The world of Tzu Chi August 2020 (Vol.125)

2020 • 08 08 eature Life away from the spotlight The world came to a halt with the emergence of an invisible virus, forcing the temporary closure of various sectors – the performing arts industry was no exception, leaving the local performing arts community in a limbo as audiences were kept away from performing arts venues. D uring the MCO, local actor Coby Chong was among the many whose job prospects had been affected and had to search for an alternative source of income. As a vegan, Coby had a penchant for experimenting with vegetarian cuisine. Hence, he occupied his free time by browsing through various recipes online and was inspired to try his hand at making vegetarian kimchi. He prepared a stock by using konbu (kelp), shiitake mushrooms and radish for his attempts. Interestingly, he would shower the cabbage with affirmative praise – “You’re the best!” – to enhance the flavour of the resulting fermented cabbage. Coby not only produced kimchi for his own consumption, but also distributed samples of the Korean side dish staple to his relatives and friends. His homemade kimchi was surprisingly well-received; orders started pouring in soon after. He had been kept busy by his kimchi-making venture during this period of unemployment, as he insisted on selecting the ingredients, fermenting the cabbage and delivering the orders personally to his family and friends. “The quality of the kimchi is my priority. I’m not content with selling a product only for profit. I’ve tweaked the recipe several times to ensure quality standards are met. Most importantly, I hope that everyone enjoys the kimchi and stays healthy,” revealed Coby, who started his acting career as a thespian and moved on to acting for television, eventually winning the Best Actor category in the 2012 ntv7 Golden Awards. His friends had nothing but compliments for his homemade kimchi, posting glowing reviews on social media that helped to promote his culinary creation. Coby managed to overcome the odds and discovered an unexpected means of earning a living during a time of prevalent unemployment. Yet, he had never stopped contemplating the uncertain future ahead of him. “I choose to focus on my current pursuits. Many people have asked if I would continue selling kimchi in the future; I don’t have an answer to that yet. All I know is that I should do my best instead of grumbling about life,” he mused. Even with a “Best Actor” accolade under his belt, the humble Coby is unperturbed by his status as a public figure and is pleased that his homemade kimchi is favoured by many. Furthermore, he opined, delivering orders to his family and friends has offered him the opportunity to keep in touch with them, which has warmed his heart during the MCO. Rising above adversity In mid-May, two months after the MCO was enforced, veteran performing arts practitioner Goh You Ping circulated a