Chef Cecile’s heart and Seoul

Have you been doing a little "Seoul" searching lately for authentic Korean cooking? Your quest is now over. Nestled in the heart of Quezon City’s restaurant row is Silla Korean Restaurant. Located along Timog Ave., Silla is a favorite of true-blue Korean foodies, and, in my opinion, is as close to the genuine article as one can get.

Why, you ask? For starters, the restaurant’s master chef is a full-blooded Korean herself.

Chef Young Hee Kim Park – I call her Cecile – hails from Seoul, South Korea and has been residing in the Philippines since 1985. A virtual bundle of energy, she is a mother of two and is never one to be idle for a moment. In fact, she used to be the principal of the Sunday school run by the Korean Catholic Church.

Cecile’s children studied at the International School. After the kids graduated from high school, she and her husband decided to send them to the United States for further study. Her daughter is now the manager of a hotel in Washington DC, while her son is currently taking up political science at the University of Connecticut.

Her husband is now in South Korea managing their garments business, while Cecile opted to stay on in the Philippines to cook and manage Silla, her restaurant. Although she may be busy commuting regularly to Korea and the States to be with her family, she still found time to further her studies by pursuing a master’s degree in guidance counseling at the University of Sto. Tomas. And this busybody still manages to indulge in her greatest passion in life – cooking!

I discovered this gem of a lady by accident. Just recently, my students suggested that I start a Korean cooking class in my culinary school. I’ve had so far classes in Italian, Japanese, Chinese and Thai cooking, cuisines which are all popular and familiar to Filipino taste buds. I had overlooked Korean cuisine, although this has been steadily gaining favor in the world because of its healthy and flavorful dishes.

When one talks of Korean food, who could ever forget the devilish magic of kimchi? This red-hot pickled cabbage has developed a following and is now taken by gourmets with almost any dish worldwide, just as any Korean would. Definitely not for the faint of heart, kimchi is revered in its homeland so much that a museum has been put up in its honor to showcase the over a hundred varieties of this spicy side dish.

Aside from kimchi, the charm of Korean food lies in its marriage of intriguing tastes – sweet, salty, bitter, hot and sour – often in subtle harmony, sometimes in surprising contrasts. And as more people embrace a healthier lifestyle, more and more are turning towards Korean food, now considered to be the perfect answer to a low-fat, balanced, and, I must say, delicious diet.

So, everything was settled. I would add a course on Korean cuisine to my school’s curriculum.

The problem was, where do I find a teacher who is imbued with the passion and fire that Korean cooking exemplifies? I would not settle for anyone else than a real Korean, for who else would breathe life to its cuisine than one who literally grew up on it and was nourished and thrived on its unique taste?

In bed that night, I opened the issue with my husband Benny. The next day, my problem was solved. Benny, who went golfing the next day, casually brought up my quandary with a golfing buddy, who then referred him to a friend of his who is – guess what? – a Korean national who owns a restaurant that serves – another guess what? – Korean food. God bless helpful husbands, who are always handy when you need them. Next thing I knew, the whole family was seated inside Silla’s cozy dining area, anxiously waiting for an interview with the restaurant owner.

From the kitchen breezed in the versatile Cecile, changing hats as she always does, switching roles from a dedicated chef to a gracious hostess in an instant. I couldn’t but help feel a connection with this woman who is so at ease with herself and is very accommodating.

After we were introduced, even before I could tell her of my mission, she volunteered to offer her culinary expertise and suggested that, should the need arise, she was available to teach Korean cooking at my school.

Things just fell instantly into place. We set aside formalities and she helped us to choose from the menu, at the same time sharing with us anecdotes of her life growing up in a Korean kitchen. That moment, I knew my students would like her instantly. Not only is she a professional who has mastered the skills of her craft, but is also someone who speaks of her homegrown cuisine with fondness and affection.

And if you are unfamiliar with Korean cuisine, as Cecile has been generous enough to open the covers to her mysterious cuisine, let me share with you some details about Korean food, many of which are specialties she serves at Silla.

Oddly enough, although fish and rice are staples of Korean diet, beef dishes are highly-prized in Korean cooking.

Bulgogi, which literally means "fire beef," is more popularly known around the world as Korean barbecue. Silla has perfected this dish, serving thin slices of melt-in-your-mouth marinated beef that have been cooked over a hot charcoal grill on your table. Another treat for epicures is kalbi jim, which is braised beef short ribs that are grilled according to a guest’s taste.

My personal favorite is bibimbap (yummy!) which is cooked rice mixed with bits of meat, seasoned vegetables and egg. Bibimbap is not only delicious, it also looks pretty. The colorful vegetables and slices of beef are arranged in a pattern on top of the bowl of pearly white rice. The adventurous diner can enjoy this dish with gochujang, a hot red pepper sauce, at their own risk. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I share an affinity for bibimbap with a number of international celebrities, including King of Pop Michael Jackson, who chanced upon it during a trip to Korea. He was so delighted with its taste that he asked for a copy of the recipe for his cook.

Bibimbap is a healthy mix of grains, protein and fiber. It only has a tiny fraction of the fat and cholesterol that you would often find in Western food.

The words healthy and delicious are inseparable when talking about Korean cooking. To borrow a Korean saying, "It is so good you won’t even notice if a friend next to you drops dead!"

Should you wish to adapt Korea’s healthy cooking to your lifestyle, you can find Cecile at my cooking school. Here, you will find the heart and soul of Korean cuisine. She passes on to her students the cooking tradition she inherited from her mother, bringing back to life a rich culinary heritage.

In the meantime, savor every moment of life, the good, the beautiful, and, most especially, the delicious. Mas iss da! (Happy eating, in Korean)

Why don’t you try Cecile’s recipe for bibimbap and discover for yourself how delicious Korean food tastes?

BIBIMBAP
cooked rice (Japanese or dinorado rice)
50 g. ground beef marinated in bulgogi sauce, and sautéed in a little oil until dry
1 fried egg (sunny side-up)
50 g. spinach, boiled in slightly salted water then squeezed dry
50 g. bean sprouts, boiled
50 g. eggplant, sautéed
50 g. sayote, cut into julienne strips and sautéed
50 g. carrot, cut into julienne strips and sautéed
50 g. onion, sliced and sautéed
50 g. radish, cut into julienne strips, then pickled in a mix of vinegar, salt and sugar, squeezed dry and sautéed in a little oil. Then add a little beef dashida and gochujang to taste.
50 g. Korean nori (for topping)
salt to taste
sesame oil
beef dashida
sugar to taste

Bulgogi sauce:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
4 cups water
4 abalone mushrooms
2 white onions
50 g. ginger
100 g. garlic
5 green sili (pansigang)
1 Tbsp. black pepper

Bibimbap sauce:
gochujang (diluted in water until flowing)
sesame oil
beef dashida
sesame seeds
sugar
water

For the bulgogi sauce: Put 4 cups water in a saucepan. Add sugar, soy sauce, mushrooms, white onions, ginger, garlic, green sili and black pepper. Boil for about 1 hour. Strain.

For the bibimbap sauce: Sauté and boil the ingredients with sesame oil, salt, sugar and beef dashida. Mix and set aside. Keep warm.

To assemble bibimbap: Place rice in a big bowl. Arrange the sautéed vegetables on top of the rice. Pour the bibimbap sauce on the side and place the sunny side-up egg. Top with thinly cut-up nori, sautéed marinated ground beef and a dash of sesame oil.