"Climate and environment project - Antarctic chef" features Paik Jong-won, Im Soo-hyang, Suho and Chae Jong-hyeop hosting a special birthday party for wintering personnel, delivering warm emotion.
On the 15th broadcast of "Climate and environment project - Antarctic chef," Paik Jong-won, Im Soo-hyang, Suho and Chae Jong-hyeop presented kimbap to the personnel at Uruguay's Artigas base. The kimbap prepared by the four "Antarctic chefs" came in four varieties: beef kimbap, pork cutlet kimbap, tuna kimbap and crab meat spring bok kimbap. However, in Antarctica, covered with snow and ice and with limited use of potable water, water outages occurred frequently, and the Uruguay base also suffered from water outages and power shortages, causing the most important ingredient, rice, to be undercooked. Chae Jong-hyeop struggled to salvage the undercooked rice and ultimately succeeded in achieving the perfect sticky texture for the kimbap rice.
The four "Antarctic chefs" explained the menu, saying, "'Kimbap' is one of the foods Koreans eat most often," and they also provided dried pollack soup to accompany it. Although the ingredients were unfamiliar, the Uruguay personnel collectively praised it, saying, "It tastes like the broth that comes from seafood dishes. It's so delicious," and even a crew member who does not like fish said, "I was surprised because it tastes different from the fish I thought of," expressing satisfaction. One even mistook the pickled radish inside the kimbap for "mango," but they appeared to like it and requested refills of the kimbap while enjoying their meal. For the Uruguay personnel who like sweet desserts, they served sweet candied pumpkin topped with whipped cream, and Commander Petra said, "This is the first time I've tried these dishes, but they were really delicious," expressing satisfaction. The food-cultural exchange event ended successfully to the point that one crew member responded, "My future aspiration is to be Korean."
Back at the King Sejong Station, the four were given a new mission. At King Sejong Station, there is a culture of holding a monthly birthday party for personnel whose birthdays fall that month, and the four were put in charge of organizing it. This month's birthday celebrants, chief administrator Kwon Young-hoon, marine researcher Wi Dae-hwan and geophysics researcher Min Jun-hong, chose jjamyeon, Rosé tteokbokki and fish-shaped buns as the foods they wanted. Although milk and cream, the main ingredients of Rosé tteokbokki, and cabbage, the main ingredient of jjamyeon, were not available, Im Soo-hyang said, "Since it's a once-in-Antarctica birthday, I really wanted to make it for them," and resolved to do so. Suho also said, "I want to make a party that will be memorable," as he prepared the birthday party.
In particular, Chae Jong-hyeop set out to dig up ice floes to make "yubingju," following King Sejong Station's long-standing tradition of putting ice floes in drinks on special days. Ice floes that broke off from glaciers drifted in the Antarctic sea and were carried by waves to the shores of King Sejong Station. Over many years as snow accumulated, air became trapped in the snow as it froze into ice, and the ice floes contained ancient air from thousands of years ago in the form of tiny bubbles. Chae Jong-hyeop found this fascinating and completed the ice floe collection.
The four "Antarctic chefs" set a hearty birthday table with jjamyeon made from buckwheat noodles, Rosé tteokbokki made with soup and braised short ribs. Finally, Suho's grilled fish-shaped buns and a cake decorated by Im Soo-hyang made a surprise appearance. Chief administrator Kwon Young-hoon said, "As the time to leave Antarctica approaches, we are mentally exhausted and on edge, but everyone seems to have regained strength. Thank you for creating memories we can remember for the rest of our lives," expressing gratitude. Chae Jong-hyeop said, "It felt endlessly warm at heart," expressing pride in the time spent with the wintering crew, who felt like family.
Meanwhile, "Climate and environment project - Antarctic chef" is released every Monday at 12 a.m. on U+tv and U+mobiletv, and is broadcast on MBC the same Monday at 10:50 p.m.<
[Photo] MBC
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