[Reporter’s Notebook] The Politics of Braising

You braise. The water comes to a boil. The vegetables slowly soften. Their flavors and aromas seep into the broth. Meat that was once dry and tough becomes tender and juicy, filled with moisture. Braised dishes are delicious because they make room within themselves and take in what surrounds them. Braising is the art of acceptance.
The person who has taken this art of acceptance to the extreme is chef Choi Kang-rok of Culinary Class Wars Season 2. Nicknamed everything from the “braising king” to the “serial braiser,” he has presented countless braised dishes. Both judges fell completely under the spell of his art.
The first condition for depth of flavor may well be acceptance. If a dish rejected saltiness simply for being salty, or sweetness simply for being sweet, could it ever become the kind of outstanding dish that captivates both judges? No matter how premium the cut of meat, if it cannot accept what surrounds it, it is nothing more than a bland hunk of flesh. Choi Kang-rok’s braising is, in that sense, a “cuisine of addition” that does not cast things out just because they are not to one’s liking.
It is not only cooking that works this way. Trees grow by taking in water, and people develop by accepting the opinions of others. For a political leader, who must mediate conflicts among countless stakeholders, the “virtue of braising” is all the more essential.
The recent series of actions by People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok, who has clashed with figures inside the party over the refusal to apologize for martial law and the expulsion of former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, appears to be the very opposite of braising. From Jang, we see only subtraction. He has effectively signaled the expulsion of former leader Han, and he has gone on the offensive against Seoul Metropolitan City Mayor Oh Se-hoon and other members of the anti-Yoon faction, saying they have “political motives.” The more he does so, the simpler the flavor becomes. The moment may be intense, but will it not leave only a lingering bitterness on the tongue?
If the dish called the People Power Party is to develop deeper flavor and win the affection of more people, it needs to be braised longer. It cannot stop at merely changing the name of the dish. The local elections are just around the corner. Even during last year’s South Korean presidential election, the People Power Party started its cooking far too late. Presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo offered a belated apology over martial law with less than a month to go before the vote. This came long after President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea had declared himself a “centrist conservative.”
As an opposition leader, Jang also faces the task of achieving at least modest success in the local elections if he is to properly accept and fulfill the role of checking an increasingly powerful government and ruling party. He needs to keep many ingredients close at hand and, through braising, accept them so that he can take in more flavors and aromas and elevate the overall taste. One hopes Jang will set aside his stubbornness and practice an osmosis-style politics that creates depth of flavor by making room and opening space.
haeram@fnnews.com Lee Hae-ram, Political News Desk Reporter