Asian Feastival was a huge feast and a great success! Everybody seemed to be excited from beginning to end! (12pm to 5pm) I’m sure anyone who came this year will be looking forward to going next year.
I met a lot of interesting people, tasted plenty of diverse, exotic food, and learned a lot about Asian vegetables. My mission for the event was to demonstrate 2 kinds of Korean kimchi making: perilla leaf kimchi and spicy stuffed cucumber kimchi.
One of my readers came up to me: “Maangchi! I’m your reader! Do you need any help?” His name was Samson Woo and he was a Asian Feastival volunteer.
“Sure, I may need your help!”
I asked Sam: “How long have you been my reader?”
He said: “For years! Long time.”
I asked: “Have you ever left any comment on my blog?”
“No, I’m a silent reader, but I’ve made some Korean food with your recipes.”
I was lucky to meet Sam there because I really needed his help. He helped me set up the table, took some photos for me, and even cleaned some bowls and my cutting board after I finished the demo. Thank you, Sam!
Sam and Me
a blogger and my reader, Lori Lee
yummy perilla leaf kimchi with multi-grain rice
ooh hoo hoo! It’s fun to wrap rice in this spicy leaf!
yummy! Now I know what Korean kkaennip kimchi is!
oisobagi (spicy stuffed cucumber kimchi)! “What is oi?”
“oi is cucumber and also my Thai friend’s name! ” lol
yes, yes! I love kkaennip kimchi (perilla leaf kimchi), me, too~~
“Did u taste it?” “Yep! my stomach is on fire now!” : )
very good!!
Before and after my cooking demo, I was at the vegetables and fruits table on the Hotel terrace with 2 other panelists: Kian Lam Kho and Cathy Erway. We explained the name of the fruits and vegetables to those who asked and if they wanted to taste some, we helped them with it. There were all kinds of fruits like Korean melon, jack fruit, durian, and dragon fruit. There were a lot of familiar items there, but some Chinese vegetables I had never tasted. Of course I asked Cathy and Kian so many questions.
“What is this?” Cathy says, “yes, it is…”
Durian: the most popular fruit that people wanted to taste
Qingdao cold noodles (my number one favorite among all the dishes!)
Korean rice cake and rice cake balls (gyeongdan)
“kyaaa! Taiwanese beer tasted good!” : )
I was happy to meet my readers there. “Maangchi, can I take a photo with you? I’m your reader!”
Yay! awesome! I was going to take a photo with Cheryl Tan who was one of the New York kimchi contest judges, but I missed her.
It was great and fun day, but I was really tired when I got home. After dinner, I fell asleep until 8:00 am today! : )
I met Akira Back executive chef at Yellowtail Restaurant & Bar at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and he gave me his book. He’s a very down-to-earth person! Once we started talking, he said, “hangukmalo haeyo?” “Let’s talk in Korean” Cool guy! : )
Jenny and me. Jenny is a culinary arts student and she also has a blog. She made rice cake soup with my recipe and posted it on her blog.
Ravi Jolly, one of my long time readers. I actually met him last year at a festival in Brooklyn by chance which means I meet him often? : ) He loves healthy and delicious food. Ravi! I was delighted to meet you there!
James, Julie, and me! It was great meeting u guys! : )
aww! cute smile! Wonderful photo! don’t u think so?
My cute readers! : )
Lori and me
It was so nice to meet you in person. I enjoyed your demo @ Asian Feastival “Cute Reader” ;)
Jenny! It was great meeting you at Asian Feastival! I am looking forward to meeting you again. lol!
maangchi! was so great to meet you again. loved that you got the audience involved in helping make the perilla leaf kimchi. i am going to attempt a maangchi-recipes-only korean dinner this weekend.
oh, Ravi!!! Thank you very much! It was big surprise to meet you there. Let me know how your Korean dinner goes.
maangchi! your recipes were great.
– i followed your mandu recipe, except i made them all vegetarian. no beef or pork. instead, i added some ginger and finely chopped carrots, and it worked wonders. such a versatile recipe!
– i also followed your recipe for fried tofu appetizer with sesame-scallion sauce. absolutely delicious. the key (as you noted) is to really dry the tofu well before pan frying. this really adds to the crispiness and allows you to use less oil.
– i also made the perilla kimchi that we made together at the feastival in flushing, ny. it tasted great and it was so colorful.
i bought the other dishes at the grocery store – marinated bulgogi and cabbage kimchi. next time i will make my own using your recipes.
thanks, maangchi, for saving the day again.
Congratulations on your successful Korean cooking. You are one of the smartest cooks. “.. the key (as you noted) is to really dry the tofu well before pan frying. this really adds to the crispiness and allows you to use less oil.” cool!
haha, you made perilla leaf kimchi, too! It was your 2nd time making. Gratz!
yes, make bulgogi or LA galbi later. The marinade for LA galbi can be used for bulgogi, too. I did some experiments and worked hard to develop the marinade.
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/la-galbi
OMG! Maangchi, you look stunning! So pretty! >____<! Perilla leaves and fresh multigrain rice is the best combo! :) I know everyone enjoyed your presence! :)
Alex, do you remember you gave me a little advice on FaceBook when I went to MN for cooking demo? You said, “maangchi, smile a lot”
Actually your advice was so cool that I often thought about it and changed my face during my cooking demo at that time. I’m too serious when I cook.
Take a look at the photos on the page, I look too serious! lol,
I must have forgot your advice! When it comes to cooking, I know I’m very focused.
Maangchi,
You look sooo cute!
Thanks!!!
It was such an honor to help you that day with your demonstration!
I had a blast! (:
If you ever need someone to help you for New York events, I’ll definitely come to help!
-Sam.
Hi Sam!
Thank you for leaving the nice comment! Of course I will need your help someday. Thanks for the offer! I will email you!
Wow, that Asian Festival looks FANtastic…and so do you! ^__^
Thank you, Korea4me!
Maangchi, you are The Diva! Diggin’ the hat. Wish I was there. Shinshine was there and saw you. I didn’t ask if you two talked.
Thank you very much, Zenkimchi!
Wow so many things going on. Looks like it was alot of fun! You always look so cute and stylish. Where do you get you’re sense of style from? Oooo was the durian stinky? I would love to try it sometime.
yes, when you accustomed to the flavor of Durian, you will love it, but if you taste it for the first time, you may not like it. I didn’t like it at all when I tried it for the first time in my life about 10 years ago, but I love it these days. I am going to get some when I visit China town this weekend. : )