Uiryeong Shin's Signature Dish Manggaebap ... Grand Prize at Local Food Contest

Choi Ok-seon from Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Wins Grand Prize for Fresh Leaf 'Manggae Flower Dorak' Not Pickled

Manggaekkotdorak, the grand prize winner at the Uiryeong Local Food National Cooking Competition held in Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam.
[Image source: Provided by Uiryeong-gun Office]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Wook] Following Manggae-tteok, Manggae-bap is highly likely to be added as a representative food of Uiryeong.

At the ‘Uiryeong Local Food National Cooking Contest’ held during last month's Rich Rich Festival, Choi Ok-seon, who made a lunchbox using Uiryeong specialties such as Manggae leaves, shiitake mushrooms, Korean beef, and quail eggs, won the prestigious grand prize.

This contest, held under the theme ‘Presenting Rich Food in a Lunchbox,’ was planned to promote the excellence of Uiryeong local cuisine and to discover and commercialize various recipes using Uiryeong’s agricultural specialties as main ingredients that can be sold in dining establishments.

In particular, this contest attracted great attention in conjunction with the success of the Uiryeong Rich Rich Festival. First, a large number of participants gathered from all over the country. Twenty teams who passed the first document screening competed in the finals, with their addresses ranging from Seoul and the metropolitan areas such as Pyeongtaek, Yongin, and Suwon in Gyeonggi Province to Daegu, Pohang, and Gimhae.

The finals, held on the 29th of last month from 10 a.m. for 80 minutes, were judged by seven judges including university professors in food science, culinary experts, and taste columnists. They scored based on criteria such as food completeness, cooking accuracy and nutritional balance, hygiene, and cleanliness. Especially, the potential for promoting representative dishes and popularizing lunchbox menus were prioritized in deciding the winners.

The grand prize went to Choi from Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, for her dish ‘Manggae Kkotdorak.’ On that day, Choi received the Gyeongsangnam-do Governor’s Award and a prize of 1.5 million won. ‘Manggae Kkotdorak’ was made by cooking rice with Manggae leaves and shiitake mushrooms, Uiryeong Korean beef, and quail eggs to make tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) and egg side dishes. Notably, it gained attention and praise not only for its flavor and nutrition but also for using fresh (raw) Manggae leaves instead of salted ones in cooking the rice.

Choi said, “While studying medicinal cuisine, I was well aware of the benefits of Manggae leaves. I heard this was the first time fresh Manggae leaves were used in cooking, and it seems that this gamble paid off. Salting damages health and the unique taste. I hope various Manggae dishes using unprocessed fresh leaves will emerge.”

Professor Kim Ji-hyun of Gwangju Women’s University’s Department of Food and Nutrition, who served as the head judge, said, “There was clear evidence of long-term research on Uiryeong specialties using traditional cooking methods. If methods of food processing are studied and applied, commercialization potential is sufficient.”

The excellence awards went to the Babdonggori team’s ‘Garae Bulgogi Lunchbox’ and I Love Uiryeong’s ‘Manggae Root Beef Bibimbap.’ The merit awards were given to Chef Girl 18’s ‘Nutritious Garae Bulgogi Lunchbox’ and Seasonal Table’s ‘Uiryeong Four Seasons Sushi.’

County Governor Oh Tae-wan said, “I couldn’t take my feet away for a long time from the fantastic feast of rich food that captivated both eyes and palate,” and added, “We will neatly present ‘the taste of Uiryeong’ on tables across South Korea.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.