<strong>Winner of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Icon Award:</strong> Chef Jeong Kwan was the recipient of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Icon Award in 2022. A Buddhist monk, she has gained fans around the world for her vegetarian "temple cuisine" that showcases the best of Korean produce.
Winner of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Icon Award: Chef Jeong Kwan was the recipient of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Icon Award in 2022. A Buddhist monk, she has gained fans around the world for her vegetarian "temple cuisine" that showcases the best of Korean produce.
Courtesy Asia's 50 Best Restaurants
<strong>What is temple cuisine? </strong>Temple cuisine is part of Jeong Kwan's Buddhist practice. It connects physical and mental energy together by maximizing the taste and nutrition of the plant-based ingredients.
What is temple cuisine? Temple cuisine is part of Jeong Kwan's Buddhist practice. It connects physical and mental energy together by maximizing the taste and nutrition of the plant-based ingredients.
Courtesy Asia's 50 Best Restaurants
<strong>Jeong Kwan's 'happy place': </strong>Jeong Kwan and fellow nuns and monks tend the garden daily. It's one of her favorite places in the temple.
Jeong Kwan's 'happy place': Jeong Kwan and fellow nuns and monks tend the garden daily. It's one of her favorite places in the temple.
Courtesy Asia's 50 Best Restaurants
<strong>Freshest ingredients: </strong>Jeong Kwan's cooking is vegan and made without garlic, onions, scallions, chives or leeks.
Freshest ingredients: Jeong Kwan's cooking is vegan and made without garlic, onions, scallions, chives or leeks.
Courtesy Asia's 50 Best Restaurants
<strong>Fermenting ingredients: </strong>In addition to fresh vegetables from the garden, Jeong Kwan also ferments ingredients in the temple. She has jars of soy sauces, bean pastes and picked radishes that have been brewing in jars for more than two decades. These are her most treasured possessions in the temple.
Fermenting ingredients: In addition to fresh vegetables from the garden, Jeong Kwan also ferments ingredients in the temple. She has jars of soy sauces, bean pastes and picked radishes that have been brewing in jars for more than two decades. These are her most treasured possessions in the temple.
Courtesy Asia's 50 Best Restaurants
<strong>Practicing Buddhism through her cooking: </strong>"To me, cooking is not about being fancy or showing off difficult skills but becoming one with the ingredients. When I am cooking, I think of the ingredients as if they are a part of me. When using water and fire to cook vegetables, I feel we have become one," says Jeong Kwan.
Practicing Buddhism through her cooking: "To me, cooking is not about being fancy or showing off difficult skills but becoming one with the ingredients. When I am cooking, I think of the ingredients as if they are a part of me. When using water and fire to cook vegetables, I feel we have become one," says Jeong Kwan.
Courtesy Asia's 50 Best Restaurants
<strong>Nature's magic: </strong>"It is the work of nature. It's magical how by fermenting, you change the energy of the original ingredient," says Jeong Kwan.
Nature's magic: "It is the work of nature. It's magical how by fermenting, you change the energy of the original ingredient," says Jeong Kwan.
Courtesy Asia's 50 Best Restaurants
<strong>A life in nature: </strong>Jeong Kwan says she has yearned for a life in nature since she was very young. She left home to become a nun in a temple in 1974, when she was 17 years old.
A life in nature: Jeong Kwan says she has yearned for a life in nature since she was very young. She left home to become a nun in a temple in 1974, when she was 17 years old.
Courtesy Asia's 50 Best Restaurants