Galleria Supermarket Korean Cooking Event With RDs...

Last week, I hosted along with my partner pal RD Carol Harrison a BeYond AmaZing Korean cooking & social event with a great bunch of Registered Dieticians, Food Educators and Home Economists at Galleria Supermarket. Carol and I met when we were both ambassadors with Food Revolution championing real food, food education and inspiring people in the kitchen to cook. We are still carrying that torch in our daily work but giving that passion a bit more fun gusto with a collaborative RD Kitchen Party with educators! 👩‍🍳👨‍🍳💕

Lots of incredibly fun hands-on cooking with five veggie-centric dishes on the menu because we all love our fresh produce and giving meat a break! This crowd was either familiar with Korean cuisine or new to it or new to Korean cooking, which is my kind of mixed crowd to teach because you know there will be some really cool and tasty information to impart. 

But first an all important tribute to all who has made this possible! A huge thank you goes to Felix and Jaewon from Galleria Supermarket for their Culture Centre space, and for helping me organize the logistics of the venue including giveaway bags. Thank you tons to KFT for their kimchi donation to each participant, and Lynn from Canola Oil for sponsoring the event's groceries and giving away lots of goodies!!! Shout out goes out to the awesome photos contributed here by Carol, Ingrid and Tamara when my photo-taking was scarce and a bit blurry (I shared them anyway). And of course, so very grateful for our student volunteers Anita and Ayumi for setting up, cleaning up and taking my task delegations in stride. Now let the show begin...! 

With RD Carol Harrison

Culture Centre at Galleria York Mills

Hansik Cuisine (Korean Cuisine) is healthy and has been trending in the food scene largely due in part to the up-rise of fermented foods with kimchi being globally recognized for its vast nutritional benefits. Koreans philosophy is that food and medicine grows from the same root. Therefore there is no better medicine than food. The dishes are primarily vegetables. Meats and seafood are typically steamed, boiled or pan-fried to preserve inherent flavours.

KFT (Korea Food Trading) sponsored jars of Food4U The Kimchi 

There are three essential ingredients in Korean cooking- green onions, garlic and Korean chili powder. Green onions- remove smells and add flavour; Garlic– anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, antioxidants;its pungent smell and taste is complementary to Korean flavours; and Chili powder- stimulates appetite; capsicum helps with metabolism.

A great mix of familiar and new faces!

Ha- I love injecting a bit of fear factor in my classes. That night was with Japanese fermented soybeans natto! I did another one recently with durian in my Seniors Asian Cooking lesson, and it was met with mixed reactions, which is all good. It's about giving new foods a try... and with natto, which is good for youthful skin / reduce cholesterol /reduce heart disease / rich in vitamin K, I think this healthy-centric crowd was enamored despite its frothy mucousy texture when you stir it up.

Photo Credit: RD Tamara Sarkisian

Don't we love this Asian "cheese" string pull?

Photo Credit: RD Ingrid Fan

Prepping, Cutting, Slicing, Flipping, Cooking and Stir-Frying... Chattering and Buzzing...

Pure music to all my senses 🎵🎶!

The energy in that room was electrifying!

The lovely RD Ingrid Fan speaks in a video about the benefits of root vegetable burdock- Stimulates appetite/ blood purifier/ treatment for skin / gas and indigestion remedy!

Photo Credit: RD Ingrid Fan
Kinpira Gobo (simmered burdock)

Photo Credit: RD Ingrid Fan

I worked with this beauty Cathy Ireland at Kraft Kitchens for six years before I became a Culinary Consultant. Oh the memories... Thank you for coming out and for your support!

With Home Economist Cathy Ireland

As a side gig, I work with Maria (third from left) at a variety of events and stores doing food demos for her growing list of clients such as TFF Chef Wang's Asian bowls, My Little Chickpea, Artisan Beef and more...

What a beautiful family shot of these gorgeous
mom-daughter duos! So incredibly youthful :D

Soybean is rich in vegetable protein and packed with essential amino acids. Three major traditional Korean condiments made by fermented soy bean block (meju)- boiling white soybeans, mashing, shaped, aged and soaked in salt water over 40 to 60 days are: Ganjang (soy sauce)- liquid; Doenjang (soybean paste)- liken to miso (meju, salt and water); and Gochujang (chili paste)- ground meju, sticky rice paste and chili powder.

The final spread- Chapchae, Kinpira Gobo, Pan-Fried Tofu with Spicy Sauce, Seasoned Spinach...

Photo Credit: RD @livetonourishrd

And a favourite of the night... Spicy Tofu Vegetarian Soybean Stew!

Photo Credit: RD Tamara Sarkisian
Tobu Doenjang Chigae

Chapchae

Take your meal further with rice (we had purple rice) and lettuce wraps- SSAM (means wrapped), which often refers to lettuce wrapping slices of meat. Build a lettuce parcel with a piece of red or green lettuce, perilla leaf, slice of jalapeno, garlic slices, some rice and kimchi with a slight spread of ssamjang (a sauce made from doenjang, gochujang and seasonings like sesame oil and garlic).

Dip your leaf parcel in sesame oil mixed with salt and pepper.

These following pictures are blurry due to screenshots from a spread-spanning video.

Left: Kinpira Gobo

Did you know there are 187 types of kimchi identified? These are different combo of ingredients used but universally, vegetables are salted and mixed with condiments left to ferment. Lactic acids and aromatic components generate during fermentation to create the rich flavour unique to kimchi. The three most popular types are made with nappa cabbage, radish and cucumber. I tried my hands at making baek kimchi (non-spicy white cabbage kimchi) at Galleria one year. Check it out here.

Pan-Fried Tofu with Spicy Sauce and a variety of Kimchi

KIMJANG is a time-honoured tradition in Korea where after the cabbage harvest villagers and community gather to prep kimchi for every household. Not only a celebrative time, but a powerful symbol of compassion and giving back to the community, the poor and destitute. What a simple nourishing meal with rice and kimchi with great health benefits. Galleria Supermarket York Mills conducted their 5th annual kimjang this year. Read more about about this event here.

Photo Credit: RD @livetonourishrd

I can't wait for our next #RDKitchenParty during March Nutrition Month!

Look at this awesome group!

Thank you fab ladies for an AmaZing orchestration of a Fun Cooking Night!

With RD Carol Harrison and student Volunteers Ayumi and Anita!

To learn more about Korean Cuisine, check out my Post on Celebrating Korean Heritage Week!