Ingspirations

K-Food enthusiasts recently gathered at Korea Plaza, Kuala Lumpur, for a cooking class led by Madam Shin Pil Hyo, an expert in Korean cuisine. Madam Shin began her culinary journey with the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in 2009 as a K-Food Chef. Trained in Royal Korean Cuisine at the Korean National Treasure Institute, she has since conducted numerous cooking classes and demonstrations with KTO, KMT (a Korean food company), and various cultural events. She even recognised several familiar faces among the participants, a testament to her long-standing presence in Malaysia’s Korean culinary scene. For this session, she demonstrated how to prepare two beloved Korean dishes: Gimbap (김밥) and Tteokbokki (떡볶이). Gimbap The Korean rice roll gimbap—made from gim (seaweed) and bap (rice)—is highly customizable. Because Korean spinach wasn’t available, Madam Shin swapped it with cucumber. She also replaced the commonly used ham with chicken sausage to cater to Muslim attendees. However, she rem...