2PM’s Nichkhun’s Secret To Cooking “Decent And Edible” Food Involves Wine In An Unexpected Way

We’re chatting with the lanky 2PM member (who's fluent in English, by the way) while he’s in town to film Wok the World, a variety programme where he accompanies Hongkong Michelin-starred chef Alvin Leung and MasterChef Canada winner Eric Chong on gastronomical adventures around Southeast Asia. We’d love to tell you how Nichkhun fares next to the two chefs, but alas, a media sneak peek at the filming of the show was unexpectedly cancelled. And so we find ourselves waiting two hours for the Thai K-popster (he was born in California, spent his formative years in New Zealand, Thailand and the US, and moved to Korea to join 2PM) to wrap the day’s filming. By this time, our mood is as grey as the skies outside. But that changes when the boyishly handsome star walks in and lights the room up immediately with his easygoing nature. I mean, how many K-popsters will admit to even having a whiff of a burger, much less devour a few every week?

Pic: The star IG-storied this bag of snacks during his stay in Singapore.

The ultimate foodie guilty pleasure: “Jellies, gummy bears, candies, and chewies. I have a lot of snacks at home, but I don’t eat them. I only eat the candies, and sometimes ice-cream. I have the whole pint and gulp it down while watching Netflix.”
His go-to comfort food: “Hmmm, instant noodles? (Laughs) Okay, no, it's a burger! I don't cook it myself. But it’s easy to eat and it reminds me of the time I spent in America. Yeah, probably burgers or a pizza. Last time I just had a burger? Last week. I eat a burger once or twice a week. Maybe.”
A local dish he lurves: “I tried carrot cake today and I really liked it. It reminded me a lot of Thailand and it’s really delicious. A lot of Thai food is influenced by Chinese food and [food from] other countries as well. I think I might be able to re-create carrot cake at home but not as good as the one I had at, er, is it Lau Pa Sat? It’s a lot like pad see ew (Thai stir-fried noodles), and I’ve made that at home. It tasted kinda like the real pad see ew, but not as much (laughs).”

Photos: (Left) He posted a video of him cooking pasta recently. (Right) Battling it out with chilli crabs on his last trip to Singapore three months ago.

A kitchen must-have when he cooks: “I usually eat alone. I don’t know if this can go on air, but I usually open a bottle of wine before I start cooking, and I take a sip while I’m cooking. By the end of the session, I’m pretty much up here [raises hand next to head to indicate how tipsy he gets], so everything just tastes good at that point. [Is my cooking good?] For the sake of this interview, let's just say it's good! Decent and edible!”
What he whips up at home: “I make a lot of pasta and steak. But my favourite Thai dish is pad kra pow (minced meat and basil stir fry). I make that sometimes at home. It tastes okay to me. But it’s kinda hard to find the right ingredients in Korea. Like, the Thai chillies that are so little but are really spicy.”
First dish he learnt how to make: “Thai omelette. You know the fluffy one? I tried to make it fluffy but I burned it instead. I thought I had to heat up the oil really hot, so I cranked up the fire, and I put [the egg] in. I waited and waited, ’cos I thought it would bubble, but it didn’t. When I flipped [the omelette] it was all black! Yeah, it was a fail. I was in America then, so I probably was about 13 or 14 years old. No, no, [I don’t make it] perfect now, but it’s a lot better now.”

An ingredient that best describes him: “Onion. (Guffaws) Not because of the way it smells, but there are a lot of layers. The more you peel into it, the more you cry. The more you get to know me, the more you cry (laughs). I can be this, I can be that, I can be very adaptable. So I think I’d be an onion.”
How 2PM carbs it out: “I’ve had Taecyon’s tteokbokki (Korean rice cakes), Chansung’s ramyeon (instant noodles) and Jun K’s tteokbokki as well. That’s all they cook! (Laughs) Taec is pretty good. It doesn’t seem like it, but he’s actually okay.”

It’s a mini 2PM reunion! Nichkhun found time to hang out at Universal Studios Singapore with Junho in between his filming schedule.

Wok The World premieres on tvN Asia (StarHub TV Ch 824 & Singtel TV Ch 518/619) and Viu Singapore on Nov 26 and airs Mondays at 10.30pm.

Photos: Kelvin Chia, JYP