South Korea state dinner attempts to showcase national cuisine while catering to US president’s liking for home food with ‘Asian-American fusion’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

In the diplomatic minefield that is Donald Trump’s whirlwind tour of Asia, where North Korea is dominating the agenda, a new issue is quickly emerging for host nations: what do you serve a 71-year-old man who is not afraid to speak his mind, manners be damned?

Trump is widely known to prefer the more familiar cuisine of home, including meatloaf, hamburgers and well-done steak, all served with ketchup. But when travelling abroad each country traditionally attempts to showcase their own unique cooking.

In South Korea, a state dinner will be served with a side of politics at a time when Trump is trying to cajole regional allies into presenting a unified front against the threat posed by North Korea.

One of the items on the menu in Seoul is called “Dokdo shrimp” and comes from a pair of islets that are at the centre of a territorial dispute between Japan and South Korea.

Timeline Trump's tour of Asia Show Hide The US president must grapple with the thorny issues of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions as well as trade wars in Asia on one of the trickiest diplomatic tours in decades. Japan Trump warns of the North Korean threat and says Japanese orders for US-made military equipment will help keep Japan safe. Read more South Korea The North Korea rhetoric softens as the president suggests he is open to diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis. Read more China Xi Jinping rolls out the red carpet for Trump, who lavishes praise on his host and blames his American predecessors for the "huge" trade deficit between the US and China. Read more Vietnam Trump swings through Da Nang for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, abruptly ending his diplomatic streak with a tirade against “violations, cheating or economic aggression” in the region. Read more Philippines On the final leg of his tour, Trump hails his great relationship with President Rodrigo Duterte, who shares some populist and mercurial characteristics with his guest, and stands accused of masterminding a brutal crackdown on drugs. Read more

Also on the menu is grilled sole, rumoured to be Trump’s favourite fish, from President Moon Jae-in’s home town served with a brown bean sauce.

But the highlight is a dish featuring a beef rib with a gravy containing an “exquisite, 360-year-old soy sauce”.

The age implies it was made in 1657, the year the father of the US Declaration of Independence signatory Benjamin Franklin was born.

Fermented food including soy sauce is a staple in South Korean cuisine, with soy sauces made by famous artisans and fermented for decades - or centuries - sold for tens of thousands of dollars per litre. At a food show in 2012 a group of artisans displayed soy sauce they claimed had been made 450 years ago, with a price tag of 100 million won ($90,000).

“The menu contains food that has local, traditional flavour that could also appeal to the taste of the US head of state,” a South Korean official told local media, with the chefs reportedly describing the style as “Asian-American fusion”.

That’s a sharp departure from lunch, where Trump ate Tex-Mex food with US soldiers at the country’s largest overseas base, about 70km (44 miles) south of Seoul.

During one lunch in Japan this week, Trump was served a cheeseburger made from imported US beef, a clear attempt by the prime minister, Shinzō Abe, to cater to his guest’s palate.