The K-Seafood Wave 2022 event has been held, with several activities presented at Lotte Shopping Avenue. The event was held from November 1st to December 5th, 2022. One of the activities I attended was the Korean Cooking Class. There were two chefs from South Korea who would become mentors, Chef Jun and Chef Park Sung Han.
Luckily, I had Chef Jun as my cooking class mentor. We were going to make Chungmu Gimbap, Ojingeo Muchim, and Eomuk Bokkeum. Before the cooking class started, the participants were provided with cooking aprons by the team. The cooking area itself used a special studio for cooking, which was neat and clean.
All the ingredients for cooking had been prepared, so the participants only needed to follow the instructions and cooking demonstrations provided by Chef Jun. For the cooking session, one team was divided into three people.
Chef Jun provided informative explanations about the history of the food that the participants were going to cook. The three dishes I mentioned above are actually foods that are commonly eaten by Korean fishermen. They are practical and easy to make, and were intentionally made simple so as not to waste time and effort.
In addition to explanations about the origin of the food, the participants were also given some tips on how to prepare the ingredients. For example, Chef Jun advised that squid should not be cooked for too long so as not to become tough, and demonstrated the proper way to slice onions during the preparation phase. He said that,
"Slicing onions cannot be done carelessly. The sliced onions used as garnish are different from the ones used for cooking."
Below, I have included the recipe, but I did not include the details of the ingredient measurements since they can be adjusted to your needs. Also, this event took place almost 4 months ago, so I might have forgotten some of the exact amounts/measurements.
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| Personal documentation. |
Chungmu Gimbap
Ingredients :
- Korean instant rice (can be replaced with Japanese rice, or regular sticky rice with added glutinous rice). Basically, any type of sticky rice will do.
- Sheets of seaweed
- Sesame seeds
- Sesame oil
- Salt
Instructions: Place and spread the seaweed sheets on a sushi rolling mat. Add the rice, which has been mixed with a little salt, in a thin layer. Slowly roll it until it forms a neat circle. Remember to make the circle not too big so it can fit into your mouth. After you've formed a long circle, coat the seaweed with sesame oil, and then you can cut it into pieces (meaning, the Chungmu Gimbap cuts should be easy to eat in one bite).
After cutting it to your liking, sprinkle sesame seeds on top. And Chungmu Gimbap is ready to serve!
The taste of Chungmu Gimbap is similar to sushi, but it doesn't have any filling.
Ojingeo Muchim
Ingredients:
- Medium-sized squid
- Japanese cucumber / can be replaced with radish
- Scallion
- Onion
Seasonings:
- Garlic (finely chopped)
- Gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
- Vinegar
- Corn syrup
- Soy sauce
- Sugar
- Salt
- Sesame oil
- Sesame seeds
Instructions: First, boil water until it boils. Add the squid and cook it briefly, making sure not to overcook it. Watch for the squid's color to turn slightly pale, and then remove it. Cut the squid into 2 pieces, remove the bones, and cut it into smaller pieces.
Next, cut the cucumber to the size you like. You can make it long or cubed, it's up to you. Cut the onion (you can slice it not too finely), and cut the scallion slightly lengthwise.
Mix all the seasonings together, then add the previously cut ingredients. And Ojingeo Muchim is ready to serve!
The taste of Ojingeo Muchim is fresh, sour, sweet, and slightly savory. It's addictive!
Eomuk Bokkeum
Ingredients:
- Eomuk (Korean Fish Cake)
- Scallion
- Onion
- Other vegetables can also be added (such as bell peppers, carrots, etc. it's up to you)
Seasonings:
- Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- Garlic
- Sesame oil
- Sesame seeds
- Corn syrup
- Salt
- Sugar
Instructions: Cut the Eomuk into the size you prefer, whether it's square or triangle, the important thing is to cut it into small pieces. Then, also cut the scallions and onions coarsely (not too finely so that the crispy texture is felt).
Saute the garlic with sesame oil until fragrant, then add gochujang, salt, and sugar. Add a little water so it's not too sticky. After it has boiled slightly, you can add the Eomuk pieces, stirring slowly so the Eomuk doesn't break apart. Taste it, if it lacks seasoning, you can add more. After the Eomuk is tender, you can add the scallion and onion pieces at the end so that they don't wilt too much when cooked.
Eomuk Bokkeum is ready to serve!
The taste of Eomuk Bokkeum is strongly influenced by the gochujang, which is quite thick, sweet, and savory.
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| At the top left : (Ojingeo Muchim); Top right (Eomuk Bokkeum); There are flags in the middle (Chungmu gimbap) - Doc. Personal |
These three foods are really suitable to be eaten together. Hehe... After cooking, Chef Jun tried each dish one by one. And all of them succeeded! YEAY!
At the end of the session, we all took a photo together.
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| Source: @tasteoflovekfood |
Joining this event seems fun because during the cooking explanation, Chef Jun kept making jokes, making the atmosphere relaxed and cheerful. I feel like joining another cooking class like this.
See you in my next post ^^