From cello to cooking: Korean chef Jang Yoon-jeong on why food and music are similar

Jeong, who is on a culinary trip to Delhi, runs a restaurant in Seoul, South Korea.

She got into cooking thanks to her mother, Shim Young Sun, a famous culinary researcher.

“I actually play the cello. I am a musician. My mother is a very famous chef in Korea. So I learned naturally and now teach cooking. I have a restaurant in Seoul. I love cooking and teaching other chefs,” she told PTI in an interview.

Music, she says, has helped her explore food better as both art forms are similar in some ways.

“I have the soul of a musician. Both are very difficult things. Cooking, like music, requires strength and patience. Both need to be practiced regularly,” she added.

Recently, on her third culinary trip to Delhi, Jeong treated 25 guests to royal, authentic Korean cuisine at the Dal-Grak Cafe of the Korean Cultural Center in India.

She celebrated Korean Kimchi Day on Friday by holding a “Vegan Kimchi Making Workshop” for students at the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering and Nutrition in Busa.

She says the dishes she prepares, such as zucchini porridge with nabak kimchi, are good for stomach health. Gujeolpan, a traditional Korean dish made from nine different ingredients, was once a food served to royalty, she said.

She also served Sanjok and the popular Korean dish Bibimbap.

Guests were also treated to Omij green plum and traditional Korean sweets.

Jeong said that although she did not get a chance to explore the sights and historical beauty of Delhi, she went to restaurants and tried different cuisines.

Indian dishes are a little saltier than Korean dishes, she said, adding that she was particularly impressed with the pickled papaya and coconut curry.

“I’m interested in vegan food. We went to a restaurant and I really liked the vegan food. In my previous trips, I always imagined Korean cuisine, but this time I thought of combining Indian ingredients and developing a menu in Korean cuisine.

“I can combine vegan kimchi and other foods and they will be really good,” she said.

When asked about a dish she would recommend to someone new to Korean cuisine, she said it would be bibimbap, a dish served with rice and a colorful mixture of vegetables, meats and side dishes.

“I would recommend Bibimbap because you can taste traditional Korean vegetables and this menu is very popular in Korea. I would highly recommend him,” she said.

How she started making vegan kimchi, a fermented dish that is a staple of Korean cuisine and made with vegetables, mainly Chinese cabbage and Korean radishes.

Traditionally, fish sauce is used in its preparation.

Jeong said many who visited her restaurant in Seoul liked the vegan version of her dishes, and she realized that vegan kimchi would be popular among vegan food lovers.

Hwang Yi-young, director of KCCI, said the three-day event aimed to introduce fine, authentic and luxurious Korean cuisine to Indian audiences.

“Through the expertise of Korean chefs, we hope to show how the most traditional Korean cuisine can be harmoniously incorporated into Indian society. We hope this event will help spread awareness of kimchi, a traditional Korean fermented food, in India and provide an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the cultures of our two countries,” he said.

This article was created from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.