KOREA FOUNDATION

REVIEW

2021 ASEAN Cooking Class (Spring & Summer)

The spring and summer term of the 2021 ASEAN Cooking Class, which ran from May 28 through July 31, ended on a high note. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the culinary class, one of the ACH’s longest-running programs, was especially popular this term, with some 350 participants in attendance.

This time around, participants tried their hand at preparing two dishes from each of the 10 ASEAN countries, producing a whopping 20 dishes in only ten weeks. The dishes ranged from those that are now familiar to Koreans to others that many have not experienced yet, including: mie goreng, a popular Indonesian fried noodle dish; chicken rendang, Malaysian steamed chicken; cha loklak, a Cambodian beef stirfry; ayam goreng, Brunei-style fried chicken; larb moo, Laotian fried rice with pork; Singaporean chicken satay and coconut

curry; pad thai, Thailand’s most famous stir-fried noodle dish; chop suey, Philippine fried rice with meat and vegetables; Myanmar-style lentil soup; and bánh xèo, a crispy Vietnamese-style crepe. To comply with the Korean government’s social distancing regulations and conduct the class as safely as possible, each session had a cap of 12 students. Furthermore, food was not consumed inside the cooking studio or anywhere else on the premises of the ACH: instead, participants were able to take all completed dishes home in containers provided for them.

Participants came from a broad spectrum, including people interested in Southeast Asian cuisine and seasoned homemakers. The Cambodian cooking class, which was held in the second week of June, was a special occasion due to a guest appearance by H.E. Long Dimanche, the Cambodian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, and his wife, Ms. Nhem Davy, who introduced Cambodian cuisine and gave a cooking demonstration. We hope that the ASEAN Cooking Class raises awareness among the Korean public of ASEAN’s
diverse culinary cultures and ultimately leads to a future in which it is commonplace for Korean and ASEAN dishes to be featured at the same table in households throughout Korea.