Aussie chef explores Korean food for Seoul Gourmet

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Tetsuya Wakuda, an acclaimed chef from Australia, visited Korea a month ahead of Seoul Gourmet 2012 to taste local food and explore ingredients before preparing for a special dinner for Korean guests in November. Seoul Gourmet is an event that introduces Korean food to top international chefs.

Born in Japan, Wakuda moved to Australia when he was 22. He worked at a restaurant to learn English but the experience changed his life and he became one of the most successful and creative chefs in Australia. His eponymous Tetsuya’s in Sydney is one of the top restaurants in the city. In addition to Tetsuya’s, he runs Waku Ghin in Singapore.

During his visit to Korea, Wakuda went to the capital’s Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market and SSG Food Market in southern Seoul. He showed photos of fish he took while browsing the markets including halibut, shrimp and ribbon fish. “There were lots of live fish in the market. Now I have an idea of what I can get in Seoul,” the chef told The Korea Times.

Wakuda had lunch at Congdu in central Seoul, a restaurant serving modern Korean cuisine, Thursday. Head chef Lee Hwan-eui prepared a special menu of Korean food with a modern twist.

Before starting the meal, Wakuda tasted three types of Korean soy sauce aged for three, 30 and 360 years, “gochujang” (hot pepper paste) and “doenjang” (fermented soybean paste). He tasted small amount of each of them. “This one is very tasty,” he said, pointing to the doenjang.

The lunch began with tofu custard with sea urchin and salted shrimp caviar followed by steak tartar with three types of vintage soy sauce caviar. The taste was authentic Korean but new techniques such as molecular gastronomy were used for the meal. Wakuda looked impressed by each dish served and took photos of them.

When sea urchin seaweed soup with vintage soy sauce was served, he first smelled it before trying it. Congdu’s seaweed soup has ground seaweed in it to reduce its slippery texture.

“I see that sesame oil and pine nuts are often used in Korea,” he said.

The main dish — grilled yellow corvina with rice and blue crab preserved in soy sauce — was served in a traditional Korean way, unlike the previous dishes that had a modern touch. Wakuda had a broad smile as soon as he saw the dish.

“I love food. People say they have to have a passion for cooking to become a chef but I think they must have a passion for eating first,” he said.

He thought the “ganjang gejang,” or crab marinated in soy sauce, was exceptionally good as it kept the taste of the main ingredient. “This is an interesting technique,” he said.

Wakuda also got creative during the meal, mixing rice, dried laver and marinated crab.

Finishing lunch, the chef said, “I’ll bring something that will surprise Korean guests when I come back.”

He will present a dinner inspired by Korean food at W Seoul-Walkerhill’s Namu restaurant at 7 p.m. on Nov. 2, as a part of Seoul Gourmet 2012.

Wakuda is one of the seven chefs who will interpret Korean food in their own way, along with Akira Back, Alex Atala, Gennaro Esposito, Magnus Nilsson, Pedro Subijana and Thomas Buhner, at Seoul Gourmet 2012.

Seoul Gourmet will feature other events such as master classes from these chefs and lecture programs to better understand Korean food. For more, visit www.seoulgourmet.com.