Spring is a beautiful season in Korea, a sliver of time sandwiched between the bitter cold of winter and summer’s muggy heat. Locals and visitors alike are drawn to the fruits of spring, from cherry blossoms and canola flowers in full bloom to the plethora of fresh seasonal produce from land and sea.
Three Michelin-starred La Yeon is located in luxury hotel The Shilla in Seoul.
At Seoul’s three Michelin-starred La Yeon in luxury hotel The Shilla, the time-honored traditions of Korean cuisine, or hansik, are prepared with a contemporary approach. La Yeon’s new spring menu is structured in 7 or 11 courses, a departure from typical Korean cuisine which is rarely served in this format.
This multi-course approach reflects Chef Kim Sung Il’s vision to innovate and rethink traditional Korean cuisine, ensuring guests are served dishes at the right temperature.
However, the chef, with his almost 30 years’ experience in the art of hansik, respects its rich culinary history by using locally sourced seasonal ingredients in time-honored recipes. Here are some of the springtime produce that he has woven into the menu at La Yeon:
However, the chef, with his almost 30 years’ experience in the art of hansik, respects its rich culinary history by using locally sourced seasonal ingredients in time-honored recipes. Here are some of the springtime produce that he has woven into the menu at La Yeon:
Pen shells: A mainstay of sushi bars everywhere, pen shells are sold in winter and spring, and have a pleasing texture and sweet, rich taste. Chef Kim reimagines his signature dish of Chilled Keen’s Gaper Salad With Wild Greens Sauce, replacing the Keen’s gaper (or geoduck, as it is more commonly known) with the soft flesh of pen shells.
Wild spring vegetables: In spring, Korean ajummas can be seen in the countryside with baskets in hand, foraging for edible greens like ssuk (mugwort), naengi (Shepherd’s Purse), gosari (bracken) and dalle (wild chive). La Yeon’s chilled pen shell salad is served with wild vegetables much like these, best eaten with a generous dip in brown rice vinegar sauce.
Wild spring vegetables: In spring, Korean ajummas can be seen in the countryside with baskets in hand, foraging for edible greens like ssuk (mugwort), naengi (Shepherd’s Purse), gosari (bracken) and dalle (wild chive). La Yeon’s chilled pen shell salad is served with wild vegetables much like these, best eaten with a generous dip in brown rice vinegar sauce.
Chilled Keen's Gaper Salad
Bamboo sprouts: Although bamboo shoots grow all year round, spring bamboo shoots are prized because they are particularly crispy and juicy. The restaurant’s Seasonal Hot Pot Rice features not only these tender shoots, but also spring’s best sea bream, all served on a bed of fragrant Gimpo Gold Rice, which has been cooked in kelp water to evoke the flavours of the sea.
Seasonal Hot Pot Rice
Sea bream: The white flesh of sea bream is the most succulent in spring and the chef shows off its versatility in dishes like the Seasonal Hot Pot Rice, Sea Bream Fillet Dumplings and Chilled Sea Bream With Soy Bean Paste Sauce. The fish is prepared in a yuzu and herb salt marinade filled with radish, apple and water parsley. The sauce uses La Yeon’s in-house fermented soy bean paste, a Korean staple that is widely used in soups to enhance the flavours with an unconventional, umami-style twist.
Sea Bream Fillet Dumplings
Seasonal fruits: Tangerines, Jeju citruses and strawberries are some of the fruits enjoyed in during spring in Korea. A meal at La Yeon culminates with refreshing seasonal fruits or a Red Ginseng Ice Cream And Pudding With Brown Sugar Syrup.
