Win! A Korean meal kit to discover the country's cuisine

Kick off 2022 by discovering the delicious cuisine of Korea. The Bulletin is giving away Korean Food Meal Kits in a promotion with the Korean Cultural Center in Brussels.

Each kit contains 12 boxes, divided into categories Easy, Moderate and Complicated. Each of the different dishes comes with a recipe (in Korean and English), plus a QR code for a Youtube video in Korean, subtitled in English.

The meal boxes are made up of an assortment of dried ingredients and spices. All the fresh ingredients you need to buy to complete the recipes are clearly listed, such as meat, vegetables, eggs and vegetable oil.

There’s a variety of dishes in the kit, from kimchi fried rice and pancake to beef noodle hotpot and half-moon rice cakes. Portions vary from two to four.

“Korean food is quite different to other Asian cuisines,” says the cultural center’s press and communications officer Chung Haetal.  “It’s normally not sweet at all except for dessert, sometimes spicy, but not always.”

One of its main characteristics is the use of permutation as a preserving technique. “It was used in Korean traditional cuisine when there weren’t fridges. It’s also good for your health and can keep for a long time, even at room temperature,” adds Chung.

While rice often forms the main component of a typical Korean meal, accompanied by several side dishes, noodles are another favourite staple. “There are plates with noodles, cold dishes as well as hot dishes, thick noodles and thin noodles, and rice, flour or wheat noodles,” he says. A popular side dish is kimchi, which comes in many forms and can also be made at home.

The Bulletin tested one of the meal boxes, a spicy stir-dried chicken curry, Dakgalbi, classified as moderate in terms of the cooking skills required. In fact, it was simple to prepare. Almost every ingredient wax mixed together to make an unctuous marinade for chunks of diced chicken.

 
A sachet of dried rice cakes was soaked in warm water and the vegetables prepped – I successfully swapped one for another – and then everything was stir-fried and simmered according to the instructions. Rice and a side of sautéed courgettes were added to transform the meal into a Korean feast.

Although an habitué of Asian food, the marinade was a stronger and more flavour-some sauce than I would usually have dared, and the use of rice cakes in a stir fry was a novelty. Overall, it was an easy, tasty and enriching cooking experience.

The Korean Cultural Center runs a variety of events throughout the year, from exhibitions and concerts to dance, literature and cuisine. More info on its YouTube channel. Sorry! Our prize giveaway has now closed and the winners have been notified