By Honorary Reporter Haslina Rameli from Malaysia

Photos= Haslina Rameli

As a food service dietitian, I spent my first trip to Korea in 2017 exploring the food there. In conjunction with "Special Travel Week" from July 1-19 to promote safe and healthy travel in Korea, this piece features my culinary experience in the country three years ago.

1) Godeungeo-gui (grilled mackerel)

Dongdaemun Grilled Fish Street

After arriving in Seoul from Kuala Lumpur, I immediately went to Dongdaemun Grilled Fish Street. I sat down at the first of 14 restaurants in the alley and order godeungeo-gui (grilled mackerel) and sundubujigae (tofu stew). The fish was simple yet satisfying. Only seasoned with salt and grilled to perfection with hot charcoal, it had a sweet and smoky taste that went well with white rice and banchan (condiments).

Grilled mackerel, sundubu jigae and banchan

Fresh godeungeo-gui over hot charcoal

2) Rabokki (fusion dish)

Rabokki

Tteokbokki, or rice cake cooked in spicy sweet sauce, vegetables, fishcake and boiled egg, is cooked with ramyeon (instant noodles) and fried dumplings to make rabokki. The best place for rabokki in Korea is Sindang-dong, an area of Seoul with a tteokbokki town. In Malaysia, the rabokki I ate was cooked by restaurant staff, but in Korea, diners must cook it themselves.


3) Korean cooking and tea classes

A major reason I went to Seoul was to attend a class on cooking Korean food in the halal way. Among the many choices available, I chose OME Cooking Lab. The teacher Minseon and her team took students to Gyeongdong Market and introduced Korean herbal tea that helps Koreans stay healthy. We tried several types of tea, and they were bitter but refreshing.

Korean tea lesson

We moved to the vegetables section to buy ingredients for our cooking class such as bean sprouts, taro and fresh sesame oil. I got to see ingredients that I had never seen before. Our teacher explained to us what was available in the market.

Fresh vegetables

From the market, we headed to a small house in a small alley for the class. We started the class by preparing the ingredients for haemul pajeon (seafood pancake), bibimbap (spicy rice mixed with vegetables), kongnamul guk (bean sprout soup), kimchi jeon (kimchi pancake), myeolchi bokkeum (stir-fried anchovies) and dakgalbi (spicy barbecue chicken). The two-hour class ended with students eating the food for lunch and taking photos.

Food prepared during class

Minseon with her cookbook

4) Jeonju bibimbap

I also traveled to Jeonju, Jeollanam-do Province, and took a walk at Hanok Village before going to a restaurant for lunch. The city is famous as the birthplace of bibimbap and has numerous restaurants serving the dish.


5) Museum Kimchikan

Museum Kimchikan

Back in Seoul, I went to Museum Kimchikan, which occupies the fourth, fifth and sixth floors of Maru Building on Insadong Cultural Street. The highlights there included the history, production process and storage of the spicy side dish. Classes on making kimchi are also available, and visitors can taste varieties of kimchi.

Kimchi recipe sheets are also prepared as reference for visitors to make kimchi at home. And interactive learning facilities teach children more about kimchi.

Fermented vegetables around the world

chaey0726@korea.kr


*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.