UAE's Korean Cultural Centre to offer workshops on staple dishes such as kimchi and gimbap

The sessions, to be held throughout the year, will equip participants with the skills to make each dish and the knowledge to explain them when serving

Kimchi will be the focus of workshops opening and closing the series. Unsplash

Korean vegetable dishes, also known as namul. Kim Deachul / Unsplash

Korean stir-fried squid (ojingeo-bokkeum). Getty Images

Spicy stir-fried chicken (dak-galbi). Getty Images

Chicken soup with ginseng (samgyetang). Cyprien Delaporte / Unsplash

Korean pancakes (jeonbyeong). Getty Images

Tofu noodle gimbap. Photo: Devi Puspita / Unsplash

Half-moon-shaped rice cake (Songpyeon). Getty Images

The Korean Cultural Centre in Abu Dhabi is hosting a year-long series of workshops focusing on Korean dishes.

The sessions will introduce staples seen in South Korean film and television shows, such as kimchi, namul (vegetable side dishes) and gimbap (sushi-like rolls made with rice and other ingredients). Participants will be taught more about the dishes, as well as how to make them at home.

Each month will shine a spotlight a new dish or dishes. Seating is limited and registration is required. More details on specific dates, times and prices will be announced closer to the time.

Here’s the schedule:

March: Kimchi

Kimchi is the focus of the three weekly workshops that will teach recipes using readily available items from UAE supermarkets, such as radishes, cucumbers and cabbages. Week one will focus on musaengchae (a julienned radish kimchi), week two will be for muchim, or oi-sobagi (a spicy cucumber kimchi), and week three will focus on baechu geotjeori (a cabbage kimchi made without fermentation). The sessions will be held on March 7, 14 and 21, from 6pm, and it costs Dh60 to attend all three.

April: Korean vegetable dishes

Vegetable dishes, also known as namul, are common side dishes in Korean meals. The class will make recipes using spinach, mungbean sprouts and radish for two weeks, and teach participants how to cook bracken pasta, a unique fusion recipe that combines vegetable ingredients and pasta.

June: Stir-fried squid and spicy stir-fried chicken

Stir-fried squid (ojingeo-bokkeum) and spicy stir-fried chicken (dak-galbi) are created with red pepper paste and red pepper powder. The workshop will introduce how to use those ingredients while also sharing easy recipes to incorporate at home.

July: Chicken soup with ginseng

Chicken soup with ginseng, also known as samgyetang, is a staple during Boknal, one of the three hottest days of summer in South Korea. It's also a dish to try during the summer months in the UAE as it is meant to help supplement energy despite the heat.

August: Korean pancakes and noodle dishes

Koreans have traditionally held the belief that flour tastes best before July 7 in the lunar calendar, which is August in the Gregorian calendar, hence the workshop is being held in this month. Dishes to be made will include Korean pancakes (jeonbyeong) and noodles.

September: Gimbap

This workshop will focus on healthy gimbap dishes, including a tofu noodle rendition. Gimbap is made of rice, cooked vegetables and other fillings rolled into a dried sheet of seaweed and sliced into circular pieces. The dish features in K-drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo, as the only dish eaten by the titular character.

September and October: Half-moon-shaped rice cakes

To celebrate Chuseok (the mid-autumn harvest festival), a half-moon-shaped rice cake called songpyeon, filled with sugar, sesame and grains, is eaten during the holiday for good health and happiness. Guests will learn how to make them at this workshop.

November: Kimchi

The dish will come full circle with the final workshop held in light of Kimchi Day, which is celebrated in South Korea and the US on November 22. There will be workshops on how to make it, as well as competitions for which participants can show off their kimchi-making skills.

More information is available at uae.korean-culture.org/en