Chef Anh Sung-jae, who earned three Michelin stars, drew fans' ire after altering the Dubai jjondeuk cookie his daughter requested.
On Dec. 25, a video titled "Santa Sung-jae's Dubai jjondeuk tutti first reveal?!" was posted on Chef Anh Sung-jae's personal YouTube channel. The video showed Chef Anh Sung-jae preparing Christmas dishes with his daughter and son for the holiday.
That day his daughter requested a Dubai jjondeuk cookie and his son requested bulgogi. In response, Anh Sung-jae said he would make a bulgogi pizza and a modified, faster version of the Dubai jjondeuk cookie. The children, true to being i-dle's kids, drew gasps with steady knife skills despite their young ages. That raised expectations that appetizing dishes would be born.
But the mood changed as the Dubai jjondeuk cookie was made. The Dubai jjondeuk cookie, which has become so popular it recently caused sellouts, is a dessert made by wrapping pistachio spread (jam) and a thin Turkic pastry called kadaif in marshmallow melted with Dubai chocolate, shaping it into a round form, and dusting it with cocoa powder to eat. The sticky marshmallow's chewy texture combined with Dubai ingredients and a crispy cookie texture had been earning big responses.
But Anh Sung-jae reduced the amount of marshmallow for his daughter's health. Instead, he greatly increased the amounts of pistachio and kadaif, and to make up for the lack of marshmallow he did not shape the cookies into rounds but spread them wide like a gangjeong and cut them into angular pieces. Even Anh Sung-jae's daughter looked at her father with a dubious expression, saying "Is this right?" and "This isn't how you do it," which drew laughter.
Despite his daughter's doubts, Anh Sung-jae insisted, "This is also right." Of course it tasted excellent. The children even said, "It's tastier than I thought," in amazement. But seeing something different from the images shown in SNS verification photos, Anh Sung-jae's daughter made a disappointed face that drew both laughter and sympathy. Fans even agreed with his daughter, saying "It's Dubai gangjeong," and "Not Dubai, not jjondeuk, not cookie."
Viewers who sympathized with Anh Sung-jae wanting to feed something a bit healthier quickly to match the filming schedule and with his daughter's wish to recreate a trending SNS item expressed adorable reproach. The video even surpassed 1.8 million views in a day, and comments exceeded 7,000. Fans added to the amusement with jabs at Anh Sung-jae, a judge on "Culinary Class Wars," saying "Chef Anh Sung-jae, be sure to read the comments," "Today you're a man, not a chef," and "I'm eliminated."
[Photo] OSEN DB, YouTube source.
[OSEN]