Here is my interview with Jamie Frater from New Zealand and the photos of Korean food that he made. He found my website not long ago but he has surprised me with making so many different kinds of Korean dishes during a short period of time! As you see, all the photos of his food look so delicious and beautiful.
He said, “I hope to cook my way through all your recipes all over this year.” I’m thrilled by his message because he trusts me and my recipes! He would rush to his Korean grocery store to pick up some Korean ingredients whenever I post a new recipe. He shares his wonderful food with his friends and his parents. He is happy when they give him good compliments! They may say, “Jamie, yaho yaho, this is so good and tasty. You are such a great cook!” : )
After having a Korean meal party, he said, “Every part of the meal was DELICIOUS! I had a friend come for dinner who hadn’t had Korean food before and he loved it all.”
What is your name and where do you live?
My name is Jamie Frater and I live in Wellington – the capital of New Zealand. I spent some time living in London where I studied opera at the Royal College of Music. I sang professionally for a while but eventually returned to my original career as a software engineer. I visited Korea for four days and loved the culture and food – I can’t believe it has taken me five years to try cooking it myself at home!
What do you do and how many family members do you have?
I now run my website full time from home. It is lots of fun and it makes me learn new things every day because of research and user contributions. There are just two of us in my family (not including a dog, cat, lots of fish, and two birds) which works out very well for my parents who get to eat half of what I cook from your recipes!
How often do you cook Korean food following my recipes?
I only found your site last week (I decided I wanted to cook something Korean and yours was the first result in Google). Since then I have made bibimbap, black bean noodles, seasoned fried chicken, panfried tofu in soy sauce, and the spinach side dish. Every recipe was easy to follow and the results were outstanding! Everyone who tried the food loved it. I can’t wait to cook the rest of the recipes. Luckily New Zealand has quite a large Asian population so it is quite easy to get all of the ingredients needed.
pajeori (green onion salad): side dish for grilled beef, pork or bulgogi
What are your favorite Korean dishes? Choose 3, please!
Kimchi! When I was in Korea I took part in a large group event in which we all were taught to make Kimchi. We made hundreds of big jars of it to donate to an orphanage in Seoul. We were allowed to taste it when we made it and it was delicious! My next favorite is the seasoned fried chicken – I can see that appearing on my menu many times in the future. And my third favorite is bibimbap. I also loved the black bean noodles and I want to try more dishes with pork belly. I left the skin on as you suggested and it was so easy to eat – I expected it would be tough.
He says: “I made your mak kimchi and it is so yummy! It makes a lot (I made the whole 10 pounds) but it is worth it. Instead of squid I used oysters. (Bluff Oysters which are the best in the world or at least we kiwis think so!)”
hoedupbap: raw fish, rice, vegetables with seasoning sauce
doeji bulgogi (spicy stir-fried pork)
He says: ” here is my first full Korean dinner (all of the above side dishes with lettuce, rice, and Samgyetang – and wine, of course!)”
oisobagi (spicy stuffed cucumber kimchi)
kongnamul muchim (soybean sprout side dish)
gajinamul (eggplant side dish)
samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup)
sigeumchi namul (spinach)
Tangsuyuk (sweet, sour, and crunchy beef )
dubu ganjang jorim (Pan-fried tofu in soy sauce)
gamja jorim (potato)
cheongpomuk muchim (seasoned mungbean jelly)
gyeranmari (rolled egg omelette)
Yachaejeon (vegetable pancake)
What’s your best Korean dish, the one that everybody compliments you on when you make it?
Seasoned fried chicken – beyond a doubt. Everyone who tried it loved it – even those who don’t eat spicy food. It is the perfect amount of tender chicken, crunchy batter, and spicy sweet sauce. I ended up eating three pieces! The leftovers went to my parents and nephew and my mother gave it five stars.
yangnyeom tongdak – seasoned fried chicken
Hi! With Russia. Good for you, so many delicious dishes prepared, not even to believe that Korean food is so popular in the world)
Holy WOW!!!.Jamie you are amazing! I am drooling right now. Must go immediately to the kitchen to have a bowl of cucumber kimchi and rice. Sure wish I had some of your other dishes!
I too am fortunate, to enjoy Jamies Korean cooking. Jamie is a great ambassador for Korean food here in Wellington.
Not only does the food look amazing but the taste meets the high expectation of the presentation.
Thanks Trudy :) It is a pleasure to have you as a dinner guest :)
Yes, I think you truly “missed your calling” but then again, now you can enjoy being a “chef” without the stress of running a restaurant. ;)
You definitely have a talent in making these wonderful recipes. The presentation is excellent. Hey everyone, if you want to know where to go out for delicious Korean food while touring New Zealand, just look up Jamie! :P
Wish you the best in your contest too. :)
Jamie, I loved your stories. A thumbs up to all your Korean tidbits. Good luck and I hope you win, you deserve it.
Thanks jimin :) It is very exciting I have to say :)
AWESOME!! at first I think you are a prof chef when I saw your photo in flickr. I try to make kimchi now.. I wish it will have a happy ending :D
nice to know you…and Oh! I really love your web too jamie..I’m a big fan of your lists (^_~)v
congrAtz for your food and -of course- web!
cheeerrrsss \(^o^)/
Jamie is super awesome! I’m trying to diet and all his wonderful food pictures are driving me crazy, haha! Plus if you look on his flickr there is a lot of cheese photos right now. I miss cheese!
It’s very cool to know that there’s a fan of Maangchi in NZ! I live in Auckland and ur yamnum tongdak looks much more delicious than mine! jealous!
Hey – nice to meet another kiwi Maangchi fan! I love yangnyeom tongdak – it is definitely a dish that is going to be prepared a lot in this house :)
vb38 thanks :) I think I went into the wrong career! I always wanted to become a chef when I was a child but never did. Still, at least I get to enjoy all the amazing Korean dishes I want whenever I want and can share them with family and friends (who all love them!)
wow, Jamie has lots of fans here! How can I help all of you guys get together someday in the future. If you guys have a chance to meet altogether, it would be more than wonderful! Yeah, countries where you live are different, so it sounds like impossible. But who knows? I will keep it in mind.
OMG Jamie you’re a natural talent. Keep up the good work. its almost a religion – Cooking MAANGCHI;s korean food………. I’m in for sure
btw , we should be neighbours , then we could take turns cooking and we can share our food :D
These are some awesome cooking !!! You’re definitely more asian than i am !! LOL , great job and everything look delicious . I agree with you that Maangchi makes us all addicted to korean cooking !!! :D
Wow is right! Amazing! It’s a good thing all of the ingredients are readily available in New Zealand. Many times it seems people have difficulty obtaining some of them, but I can see you didn’t have any trouble at all!
Han – it took hours I assure you – but it was worth every minute! I loved all of the preparation work and then the cooking. Cooking according to Maangchi’s recipes teaches you such good kitchen habits!
UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!!!!!! Especially for a regular guy and not some trained chef to do all that cooking! FANTASTIC JOB! BTW, I totally agree with u abt Maangchi’s recipes!
wow! i cant believe it! u made so many dishes and i’m so jealous of u! =D ur cooking looks very yummy!!
=D
Thanks bo :) I have been cooking Korean for two weeks now and I just can’t get enough of it! Maangchi’s recipes really are perfect.
W*O*W!!!! All this in one week!! I bet your friends and relatives thought they died and went to heaven!! Everything looks so delish!
Absolutely Bo! We really enjoy eating at Jamie’s. Not only is he a great cook he’s also a fantastic host. I am very blessed to have him as a friend. :)