Since the quarantine began a few months ago, many people have taken this as an opportunity to pick up new hobbies and develop their skills. One of the more popular hobbies that people seem to have picked up is cooking as a way to develop their kitchen skills or to destress after a long day of working from home. (We should know, we’ve been gathering our friends to share recipes with us on Instagram!)
Aside from feeding their family and friends, home bakers and chefs have also taken to social media to share their creations on the internet—most of which have become popular food trends. Here are some of them:
Dalgona coffee
Trended from February to March
Named after a Korean sponge candy, Dalgona coffee is one of the first food trends to emerge during quarantine. This version of whipped coffee is made by mixing instant coffee powder, sugar and hot water until there are stiff peaks. The creamy mixture is then added to cold or hot milk, and occasionally topped with cocoa, honey or crumbled biscuits.
The Dalgona coffee trend has also inspired people to recreate the recipe using other ingredients and even try their hand at other coffee recipes.
[READ: Done with Dalgona? Whip out these other coffee drinks instead]
Canned food recipes
Trended in March
With stringent quarantine measures limiting everyone’s time outside, people have been aiming for food with longer shelf life and stocking up on canned or processed food items. Canned goods are one of the easiest to prepare—simply open a can, heat it up and eat—and customize when your taste buds are looking for different flavors.
Thanks to the internet, people have found countless ways to incorporate canned foods into all kinds of recipes for main meals and side dishes.
[READ: Make the most out of canned goods with these recipes]
Ready-to-cook meals
Trended from April to May
The stringent quarantine measures have also affected restaurants around the country, forcing them to temporarily close their doors to prevent the spread of COVID-19. To keep business afloat, most business owners have opened up take-out or delivery options as soon as they are able to, as well as offered ready-to-cook versions of their best-selling meals.
Over the course of the lockdown, restaurants like The Test Kitchen, Shake Shack and Pizza Express have made do-it-yourself meal kits available on their menu.
[READ: Be your favorite restaurant’s “head chef” with these home kits for delivery]
Banana bread
Trended from April to May
Banana bread has always been a popular choice among novice bakers, but it’s become even more popular during the quarantine—mainly because it only uses pantry staples (like banana, sugar, egg, cooking oil, salt, vanilla essence, all-purpose flour and baking soda) that people probably already have or ones they can easily find on a grocery run.
Professional chefs and experienced bakers have also pointed to the fact that these loaves allow people to minimize their food waste by finding a use for their overripe bananas.
[READ: Bid goodbye to basic banana bread with these recipes]
Ube pandesal
Trended in June
Although this version of pandesal has been around since 2019, home bakers and convenience stores have been trying their hand at recreating this sweet and savory treat for their customers. Ube pandesal combines two well-loved food items—ube and cheese—into one freshly-baked pastry.
Ube pandesal’s rise in popularity has also allowed customers and food brands alike to discover creative ways to use the purple tuber in various dishes.
[READ: Step aside, ube pandesal. Meet ube cocktail, sourdough, burnt cheesecake and more]
DIY samgyupsal
Trended in May
Before the lockdown, helping yourself to unlimited slices of pork and beef was a popular way of treating yourself after a rough day. You may not be able to drop by our favorite samgyupsal places anytime soon, but there are ways to bring the comfort of a KBBQ experience to everyone’s homes.
If you’re going through a rough time, all you need to do is whip out your grill, pick out plain and marinated meats from your local meat shops and cook up a few side dishes.
[READ: Samgyupsal at home? Here’s a quick guide—from meat cuts to side dishes]
Sushi Bake
Trended from June to July
Aside from recreating well-loved dishes at home, people have also found new ways to prepare popular meals. One of these is the sushi bake, which takes all of the regular ingredients of a traditional sushi, layering them onto a tray like a casserole and baking it. Once that’s done, all people need to do is scoop up a handful and place it on a sheet of nori.
Chefs have also begun exploring ways to take the sushi bake to another level. Now you can find sushi bakes made with sisig, taco and wagyu—there are even ones made with samgyup!
[READ: After sisig and sushi, complete your baking trinity with taco bake]
Header photo by Oana Cristina, Lee Vue and Kristian Ryan Alimon on Unsplash
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