The Exciting Flux of Modern Korean Cuisine

The renaissance of Korean cuisine started from just the last few years ago as cooking shows and restaurants have made celebrities out of ordinary cooks. Young chefs that have worked tirelessly for native chefs and trained overseas to learn from foreign chefs are starting to open their ventures here. New restaurants and concepts are opening daily and chefs are putting an emphasis on proper sourcing, authenticity, creativity, and taste rather than just a focus on the bottom line. They also have to create cuisine that the regular diners will enjoy. Around the world, there are many different types of diners and Korean food chefs have had to come up with new ways of presenting the food so it is familiar to Korean diners and to those who have never had Korean food before.

Chefs in Korea have a unique challenge for young diners want western food with a Korean familiarity. Also, Korea's unique terroir affords a large variety of ingredients from the sea to mountains. There is an active effort to combine these as much as possible. These days Korean traditional cooking techniques such as marination and fermentation meet western cooking techniques so chef's have a diverse palette from which to create their own cuisine.

The new restaurants and cafes are cosmopolitan yet local. They are surprising diners while being healthy and balanced. The new wave of chefs are staying to tradition: creating crusty breads and croissants reminiscent of Paris or pastas and pizzas from Napoli. Others are pushing the envelope by using science and molecular techniques to create new dishes like a "five flavor, five texture" pork belly cooked sous vide for 36 hours. There are also chefs that are making sea urchin ice cream and others using Korean roasted laver as a savory salad dressing or sauce.

Korean chefs are looking for new ways to package their foods such as wrapping Korean ingredients in taco shells, bread bowls, churros, and pancakes. This is a great way to introduce flavor for busy diners on the go.

Young Koreans are starting organic farms outside of the city and rooftop gardens are becoming popular as diners want to enjoy the freshest food possible. There are a number of restaurants in Seoul where chefs will use vegetables and herbs they grow on rooftop gardens or on their farms. Because of this the use of herbs is becoming more popular.

Chefs are looking to open restaurants in out of the way neighborhoods and returning to the traditional markets of old to introduce new foods using local ingredients. One successful group opened up a series of fried potato and beer places near the markets and it has been bringing young people back there.

There is also a trend to returning to traditional restaurants as diners are willing to drive hours to enjoy a meal made by home chefs in a humble house. Influential food bloggers are gaining celebrity status as they champion new eateries and demote poor ones. The culinary scene in Korea is in a flux where there is food and taste is the focus. Koreans are serious about their food and the future is bright.