Chef Aram Yun moved to Victoria's capital of Melbourne more than a decade ago where she's worked across several cuisines, including at the since-closed No. 8 restaurant, Southeast Asian restaurant Chin Chin and Japanese restaurants Izakaya Den and Nobu.
Only recently Yun traded in her chef whites for a pastry apron. "I got a lot of questions from people about my sudden turn to a pastry chef. The most fundamental reason is that I want to become a chef who can make all the foods that I like," says Yun, who now works at social enterprise in Melbourne.
But no matter where Yun finds herself, she stays true to her Korean roots. "As a Korean, I think it's important to make Korean food anywhere. Born as a Korean, eating, learning, and making Korean food is my destiny in a way."
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Hotteok, a pan-fried pancake served with brown sugar and stuffed with nuts, is one dish Yun misses from Korea. "When I lived in Korea, I never made it because it is super cheap. I remember when I first came to Australia, I would buy hotteok kits in a Korean supermarket. But it wasn't as tasty as it used to be [back home]," says Yun.
Yun's late mum has been a big culinary influence. "Naturally, I watched over my mother's shoulder making Korean food," she says. "My mother enjoyed making food that looked pretty and one of those foods was hwajeon. I remember she put all her heart into making it delicious and pretty."
Hwajeon is a round, flat pancake made from rice flour and decorated with seasonal flowers.
"Hwajeon is soul food to me. It contains memories of my childhood and my mother. Hwajeon is a traditional Korean pan-fried rice cake topped with edible flowers," she explains.
"Since it is made with flowers, it is a food that contains the seasons. I have memories of going to the backyard with my mum and younger brother in the spring to bring seasonal flowers and make hwajeon together. We said that this activity was like eating and welcoming spring."
Hwajeon is soul food to me.
Although Yun has fond memories of hwajeon, she stopped making this dish for a long time. It was only when she was contacted by SBS Food for this article that she made it again.
"My mother passed away when I was 12 years old. After that, I've never made a hwajeon by myself. To me, hwajeon is like food only in memories," says Yun. "I recalled old memories of making hwajeon with my mother for the first time in 20 years."
Yun recounts her mother's tips on making hwajeon. "Add a little salt when kneading the dough. Since glutinous rice has a very bland taste, it is eaten with honey at the end, but it cannot be seasoned to the core."
Her mum also told her not to include flowers until the final stages of cooking so that they don't perish.
Hwajeon (Korean seasonal flower pancakes) reminds chef Aram Yun of her mum. Source: Aram Yun
"Hwajeon can be made and eaten in all seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Different flowers bloom in each season. However, it was a special dessert that my family only made in spring."
When Yun was young, she liked to pick any flower she could find for the pancakes. However, some flowers are not meant for eating and can upset the stomach.
"When my brother and I each picked flowers that we liked and brought them to dad, my dad laid them out [on the table] and picked out all the flowers that couldn't be eaten, and then he would make a necklace for me."
Yun thinks it's important not to forget the original traditions and roots of a dish. "Since I am Korean, I think that a food culture that contains Korean culture, identity, and fundamentals is important to me and my food, particularly in Australia."
Aram Yun's mum's hwajeon
Serves 2
Ingredients
- A handful of edible flowers
- 2 cups (140 g) glutinous rice flour
- 5-7 tbsp hot water
- 4 tbsp honey
- Pinch salt
Method
- Wash edible flowers in cold water. Gently absorb the water with a dry towel. Use the flower petals only.
- Put glutinous rice flour, hot water and salt in a bowl and mix with a spoon. When it becomes a dough, knead it with your hands for about 3 minutes. Don't add hot water to the glutinous rice flour all at once. Add little by little until it becomes sticky enough to knead by hand. This is because the amount of water you need may vary, depending on the temperature, humidity and type of glutinous rice flour.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal parts and make a flat, round shape.
- Heat oil in a pan over low heat, and place the dough round in the pan.
- Fry over low heat for about 5 minutes. When the edges of the glutinous rice dough are light golden brown, turn over and cook the other side.
- When both sides are cooked evenly, put the edible flower on the prettier side of the pancake. Turn the pancake over and fry for no longer than 3 seconds so the flower doesn't lose its colour. Turn the pancake over again.
- When the pancake is cooked, put it on a plate and serve it with honey.
- Repeat steps 4 to 7 for the remaining dough rounds.
