Ankara enjoys an evening of Korean specialties

Speaking during his welcoming speech, Bae Jae-Hyun, South Korea’s ambassador to Turkey, underlined that Turkey is a country that has a rich culture and said he hopes the event will help promote traditional Korean foods in Turkey. “There is a saying in Korean that medicine and food come from the same roots. Based on this belief, Korean foods are made with the most natural ingredients and cooking methods,” Bae noted, pointing out the health benefits of Korean food, which generally includes more vegetables and herbs than meat.   

During his speech the ambassador also said: “I believe food is an important cultural heritage that helps one understand a country. While there are many known Turkish foods in Korea today such as kebab, I would like for Korean foods to be known in Turkey. I believe the exchange of information in the sphere of culture and food will consolidate friendly ties between the two countries, and I hope there will be an increase in cooperation in the cultural sphere to improve the future of both countries.”

 While the evening continued with an exquisite dinner of fine Korean cuisine and drinks, a speaker accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation provided information about each dish that was served. The menu, which was carefully prepared by a group of six chefs who came from Korea just for the event, was designed to include traditional Korean specialties that would appeal to a wide variety of guests.

 Appetizers included cold ginseng salad with mustard sauce and pan-fired summer squash, fish and lamb. The main dish featured braised short ribs, rice mixed with vegetables and beef, pomegranate-shaped dumpling soup, white Chinese cabbage kimchi, glazed walnuts and cucumber salad. After nearly two hours of tasting and learning about different Korean foods, guests were served a cup of cool citron tea and a plate of desserts that featured a deep-fried honey cookie, candied jujube citron sweet, mashed ginger sweets and sweet pear boiled in Bokbunja wine, which is a highly aromatic wine made with natural raspberries.

 Chief chef Young Han Hye, who is a well-known chef and researcher at the Institute of Korean Food at Sookmyung Women’s University, where she studies the science and art of Korean cuisine and develops a menu of traditional Korean food, told Sunday’s Zaman that most of the ingredients needed to make Korean meals can be found in Turkey since the main ingredient in most dishes are vegetables. She also noted that some traditional Korean dishes may not appeal to Turkish people at first, but with minor modifications to the ingredients a flavor that appeals to Turks can be created.

 While the evening ended with the distribution of gift bags containing ginseng candy, kimchi seasoning, recipes and brochures on South Korea, Ambassador Bae explained to Today’s Zaman that he was very satisfied with the interest shown at the event and said: “Our goal was to promote Korean food to the Turkish world because food is a very important part of a culture. We want people to know that Korean food is delicious, nutritious and healthy, and we invite everyone to give it a try.”