As Korea’s biggest port city, Busan is definitely the country’s seafood capital. Hence, visiting Busan wouldn’t be complete without trying its unique local food. The city has a lot of good restaurants where you could have a taste of the local food. You can also visit traditional markets to buy your own fresh ingredients and cook them yourself. However, if you are looking for a more memorable and exceptional experience, then you can try to join a program of Busan Cooking Class.
Cooking for your own meal gives such satisfaction that you cannot find when you when you buy a cooked food or dine in a restaurant. Busan Cooking Class lets its participants learn about Busan’s food culture. During the class, you will make a full Korean meal under the guidance of an experienced local chef. Then you will get to enjoy the meal that you prepared with local rice wine and finish the course with local tea ceremony. Moreover, they also provide a local market tour. Its program is best for those who want to fully enjoy authentic Busan cuisine. Impress your family and friends back at home with the Korean dishes that you will learn from this program!
Aside from its comprehensive program, another great part of it is the class’ facilitator – Chef Heeyoung Jang. She was born and raised in Busan thus she is knowledgeable about the city’s local cuisine. Chef Heeyoung has traveled all around the world to learn, work and cook which broadened her perspective and experiences. With deep attachment to her root, she aims to let people experience the unique and authentic food scene of Busan through cooking, dining, and consultation.
Busan Cooking Class Programs include Cooking Class, Lunch, Local Tea Tasting, Busan Food Travel Consulting and Local Market Tour
After an introduction, Chef Heeyoung guided us on how to make Miyeok guk. It is a Korean seaweed soup with clam that Koreans usually eat during their birthdays. The reason behind this is that Korean mothers who just delivered a baby normally eat miyeokguk as it helps them recover fast. Additionally, the seaweed helps mothers in producing their breast milk. And coincidentally, one of the most famous local specialty in Busan is seaweed from Gijang, a seaside village in the east sea.
Aside from miyeok guk, Busan Cooking Class also taught us how to make Dongnae Pajeon. It is a Busan style seafood and green onion pancake. Dongnae Pajeon is a nutritious and delicious rice flour pancake, filled with fresh seafood and vegetables that is best accompanied by a local rice wine. This style of making a pajeon is so famous in Korea and was previously used to serve a king. If you loving eating pancakes, then you will definitely enjoy making and trying this Busan pancake!
Another local cuisine to try is the Nakjibokkeum. It is a stir-fried octopus with gochujang or red chili-pepper paste sauce. The local version of Nakjibokkeum is called Jobang Nakj. This is a unique stew style Nakjibokkeum which you can only enjoy in Busan.
During the whole cooking session, Chef Heeyoung checks each participants’ progress and gives instructions on how to cook the meals properly. She gives specific guidance such as adding more salt or when to flip the pancake, and the likes. And because she can speak in English well, foreigners will find it easy to communicate and ask her questions.
After cooking our meal, of course, the next thing to do is to taste them. It is a satisfying feeling when you know that you can actually make an authentic Busan local food in just a short amount of time. That’s thanks to Busan Cooking Class!
Part of the program also is a local tea tasting. If you haven’t seen a tea ceremony before then you better give attention on how Chef Heeyoung does it. And the tea tastes good too!
If you have questions on how you can further experience the authentic food scene of Busan, Chef Heeyoung gladly welcomes it. It is a good time to ask for recommendations from a local who knows the city’s taste well.
The local market tour is the last part of the program. But for our class, we did it prior to our actual cooking session. We went to Bupyeong Kkangtong Market just few minute walk from Busan Cooking Class studio.
Busan Cooking Class offers 4 different dishes per class. The main ingredients are local specialties that they get from the local market, especially the seafood. All menus are vegetarian-friendly unless you don’t eat seafood. Every Thursday class is vegan. And make sure to let them know in advance if you have allergies to any ingredients.
*Hidden menu is a menu with the freshest and tastiest ingredients in season
Class starts at 10 AM every day. Each class takes about 3.5 hours
2F, 15, Gudeok-ro 186beon-gil, Seo-gu, Busan, Republic of Korea 49224
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