K-food: The K-drama craze is making more Mumbaikars cook and eat Korean dishes

City-based journalist Neha Tyagi is a bonafide ramen lover. Off late, however, the night owl who was raised on a steady diet of Japanese anime, finds herself reaching for bowls of the spicy Korean instant noodles ‘Nongshim Ramyun'. "Korean ramen is the perfect midnight snack. You can also make it your own to suit your taste by adding stuff like eggs, cheese and vegetables," she gushes.

Tyagi is one of many in the city whose love for K-dramas and hot K-pop bands like BTS has driven them to hungrily adopt various aspects of Korean lifestyle, including food. While the city is sprinkled with quite a few restaurants serving the cuisine, fans have also started making at home everything from the fermented side dish ‘kimchi' to ‘kimbap' (seaweed rice rolls) and ‘bulgogi' (pork or beef barbecue)..

Exploring Korean flavours

"While ramyun is among the easier ones, I have also made a vegetarian version of japchae because I don't eat meat at home," says Tyagi. Tyagi's passion for the East Asian cuisine has made her adapt many meat-based dishes using vegetarian alternatives such as stir fried vegetables, tofu, paneer and fried rice. Giving the bulgogi - usually made with beef - a twist in her kitchen, she makes the Korean delicacy with sweet potatoes and a sauce, which Tyagi says gives it a sweet and sour flavour.

While eating at home may restrict her from enjoying the cuisine fully, the 28-year-old has tried non-vegetarian versions at Heng Bok, a popular Korean restaurant in the city. The restaurant is a go-to for many people who want to savour Korean food in the city.

Like Tyagi, elsewhere in the city, Anisha Pullokkaran, a marketing professional, has always loved Asian cuisine ever since she got introduced to Japanese anime as a teen. As far as Korean cuisine goes, she had already tasted kimchi and became an instant fan. She explains, "We started liking Korean food especially after we started watching Korean shows. They show so much food and since we've always liked Asian cuisine, we wanted to try those dishes."

Bringing Korea home

Interestingly, the pandemic fueled her passion for Korean food because the 30-year-old started watching a lot of Korean shows and even got her husband, Sreejith Nair, hooked to it. It did not take long for both of them to enter the kitchen and try making the dishes. "We have bought gochujang and gochugaru, which are the main ingredients in most of the dishes. They are like the Korean equivalent of masalas," informs Pullokkaran, who hasn't been able to visit Korea but has Seoul on her travel bucket list. Using the work-from-home situation to their advantage, they even started cooking and eating Korean cuisine once every week. Even though they haven't been able to cook it more often recently, the couple intends to get back to the exercise soon.

Anisha Pullokkaran started watching Korean shows during the Covid-19 pandemic along with her husband and they have been eating Korean food like dumplings and ramen often since then. Photo Courtesy: Anisha Pullokkaran

Nair, who turns chef more often for Korean food in the house, has made a variety of dishes. "We have made teokbokki, mandu (korean pan fried dumplings), bibimbap, kimchi, Korean BBQ chicken wings, spice braised chicken, gilgeori toast and ramyun at home." For expert advice, the couple follows Youtubers Maangchi and Nino to get the flavour right.

Pullokkaran, who has tasted a variety of Asian food, says Korean food has a distinct flavour profile. "It has a good balance of all flavours. The food can be spicy but still have some sweetness and because ingredients like gochujang are fermented, the dishes are quite unique from some of the other Asian cuisines," she says. That certainly sounds tempting for those who are sitting on the periphery of the buzz, waiting for their chance to go ga-ga over the culture -- what better way than to start with food.

Shin Ramyun with egg and green onion oil by Neha Tyagi

Ingredients:

Nongshim Ramyun Korean style spicy noodle soup (Amazon), egg, salt (optional).

For green onion oil:

Green onion (a bundle), oil - 1 cup (don't use coconut or heavily flavoured oil because it will overpower the taste), garlic, chilli flakes or chilli powder

Method:

Green onion/scallion oil

1. Finely chop/slice a bundle of green onion.

2. Add a cup of oil to a pan on high heat.

3. Add the green onions and garlic once the oil is hot.

4. Take it off the heat once the edges of your garlic and green onion start browning slightly.

5. Add chilli flakes to the oil, stir and keep aside.

Ramen

1. Heat about 500 ml of water in a pot.

2. Add the noodles to the pot once the water starts to boil.

3. Add dried vegetable flakes and soup powder that comes with the pack (depending on how soupy you like your noodles, adjust the amount of water before adding the soup).

4. Once the noodles are cooked for about 3 minutes, add eggs to it. You can whisk it or add as it is depending on your taste. Then cover the ramen.

5. Add the 2-3 tsps of oil on the noodles as garnish. It is ready to serve.

Also Read: Dumplings, wontons, and dim sums: Asian steamed foods for the winter