Korea has some of my favourite food in all of Asia and I wanted to know all there was to know about it. But, that was probably a bit ambitious given how broad Korean cuisine is. I could only learn so much about Korean food by eating and I ate a lot. But, to truly learn how and why things are cooked the way they are I had to take a Korean cooking class. I had already done similar cooking classes in Thailand, Cambodia and Bali, all of which were fantastic learning and eating experiences!
A lot of cooking classes are available throughout Korea in cities like Seoul, Jeonju and Busan. And so, after a lot of research, we picked Bapsang Cooking Class in Busan!
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All About Bapsang Cooking Class in Busan
Korean Cooking Class Bapsang is run by Minkyung, a super-friendly and welcoming Busan local. We couldn’t have had a better teacher – Min was so knowledgeable and passionate about all things Korean cuisine. It was fascinating to hear about all the different fermentation and pickling projects that she had going on like cheong, pickled garlic, soybean paste and kimchi.
Min explained that she set up the class just before COVID. Fortunately, the cooking classes were able to continue through the pandemic as she had many people living in Korea, both foreigners and locals, visiting to learn how to cook classic Korean dishes. There are many different cooking classes on offer, so Min often has returning customers who want to learn more about Korean food!
The cooking classes here specialise in dishes like Bibimbap and Bulgogi as well as Kimchi Making and Vegan Korean Temple Cuisine. We didn’t have much flexibility with our dates when we visited, but luckily the time coincided with the Temple Cuisine Cooking Class.
Side Note: What is Korean Temple Cuisine?
Originating from Buddhist Temples in Korea, Temple Cuisine encompasses the food that has been served to monks for centuries. It’s all about seasonality and living harmoniously with nature which in turn promotes both a healthy mind and body.
To achieve this state of being Temple Cuisine follows a few rules. Firstly, the cuisine is fully vegan, banning the consumption of all animals and animal by-products. Secondly and lesser known, is that Temple Cuisine also bans the use of 5 other ingredients – spring onions, garlic, shallots, chives and leeks because these “pungent” ingredients are said to hinder Buddhist practices and disrupt meditations.
But, that doesn’t mean Temple Cuisine sacrifices flavour. Instead, natural seasonings like kelp, mushrooms and soybean powder are used to provide flavour to many dishes. Furthermore, fermented foods like kimchi, soy sauce, soybean paste, vinegars and red pepper paste are used throughout Temple cooking. Traditionally, these fermented foods were created out of necessity to preserve seasonal foods, but in this day and age, they’re loved for their medicinal benefits and huge amounts of flavour.
Although the cuisine has existed for well over 1,000 years and is well-established in Korea, it only gained worldwide renown after a NY Times article was published about Jeong Kwan, a Buddhist monk and chef at Baekyangsa Temple. Since she became known to the rest of the world, Kwan has met with many prominent Western chefs like René Redzepi of Noma and Éric Ripert of Le Bernardin where she taught many of her philosophies and techniques that make up Temple Cuisine. You may have also seen her on Chef’s Table on Netflix.
Time to Cook: Temple-Style
Before the cooking class began, Min gave us all refreshing welcome cocktails of strawberry syrup and soda water whilst we went over the foundations of Temple Cuisine and what we would be cooking today.
First, we would be working on a vegan Doen Jang Jji Gae (비건된장찌개), a type of soy-bean paste stew. We followed this with a side dish of amazing Dubuseon (두부선) which were fried tofu stuffed with a herby mixture. Finally, the last dish would be Mushroom Japchae (버섯잡채), a glass noodle dish filled with various mushrooms.
Doen Jang Jji Gae (비건된장찌개)
The one thing that surprised me about this soup was how much flavour it had with only a few ingredients. Doen Jang Jji Gae is a soybean paste soup and this particular one was vegan, following the principles of Temple Cuisine.
There were two main flavour bombs that made this dish so tasty. First, the base stock which we made from boiling dried kelp and dried shitake mushrooms. Those two ingredients added such a rich and umami earthiness to the stock that you could only have achieved otherwise with hours of simmering.
We cooked all our vegetables like courgette, potato and radish in this stock before finishing the dish with our soybean paste (Doenjang). This paste gave a deep and salty funkiness to the final soup.
Dubuseon (두부선)
This was definitely my favourite dish of the day. I’d never seen anything like it before, it was fun to make and it tasted amazing. When you look up Dubuseon online you’ll probably find pictures of steamed tofu with a meaty topping. But, this Temple version takes a refreshing approach by frying the tofu and serving it with a vibrant herby sauce!
We started making the Dubuseon by preparing the tofu. First, we cut the tofu into triangles and salted them to help remove excess moisture. After patting the tofu triangles dry, we fried them until beautifully golden brown and crispy. Next, we made cuts in the triangles to make pockets that we stuffed with rice. Then, it was time to move on to the herby sauce. We combined soy sauce with rice syrup, vinegar, perilla leaves and chilli. It kind of reminded me of a Korean-style chimichurri, but with the perilla leaves giving an aniseed flavour. We covered the tofu triangles in the sauce, finishing off the Dubuseon.
The tofu triangles had a crispy exterior but were so soft and almost sweet inside. The sauce contrasted the creamy tofu texture with a punchy zinginess coming from the vinegar and the freshness of the perilla leaves. Loved it.
Mushroom Japchae (버섯잡채)
The last dish we made was Mushroom Japchae – a noodle dish with different kinds of mushrooms like enoki, oyster and shiitake. Again, similarly to the other two dishes this was quite simple but packed a ton of flavour. We made the Japchae by stirfrying the ingredients one by one, starting with the mushrooms, then red peppers, and finally the glass noodles with a sweet and salty seasoning sauce we made from soy sauce and rice syrup.
After mixing everything together, we garnished the dish with beansprouts and sesame seeds. I loved each of the different types of mushrooms and the red peppers gave a great pop of colour.
Lunch!
With all our dishes made it was time for lunch!
Whilst we finished off cooking the Japchae, our wonderful host and teacher Min, set the table for lunch. In addition to the dishes we made, Min had prepared some classic banchan like pickled garlic and fermented plums. She kept worrying that there wouldn’t be enough food for us as she’d never had 6 guys taking the class at the same time before, but we were so stuffed by the end of it.
Tea Ceremony
After lunch, Min taught us how a traditional Korean tea ceremony works. Sitting on cushions around a small table, she taught us how to serve and taste the tea. The particular tea that we had was a homemade tangerine tea that Min made using leftover tangerine peel from the previous tangerine season. We also had a variety of snacks to chow down on with our tea like preserved persimmons, puffed rice rolls and syrupy grapes.
Again, everything tasted wonderful and I’m definitely going to have a go at making the tangerine tea!
Closing Thoughts
This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Korea. It was so interesting to learn about Korean Temple Cuisine and see how with just a few ingredients like soybean paste, perilla leaves and shiitake mushrooms, you can create satisfying and incredibly tasty dishes.
But, the best part of the class was definitely Min, our teacher. As soon as we entered the cooking class, she made us feel so welcome. On top of this, she was like a fountain of knowledge for all things Korean, not just the classic dishes like Bulgogi and Kimchi but also how to make things like Cheong and soybean paste. It was great talking to her and I’d happily take another cooking class here when I come back to Busan.
Oh, and the location was so nice with stunning views of the Marine City, the sea and sandy Haeundae beach.
Pricing and Booking Details
Book Here: http://www.kcookingclass.com/.
Price: ₩80,000 – ₩100,000 | (£50 – £63), depending on the cooking class you take.
Location: Korean Cooking Class Bapsang
Korean Cooking Class Bapsang regularly updates a Google Form with details about the different classes happening in the coming months. Most of the classes are group classes, but you can pay extra for a private class if preferred.
Classes Offered: Currently, the classes offered are as followed:
- Bibimbap Cooking Class
- Bulgogi Cooking Class
- Kimchi Making Class
- Vegan Kimchi Making Class
- Vegan Korean Temple Cuisine Cooking Class.
For full details on all the classes and prices, visit the Korean Cooking Class Bapsang website!
Thanks for reading!
