Anushka Gupta (Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh); Aanchal Tekriwal (Mahagama, Jharkhand); Ayushi Saxena (Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh); Smiti Iyer (New Delhi); Shruti Mishra (Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh); Shalini Roy (Kolkata, West Bengal)

If you are one of those people who have been craving to have Korean food and are eager to experience the mouth-watering flavours and delight from South Korea, but cannot due to the pandemic, then this article is just for you! Korea Tourism Organization India held a virtual K-Food Series event, that took place between 1st June and 4th June, including a three day video series on their Instagram TV (IGTV) followed by a quiz day event. Famous Indian Personalities such as Chef Kunal Kapur, Chef Sanjyot Keer, Rocky and Mayur were invited to show how to make different Korean Dishes in this series that will prompt you to try cooking them at your home!

Over three days, they demonstrated and shared their K-Food experience with us while making famous Korean dishes such as Kimchi, Hotteok, Japchae and many more. At the end, a quiz was orgnanised for the viewers so they can get a chance to win exciting prizes. Hallyuism’s team members Ms. Anushka Gupta, Ms. Ayushi Saxena, Ms. Shruti Mishra, Ms. Aanchal Tekriwal, Ms. Shalini Roy and Ms. Smiti Iyer attended the virtual K-Food series event too and have shared their collective experience for you so you can know about the event in detail.

Day 1

Day 1 of the Virtual K-Food series started with a trip to Korean food with Chef Kunal Kapoor. He shared with us the cooking recipe of three of the most popular dishes of Korea i.e., Kimchi, Yasik, and Bibimbap. The taste palette of these dishes range from sweet to savoury. He showed us how to make the classical Kimchi, which is also the pride of every Korean, the national food of Korea, using Napa cabbage.

Further moving onto his second dish, he prepared Yasik which is sweet and savory kind of dessert prepared with rice, sugar, dry fruits and other flavourful ingredients. The way he explained us, the whole process made it way easier for the viewers to understand and implement it on their own when they try out their recipes.

Last but not the least, he made a hearty bowl of Bibimbap, which was colourful to look at and delicious to eat. Keeping in mind, that Indian palette includes a large number of vegetarians, he replaced the meat with mushrooms. The three hearty dishes he shared are very easy to prepare and extremely healthy to eat. Chef Kunal Kapoor used his expertise to explain the dishes in the simplest yet the best way.

Day 2

The second day of the Virtual K-Food series was shot in collaboration with History TV18 and featured two childhood friends and now chefs who have travelled miles only to experience memorable food, Chef Mayur and Chef Rocky. The duo prepared two mouth watering Korean dishes called Yangnyeom chicken aka Korean Fried Chicken and Hotteok while reminiscing their days when they visited Gwangjang market in Seoul. Yangnyeom chicken is a crispy fried chicken laden with spices, on the other hand, Hotteok is a syrup-filled pancake.

South Koreans love to eat Korean Fried Chicken while watching sports. It is a Korean dish in which chicken pieces are lightly coated and fried until the outside is crispy and the inside meat is cooked through. The dish is often served with pickled radish, beer or soft drinks. The dish (chicken) is considered an excellent food pairing for beer or maekju, often termed as chimaek. Yangnyeom Chicken translates to seasoning chicken. It is coated in Gochujang, which is a sweet and spicy sauce.

Hotteok, on the other hand, is a type of filled pancake. It is a snack in the Korean cuisine and is a popular street food in South Korea. The dish has its origin in Incheon, South Korea and was introduced by Chinese immigrants in the early 1900s in Korea. The dough for Hotteok is made from wheat flour, water, milk, sugar and yeast and is left to rise for several hours. The handful sized balls are filled with a sweet mixture, which may contain brown sugar, honey, chopped peanuts and cinnamon. Hotteok is usually eaten during winter season.

Day 3

The final segment of KTO’s virtual K-food series starred an Indian Chef and Internet personality, Mr. Sanjyot Keer. He takes you on a Korean culinary adventure manifesting his impeccable skills by preparing two popular Korean cuisines. On 3rd day of the video series, he cooked a vegetarian dish called Japchae which is sweet and savory stir-fried noodles with sauteed veggies and a non-vegetarian dish Dak Galbi that is spicy stir-fried chicken.

The preparation of both the dishes is done at a comfortable pace with clear visuals along with detailed instructions and is escorted with soft background music. He attempted making Korean dishes for the first time and it came out really good. The aesthetic of the video is so eye-pleasing and mouth-watering that you can’t resist yourself from knowing the recipe. He said that he hasn’t been to South Korea yet but now he is really excited to visit and try out some of their incredible cuisines. The ambience of the video is calm and fascinating to watch.

Day 4

The three day event of the Virtual K-Food series by KTO India was wrapped up by a contest with the questions being asked right from the series itself. The contest lines are open from 4th June to 7th June, 2021. The winners will be chosen randomly through a lucky draw from all the entries received and will be awarded with some amazing and super cool prizes.

Concluding Remark

The Virtual K-Food series by KTO India was a perfect blend of the Indian and the Korean culture where the Indian chefs treated the Korean cuisine enthusiasts with their excellent Korean culinary skills and the finger-licking Korean recipes. Beginning with Korea’s national dish Kimchi to Korean Fried Chicken (Yangnyeom), Hotteok and Dak Galbi, everything was absolutely perfect about this series. The visual representation was not a very conventional or monotonous one, instead, it was really aesthetic and the chefs shared their stories as to how they came across the Korean culture. 

Overall, this series was a blast and perfectly projected the wonders of the Korean cuisine where the chefs cooked the famous Korean delicacies. Moreover, the energy in the video doesn’t get tedious at any point due to the interactive style adopted by the Chefs to exhibit the details involved in preparing the food, making it interesting to watch.

We really hope that more such events are organised for the fans of Korean culture and connect everyone with the Hallyu factor of the South Korea in a fun way. Have you watched this K-Food series yet? We highly recommend you to do so! Let us know your thoughts and experience in the comments.