Diversity in food begins with diversity in ingredients
Hamyangpa was developed by Hamyang County as a new crop, taking inspiration from Spain's calçot and raising onions to grow more like a green scallion. Farmer Kang Ho-hyun is one of Hamyang's leading producers of Hamyangpa, and he holds a firm belief: to show the many faces of Korean food, you need many kinds of ingredients to work with. Alongside the crops each region has traditionally grown, movements to raise entirely new ingredients — through grafting and other techniques — are quietly emerging across Korea. To find out what this new crop tastes like and how it might be cooked, the nanrohoe gathered in Hamyang, Gyeongsangnam-do.
A gogijip master lit the fire out in the Hamyangpa fields
Gogijip operators are always on the lookout for new vegetables. They know that the right vegetables alongside meat make the flavor — and the whole experience — that much richer. Park Se-yeong, owner of Geumdwaeji Sikdang, brought along a range of pork cuts to cook, while Chef Hong Shin-ae of Salt worked on the sauces to go with them. Producer Kang Ho-hyun demonstrated his own method: charring the Hamyangpa almost to the point of blackening, then peeling away the outer skin to reveal the sweet, tender core inside. Standing on the soil, looking up at the sky, taking in the very landscape the Hamyangpa was grown in — that too was a flavor not to be missed.
A new ingredient opens the door to new combinations
Dr. Park Cheol-hong of Ansaem Caviar joined the table and suggested tasting the caviar with the Hamyangpa — a search for layered, unexpected flavor pairings around a new ingredient. Kwon Jin-ju, Vice President of Jeju Beer, offered her own read on which beers would sit best beside it. Lee Sun-min, a journalist at Korea JoongAng Daily, took up the question of how a homegrown crop inspired by abroad might be carried back out to the world. Manager Jang Ji-eun, marketing lead at S. Pellegrino, opened up the broader question of how a new crop like this could be spread more widely, and how it might spark collaborations with other industries.
Jeong Dong-woo, CEO of Meat For Four — which runs Midorim, Karinji, Godosik, and Sancheong Sutbul Garden — took the nanrohoe experience straight into his kitchens, launching a grilled-Hamyangpa dish as a special menu item at Sancheong Sutbul Garden. Chef Hong Shin-ae of Salt began serving grilled Hamyangpa as well, and Geumdwaeji Sikdang added it as a limited-time offering. Each member's inspiration didn't stop at an idea — it became a new experience delivered to real diners.
