26 March 2015 – Philippine cuisine was the inaugural focus of a food feature series launched on March 23 in the lifestyle section of the English edition of one of South Korea’s three biggest circulation newspapers, Korea JoongAng Daily.
Korea JoongAng Daily is the partner of the International New York Times in South Korea.
Mme. Maria Ana A. Hernandez, spouse of Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez, was invited to launch the series, entitled “Cooking with Her Excellency,” with a demonstration of how to prepare the popular Filipino comfort food, kare-kare or braised oxtail in peanut sauce, at the kitchen of Asia Live buffet restaurant in InterContinental Seoul Coex in Seoul’s Gangnam financial district.
“I chose kare-kare because it is a dish that appeals to both the young and the old,” Mme. Hernandez told Korea JoongAng Daily reporter Sarah Kim. “I also think this is one dish Koreans might like and that they can cook easily with a slight variation in the cooking method and the ingredients.”
Mme. Hernandez said her favorite Korean dish is dolsotbibimbap, mixed rice and vegetables cooked in a special stoneware that allows the rice to burn slightly. “I love the sound and smell of bibimpap and have regarded it as my comfort food in Korea. I find it unpretentious, that all I have to do is mix the ingredients and mix everything with a spoon.”
For the food tasting, InterContinental Seoul Coex General Manager Theresa Yeonseon Kim welcomed Mme Hernandez, who was dressed in a green terno with butterfly sleeves to showcase the beauty of the Philippine national costume, her husband Ambassador Hernandez, and Embassy Cultural Officer Elaine M. Diza.
“Cooking With Her Excellency,” featuring some background information and the recipe of the featured dish as well as an introduction to a restaurant serving it in Seoul, is published as a fortnightly full-page article to be published beginning the first week of March in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Korea JoongAng Daily.
The online version of the article may be found in this link: http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3002187&cloc=joongangdaily%7Chome%7Conline. END
