After that, I fully immersed myself in the K-drama world and even came up with a K-drama review show on my YouTube channel. Along with that journey, my interest in Korean cuisine was piqued, and I started making cooking videos of Korean dishes as well.
Different but same
Since I was reviewing K-dramas and the food that came with it, I was recently interviewed by the Korean Cultural Center on why Korean food is so popular in the Philippines. The natural answer would be that the rise in popularity of K-dramas and Korean pop music contributed to the rise in popularity of Korean cuisine.
While that is definitely a huge reason, I personally don’t think it is the only one. In my journey of studying and cooking Korean dishes, I’ve learned that Korean and Filipino cuisines actually are a lot alike. That means it’s actually easy for Filipinos to love Korean cuisine because it’s so familiar.
Just how similar are these two cuisines?
Well, steamed rice is a staple for all three meals, which is already a huge similarity. Then, both cuisines rely less on fresh herbs and more on fermented items to develop deep flavors.
While Korean cuisine has fermented pastes like gochujang and doenjang, Filipino cuisine uses fermented ingredients like buro and miso. A lot of Korean stews are also enhanced with fish sauce and salted fish, or shrimp. If that sounds familiar to Filipinos, it’s because we have our own patis and bagoong, or guinamos.
Finally, both cuisines appreciate adding sweetness in a lot of savory dishes to balance out what could be overwhelming salty, spicy or sour flavors.
See more at: https://philstarlife.com/living/465652-pinoy-and-korean-cuisine-are-more-similar-than-you-think?page=2