Special Cooking Demonstration: Korean Temple Food (2)

[Episode 2]
Chili Paste Glazed Fried Eggplant (Gaji-twigim-gochujang-yangnyeom-beomuri)

GUEST CHEF:  WOOKWAN
Korean Temple Food Guru & Cookbook Author

Presented by Korean Cultural Center New York

* Please note that the video clip was provided by re-editing a live cooking demonstration
by Guru Wookwan at the Culinary Institute of America last year.

Menu: Chili Paste Glazed Fried Eggplant
(Gaji-twigim-gochujang-yangnyeom-beomuri)

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Ingredients: 

2 ea Asian Eggplant 

20g Red Bell Pepper, medium dice 

20g Yellow Bell Pepper, medium dice 

20g Green Bell Pepper, medium dice

½ cup Flour ½ cup Starch,
Potato or Corn 

1 cup Water 

1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds 

2 cups Grapeseed Oil

Glaze: 

1 tablespoon Fermented Chili Paste 

2 tablespoons Korean Plum Extract 

2 tablespoons Rice Molasses 

1 teaspoon Ginger, grated

Recipe:

  1. Cut eggplant about 2-3 inches.

  2. In a mixing bowl, mix flour, starch and water to make a batter.

  3. In a pan, heat the oil. 

  4. Batter eggplants and fry them golden brown. 

  5. In a separate pan heat the glaze.

  6. Turn off heat, add bell peppers and fried eggplants.

  7. Toss well to coat them well.

  8. Garnish with sesame seeds. 

KOREAN TEMPLE FOOD

HEALTHY CULINARY AND EATING CULTURE PASSED DOWN AT TEMPLES

Temple food, a taste of humble nature offered at mountain temples, is the most peaceful meal that fills one’s heart with the wisdom of practitioners. Temple food considers every process of growing, preparing and eating food as a part of practice. As preparing the offerings to the Buddha, temple food is equally shared by the members of Buddhist community regardless of monks or laity. The taste and wisdom of temple food remained for more than a thousand years as refectories of mountain temples are now redefining the food culture of the modern world.

WITH GRATITUDE FOR LIFE AND PRAYERS FOR PEACE

Temple food refers to the food eaten daily at Buddhist temples. At Buddhist temples, everything is considered a part of practice. From growing vegetables to preparing the food, monks and nuns are directly involved in the whole process. 

Monastic practitioners make it a point to always be grateful for the efforts of all those involved in the preparation of food. They take only the amount needed for their physical sustenance, leaving no leftover food in their bowls. This distinctive approach to food preparation has been gradually shaped over many centuries, based on a foundation of Buddhist philosophy and practice. 

Temple food is natural, healthy and also a part of Buddhist life. Even today the 1700 - year - old tradition is alive at Korean Buddhist temples. 

WOOKWAN

KOREAN TEMPLE FOOD GURU & COOKBOOK AUTHOR

Wookwan entered the Yaksusa temple in the Gwanak Mountains in 1988 under the teaching of the Venerable Jeong Hwa. She graduated from Suwon Bongnyeongsa Sangha University where she also completed research work. She received her master’s degree in Buddhist studies and completed her doctoral coursework at the University of Delhi in India; afterwards, she practiced vipasanna meditation in Myanmar and its vicinity.

In September of 2010, Wookwan participated in the first Korean Temple Food Festival held in New York City. The event was extremely well received by the local audience. Following, in October of 2014, she held a lecture and tasting at a Slow Food event held in Turin, Italy, and in 2015 went to Spain to represent Korea at Madrid Fusion 2015 to demonstrate Korean temple cuisine and traditional barley red chili paste; she also held a workshop of temple cuisine at the Korean Cultural Center in Spain. 

In August 2016, with invitation from the Korean Cultural Center Kazakhstan, Wookwan presented a temple food workshop, and the following summer in 2017, hosted an exhibition and luncheon event at the Korean Cultural Center in Hungary. December of 2017 and July 2018, she was invited by the Korean Cultural Center New York to hold a special lecture and workshop in partnership with the Natural Gourmet Institute (2017), the Culinary Tech Center (2017), International Culinary Center (2018), and The Culinary Institute of America (2018). 

Within Korea, Wookwan has held numerous lectures and programs hosted by the official educational sector of the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism under the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism since 2010, and in 2015, she has actively taken part in workshops and teaching events hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korean Food Promotion Institute. As the Director of the Mahayeon Temple Food Cultural Center in Icheon, Korea, she holds regular workshops on temple cuisine and also hosts events in partnership with Gyeonggi Province and Icheon City. Published works include Wookwan Sunim’s Temple Food with a Mother’s Touch and Wookwan Sunim’s The Taste of Awakening in Korean. You can follow her on Instagram @wookwansunim. 

 
Taehyun Hwang