As part of its many cultural activities to mark the end the of year 2023 in Nigeria, the Korean Cultural Centre Nigeria (KCCN), engaged Nigerian chefs in cooking challenge event, aiming to equip them with skills in making Korean based dishes, an advantage they need to excel in their career as professional chefs in continental dishes.
Tagged Hansik Winter Cooking Challenge, KCCN Abuja office, organised the event at the Red Dish Culinary Academy located at the Central Business District on the 19th and 20th December 2023. An introductory note of the cooking challenge said; “the event was organised to educate Nigerian Chefs on the basics of Korean dishes and also afford them an opportunity to experience traditional flavors and spices of the Korea people.”
A total of 16 participants registered to attend the 2-day event, according the host of the event, Kim Suyeong, Culture Officer at KCCN Abuja. However, only 14 chefs were in attended the cooking challenge. The event was split into two days, Tuesday and Wednesday intentionally to make room from for the chefs in attendance to have a less crowded session and opportunity to interact with the instructor adequately.
At the opening session of the cooking challenge, the host, Kim Suyeong gave a brief introduction of Korean cuisines. She went on to introduce two dishes to be prepared by the chefs: Hotteok (syrup-filled pancake) and Elokun Kalguksu (Spicy noodle soup). The syrup-filled pancake she said; “is a sweet filling best eaten during the winter season. It is primarily a dough paste filled with brown sugar, crushed variety of nuts and cinnamon. The dough is then fried on medium heat and cooking oil, and efficiently flattened to get the desired shape.”
The Elokun Kalguksu, she the said the recipe was gotten from the Korean Food Promotion Institute (www.hansik.or.kr). “It is primarily a rice noodles and chicken broth soup, cooked with zucchini, garlic and Korean spices; such as Gochujang (like tomatoes paste) and Gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes) among others.”
Some of the chefs who participated at the cooking challenge, in their brief commentaries, expressed satisfaction on the cooking style of the dishes and their wonderful taste. They were impressed by the simplistic method of preparing the dishes with simple ingredients, especially on how it was easy for them to follow the instructions and were able to prepare the dishes perfectly according to specifications.
Chef Faith Obla, A member of the Association of Professional Chefs of Nigeria (APCN) said she was surprised that the meal tasted nice and delicious with just the use of spices. She further noted that the process of preparing the dishes were easy to understand. She vows to replicate the dishes and introduce them to customers at her place of work.
Chef Ajemba Peter, also a member of the Association of professional Chefs of Nigeria said he was worried at the beginning of the challenge he might not do well, but that after listening to the host explained the guidelines on how to apply the recipes, preparing the dishes became easier than he thought. Peter, commended the instructor for being so kind patient with the chefs during the challenge and expressed his willingness to attend such challenge whenever the opportunity comes.
Chef Banke Ladipo said she had so much fun and enjoyed the two meals that were prepared. She said it was her first time trying the two Korean dishes. She choose the spicy noodle soup as her favorite. She thanked the KCCN team for the ingredients provided and the educative class.
Chef Augusta Charles-Ofudu, also a member of the APCN said she learnt a lot about Korean dishes and was really glad the outcome was exactly as it is in the pictures. She also expressed surprise at the taste of the fermented spices. She said it made the food taste nice and unique. She also expressed her plans to incorporate dishes in her cooking business.
Chef Yahaya Bilkisu, a APCN members also, said she learnt a lot from the cooking event and also plans to prepare the dishes for her friends and family to taste. She enjoyed the dishes and hopes to be given another opportunity to learn how to make more Korean dishes.
For chef Jemila Yaro, the KCCN team for organising the cooking challenge have done something immeasurable for her. The event has added to her cooking skills and menu. She also expressed gratitude to the Korean Cultural Centre for giving chefs the opportunity to learn more about Korea through programs like this.
On his part, chef Arziki Likita said the event was an eye opener for him and he had a great experience. He also said the Hotteok looked similar to a popular Nigerian street food. He thanked KCCN.
Chef Jeremiah Rowland said he plans to promote both Nigerian and Korean techniques because our methods are similar. He also thanked KCCN for the opportunity and looks forward to attending more Korean cooking events.
