By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Korean food still has a long way to go to become part of international culinary culture, and many experts are striving to bring traditional dishes to the next level. Among them is Yoon Sook-ja, the president of the Institute of Traditional Korean Food, who has launched the ``Project for Cultural Enhancement for Korean Restaurants Abroad'' with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The institute held a special event to introduce its work with a special appearance from Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Tien Van and his wife, Duong Thi Dzung, at its headquarters last week.
According to the institute, many Korean restaurants abroad are in fact far from Korean, as there are not many professional chefs who know how to make authentic dishes.
Thus, Yoon said she realized the need to properly present Korean food to foreigners and teach foreign chefs the correct recipes of famous dishes.
``We've been working on this project for the last three years. As a start, we visited Vietnam and Hong Kong and after some research, we finally came up with 20 favorite dishes selected by natives themselves,'' Yoon said.
Yoon visited Hong Kong and Vietnam with fellow researchers last year and stopped by supermarkets, wholesale markets and department stores to study local ingredients. After surveying more than 300 people in both countries, Yoon and her team learned more than they expected.
``Instead of bringing Korean food directly to the tables of Hong Kong and Vietnam, we tried to invent dishes that are still Korean but have a hint of the local culture as well,'' she said.
For instance, as the Vietnamese enjoy eating vegetables, the institute came up with dishes like ``broccoli kimchi'' and ``bean sprouts jabchae,'' noodles stir-fried with bean sprouts, while for Hong Kong seafood lovers, Yoon invented new dishes like ``fried green beans and shrimp'' and ``kimchi and seafood porridge.''
``I think food is the easiest way to connect and become closer with other countries. It's a great tool to build friendship,'' the ambassador told The Korea Times, adding that he was a big fan of Korean food, especially braised beef ribs known as ``galbi jjim,'' and chicken ginseng soup, or ``samgyetang.''
Participants dressed in their colorful traditional clothes also showed their excitement, adding that this would be a great way to introduce Korean food to their friends back home.
``The presentation (of the dishes) is very good. It's nice to see such organized effort, as this is the way cuisine grows. I have always thought Korean food was red and spicy, but there are many different dishes that I have never seen abroad. Nobody should generalize culinary culture with just a few dishes, and that's what is very interesting (about this project),'' Anna Lee, 36, from Hong Kong, said.
``It was sad to find terrible food being sold as Korean, and we will try to change that through our projects. Our aim is to raise the dignity of our food,'' Yoon said.
The institute is planning to teach cooks in Hong Kong and Vietnam to prepare the 20 dishes selected through the project and continue the project in other countries such as the United States.