HÀ NỘI — Nguyễn Đăng An, winner of the Global Taste of Korea Contest in Việt Nam will be the Vietnamese entry at the Global Taste of Korea Contest, which is to be held from July 12 to 21.

An, 25, a graduate from the Hà Nội National University’s Faculty of Oriental Studies, made traditional Korean japchae to beat nine others at the contest held in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

“Japchae is a dish that has glass noodles with mixed vegetables. It is usually eaten in the summer in Korea,” An said.

At the contest, An made japchae, which was better than the other contestants, including a new version of japchae for the cold weather.

An prepared japchae in a traditional manner with Vietnamese nấm hương (a kind of mushroom). He boiled water with the Vietnamese bamboo leaf and flowers of the spring onion to steam the japchae.

“I used Vietnamese nấm hương in japchae because it has much more flavour than the Korean mushroom,” An said.

The scented steam from the boiled Vietnamese ingredients will keep people warm while enjoying japchae in the winter,” An said. “One of the jurors asked me if she could drink the water and I replied the water could be drunk to treat a cold.”

It was not only his creativity in the japchae that convinced the jurors, but the panel was also highly impressed by his use of the spring onion leaf.

Spring onion leaf is one of the ingredients used in traditional japchae. Nowadays, however, not many young Koreans use the leaf.

An learnt this tip while doing some extra work at a restaurant in Korea. He had intended to do his masters in Korean culture but was instead charmed by the country’s culinary tastes.

During the trip to Korea, An will vie with contestants from 19 countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, the US and China, as well as Japan and some South American countries.

An will also get the chance to learn more about Korean cuisine and experience the country.

The five best contestants will compete to be the global winner and take home the US$10,000 cash prize. Last year, Vietnamese winner Phan Ngọc Anh was among the top five at the contest in Korea.

The Vietnamese contest was held by the Korean embassy in Việt Nam and had 10 finalists, comprising cooks, students and members of the general public interested in Korean cuisine. — VNS