Ha Mi-hyun, Korean author and CEO of Spoken Company, speaks during the #50BestTalks, a talk session held during the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants event at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Ha Mi-hyun

"Hansik," or Korean food, is garnering increasing attention on the global culinary stage. Reflecting this trend, Asia's 50 Best Restaurants was hosted in Seoul for the first time and the #50BestTalks, a talk session of the five-day international gourmet festival that kicked off Saturday, shed light on the fermented dishes of Asia under the theme "Food of the People."

Ha Mi-hyun, Korean author and CEO of Spoken Company, opened the session, drawing a metaphor between hansik and "danji," a traditional pottery vessel used for fermented food.

Dureup (aralia elata shoots) kimchi / Courtesy of Ha Mi-hyun

"You can't tell what's in a danji from a distance. Its true beauty and contents are only revealed when the lid is opened. Just like Koreans — who seem reserved at first, but once you get to know them, they open up — danji reveals a rich inner world of stories, life and food culture in it," she said during the #50BestTalks at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, Monday.

Ha traveled across the country, spanning some 620,000 kilometers since 2014, meeting local people and recording the undocumented spoken recipes of the people.

She highlighted the vast array of kimchi varieties in Korea, emphasizing their regional and seasonal diversity, telling stories of corn kimchi, or summer kimchi infused with corn water, subicho kimchi featuring a specific Korean chili pepper and dureup kimchi made with aralia elata shoots.

Not only just documenting the spoken recipes across the country, Ha also holds workshops and promotes seasonal produce in partnership with local farmers.

"The reason for recording is not only to tell the stories of the past, but also to show that they are still delicious today. Ordinary is the extraordinary," Ha said.

Chef Kim Do-yun of Yun Seoul demonstrates how he makes sesame oil from some 60 different kinds of sesame seeds he collected from fields across the country during the #50BestTalks at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants

Another "ordinary" Korean dish discussed during the session was "naengmyeon" (Korean cold noodle). Chef Kim Do-yun of Yun Seoul shared insights into the craftsmanship behind this dish, originating from the 18th century.

Kim recounted his journey to acquire the finest ingredients to achieve the intricate balance of flavors in this seemingly simple bowl of broth and noodles. According to Kim, in order to create noodles with the right fragrance, he roasts soybeans and mung beans and add them to whole wheat flour. Kim added that the ingredients needed for broth are naturally dried, instead of being boiled or steamed, to enhance the flavor.

Kim said a chef's job is an endless endeavor. "I wanted to show this seemingly simple Korean dish is actually born out of the chef's tremendous efforts and devotion," he said, explaining how he makes sesame oil from some 60 different kinds of sesame seeds he collected from fields across the country.

Chefs participating in the #50BestTalks, a talk session held during the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants event, pose at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, Monday. From left are chef Kim Do-yun of Yun Seoul, Jishnu AJ of Ekaa, Ha Mi-hyun of Spoken Company, Niyati Rao of Ekaa, Johanne Siy of Lolla, Peter Cuong Franklin of Anan Saigon and Richie Lin of Mume. Courtesy of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants

Fermented food in Asia

The discussion expanded beyond Korean borders as chefs from leading restaurants across Asia shared their experiences with fermentation.

Vietnamese American banker-turned-chef Peter Cuong Franklin, at the helm of Anan Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City, presented how local chili, anchovies and other ingredients are fermented to create Vietnam's signature fish sauce.

In his second visit to Seoul, Franklin highlighted the parallels between the importance of fermented food such as fish sauce and pickles in Korean and Vietnamese cuisines.

"I went to the dinner yesterday and mingled with eight of the top Korean chefs. So that was very fun to really experience what's happening in Korea. So I think a lot we can learn by exchanging with the chef and the people in Korea to see how things are done here," Franklin said.

During his stay, Franklin found that Korea's "saeujeot," or salted and fermented shrimp, is very similar to one in Vietnam.

"This creates a sense of connection between the two cuisines," the chef said, unveiling his plans to invite Korean restaurant Evett to Vietnam for a joint pop-up.

"We will do a collaboration dinner. So [what] we will do [is] they'll bring four dishes from Seoul and we will do our dishes and then one collaboration dish. We will create a menu together with wine pairing to get people in Vietnam to experience a little bit of modern Korean food. And then mixed with a little bit of modern Vietnamese food give them a special experience," Franklin said.

Richie Lin of Mume speaks during #50BestTalks, a talk session of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants event, at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants

Johanne Siy, head chef of Singapore-based Lolla and last year's Asia's Best Female Chef, works to elevate her home country the Philippines' cuisine to the global stage by adding a modern twist. During the session, Siy introduced five fermented foods that are a permanent fixture in Filipino dishes, from preserved pickles to fish and rice.

"Filipino cuisine I don't think a lot of people outside the Philippines know much about it. So it's almost like I feel very honored to have that opportunity to talk about the food," Siy said. "I actually really enjoyed today's session. I found the sessions very enlightening, because everything is so interconnected. And we have more things in common than differences. And that came out very strongly to me."

Hong Kong-born Richie Lin paid homage to his adopted home of Taiwan in his restaurant Mume in Taipei. Lin highlighted the importance of pineapple, a major ingredient and integral part of Taiwan's agriculture, in his culinary creations, demonstrating how he incorporates pineapples and soybeans into his fermentation processes.

The chef-mixologist duo Niyati Rao and Jishnu AJ of Ekaa, from Mumbai, India, introduced India's rich heritage, diversity of ingredients and culinary evolution. They presented Indian fermented drinks such as kanji and novel uses of indigenous ingredients for fermentation in modern cuisine.

Rao said this is a great time to be a chef. "The world is so open to having new conversations about food. And they're open to knowing about each other, respecting each other's cultures and cuisines. Food is one thing that can end wars. And that will bring us so close," Rao said.