The first part of ‘Basic Series’ banchan workshop launched last month and it was held last month at the EatWith‘s test kitchen. There was a small group of us in the kitchen cooking and feasting. We talked about rice & noodle that you can commonly see in Korean homes and how we cooked with them. I chose two type of rice grain and two types of noodles to cook. I was able to demo Mushroom Stone Pot (Dolsot) Rice, Kimchi Fried Rice, Chives & Green Pepper Japchae and Spicy Cold Noodles with Vinaigrette Coleslaw.

In all honesty, I have to say this was the most challenging workshop I’ve hosted. I was down with a nasty flu the week before and pretty much had to stay in bed all week not being able to prep for the workshop. Luckily I had my taste buds back but I had to modify a lot of details in order not to cancel the event. It was disappointing. Sometimes the best decision is to cancel the event and not push through something when you know you are not ready for. This is something that I struggle with. I don’t know how to quit. I mean, it only took me 10 years to quit my job! The timing of this lesson could not have been any better as I’m going on my own, making every decisions. I’m beginning to feel this is what becoming an entrepreneur is like.

Since the workshop, I’ve been working on improving the recipes that I demo at the workshop. One of the feedback was that overall dishes tasted blend and not as flavorful. This is something that I want to address it in separate post but you will start to notice that there is less usage of salt (sodium) in my recipe. This has been a personal change for me and for my health but I do feel it’s important to talk about it if I’m going to continue to share recipes online. I’ll just have to suck up the embarrassment for a minute and tell you what’s been happening in my life. A separate post about this is in the pipeline.

Despite all, I want to personally thank my guests for showing up that day. Also everyone that helped out. Sometimes I truly believe I am blessed with good people around me. There is actually a word in Korean, 인복 (人福) pronounced ‘In bok‘, literally means having blessed with the right kind of people. So I hope you liked the time in the kitchen, sharing ideas and learn something new. Hope you get to try the improved and updated recipes and enjoy the photos (below)!

Table all setup for the guests. Chives pancake with some pickles and kimchi is always good as side dish in Korean table.

Today’s welcoming drink: Ginger Lemonade.

Knowing my key sauce ingredients helped build up my confidence in Korean cooking. I also made some Shim’s Savory and Sweet Sauce the night before. All ready for the cooking demo! Find a list of pantry items and seasoning ingredients on my new RESOURCES page.

All Photography by Sarah M. Park | Cultural Chromatics