Steaming hot seafood soup to stir a chef’s soul
Yang Hyun-dae, Executive chef, Seoul Plaza Hotel
Yang Hyun-dae, executive chef at the Seoul Plaza Hotel, enjoys soup in all four seasons of the year, but he finds spicy fish stews especially pleasing in the winter. Among his favorites are saengtaetang, a soup with fresh pollack, and bokeotang, which has globefish as the main ingredient. Tang means soup in Korean.
“There are many restaurants specializing in soup near the Bukchang-dong area [in central Seoul],” he said. “Not only are the prices reasonable there but they also have delicious soups cooked the right way.”
A hot bowl of saengtaetang (pollack soup) from Busan Galmaegi in Bukchang-dong, central Seoul. Provided by the restaurant
Of the many restaurants clustered in the area, Yang recommends the Busan Galmaegi restaurant (02-773-8146). He frequently visits after work, especially with so many parties to attend at this time of year. The soup served by the restaurant is the perfect cure for a night of social drinking, he said.
“At first glance, neither the entrance nor the interior are fancy, but wait until you taste the hot fish stew,” Yang said, noting that the soup is worth the wait in the long lines that form before the lunch hour. He also said he enjoys the cozy atmosphere and the friendly demeanor of the restaurant’s owner, who is from Busan.
Yang began his career as a chef in 1984 at the Seoul Plaza Hotel. Prior to that he served in the Katusa, the elite Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army, where he had his first encounter with Western food.
The food was different from Korean cuisine in terms of taste, garnish and presentation, and he was intrigued to learn more.
“I was allured by the culinary art,” he said. “The culinary industry is a whole different world when creativity is added,” he said.
After he left the army, Yang trained to become a chef. He was appointed the hotel’s executive chef in 2006.
By Lee Eun-joo [angie@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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