Korea Life and People

Food From Korea 2010 – Part Four

While in Korea, we had the opportunity to visit Jejudo for two nights. The last time I was there was exactly 10 years ago and I must say the little island has changed. The streets are all paved and it’s so easy to get around! We were fully able to get around ourselves with just a navi and rental car.

We were in a mart and I saw this! So cool. Spam in a pack! I’m told they now have this in the States as well, but I’ve yet to see it in person.

On our first night, we decided to be brave and go off the beaten path and eat at a hole in the wall. When we walked in, the place was empty and so we thought we were doomed. =P I have to say that this was our best meal in Jejudo. Not because the food was spectacular, but because the service was so great! When the lady found out we were from *Los Angeles* she got so happy and gave us extra meat. It was our CHEAPEST meal in Jejudo, but the food was just as good as the other more well known *sam gyup sal* places. Honestly, meat is meat is meat. =P Our meal ended up being less than $30! INCLUDING the alcohol. It doesn’t get any better than that.

For dinner, I wanted to try SEAFOOD because, hello! We’re surrounded by water. =P Those abalone were actually all ALIVE and moving around when the dish was first brought to our table. I ran to get my video camera (yes, I’m a sadist) but by the time I got back they were all dead. =/ Jejudo is known for their galchi jorim as well! I have a galchi jorim recipe on my blog already, but I’m going to update it sometime this week with flavors from Jejudo. I think the lady used some gochujang in her dish.

At dinner the second night we went to yet a different *oh-gyup-sal* jip. The food was very similar to the first restaurant we went to at DOUBLE the cost. From now on, we will never follow the guide books. The little chocolate harabang in my hand is the *famous* Jejudo gam-gyool chocolate. Basically citrus flavored chocolate.

The meal on the top is the adult menu and the meal on the bottom is the *kid’s meal* – cool huh? This was the breakfast that was included in our hotel package.

I wish they had this here!

View of the ocean.

View from up top.

Boong-uh Bbang! Loves.

And finally, the hae-nyuh halmoni’s hard at work. That’s all the food posts from Korea. I’ll be back with some new recipes shortly!

Cucumber Banchan

The MR and Munchkin are both big fans of cucumbers. I can cut up raw cucumbers and Munchkin will carry it around the house just chomping away. This love of cucumbers has forced me to build up an arsenal of cucumber recipes in the last, now almost six, years of marriage.

I have cucumber banchan 1, cucumber banchan 2, cucumber banchan 3, cucumber banchan 4, cucumber banchan 5…well you get the picture. I’m currently on a pickling binge because we will be having a dinner party in a couple of weeks and the menu I’m planning is Kogi Tacos…so of course I want several homemade cucumber dishes to accompany the tacos (yes, I will post a recipe of the tacos).

Anyhow, I started this last night and it was completed this morning. This is a light, fresh, and extremely simple recipe perfect for the upcoming warmer months. I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients Needed:

5 pickling cucumbers
1.5 TSP sesame oil, 1 TSP honey powder, 1 TSP vinegar, 1 TSP minced garlic, 1.5 TSP sesame seeds

In a small bowl, throw in the cucumbers and wash them thoroughly. I like to rub salt on them first.

Once you’ve given them a nice bath, grab a knife…

Or in my case, my trusty mandolin…

…and start slicing away. I can adjust the thickness of the slices using that screw. All five cucumbers were sliced up in less than five minutes.

See how pretty and even they are? I <3>

Then throw in about 2 TB of salt and mix it up! I just use regular old Kosher salt whenever I’m salting banchans.

Let it sit for about half an hour.

Then add just enough water to cover the cucumbers…

…and just let it sit overnight.

The next morning, it’s time to give your cucumbers a bath again.

Make sure you really wash them well to get the salt water taste out.

Once it’s all washed and cleaned…

Go and grab a cheesecloth. I always wash, dry and store my cheesecloth in a Ziploc bag.

Take a handful at a time and squeeze out all the liquid.

Once all the liquid is taken out, you’re now finally ready to season it. It seems like a lot of work, but really…it’s not!

Season it with the following: 1.5 TSP sesame oil, 1 TSP honey powder, 1 TSP vinegar, 1 TSP minced garlic, 1.5 TSP sesame seeds

note: I use TEASPOONS in this recipe. Most of my other recipes are TABLEspoons, but this is one of the few where I use TEAspoons. =)

This is my other *must have* in the kitchen!

Thoroughly mix around all the ingredients and let it chill in the refrigerator. It can be kept inside the fridge for about a week.

When it’s nice and chilled, ENJOY! The MR and Munchkin can finish this within days.

It’s a perfect banchan for the summer! Hope you enjoy it~ If you have any leftovers, just throw it into some bibimbap. =)

And for those of you who are curious. I don’t use measuring utensils, so it’s tricky when trying to write up posts for this blog. I sit in the kitchen and literally write *exactly* what I’m using step-by-step so I can remember it later. Otherwise, you’d have me saying, “Use a little bit of this, and a little bit of that!” ;) And yes, I do realize that God skipped me when he gifted Asian women with perfect penmanship. =P

P.S. I’m also currently salting some cucumbers. You should go and try that recipe as well if you like cucumbers! This has been in my fridge for over a week now and it’s just starting to look like it’s ready. I’ll give it a few more days.

P.P.S My husband installed another bulb in the kitchen so it’s taking me some practice to get used to the extra light. That’s why all these pictures are different tones. Oops.

Jae-sah at the KC Household

As I mentioned, it was our grandfather’s jae-sah yesterday so our family met up for dinner at my parent’s house. Although our family is Christian, I always found it interesting how they never forget to honor the deceased. The following pictures are what we ate.

Spinach, Gosari, and Doraji. This picture reminds me I never posted a gosari and doraji recipe. I will have to do that in the future.