different cuisines.
Indian dishes are slightly saltier than Korean cuisine, she said, adding that she was particularly impressed with pickled papaya and coconut curry.
“I am interested in vegan food. We went to a restaurant and I enjoyed the vegan food very much. During my previous travels I always represented Korean food, but this time I thought of combining Indian ingredients and developing menus in Korean kitchen.
“I can pair it with vegan kimchi and other foods and it will be really tasty,” she said.
When asked about the dish she would recommend to someone discovering Korean food for the first time, she said it would be Bibimbap, a dish served with rice and a colorful mix of vegetables, meat and side dishes.
“I would recommend Bibimbap because you can experience traditional Korean vegetables and this menu is very popular in Korea. I would highly recommend it,” she said.
How did she get started making vegan kimchi, the fermented dish that is a staple of Korean cuisine and is made from vegetables, mainly Chinese cabbage and Korean radish.
Traditionally, fish sauce is used in the preparation.
Jeong said many who visited her restaurant in Seoul liked the vegan version of her dishes and she realized that vegan kimchi would be popular among vegan food lovers.
Hwang II Yong, director of KCCI, said the aim behind the three-day event was to introduce refined, authentic and luxurious Korean food to the Indian audience.
“With the expertise of Korean chefs, we hope to show how Korea’s most traditional cuisine can be harmoniously integrated into Indian society. We hope this event will help spread the message about Kimchi, a traditional Korean fermented food, in India and provide an opportunity to understand more deeply the cultures of our two countries,” he said.
This article was generated from an automated feed from a news agency without any changes to the text.
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