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10 YouTube channels if you love Korean street food

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Along with K-pop and K-dramas, South Korean food has garnered a huge following over the years.

While it has become a matter of course today to find South Korean food outside of South Korea, in its country of origin, you typically find street food at bunsikjap (snack bars), pojangmacha (street stalls) and traditional markets.

10 YouTube channels if you love Korean street food
Photo by Pixabay

If you are looking for gastronomic adventure for your eyes only, here are 10 channels focusing on Korean street food to subscribe to on YouTube:

1.ETTV

Almost all the Korean street food YouTube channels are just videos of food vendors preparing ingredients and cooking.

There are usually no captions or explanations of what is going on or notes on their recipes as they focus more on the ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response – it’s a thing) of the whole process.

In a world of information overload though, ASMR videos of Korean street food being prepared have garnered millions of views.

ETTV for instance, has at least 1.33 million subscribers.

Meanwhile, the channel’s most popular video has 28 million views.

The 4-minute and 33-second long video shows how a street vendor makes cheese egg bread.

It is a popular Korean street food gyeran bbang but with cheese on top.

ETTV also features other street foods such as Indian, Taiwanese and Thailand.

Watch the channel here.

2.MUKKEBI Street Food

It has been awhile since MUKKEBI Street Food last updated its channel but its ‘old’ content is still worth-watching.

With 286,000 subscribers, the channel features Korean street food such as sundae.

Sundae is a popular street food in both North and South Korea. For those who don’t know, sundae is actually blood sausage.

It is generally made of a mixture of meat, dangmyeon (glass noodles) and vegetables stuffed into steamed cow or pig’s intestines.

On top of that, MUKKEBI Street Food has a playlist featuring Malaysian food.

Here you can find Malaysian street food such as roti John, fried oyster omelette and good old Ramly burger.

Watch the channel here.

3.Yummyboy

Yummyboy joined YouTube on Dec 8, 2018 and now has collected 3.21 millions subscribers.

It’s most popular video, however, is a video of a Thai street vendor in Chiang Mai expertly stripping a coconut with a machete and opening it. So far that video has garnered 57 million views.

Meanwhile, the Korean street food videos are divided into different playlist according to their respective locations.

Altogether, there are at least 751 videos focusing on Korean street food alone.

Watch the channel here.

4.Soon Films

Claiming to be a food channel that introduces delicious street food, Soon Films now has 651,000 subscribers.

Apart from South Korea, Soon Films feature street food from Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan.

For strawberry lovers, the channel has a whole playlist dedicated to street food made of strawberries.

Its most popular video shows how a chocolatier skillfully makes and packs chocolates in Bucheon, South Korea.

This video alone has 28 million viewers watching it.

Watch the channel here.

5.FoodieLand

This YouTube channel has food making videos from the streets of Jeolla, Busan, Daejoon, Gangwon, Gyeonggi and Incheon.

Besides, FoodieLand has the affinity to feature cheap street food and old lady vendors on its channel.

While the channel has just started making videos in 2020, the content looks promising.

Overall, it already gathered 153 million views.

Watch the channel here.

6.YumYum

Tteokbokki is a popular Korean street food made from rice cakes cooked with fish cakes, scallions and boiled eggs.

The most common seasoning is with spicy gochujang.

On the channel YumYum, there are plenty of videos featuring vendors cooking tteokbokki.

It even shows viewers the best teteokbokki shops in Seoul, Busan and Daegu cities to visit.

Apart from tteokbokki, YumYum’s other playlist of videos making toast, sundae, seafood and dessert.

Watch the channel here.

7.YummyYammy

With 471,000 subscribers, this Korean street food channel has already 141 million views since its inception in November, 2019.

It offers various types of ‘How do they make it’ videos, from trendy food like souffle pancake to the classic kimbap.

Similar to other YouTubers on this list, YummyYammy divides its videos according to location.

Hence, making it easy for viewers who are looking for what to eat in a particular city or province in South Korea.

Watch the channel here.

8.Food Kingdom

Besides showcasing how Korean street food is made, the Food Kingdom channel offers its 1.06 million subscribers what goes on behind the scenes in food factories.

How about a glimpse of the world’s largest handmade candy factory in Jeju island?

Or a Korean confectionery that mass produces desserts such as cream cakes, Swiss rolls and macaroons?

If you are fascinated with how food is made, this is definitely a channel for you.

Watch the channel here.

9.FoodStory

It is all about size and quantity for this Korean street food channel; the more the better.

FoodStory offers video content of people making food in huge quantities or larger than life utensils.

Have you seen a griddle the size of a pool table? Or 1000kg of strawberries made into cakes?

You can watch these videos on FoodStory.

Watch the channel here.

10.Healing Boy

Here is another Korean YouTuber who is rather new but has already gathered 4.2 million views in total.

His most viewed video already hitting 700,000 views and it features another famous Korean street food.

The video shows how pig feet are made and cooked before they reach its customers.

Watch the channel here.

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The origin stories behind 8 yōshoku dishes you might want to know

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Nothing sums up ‘fusion food’ better than yōshoku.

Yōshoku is a Western-influenced cooking style of Japanese food. Most of these dishes originated during the Meiji Restoration era (1868 to 1912) when the Meiji Emperor opened its border to foreign ideas and trading.

During that time, the Emperor lifted the ban on red meat and promoted Western cuisine. The Japanese believed that Western food was the cause of the Westerners’ larger physique.

The first recorded of the term yōshoku can be traced back to 1872. The name of these dishes are mostly inspired by its original Western version.

So here are interesting origin stories behind eight yōshoku dishes you should know about:

1.Japanese curry rice

The origin stories behind 8 yōshoku dishes you might want to know

How curry powder was introduced to Japan all the way from India, is all thanks to the British.

During the Meiji era, the Indian subcontinent was under British colonial rule.

Legend has it that in the late 1800s, a shipwrecked British sailor was picked up by a fishing boat.

The lone sailor was carrying curry and introduced it to the Japanese after being rescued.

While the story of the lone sailor is most probably a myth, it is indeed true that the British navy brought curry powder over to Japan from India.

Japanese restaurants then started to serve curry as early as 1877. It was not until the Japanese started to feed their army and navy with it in the early 20th century that the dish gained its popularity.

Apart from the curry sauce, other ingredients include onions, carrots, potatoes, and a choice of meat such as beef, pork and chicken.

2.Nikujaga

Here is another yōshoku dish with a military origin story.

Togo Heihachiro was one of the Japan’s greatest naval heroes. When he studied in Portsmouth, England from 1870 to 1878, he really loved the beef stew there.

After he returned to Japan, he allegedly instructed the chefs of the Imperial Japanese Navy to recreate the dish and Nikujaga was born.

The dish is made from meat (beef in western Japan and pork in eastern Japan), potatoes, onion stewed in sweetened soy sauce and mirin.

It is often served with a bowl of white rice and miso soup.

Watch how to make it here.

3.Omurice

The origin stories behind 8 yōshoku dishes you might want to know

Just like many yōshoku dishes, there is no exact origin story behind omurice.

The dish allegedly came around in 1900 at a famous Western-style restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, called Renga-tei.

The idea behind it was to create a dish that could be easily eaten with one hand while working in a busy kitchen.

Omurice is considered a Western dish because of the omelette.

The dish typically consists of fried rice wrapped in a thin omelette. For Malaysians, it is basically another version of Nasi Goreng Pattaya.

4.Hambagu

Also known as hamburg, this yōshoku is made from ground meat with finely chopped onion, egg and breadcrumbs flavoured with various spices.

It is believed the dish was first served in Yokohama, which was one of the first ports opened to foreigners during Meiji era.

Then during the 1960s, the dish became popular when magazines regularly printed the recipe.

Not to be confused with American hamburger, hambagu is basically a hamburg steak which was made popular by migrating Germans. The dish gained its popularity at the beginning of the 19th century.

Watch how to make it here.

5.Napolitan

If you want to have pasta but you don’t have any pasta sauce, try to make pasta sauce instead.

This yōshoku is typically made of spaghetti, tomato ketchup, onion, button mushrooms, green peppers, sausage and bacon.

Legend has it that the general chef of the New Grand Hotel (Hotel New Grand) in Yokohama was inspired by one of the military rations of the American forces during World War II.

At that time, tomato paste was rare so he used ketchup as a substitute.

He named it Napolitan or Naporitan after Naples, Italy.

Watch how to make it here. 

6.Doria

If you are not familiar with gratin, it is a culinary technique where the main ingredient is topped with a browned crust, often with breadcrumbs, grated cheese, egg or butter.

It has a golden crust on top after being baked or cooked under an overhead grill or broiler.

The most common example of this style of cooking is potatoes au gratin, funeral potatoes or potato bakes.

Instead of the potato, the Japanese used their local staple –  rice – as a base, creating a casserole dish called doria.

It is believed that a Swiss chef at New Grand Hotel in Yokohama named Saly Weil developed the dish in the 1930s.

He was inspired by the classic French gratins as well as baked Italian casseroles.

While Western gratins often used beef or ham, doria’s common ingredient is seafood.

To make doria, the rice must be cooked and buttered. Then add in other ingredients such as seafood, chicken and vegetables.

Fold in a classic French bechamel sauce which is made of butter, flour and milk.

Pour the mixture into a baking dish and topped with cheese such as Parmesan. Finally, bake it until the cheese is nice and golden in colour.

Watch how to make it here.

7.Korokke

Here is another yōshoku which inspired by French cuisine. Korokke is basically the Japanese version of French croquette.

It is made by mixing cooked chopped meat, seafood, vegetables with mashed potato or white sauce.

Shape the mixture into a flat patty, then roll it in flour, eggs and breadcrumbs. Lastly, fry it until brown on the outside.

The French reportedly introduced croquette to Japan some time in 1887. The earliest mentions of the dish is something called a ‘kuroketto’ which appear in recipe books from the Meiji era.

When korokke was first introduced to Japan, it was considered an expensive dish which only available at high-end restaurant.

Then came in a chef-turned-butcher named Seiroku Abe in the aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.

According to Japan Times, Abe came up with the idea of using leftover meat scraps by grinding them and mixing the meat with potato. He also used lard (which was cheaper) back then to fry it. Since then, korokke became a common dish at Japanese butcher shops.

Today, the dish is a common dish that can be found in supermarket and convenience store.

Watch how to make it here.

8.Hayashi rice

The history of this yōshoku can be traced back to the 19th century Ikuno, a former mining town in Hyogo Prefecture.

Legend has it that a French engineer who worked for the mine back in 1868 improved the dish.

Hayashi rice mainly contains beef, onions and button mushrooms.

The western influence of this dish is the use of red wine and tomato sauce in its demi-glace sauce.

This sauce is served atop or alongside steamed rice.

There are several theories on how the name ‘Hayashi’ came about. Some believed that it was named after Yuteki Hayashi, the first president of published company Maruzen. Other believed that it was named after a cook named Hayashi who often served this dish for staff meals.

However, the most common understanding is that it derived from the phrase ‘hashed beef’.

The best thing thing about this dish is that you can keep your hayashi stew in the fridge for a few days. Or else try using it for other meals such as Omurice.

Watch how to make it here.

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8 French pastries to make at home during this pandemic

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Staying at home during this pandemic has become the perfect chance to hone your baking skills. If you have run out of ideas on what to make, how about a real challenge like some French pastries?

Here are 8 French pastries you can try to make at home:

1.Croissant

8 French pastries to make at home during this pandemic

Kicking off this French pastries list is none other than the good old croissant. While the croissant is widely known as part of the French pastries family, the ‘ancestor’ of the croissant actually has Austrian origins.

Legend has it that the croissant is an adaptation of the kipfel or kifli which originated from Austria-Hungary. An Austrian artillery officer named August Zang founded a bakery in Paris some time in 1839 which served Viennese specialties such as kipfel and the Vienna loaf.

Soon enough, these pastries caught the attention of French bakers who proceeded to make their own versions, including the croissant.

Like any other French pastries, the croissant is a labour of love which requires a lot of patience and practice.

Chef Dominique Ansel shared seven tips for making the perfect croissant, including how to practice your rolling pin technique and to keep a close eye on the dough temperature.

For beginners, it is advised to choose a cold day with a room temperature below 20oC for your first attempt. This way you will have more time for the whole process and less chance of butter being absorbed by the dough.

Keeping the butter solid between the layers of dough is what gives the croissant its flakiness.

If you live in a tropical country like Malaysia, there are a few tips on making the perfect croissant. Cool the ingredients as well as the utensils in the fridge before use. Additionally, cool your dough for longer if you need to.

While croissants are amazing on their own, you can always turn them into a sweet dessert or a savoury meal.

Have it with jam or butter for your afternoon tea or enjoy it as a light lunch by eating it with hams, cheese and lettuce in between.

Check out the recipe here, here and here.

2.Brioche

8 French pastries to make at home during this pandemic

In a 1611 dictionary, a brioche was described as “a rowle, or bunne, or spiced bread”.

It is basically a French bread with rich and tender crumb thanks to its high egg and butter content. You can cook it with fruit or chocolate chips and serve it on its own.

Similar to other French pastries, it can be served as a basis of a dessert with various kinds of fillings or toppings.

When it comes to the do’s and don’ts there are plenty to follow if you want to bake the perfect brioche.

Adding in the butter for instance, must be done slowly and with great patience. Food website Delish.com shares the butter addition process should take no less than 10 minutes.

It stated, “If you add the butter in too fast, it will not ‘emulsify’ into the dough and result in an oily, broken dough. It’ll still bake off well enough, but do it right and your dough will satisfyingly smooth, glossy and plump.”

To make the dough, it is important to let it rise to double its size at room temperature and then punch it down again.

After that, let the dough rise again in the refrigerator for varying periods.

The dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours (some even put it in for 48 to develop a stronger flavour).

Once the dough is nice and cold, you can divide it and shape. You can bake them in loaf pan, cake pan or a baking tray.

If you do not have the patience to wait until the next day, you can bake it on the same day, provided that you let the dough to rise double in size.

Check out the recipe here, here and here.

3.Beignet

8 French pastries to make at home during this pandemic

While the origin of the beignet can be traced back to Ancient Rome, the term ‘beignet’ comes from the French word for ‘bump’.

In the 17th century, French settlers brought beignets with them as they migrated to the eastern coast of Canada in a region called Acadia. From there, they were known as the Acadians.

A hundred years later, the British took control of the region causing thousands of Acadians to move elsewhere.

Many of them settled in Louisiana bringing along their language and food including beignets.

Fast forward to 1986, beignets became the Louisiana State Doughnut.

If you are into French pastries but you don’t have an oven at home, you can try to make a beignet instead because it only requires frying.

The basic ingredients are butter, all-purpose flour, water, salt, eggs and oil for deep frying as well as powdered sugar to dust over the top of your beignet.

Those who have tried beignet might compare it to a doughnut. Some even called it the square, hole-less doughnut.

However, there are some differences between the beignet and the good-old doughnut.

Since it is made with more yeast and fewer eggs, the beignet tends to be more airy or puffy than the doughnut.

As for cooking tips, one of them is to make sure the dough is refrigerated for at least two hours before frying.

Check out the recipe here, here and here.

4.Canelé

8 French pastries to make at home during this pandemic

Sometimes, it is not just the recipes that make great French pastries but it is the meticulous process behind them.

You can have the exact recipe from a world-class baker but it won’t work if you cannot understand and master the skill behind the process.

The same thought goes to the canelé, a small French pastry flavoured with rum and vanilla.

This pastry has a soft and tender custard center and a dark, thick caramelised crust.

There are different versions of how the canelé came about. The history can be traced back between 15th and 18th centuries. It is understood that the pastry came from a convent in the regions of Bordeaux in Southern France.

These regions were famous for their wine. Hence, winemakers used to clarify wine using egg whites and would give the leftover egg yolks to the nuns. Combining it with other ingredients such as milk, flour, butter and sugar, the nuns created the canelé.

One of the tips to prepare the batter is by placing sugar, flour, egg yolk and salt in a blender. Then, blend the ingredients on the slowest speed and slowly put in warm milk and butter.

By blending the ingredients for about one minute, you should have a very thin batter.

Canelé has its own mold. Do not worry if you cannot find canelé mold in your local baking supply stores. These days, almost everything can be bought online. You can even find them on shopping apps such as Shopee.

Check out the recipe here, here and here.

5.Cream Puff

8 French pastries to make at home during this pandemic

A cream puff or profiterole is a French choux pastry ball filled with whipped cream or custard.

A choux pastry is a type of delicate pastry dough which contains only butter, water, flour and eggs. While other pastries essentially need a raising agent to rise, choux pastry uses high moisture content to create steam to puff up the pastry.

A perfect choux pastry has a light and crisp outer shell with soft, creamy filling. The pastry has to be air with large air pockets inside as well.

There are two simple rules for choux pastry. Firstly, stick to the ingredients and measurements which means there is no room for improvisation.

Secondly, do not open the oven while it bakes.

Unlike other doughs, you need to boil the liquid ingredients with butter first before mixing in in the flour. Once this doughy paste is ready, let it cool down before beating the eggs in.

To make a profiterole, you need to pipe the choux pastry dough through a pastry bag into small balls.

After baking it, these little balls will form largely hollow puffs. You can then inject the cream puffs with fillings of your liking using a pastry bag.

It is believed that a chef by the name Panterelli or Pantanelli or Popelini invented the dough in 1540. This was seven years after he left Florence with Catherine de’ Medici as part of her court when she married Henry II of France.

Soon enough, the pastry became famous among the French.

Check out the recipe here, here and here.

6.Pain Au Chocolat

8 French pastries to make at home during this pandemic

If you love chocolate, this is the pastry for you. Pain au chocolat literally means chocolate bread. It is also known as chocolatine in the southwest part of France and in Quebec.

Legend has it that Marie-Antoinette introduced this pastry to France but it is actually considered a modern invention.

Once you have mastered the skill of making your own croissant, pain au chocolat should not be a problem for you.

It is made of the same layered dough as croissant except that you put one or two pieces of dark chocolate in the centre.

Like many of the French pastries on this list, pain au chocolat requires lots of resting and less time on your counter.

You can leave your covered dough to rest in the fridge for four hours and up to 24 hours.

Another tip is while rolling make sure the dough stays cold. If it is too warm especially after a few rolling, cover it and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling it again.

Remember that every time you work on the dough, only lightly flour the work surface, the dough and your rolling pin. Do not pour too much flour.

Lastly, if you find any air bubbles in your dough, just pop them with your finger then light flour the area where you popped the air bubble.

Check out the recipe here, here and here.

7.Pain aux raisins

8 French pastries to make at home during this pandemic

If you have mastered the skill of making croissant or pain au chocolat, then making pain aux raisins should not be a problem for you. This pastry is practically another variant of the croissant or pain au chocolat.

Also known as escargot, this is a spiral-looking pastry often eaten for breakfast in France.

It is made with a leavened butter pastry with raisins added and shaped in spiral with custard filling.

Speaking of custard filling, you can make it the night before and refrigerate it.

Another tip is to use a floss to slice the rolls instead of knife. By doing so, you can prevent the roll from unrolling while you slice the dough.

Once cooled, you can brush apricot jam to give a great glaze and extra sweetness to pains aux raisins.

Check out the recipe here, here and here.

8.Palmier

8 French pastries to make at home during this pandemic

All these pastries seem so hard to make, there must be an easy one to try, you may be thinking.

Let me introduce you to the palmier, also known as pig’s ear, palm heart or elephant ear. It is a French pastry which is curled, very much like an ear. (Although, the more poetic one of us may describe it as a butterfly shape.)

Here is the thing; you can actually make palmier by using three ingredients. As long as you have frozen puff pastry, butter and sugar, then you are good to go.

It is made by alternating layers of puff pastries and butter, rolled and folded over to create (possibly) hundreds of flaky layers.

Once the puff pastry is rolled out, coat it with sugar, and then the two sides are rolled up together so that they meet in the middle, making a roll.

Then, the roll is cut into slices and baked.

While the origin of palmier could be traced back to the beginning of the 19th century, the history of puff pastry started way earlier.

Traditionally, it is believed that French painter and cook Claude Lorrain invented the puff pastry in 1645.

He wanted to make a loaf of bread for his sick father who was prescribed a diet of water, flour and butter.

Lorrain then prepared a dough, kneading the dough over and over, folding it again, and repeating the procedure ten times, unknowingly created the first puff pastry.

Check out the recipe here, here and here.

All photos are from pixabay.com

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#KajoPicks: 5 YouTube channels for people who hate working out

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Do you have an ever-revolving resolutions list that includes ‘exercise’ on it? Have you ditched a workout routine because you don’t have the stamina or the mental strength?

If you have come to accept that you will never have the staying power to work up to a 6-pack, that’s where YouTube comes in.

It seems you’re not the only one who hates the gym or working out in public. There’s tons of exercise channels you can follow which include ‘quiet’, ‘low-impact’ or even ‘knee-friendly’, which is how I found the ones in this list. They are perfect for the uncoordinated, the rusty and the sedentary.

#KajoPicks: 5 YouTube channels for people who hate working out
Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay

For those who hate working out, the YouTube channels listed below, ranked from easy to more intense (they might include high-knees!) may be your gateway to a more active lifestyle.

1. Pahla B Fitness

“Welcome to my home” is the name of one of Pahla Bowers’ warmup moves, which sums up the warmth you’ll be getting when you start following this Functional Fitness Specialist and Boston-qualifying marathon runner.

Always cheerful, never judgmental, Pahla gives out tons of advice during her workouts, and some that stand out to me are that consistence is key; gentle exercise is more important to achieving your fitness goals in the long-term; and (unfortunately) good nutrition still matters when it comes to weight loss.

Sounds common sense, but when you’ve been absorbing body-fitness magazines or beating yourself up for never being consistent with exercise, her advice feels like a gentle release. Like her exercises.

This lady is at the top of my list because her target audience is 50 year olds. For that reason, she will highlight during her videos that you won’t have to get down on the floor and that there will be no jumping. Her discussions throughout her workout will educate you a more about the importance of healthy habit-building and be comforting for women who are moving into their menopausal years.

Watch the channel here.

2. JessicaSmithTV

Only Jessica Smith of this fitness channel can entice sedentary, exercise-averse people to try out HIIT. You’ll hear her say “Do what works for you” a lot throughout her videos, because her emphasis is on getting viewers to enjoy exercise.

Another fitness instructor who emphasises on movement and consistency more than back-breaking intensity, she has more than 450 exercise videos across a wide range of exercise disciplines like pilates, yoga, cardio, kickboxing, dance, barre workouts, or (my favourite) knee-friendly exercises on her channel. You will have so many videos to choose from that will suit your mood or overall fitness.

If you’re feeling depressed or under the weather, her 1-Mile Walk and Talk series is just a walking workout video where she discusses certain themes and topics like stress-relieving tips and self-care. It’s like going on a walk with a friend within the comfort of your home.

Oh, and a mention of JessicaSmithTV isn’t complete without mentioning her French bulldog, Peanut. Think of him as your spirit animal as he occasionally takes naps or plays with a toy while he waits for Jessica to finish up her routine.

Watch the channel here.

3. HASfit (Heart and Soul Fitness)

When you join HASfit, you will be working out with Coach Kozak and his wife Claudia in a combination of bodyweight and dumbbell exercises. Coach Kozak performs the more advanced versions of the exercises while Claudia does the modified ones, perfect for noobs, beginners and everybody in between.

If you’re recovering from an injury, limited mobility or are an elderly person, they even have a playlist which incorporates chair exercises.

If you’re expecting a bun in the oven, you can try out Claudia’s Prenatal workouts (make sure you check with your doctor first).

Meanwhile, if you’re somebody who just can’t stand the repetition of exercise routines, they even have a playlist for beginners and people who get bored easily.

Whatever your level, if you’ve been consistent with exercise so far, you can redo these routines and challenge yourself by following Coach Kozak instead.

Watch the channel here.

4. Bodyfit by Amy

Speaking of buns in the oven, I first found Bodyfit by Amy while I was looking for postnatal workouts to help recover from the weakness, aches and pains you never expect if you’ve only learnt about pregnancy and childbirth from TV (hello lower back pains and diastasis recti). She even has videos to help strengthen muscles you’ll need as you cope with carrying around a newborn.

But if you’re getting ready for your wedding, you can follow her Wedding Workout series instead.

Outside of the pre- and postnatal workout videos, her pace in her other videos are still easy to follow and really focus on form. She has beginner and low-impact workouts, and for those who are looking for a step up, you can follow her kettlebell workouts and TRX workouts.

Watch the channel here.

5. Melissa Bender

Melissa Bender’s slogan on her website is ‘Fitness should be Free’ and she is totally generous with her workout programmes, starting with her #BFBODYFIT 6-month home workout programme.

If you want to start smaller, she has 30 day fitness challenges. If you’re still intimidated, she has a Low Impact Workout playlist which promises no jumping. (Check out where her grey and white cat Gambit makes appearances.)

For those recovering from childbirth and looking to get into fighting fit form, Melissa Bender has a 6-week Postnatal programme, which is still challenging for people who don’t jog or do interval training on a regular basis, so you might have to work up to this programme.

Watch the channel here.

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5 favourite ways Malaysians eat their cornflakes

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Malaysians love cornflakes. However, the weird thing is that we do not necessarily enjoy them as breakfast cereal with milk poured on top, but have (improved?) upon this Western breakfast staple with local stylings.

5 favourite ways Malaysians eat their cornflakes

Here are five favourite ways Malaysians eat their cornflakes:

1.Cookies

Even if Malaysian households do not buy cornflakes on a daily basis, they most probably buy it during the festive season.

Malaysians love to make cookies out of cornflakes. The most common one is Honey Cornflakes.

The recipe is quite easy; melt some butter with honey (some even add sugar), once the mixture is melted, mix in the cornflakes. Then, divide the cornflakes into small paper cups. Bake it until it is golden brown.

Other cookies recipe include cornflake cookies, milky cornflake cookies and nestum cornflake cookies.

The easiest way to make a cookie out of cornflakes? You only need cooking chocolate. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, pour in the cornflakes and mix it until the cereal is well coated. After that, divide the chocolate into small paper cups. Finally, let the cookies set inside the fridge. Easy right?

Watch how to make chocolate cornflake here.

2.As a snack with fried peanuts and anchovies

Who doesn’t love to munch on snacks? Another favourite Malaysian spin is Spicy Cornflakes with fried peanut and ikan bilis (small anchovies).

The key ingredient of this snack is sambal.

Fry the sambal with oil first before putting other ingredients such as fried peanuts, fried anchovies and of course corn flakes. Make sure every ingredient is well-covered in sambal and crispy before you turn off the stove.

3.Salted egg cornflakes

Salted egg flavouring truly reigned supreme in 2019-2020 and cornflakes were no exception. Malaysians love to flavour this corn cereal and the latest trend was with salted egg powder.

The basic ingredients are 150gm butter, 500gm corn flakes and 100gm salted egg powder. For a little bit of spiciness and flavour, add in dried chilies and curry leaves.

Firstly, melt the butter and pour in the chilies and curry leaves. Then, add in the salted egg powder. Once the mixture is well-mixed, pour in the cereal.

The final step is optional which is to bake the cornflakes at 160 degrees for eight minutes.

Trust us, this snack is so addictive that it is hard for you to stop once you start munching.

Watch how to make it here.

4.Ice-cream toppings

Forget colourful sprinkles or crushed nuts, cornflakes are the perfect way to top your ice-cream.

Its bland taste and crunchy texture is the much needed oomph for your cold dessert.

5.Add some crispiness to your breaded meat dishes instead

Again, forget about panko or breadcrumbs, coat your meat dishes with blended corn flakes the next time you fry your protein.

One of our favourite Malaysian dishes is crispy butter prawn. We love it so much that we have different variations of it. From butter chicken/pork to butter nestum prawn/chicken/pork and of course we have the cereal version using corn flakes instead.

Regardless of the version of this dish, each of them would not be complete without- drum roll please – curry leaves. Don’t you agree?

What is your favourite variation of this famous breakfast cereal?

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How does watching ‘gongbang’ or people studying online help you?

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How does watching ‘gongbang’ or people studying online help you?

Are you having a hard time studying at home during this Covid-19 pandemic? Have you tried everything that you could to concentrate and be productive that even listening to music doesn’t help anymore?

There are many ways to stay concentrated and motivated while studying alone. One of the least heard of ways is by putting a ‘gongbang’ video on play when you study.

What is ‘gongbang’?

Originating from South Korea, ‘gongbang’ literally translates to ‘study broadcast’.

It sees students filming themselves studying and livestreaming it. Some ‘gongbang’ are prerecorded with soothing music inserted in the background.

It is not sure when or who started the trend. ‘Gongbang’ started to make headlines sometime in 2018 with more and more people livestreaming videos of themselves studying on YouTube.

Those who filmed these videos claimed that it helps them to stay concentrated because the camera is rolling and there are people watching them.

Imagine having your teacher or parents watching over you to make sure you study… now replace those eyes with unknown strangers online.

How does watching gongbang videos or people study on YouTube help you in your own studies?

A Korean silent vlogger Suzlnne who is known for her gongbang revealed in a video how to use her ‘study-with-me’ clips.

First of all, you need to choose a video length depending on how long you are planning to study.

How does watching ‘gongbang’ or people studying online help you?

So let’s say that you are planning to study for half an hour, then pick a video with about the same length.

The first rule is that you have to concentrate the whole length of the video. Another rule is no phones allowed (unless you are watching the video using your phone, put it aside).

There are different kinds of ‘gongbang’ to choose from on YouTube.

Do you want one with background music or without one? How about the sound of a pen or pencil scribbling? Or one with the sounds of rain in the background.

If you are watching the live stream version of ‘gongbang’, then you and the broadcasters are studying at the same time even though you might be thousand of miles apart. Those who have competitive streak in them might feel challenged watching somebody else studying hard somewhere else in the world.

Consider these ‘gongbang’ vloggers as your study buddy who do not know of your existence. Stay focused in your studies while they concentrate in theirs.

Who are the trendy broadcasters these days?

Speaking of Suzlnne, her YouTube channel has around 497,000 subscribers.

Most of her videos are silent vlogs of her life as a college student in South Korea. As for her ‘gongbang’ videos, she has categorised them into different playlists such as with music, at the library (which has the background sound of a library), at a cafe (which has the background sound of a cafe) and the sound of her pencil writing notes.

Another YouTube channel with the username Hyobee live-streamed her studying up to six hours at a time. Her broadcast hour usually takes place between 9pm to 2am. Honestly, she really needs all that studying because she is actually a medical student.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sczn2JF10-A

Nowadays, the trend ‘Gongbang’ is also being caught up by non-Koreans. Instead of ‘gongbang’, they call it Study with Me videos.

A law student from University of Cordoba, Spain started her YouTube channel Estudiar Derecho last Apr 29, 2020.

Since then, she has already gathered 60,000 subscribers. All her videos are just views of her desk while she studies without showing her face.

Don’t find watching ‘gongbang’ motivating enough? How about filming yourself studying instead? Who knows, you might earn thousands of subscribers on YouTube just by studying.

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Refresh your Work From Home experience with Heineken 0.0

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Now you can enjoy the same great taste of Heineken® by inviting Heineken 0.0 into your virtual meeting

KUALA LUMPUR – Heineken 0.0 is now available in new cans for Malaysians to enjoy, anytime, anywhere!

Boasting a slimmer, more stylish and premium look, Heineken® 0.0 was launched following the rise in in-home consumption occasions amidst the new normal.

Heineken® 0.0 serves as the perfect partner to help refresh the work from home experience, which now plays a major role in our everyday lives.

The current pandemic has forced a shift in the workforce as more businesses are adopting the work from home approach.

However, it’s rather easy for the 9-5 grind to become dull and repetitive. Days are filled with back-to-back meetings that possibly eat into break time and lunch hours.

In some cases, people might be overworked, as working and leisure hours are blurred.

This ultimately results in a rather mundane work from home experience, but with Heineken 0.0, your work hours are now happy hours!

Starting from 23 November to 31 December, now you can enjoy a beer while you work from home by simply inviting admin@heineken.com.my to your virtual meetings, at least three days in advance.

Once your calendar invite has been accepted by Heineken® 0.0, you and your meeting attendees can look forward to 4 free cans of Heineken 0.0 delivered right to your doorsteps!

Refresh your Work From Home experience with Heineken 0.0

Heineken 0.0 with brand new look

“We decided to launch Heineken 0.0 in new cans as we saw that more consumers preferred to enjoy a beer or two at home. This also goes hand in hand with our aim to open up new drinking occasions with Heineken 0.0, especially as working from home is now a new normal for many of us. So what better way to refresh your work from home experience than to kick back with a beer in hand by inviting Heineken 0.0 to your virtual meetings,” said Pablo Chabot, Marketing Director of Heineken Malaysia Berhad.

Defined by its refreshing fruity notes and soft malty body, Heineken 0.0 provides a perfectly balanced taste.

It is double brewed like Heineken® with the alcohol being gently removed and blended with natural flavours.

This provides a choice for non-Muslim consumers, aged 21 and above, who enjoy the taste of beer but not necessarily the effects of alcohol, to enjoy the same great Heineken® taste anytime, anywhere!

Taking cues from the growing cultural trend around moderate alcohol consumption and living a more balanced lifestyle, it was first introduced in 2017 in the Netherlands, Spain and Germany, followed by the UK and France.

Heineken 0.0 then made its debut in Asia in 2018, by launching in Singapore, followed by Thailand in early 2019 and Malaysia in June last year.

The drink is now serving it’s same great taste in 39 countries worldwide, including Europe, North America, and Australia.

Ready to refresh your work from home experience? Now you can relax and sip through your virtual meetings with an ice cold Heineken 0.0, in a new 330ml can that contains only 69 calories per serve. Find out more about T&C and delivery on the Heineken® website.

The all-new Heineken 0.0 can is also available nationwide, in selected hyper/supermarkets and convenience stores.

For more information and updates, log on to the Heineken® website or follow Heineken® on Instagram (@HeinekenMY) and Facebook.

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How Korean dramas introduced the world to ‘chimaek’

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How Korean dramas introduced the world to ‘chimaek’
Photo by Unsplash.

If you are a K-drama fan, you must know about ‘chimaek’. It is a Korean slang word which mashes up chikin (fried chicken) and maekju (beer).

For Sarawakians, the last thing you would imagine to pair your beer with is fried chicken. However, South Korean have introduced the world that the pairing of Korean fried chicken and draft beer is actually a match made in heaven.

The history of ‘chimaek’

The origin story of ‘chimaek’ can be traced back to the time when South Koreans were introduced to fried chicken.

For that, the Koreans had to thank the Americans. It is believed that US troops during the Korean War stationed in South Korea introduced to the country the concept of frying chicken.

Before that, it was healthy food with the Koreans mainly cooking their chicken in broth and soup.

When cooking oil was introduced in South Korea in 1971, there was a rise of fried chicken consumption.

To chomp down the fried chicken, the Koreans opted for refreshing, cold beer. More stalls and restaurants started to sell beer alongside fried chicken.

While the world saw the rise of disco in the 70s, South Korea saw the birth of ‘chimaek’.

‘Chimaek’ from K-drama and beyond

The craze over ‘chimaek’ among Korean drama fans all started from the romantic comedy My Love from The Star.

Cheon Song-yi (Jun Ji-hyun), the heroine in the drama, casually commented, “A snowy day is just perfect for our chimaek time”.

From there, fans went nuts over the pairing of fried chicken and beer.

Striking while the iron is hot, Korea’s major fried chicken restaurant Pelicana opened its first restaurant in Guangzhou barely months after the airing of My Love from the Star.

Chinese consumers were reportedly waiting an average of three hours in front of a Korean-brand chicken shop just to have their chicken fix.

If you are not a Korean drama fan, you might not understand the fuss. It was a just a scene from a drama of a beautiful actress craving for fried chicken and beer.

These fans nonetheless, contributed to their country’s economy.

For instance, Xinhua reported that China’s poultry industry which was weakened after the H7N9 avian flu pandemic was revived in 2014 following the chimaek trend.

The rave over ‘chimaek’ back then also caught the attention of politicians.

During the annual China-South Korea business forum in 2015, South Korean the president Park Geun-hye noted that the Chinese taste for fried chicken and beer-stemming from the airing of Korean drama, was a sign of cultural and economic integration between the two countries.

Since My Love from the Star, other dramas such as Crash Landing on You and The King: Eternal Monarch also featured salivating chimaek session in their plots.

The obsession over chimaek

Unlike the American fried chicken, Korean fried chicken is fried twice. Hence, they are crispier.

Additionally, there are all kinds of different sauces and toppings of Korean fried chicken. Each Korean fried chicken food chain even has its own signature taste and flavour.

According to CNN Travel, chimaek fanatics call themselves “chideokhu”. It is a combination of the words “chicken” and “deokhu,” which means “maniac.”

Meanwhile, connoisseurs who can differentiate fried chicken between brands without consulting the delivery box are chimmeliers, a mishmash of “chimaek” and “sommelier.”

There is even a chicken-specific hallelujah: chillelujah!

It doesn’t matter if you are a Korean drama fan or not, if you love beer, a ‘chimaek’ session is definitely worth a try.

If you have given it a try, chillelujah!

How Korean dramas introduced the world to ‘chimaek’
Draft beer goes really well with these tender and crispy fried chicken.

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What you should know about French cake, madeleine

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Madeleine, also known as petite madeleine, is a traditional cake from France.

It is known for its distinctive shell-like shape. There are just four main ingredients in a basic madeleine recipe; eggs, sugar, flour and unsalted butter.

As for the flavouring, some recipes include ground almonds for the nutty taste or lemon zest for the lemony taste.

What you should know about French cake, madeleine

Even though the ingredients are simple, the different ratios, technique and process can result in different result.

If you love this small sponge cake, this is what you should know about madeleine:

1.The history of madeleine

Like many famous recipes out there, the origin story of madeleine is a subject of dispute.

Larousse Gastronomique is an encyclopedia of gastronomy which was published in Paris in 1938.

It states that the madeleine was invented by a pastry chef named Jean Avice who is known to be the master of choux pastry.

He used to work for Prince Talleyrand (1754-1838), a French clergyman and diplomat.

Reportedly, Avice invented the madeleine in the 19th century by baking small cakes in aspic molds.

Another origin story is contributed to 17th-century cardinal and rebel Paul de Gondi. He owned a castle in Commercy in northeastern France which is also known to be the origin place of madeleine.

Others believed the cake was named after its inventor. The most famous assumed inventor is Madeleine Paulmier. She is believed to be a cook for Stanislaus I, duke of Lorraine and the exiled King of Poland.

The duke fell ill one day and asked his cook to make small cakes. Madeleine made them and when the duke asked for the name of the cake, she said she did not have a name for it yet. Hence, the duke decided to name it after the cook.

Legend has it that Stanislaus I’s son in-law, Louis XV loved it so much that him and his family introduced it his royal court in Versailles. It is believed that was when the cake became a hit among the French.

Lastly, some historians say that a convent of Catholic nuns in Commercy invented the recipe. They baked and sold them to support their abbey which was named Marie-Madeleine.

2.How to make the perfect madeleines

Many have come up with fool-proof recipes in making the perfect madeleines. The New York Times pointed out in their 2019 article that the key to obtaining a sublime sponge is patience and precision since madeleines are essentially spongecakes.

“It’s most important that none of the ingredients be cold; the eggs must be room temperature and the butter-honey mixture and the milk must be warm. The fact that the butter is stirred into the batter at the end is unusual but vital,” New York Times writes.

Meanwhile, The Guardian in 2015 went into great details on how to make the perfect madeleine.

For example, the traditional madeleines of Commercy are made with beurre noisette which is butter that has been browned to give it a nutty flavour.

Another tip is to brush pan with thin layer of soft butter then place the tin in the freezer for less than 20 minutes. This will avoid the case of sticking madeleines. Remember not to use any flour dusting. The additional flour will affect of your madeleines.

It is advisable to give the batter a rest before baking. The resting time varies from minimum 30 minutes to overnight. The idea here is to thicken the batter and give the cakes their little ‘bumps’.

This step is similar with Malaysian cake, kuih penyaram. It is best to leave the batter for kuih penyaram overnight in the fridge in order to give its signature hat-like shape.

What you should know about French cake, madeleine
Do you know any more tips to make the perfect madelines? Photo by Pixabay.

3.Other cakes that are almost similar to madeleines

Speaking of Malaysian cakes, the most similar to madeleines found in the country is kuih bahulu, which is most commonly made in star shapes.

However, unlike madeleine, kuih bahulu does not contain butter.

In the meantime, madeleine shares some similarities with another French cake called financier.

It is small almond cake made with egg whites, flour and powdered sugar and flavoured with beurre noisette.

Originally made by the Visitandine order of nuns during the Middle Ages, the cake is light and moist with a crisp exterior. Thanks to its outer appearance which many described as egg-like, financier can be easily be stored in the pocket without being damaged.

Today, there are many variations of madeleines such as earl grey madeleines, orange and thyme madeleines as well as gingerbread madelelines.

What you should know about French cake, madeleine
Chocolate madelines. Photo by Pixabay.

If you are looking for traditional madeleine recipes, here are ones from Allrecipes, Entertaining with Beth and Sallys Baking Addiction.

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5 things you need to know about Korean dish buldak

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Have you had buldak before? Buldak, or literally translated to “fire chicken” (bul means fire and dak translates as chicken) is a heavily spiced, barbecued chicken dish.

Unlike other Korean dishes like kimbap whose history can be traced back a hundred years, buldak is relatively new in the Korean cuisine.

Famous Korean food blogger Maangchi only came across it a few years ago when she found a truck on the street selling barbecued chicken.

The owner set up a homemade grill and barbecued huge chunks of chicken covered in a thick, spicy paste. Next to his truck, he put up a banner that said “buldak” and that was the first time Maangchi heard of the name.

So what is so interesting about buldak? Here are five things you should know about this Korean chicken dish.

5 things you need to know about Korean dish buldak
Buldak topped with cheese.

1.It was a stress reliever during the economic downturn

Buldak became popular in South Korea reportedly during 2004. At that time, the country was going through long-term recession and economic downturn.

The people started to seek out spicy food in order to release their stress.

Since then, the dish gained in popularity and the country saw a rise in buldak franchise restaurants.

But is it true? Does spicy food helps to relieve stress? Apparently true. Spicy food boosts production of feel-good hormones such as serotonin. This can help to reduce stress and anger.

2.The patent dispute over the name

In April 2001, a company called Buwon Food filed a patent on ‘buldak’ claiming copyright to the name.

However, many opposed the move claiming the term is a general noun.

On Apr 30, 2008, the Korean patent court declared the term buldak is free for public use.

3.The ingredients

The general ingredients to make buldak are bite-sized chicken meat, gochujang (Korean chilli paste), gochutgaru (chili powder), soy sauce, jocheong (Korean starch syrup), garlic and ginger.

Maangchi suggested to use corn syrup, sugar or honey if there was no jocheong.

Other additional ingredients that can be added are sliced rice cake, mozzarella cheese and green onion.

4.It is the inspiration behind the famous buldak-inspired Korean ramen

5 things you need to know about Korean dish buldak
Hot Chicken Flavour Ramen

The dish is the inspiration behind one of the most famous Korean instant noodles or ramyeon, Hot Chicken Flavour Ramen (buldak-bokkeum-myeon).

In 2014, the noodle became instantly viral when the main host of YouTube Channel “Korean Englishman”, Josh Carrott challenged his friends in the UK on who could finish the noodles. And they had to do it as fast as possible without drinking any water or beverages to fight the spiciness.

After that, many YouTubers took up the challenge, posting their videos attempting it in what mostly became known as The Fire Noodle Challenge.

The noodle is also became a hit among Muslim consumers after it obtained a halal certificate from the Korea Muslim Federation Halal Committee.

According to Korea Times in 2019, China is the biggest exporter of buldak ramyeon, accounting up to 50 per cent. This is followed by Southeast Asia, which accounts for about 35 per cent of the overseas market.

5.There is a buldak-inspired make up and toothpaste?

As this spicy ramyeon is inspired by buldak, this spicy ramyeon then inspired more unconventional products.

In 2018, South Korean cosmetic company Tonymoly launched a limited edition makeup line. And it was inspired by the famous ramyeon!

In collaboration with Samyang Food’s Buldak Spicy Chicken Ramen, the makeup line is based on the instant noodle’s packaging and the character.

The line includes the Hot Coverdak Cushion, a cushion-compact foundation that comes with a refill made to look like a sauce packet. A blusher called Noodle Blusher, which comes in a bright red called Bad Red and a super-pale pink called Carbolighter. Then, a lip balm called the Lip Care Stick as well as Lip Sauce Tint, which comes in Spicy Red and Cheese Red.

Everyone has to give it up to Samyang Food as they know how to constantly reinvent their products. Besides a makeup line, the company also released toothpaste and chewing gum inspired by their buldak ramyeon.

Watch where KajoMag team had their buldak in Kuching:

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