MANILA, Philippines – I had the opportunity to get my hands dirty – or sticky, rather – during a one-day rice cake making workshop that took me to Korea and back home. On July 31, Korean cuisine specialist Lily Min and Filipino chef-writer Reggie Aspiras invited guests to the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in Taguig City for “Merienda: Phil-Kor Culinary Heritage Exchange,” one of many events celebrating 75 years of Philippine-Korean friendship. Korea and the Philippines share the same love for rice, which was what the culinary event focused on.
There were two cooking demonstrations, each hosted by Min and Aspiras, ending in a buffet-style merienda. It was an educational showcase of how both cultures’ rice cakes take shape and please the palate. It was also a chance to explore ways we can incorporate the flavors of another nation’s cuisine into our own.
Madame Lee Eun-hwa, wife of the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Philippines, Lee Sang-hwa was even there! In her opening remarks, Madame Lee stated that she wishes for the friendship between South Korea and the Philippines to remain “close and sticky” like rice cakes. Proving the point that rice is the ingredient that binds two nations together, who better to take charge than Chefs Min and Aspiras, who are, in their own right, ambassadors of their respective national cuisines? Yes, chef Min, who has taught cooking classes at the KCC since 2017, is an expert in Korean cuisine, having studied Traditiona.