By PRISCILLA OSAJE

Seven Nigerian youths participated in the preparation of five Korean dishes in a cooking event on Wednesday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme was organised by the Korean Cultural Centre in Nigeria.

The dishes prepared by the participants were Ganjang Jjimdak (Andong Jjimdax), Bibimyeon, Gochujang Jjigae, Tteokbokki, and Japchea.

According to the organisers, the programme is aimed at preparing the skillful Nigerian youths for the second round of the competition slated for Aug. 16 and 17.

According to the participants, KCCN has not only provided a platform for them to showcase their creativity but also helped them to explore their hidden talents as regards Korean cuisine.

Ms Pearl Ogbalu, a participant, who prepared ‘Ganjang Jjimdak’ (Andong Jjimdax) dish, said preparing the Korean dish for the first time made her feel excited.

“The ingredients for Ganjang Jjimdak (Andong Jjimdax) recipe were Dangmyeon, Korean glass noodles, one-ounce boneless chicken, soy sauce, fish sauce, dark soy sauce sugar, white vinegar among others,” she said.

She said that cooking the dishes alone has helped her be more prepared for the upcoming competition.

“Though some people complained that the dish was a little bit too spicy, I did not feel bad because hearing such from them will make me more careful during the competition.

” I tried to be time conscious by maximising the time allocated to us, because I know it is necessary to pay close attention to time during competitions,” she said.

Ogbalu said she and her teammate have been watching tutorial videos, as well as practicing how to divide tasks during the cooking process to emerge a winner.

She commended KCCN for the numerous opportunities given to the Nigerian youths to showcase their talents.

Ms Julia Anams, a participant, said she was so excited to prepare ‘Gochujang Jjigae’ Korean stews that tasted so delicious.

She said Gochujang Jjigae is a spicy Korean stew made from a base of ‘Gochujang chili’, a paste seasoned with Gochugaru chili flakes soy sauce.

She said the dish, which was prepared with Zucchini, potato, mushrooms, carrots, red chili, and beef among others, brought a perfect brand of Korean taste when eaten with white rice.

“It is easy to prepare and does not take much time to prepare.

“I have learned Korean culture and language for the past six years. I have attended their language class, conversation class, K-pop class and now cooking class.

“KCCN is a good place to be because of the educational activities such as ‘Hangul’ that deals with beauty, language, and culture which they always bring to Nigerian youths.

Another participant, Ms Esther Raymond, said preparing ‘Bibimyeon’ was a wonderful experience.

Raymond said that ‘Bibimyeon’ could be easily prepared even when one does not know the dish.

“The ingredients used to prepare the dish are Gochujang, rice or apple vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, Gochugaru, garlic grate, and Korea wheat noodles.

“Others are cucumber, julienne, boiled egg (cut into half) and crushed sesame seeds.

“I went through the process and made the dish, but to my greatest surprise, the dish tasted good and was commended by all,” she said.

Ms Cynthia Mmadubueze, who prepared ‘Tteokbokki’ dish, said her experience was wonderful because she had watched a lot of videos online before she decided to make the dish.

According to her, KCCN providing them with recipe handbooks also helped to do it better.

“The ingredients for the Tteokbokki recipe with its nutritional value were; Tteokbokki rice cake, fish cake, cabbage, onion, green onion and carrot.

“Others are garlic, sesame seeds, water, Gochujang, Gochugaru (chill powder), say sauce, sugar, starch syrup, and sesame oil,“she said.

Ms Habiba Yakubu, Culture and Event Officer of KCCN, said the first Hansik (Korean food) cooking class held recently, was aimed at introducing and exposing Nigerians to the culture of ‘Jang’.

According to her, the culture of ‘Jang’ is about Korean sauce like Gochujang, kanjang, cheonggukjang among others that were used during the cooking class then.

Yakubu said that the introduction to the culture of ‘Jang’ would help Nigerians to identify Korean sauce to prepare for the second round of the competition.

“The cooking class programme is for the second round contestants, it will enable them to know and see how they can manage time during the cooking process.

“As you can see during the cooking process, we did not teach them what to do, rather we allowed them to do it by themselves.

“We hope that they will be able to perform as expected by managing the time because it is not all about cooking, but time management and creativity,” she said.

She said that the contestants are expected to prepare Nigerian and Korean food, using both countries’ ingredients to showcase their creativity.

“I urged the contestants to be punctual, bearing in mind that punctuality is a virtue. They should also know that Korean food is quite different from Nigerian food.” (NAN)

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