Salady, a salad franchise brand, said on the 7th that it will launch two vegan Korean dishes in collaboration with Monk Seonjae.
Monk Seonjae is Korea's first master of temple cuisine and is known for presenting healthy dishes that keep the ingredients' natural flavors while tasting good. The monk also appeared on Netflix's "Culinary Class Wars 2," showcasing pine nut vegetable noodles, carrot jeon, and carrot noodles, which helped boost public recognition.
The collaboration is part of Salady's "Chef Collection." The Chef Collection is a chef collaboration project that expands on Salady's pursuit of "a healthy yet delicious meal." Earlier, in collaboration with Michelin one-star chef Kim Hee-eun, Salady introduced its first warm pasta.
In particular, this is the first time Monk Seonjae has collaborated with a dining-out brand. Monk Seonjae had not worked with dining-out brands before. However, after the broadcast, as public interest in temple cuisine grew, the monk felt a greater need to share the food culture philosophy more widely and decided to do this collaboration.
A Salady official said, "Monk Seonjae does not run a separate restaurant," adding, "Through this collaboration menu, consumers can now try Monk Seonjae's food, which had been difficult to access directly."
The two dishes created with Monk Seonjae this time are ▲ chili soy sauce carrot noodles ▲ chili soy sauce chwinamul bibimbap. Neither dish uses the five pungent vegetables (garlic, green onion, leek, wild chive, asafetida), and both were developed as vegan dishes without meat.
Both dishes, in particular, are ones Monk Seonjae presented on Culinary Class Wars 2, reinterpreted in Salady's style. The chili soy sauce carrot noodles top buckwheat noodles with thinly julienned carrot, achieving balance with the ingredients' natural sweetness without sugar, while the chili soy sauce chwinamul bibimbap follows Salady's poke bowl style with seasonal chwinamul, vegetables, and tofu. Salady said the focus was on delivering a popular one-meal dish without compromising Monk Seonjae's philosophy.
The collaboration menu will be available for about two months starting on the 14th of this month. To mark the launch, from the 14th to the 27th, the company will also run the "Monk Seonjae rest support fund event" on its app. Each day at 10 a.m., it will offer limited 50% discount coupons for the new menu on a first-come, first-served basis. It will also issue unlimited 1,000 won discount coupons.
Monk Seonjae said, "Raw vegetables can cool the body or be hard to digest, but fermented soy sauce helps digestion and soothes the stomach," adding, "Food also needs 'rest.' I hope the dishes we present this time help many people clear their bodies and make their lives happier."