HYDERABAD: From K-pop music to K-drama, K-movies to K-skin care, K-tech to K-food, Hyderabad is in love with everything South Korean. Amid K-boom, CE speaks to Chef de cuisine Benjamin Lalhmangaiha ahead of the Korean food festival in Pan Asian restaurant Zega at the Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel.
K-drama and movies have not only made us fall for their conventional love stories and plot twists but food. We can’t deny the invigorating craving we get through scenes where actors slurp on a hot cup of Ramyun Noodles with their chopsticks or, devour Kimchi. Nor does Chef de cuisine Benjamin Lalhmangaiha, who says, “Korean food is something new and the love for it is growing widely, thanks to the popularity of K-drama and K-movies.”
Korean food culture is inspired by Chinese and Japanese cultures. These far eastern ingredients conspire with a ton of seafood, vegetables and limited use of dairy products. “In Korean food, there is no use of any dairy product. Even the Korean desserts are very light and dairy free. Whereas in India we use a lot of dairy products. Likewise, we have Gochujang which is Korean chilli paste and Gochugaru — roasted chilli powder that is very different from the Indian chilli. Their chilly is milder than Indian chilli but looks dragon red on a plate,” chef Benjamin says, explaining the uniqueness of Korean food.
Korean food is always served with Kimchi, a very exclusive fermented side dish for Koreans traditionally served with fish oil. “I have always avoided using fish oil because people here do not like it much,” recites the chef, as he presents CE with three different Kimchis with a grin of anticipation.
The heart of Korean cuisine — Nappa cabbage Kimchi looks very spicy but is a burst of flavours sour, umami, and tangy. Cucumber kimchi is mildly spicy (a must try) whereas Radish Kimchi was the spiciest of all the Kimchis.
The chef, then presented Tteokguk soup, another traditional Korean dish which seems like a portion of comfort food for monsoon weather. There were varieties of dim sum with chicken, cheese, and lamb filling. Dim sum accompanied with Kimchi offers an otherworldy experience to tastebuds.
During the main course, the chef served sweet potato noodles (a must try), shrimp, kimchi fried rice, Dakgalbi which is spicy Korean chicken stir fry and fish stew. Koreans are not too fond of sweets, so their desserts are milder. The twisted doughnut with a sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon is a good way to warp up to the Korean meal.
The Korean food festival begins on September 18 in Pan Asian restaurant Zega at the Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel is an opportunity to devour and fall for authentic Korean food.