I met Benedict when I visited the Philippines during my Gapshida trip last year. I remember one of his dishes for the potluck party was manduguk (dumpling soup) in a huge bucket sized pot. He told me he found my website after he searched yangnyeomtongdak” (seasoned fried chicken) on the internet. So thanks to my yangnyeomtongdak recipe, I can add one more friend to the list of my foodie friends all over the world. : )

Ever since he sampled 3 pieces of yangnyeomtongdak at his friend’s international fair at school, he wanted to learn the recipe. He runs his own catering business and now makes it for his customers.

What is your name and where do you live?
My name is Benedict Baladad and I live in Manila, Philippines.

What do you do and how many family members do you have?
I am a chef and I have a catering service. I cater small parties, gatherings and meetings in offices, household and more…
We are 6 in my family. I have 3 siblings and I am on the second child.

How often do you cook Korean food following my recipes?
I usually cook Korean dishes twice a week, but if I’m busy, once a month. When somebody has a birthday and orders food from me, I cook. Especially on my mother’s birthday or my parents anniversary, I cook a spread of Asian cuisines that also includes all of the countries across the world including my favorite cuisine which is Korean. Last year I cooked Korean fried chicken but replaced the chicken with fish, and 2 years ago i cooked vegetable pancakes. 3 years ago I cooked manduguk or dumpling soup… by the way I cook them because of inspirations and exposures…

Patbingsu (Shaved ice with sweet red bean and fruit)

Yangbaechu kimchi

Gimbap

Vegetable pancakes

Benedict’s seasoned fried fish

What are your favorite Korean dishes? Choose 3, please!
Yangnyeom tongdak (Seasoned fried chicken): I love the sweet and spicy flavor of korean fried chicken.

Japchae (Stir-fried starch noodles with vegetables): I love the texture of noodles and of course any Filipino will surely love manduguk (dumpling soup). I love dumplings and dumpling soup

Japchae for a party

Braised chicken with vegetables and noodles (Dakjjim)

What’s your best Korean dish, the one that everybody compliments you on when you make it?
All my family and relatives love yangnyeomtongdak made with fish. My japchae is a favorite of my aunt and some of my friends, they always complement me on it and they always order it from me on special occasions.

One Comment:

  1. annabanana Vancouver, Canada joined 2/09 & has 68 comments

    Those veggie pancakes look especially good, Benedict. Made japchae (using Maangchi’s recipe) for a Filipino friend once and she liked it, too, but kept calling it “pancette” =)

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