culture

In the culinary skill contest of the service sector of ministries and national agencies of the 28th National Cooking Festival held on the occasion of the April holiday, contestants processed and presented fried quails in an appointed time. 

Among them was a cook who received the unanimous appreciation of all jury members.

She was Jong Mi Hyang, cook of a service unit under the National Archive.

Quails were fried well to produce yellowish brown colour with their surfaces being smooth and the meat was soft and crisp with the spices and soy sauce penetrating evenly to the bones. They showed her unique skill.   

The food was arranged on a dish artistically and appetizingly to draw the admiration viewers. 

“Technical requirements for the food are stricter than those for chicken and turkey. As quails are burnt readily in a little high heat, it is not easy to fry quails to become yellowish brown and crisp. But Jong Mi Hyang satisfied these requirements,” said jury member Choe Myong Il. 

“Firstly, cleanly-processed quails should be preserved well until the tastes of soy sauce and spices penetrate the meat. And fry quails at high temperature and fry it again after leaving it cool enough. At that time it is important to keep time well to make the food retain the colour,” Mi Hyang said with a smile to a journalist who asked about its secret, adding:  

“Cooking is just the art and it is important to make dishes pleasing to the eye. Cultural refinement and artistic quality can be promoted when a nest is formed with other materials and quail eggs are put in it, as if they have just been laid, before placing the well-fried quails.” 

Mi Hyang won the top award in the culinary skill contest of the service sector of ministries and national agencies and though her cooking career is short, she is said to skilfully make various kinds of dishes with the spirit of study and unusual passion.