By Honorary Reporter Haslina Rameli from Malaysia

Photo = Haslina Rameli

Contestants of the 2020 Hansik Contest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, pose for a group photo. (Haslina Rameli)

I competed on Sept. 26 at a Korean cooking contest in my country Malaysia for the third time. The event was organized by the Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and hosted by UCSI (University College Sedaya International) University.

I discovered the competition in 2016 while a dietetics student doing a food service internship at a hospital's kitchen. I competed again in 2018, but this year, I hesitated to enter. As a K-foodie and with encouragement from my friends, however, I knew I'd regret it if I didn't compete. I applied and to my surprise, I was selected as one of the 18 finalists for a cook-off.

The rule was simple: Cook the food named in my application form in 40 minutes on the day of the contest. I considered for a time what to prepare. As Korean food is more common in my country, I wanted to make something more traditional for the contest and introduce authentic Korean food to the Malaysian public.

I named my food set saengil chukje (birthday party) with three main components, with the centerpiece being galbi-jjim (braised beef ribs). In Korea, meat is traditionally served as the main dish, and this sweet and salty tender meat was the perfect choice.

Second, miyeok-guk (seaweed soup) is a must to celebrate a birthday and honor one's mother. This dish is traditionally consumed by mothers after giving birth as it contains many health benefits to aid postpartum healing.

I cooked a meal for a traditional Korean birthday for presentation to the judges (Haslina Rameli)

The third component was assorted jeon (fried pancakes); dubu jeon (tofu pancake), Daegu jeon (breaded tofu pancake) and pyogo beoseot jeon (shitake mushroom pancake). During the contest, I added rice, banchan (side dishes) of kimchi, sigeumchi namul (seasoned spinach) and gyeran mari (rolled omelette). For dessert, I choose baeksolgi tteok (white steamed rice cake) as the traditional birthday cake. This is traditionally served at a child's birthday as Koreans believe that by sharing the rice cake with more people, the child will live longer.

After cooking, competitors presented their meals to the judges led by Ha Seong-hee, the wife of Korean Ambassador to Malaysia Lee Chi-beom. She was impressed by the dishes I prepared, saying it tasted like a birthday meal. Her compliment made my day.

Other contestants made delicious creations that showed their love for Korean cuisine, several of which I had never seen before. They were so friendly and generous in sharing information and their cooking techniques; the contest brought us together and they remain precious friends.

In the end, I was elated to win fourth place. My eldest sister and a dear friend helped and supported me that day, and they were so happy for me. The result raised my motivation to cook and learn more about Korean cuisine and I look forward to next year's contest.

The writer flashes her fourth-place cash award at the contest worth MYR 800 (KRW 221,00). (Haslina Rameli)

enny0611@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.