Top Chefs Celebrate The Wonders Of Jang - Korea's Traditional Condiment And Sauce - At 2017 New York City Wine And Food Festival

This year, the KFF celebrated jang, the core of Korean food. Jang is the foundational food ingredient made from rice, fermented soybeans and salt, that forms the principal ingredient of Korea's unique condiments and sauces, among them gochu-jang, a red pepper paste.

Chef David Lee, a Korean-American chef who specializes in combining Korean ethnic flavors with American style cuisine, enlivened the KFF booth by preparing 'gochu-jang chicken meatball' and 'jeyuk-bokkeum stuffed cannelloni'; two dishes that rely on gochu-jang for their spiciness and pungent flavor.

In addition, Chef Diane Hendericks, a famous chef who appears frequently on national television and contributes regularly to "The Daily Meal," made a visit to KFF's booth and introduced 'ssamjang vegetable crudite'. Ssamjang is a spicy dipping sauce in Korea, and with United States' food trend dipping vegetable to different sauces, ssamjang helped further spread a unique taste of Korea.

"Gochu-jang has always been an essential part of Hansik, the traditional Korean cuisine that dates back thousands of years, and is finding greater popularity today, as modern tastes continue shifting to more adventurous foods," said Chef David Lee. "Korean jang and sauces are especially attractive to Millennials who are looking for more authentic food experiences and for ingredients that push their palettes and lifestyles in new directions."

In its global program to introduce authentic Korean food to new audiences around the world, the Korean Food Foundation emphasizes the importance of fermentation, taste and healthfulness, the three qualities that define hansik (Korean cuisine) and make Korean food unique among the world's great cultural menus. Providing the foundation for dozens of Korean dishes and supplying the special pungency for which Korean cooking is famous, jang is an essential gateway to a genuine taste of Korea.

"Whenever I cook Korean I start with jang," said Chef Diane Hendericks. "As a nutritionist I know that starting with jang and its natural and healthful ingredients gets every meal on the right track."

A major element of the KFF's educational campaign is to ensure that all lovers of Korean food – from celebrity chefs to everyday consumers to use healthy, traditional and authentic Korean ingredients at home.

The KFF booth at the New York Wine and Food festival is one of many promotions sponsored worldwide by the Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) and the KFF.

About the Korean Food Foundation
Founded in 2010, the Korean Food Foundation is a public organization, under Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to share the rich culture of hansik, Korea's traditional cuisine, with the broader world outside Korea.  Focusing on food legitimacy, discovery, and culture, the KFF defines the excellence of Korean food in accordance with the modern pallet.  The KFF is currently building the infrastructure for globalizing Korean cuisine through a multitude of initiatives, including recommending high quality Korean restaurants, training chefs, and sponsoring promotional and educational programs worldwide.

SOURCE Korean Food Foundation