Woo-jin

Woo-jin on the Hot Seat

1. What inspired you to become a chef?

Well, it all began with me complaining to my parents about whatever dinner we would have every single day and they just said, ‘So if you don’t like it, why don’t you make it yourself? You’ll be given the kitchen and the spices.’ So, I took it up as a challenge and bought some chicken the next day. I cooked it up and presented it to my parents. Once tasted, they shot me up with a look and just said ‘You know, this might be the best chicken I’ve ever had’. And that was it. I knew what I was gonna do when I grow up.

2. What is your signature dish? What do people love about it?

Not to drag, I make the best Bibimbap. It is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with kimchi and soy sauce. I do add my secret spices to make it luscious. People like the fact that even though the base is rice, it's crunchy, spicy, sweet, tangy – it gives you delightful flavors. When you see the finished bowl, you might feel that it’s too complicated, but then you’d go wrong. And let me tell me, this dish symbolizes harmony and balance in Korean culture.

3. What do you love the most about your home country South Korea?

Oh, there are a lot of things that I love about my home country – first being the cuisine of course and secondly, our love for sports! We are known for being a sport-loving nation and sporting powerhouse. We have so many ancient art sports like taekwondo, hapkido, and Korean wrestling. And oh, the whole world is in love with BTS, the K-pop band. I had to mention them since we are from Seoul. That doesn’t mean I am bragging!

4. Can you share the funniest or the most interesting story that happened to you since you become a chef?

I do have a funny incident to tell and also painful, to be honest. Believe me, I’ll never forget this ever. So, in the summer of 2010, while I was interning for a restaurant, the chef gave me the assignment to mix the veggies with gochujang hot pepper paste and I had made the mistake of not wearing my gloves. I keep mixing the veggies with the paste with no problem and all of a sudden the hot paste starts to seep into my pores.  I felt the heat and washed my hands. While being very young and inexperienced, I wash my face. You can imagine what happened next, haha! 

5. Tell us 3 lesser-known facts about Korean cuisine. 

• We believe food is medicine so we are big on vegetables! Ginseng, reishi, and wolfberry are some medicinal herbs that are often used in cooking with lots of veggies and less meat.
• Korean cuisine may look tangy and sweet, but it’s hot! The most important ingredient of all, gochujang is used in all of our food items and it’s delicious.
• We do love our mung beans. Although native to the Indian subcontinent, it is served as a side dish, with noodles, porridges. If we are unable to find it in the porridge, you may find it in our soup broth!