Amid the heightened attention on Korean cuisine in Korea, local airlines are also focusing on giving foreign visitors a positive first impression of the country by presenting tasty, authentic Korean cuisine.
Since October 2002, Asiana Airlines has been serving a four-course in-flight meal named "Gungjung Jeongchan" for first-class passengers flying to Europe and North America.
A decent in-flight Korean food experience is not limited to just first and business class travellers.
Ssambap or rice served with leafy vegetables and beef, is one of the most popular in-flight meals on Asiana Airlines' European and American routes.
Featuring six different vegetables, the uniquely Korean delicacy won the company a gold medal from International Travel Catering Association for the food and beverages served on its long-haul flights in 2006.
"Improving the quality of in-flight meals is an efficient way of boosting the popularity of Korean cuisine," Han Tae-geun, senior vice president, told The Korea Herald. "We are working hard to make Korean dishes known better as a healthy option," he added.
"Many foreign passengers using our planes are those who have great interest in Korean culture, so they never mind venturing into the world of Korean food - even though they are total strangers to it," said Byun En-hyang, an Asiana flight attendant. "We provide them with a written explanation of how to wrap the rice with a vegetable and beef, together with the meal, and they really enjoy doing it," added Byun who has been with Asiana since 1995.
The key to a delicious ssambap, according to Asiana, is the combination of fresh vegetables and high-quality marinated beef. But the company says the taste and quality of soy sauce are just as important. For this reason, the airline developed an exclusive paste, mixing powdered walnuts, pine nuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds with soybean paste.
Since October, the carrier has also been offering a traditional rice wine known as makgeolli on all routes going to and from Japan. The new move is part of Asiana's efforts to globalise Korean food as well as encourage the consumption of rice.
Made from fermented rice, makgeolli is one of the most popular traditional liquors. Asiana's makgeolli is served with acorn-starch jelly or dotorimuk.
Other Korean dishes available on Asiana planes include kimchi fried rice, a popular second meal option on its routes; samgyetang, steamed chicken stuffed with sticky rice and ginseng, which has traditionally eaten in the hot summer months to replenish energy; and bibimbap, which since introduced in 1998 has been one of the most popular food choices
No comments:
Post a Comment