Cooks Focus on Globalizing Korean Food
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The globalization of Korean food is a hot topic at the moment ― first lady Kim Yoon-ok and many high-ranking policymakers have stressed that making national cuisine attractive to foreigners is a major component of promoting the country's culture around the world.
Lee Sang-hoon and Roh Young-seung, both of whom are cooks at the Renaissance Hotel Seoul, won the grand prize at the World Korean Food Festival last month in New York with their traditional and innovative dishes.
The eight-course menu, consisting of vegetables, soup, noodles, meat and desserts, won unanimous acclaim from the panel.
"We first wanted to help foreigners understand that Korean food isn't as spicy as they may think and to disseminate its versatility," Lee said.
"In five years, I'd bet that many foreigners will enjoy the original version of Korean foods more than ordinary Koreans. But at this stage, we need to soften their first impression and help them get used to the smells," Roh said. He said that the aroma and the strong taste of Indian food or other spicy foods are received well, thanks to constant promotion and familiarization.
The team, which began researching for its menu three months prior to the contest, prioritized making their dishes friendly to the Western palate. Making the dishes in an authentically Korean style came in second.
They created a salad composed of zucchini, tofu and a radish kimchi-salsa sauce as their appetizer. The salsa is a mix of radish kimchi and pepper sauce and matches well with the tofu, which is mild inside the mouth.
They also created "naengmyeon" ― cold buckwheat noodles ― with a twist. Believing that the conventionally used red pepper paste is too hot for many foreigners, Roh added a touch of mayonnaise. While acknowledging it was a risky move, he says it worked.
The duo also experimented with roast pork belly, marinating it in soybean paste and wrapping it in herb marinated vegetables and a pomegranate sauce. Pork belly, one of the most favored, yet humble, ingredients for Koreans, turns into a posh delicacy when marinated with soy paste and then barbequed.
The sweet, sour and slightly salty seasoning combines well with the pomegranate, satisfying the tongue with contrasting flavors.
The highlight of their efforts is their "ddukgalbi" ― marinated beef with rice cake ― with pine mushroom. Though conventional ddukgalbi features roasted beef on the bone, the dynamic cooking duo took out the bones because they had heard that some foreigners do not like to have them in their dishes. Instead, they replaced them with "deodeok", a white vegetable found in the mountains, to create an "edible bone."
Both Lee and Roh said that more time is required to allow foreigners to get used to Korean cuisine. "It took decades for Westerners to enjoy raw fish with chopsticks. It was the Japanese government's endless efforts that brought 'sushi' and 'sashimi' popularity. We have made a first step and I am sure we are following the right path," Roh said.
The award-winning menu is being sold at the hotel's Sabiru restaurant until the end of the year, priced at 79,000 won, exclusive of tax.