I finally had a chance to watch the documentary "Living and Breathing DNA, Hansik" which features delicious scenes of Korean food and people who adore it from different walks of life. From Central Park to Chelsea Market, H-Mart, then at home, I had a lot of fun preparing for the day and filming it with my friends. I am grateful that a moment in my foodie life is captured as part of this program.
The documentary is mostly in Korean with no subtitles - except the interview part with my friends in English (my friend Monica talks about kimchi diet!). So here goes a bit of explanation about what's in the clip.
In my home kitchen, I'm making biji ssambap (비지 쌈밥; sticky brown rice mixed wiht toasted soybean pulp, seasoned with doenjang sauce wrapped in perilla leaves) to make use of a lot of soy pulp that comes out of making tofu. It's also showing a bit of yukgaejang jorim (육개장 조림) in danhobak (단호박) bowl (brisket reduced in gochujang sauce with shitake mushrooms and sliced rice cakes, topped with mozzrella cheese, served in kabocha bowl) and shikhye patbingsu (식혜 팥빙수; sweet rice & malted barley granita with sweetened red beans, rice cake morsels, mango dice and mint leaves).
In my interview, I talk about my blog and my cooking for friends. By telling stories of particular dishes in person or in writing with pictures, whether it's about ingredients in Korea, Korean holidays or my childhood memories, I hope that unfamiliar Korean dishes become more approachable to people around me. Also, Korean cuisine to me is the best of both worlds combining fresh, seasonal ingredients and slow foods including fermented food. I appreciate that I grew up in the culture eating the food that brings those two together.
"The more I know [about Korean food], the more I want to learn. It is a summary of everything I grew up with and an opportunity I can renew every day. It is my memory, my history, my family, my home. And the foundation of my progress also starts from Korean food."
I also wrote about the day of filming with food pictures back in August - you can see it here.
