Entertaining Friends, Korean Style

I remember my mother and aunties laboring over food preparation whenever we have family gathering. It was fun for me. They made it something enjoyable, a lot of laughter, greetings, and many other fun. But now I know enough it was not always the case; it is hard, bone-braking work, which they themselves seldom present at the table. I don’t like this. Who would?
Even though I enjoy challenges in cooking, I also love very easy recipes. At the end, it is all about seeing the faces of loved ones brighten up and their eyes widen with joy and excitement.

I prepared vegetarian dinner for my friends. Small dinner gathering is something I really enjoys. It was quite cold winter night, so I try to come up with something that worms up. Being said that, what is better than soup?



First course was Hobakjuk, traditional pumpkin porridge, served as the soup course. It is very simple and straight forward. There is nothing complicated about it. Kidney bean is boiled in water with little bit of brown sugar. Pumpkin is pureed smoothly. Sweet rice powder gives silky texture. Hobak means pumpkin. It is also slang for not-so-nice looking face. If you call a Korean girl Hobak, you may make a enemy of life. I have often called and been called at this when I was young.
But I like this vegetable. Bright orange color and delicious both in savory and in sweet, it has such a wide range of usage.
I used to play with big orange colored blossom of Korean pumpkin and dark green leaf from the garden. It made excellent cup and plate for child’s play. I used to eat the leaves of this plant. Steamed and wrapped the cooked rice, it makes nice summer dish. It was nice surprise when I discovered that the flower also makes nice dish.



Second course was Savoy cabbage roll with spicy relish. I put barley and mung bean sprout inside of cabbage. Cooked barley is summer dish. Barley grows during the bitter winter of Korea and is harvested early summer. It was the staple for the poor people otherwise starved till the new rice harvest after they run out of the rice. Now, it is eaten as cool summer treat. Steamed barley wrapped in various leafy vegetables such as red lettuce or pumpkin leaves and put spicy bean paste and a bite of fresh green chili is the taste of summer for me. Here I served it with spicy relish which I also use to season Kimchi with. The relish is made with Korean pear, green apple, daikan radish, garlic and ginger seasoned with Korean chili powder.



Main course was steamed rice with green peas served with Korean eggplant and wild mushroom with soy sauce. Korean main course usually involves steamed rice and some side dishes, which usually served all together. Meal served in course is something new concept in Korean meal.
I adopted this recipe from one of my favorite cookbook from Korea. The author used beef and daikan sprout, but I substitute it with Poy-go (Shiitake) and Pang-ee (enoki).

Preparing this meal was quite nice for me. Many thing can be done ahead of time which helpd you to be calm during the day of the dinner: cabbage role and the porridge can be prepared in advance. Cooking always gives me Gen-like experience. It is also an aroma therapy: when onion, garlic and ginger hits hot sesame oil, the aroma is incredible. When my friend arrived, they found my house filed with welcoming smell of food. At the end, the plates were emptied, stomachs were full and smiles were on the faces. What makes the dinner truly wonderful is having a good time.

Wrong in so many ways - so called 'international' cookbook

Today, I was fed up with my dissertation work and in need of distraction. Food being one of my favorites which haven't made me board yet -thank God-, I went down to book store and looked into few cookbooks.

Few hours later, I am absolutely convinced that I will never ever trust the cookbooks bare name 'international' in terms of authenticity. Recipe may be good. But the explanation is often wrong. It may be better with other foods. But sadly, Korea being the least known country among Asian, it is often insufficient and incorrect.

One author said one radish from Korea can be substituted by daikan, the skinny long white radish widely used in Korea, China, and Japan. It is often true since the small white Korea radish is very hard to find in U.S. However, the recipe the author was describing becomes completely different dish if the kind of radish is substitute. It even has own name which I guess the author has never known or -even worse- couldn’t care less.

I am not expecting every body would have same enthusiasm about food like I do. However, at least you write a cookbook, it is fair to say the author should –or would be better to -pay attention what he or she is talking about.

Thanksgiving, Korean style - "Han-ga-wi"

Like as many other agrarian culture, Koreans celebrates the new harvest. Hangawi, Korean Thanksgiving -AKA Chuseok - is on Aug 15th by Korean lunar calendar. This is few days in Korea that pople make massive exodus to their hometown. This year I went back to Korea, and cook with my mother for the table of ancestry ceremony called 'Cha-rye'.

Chuseok is the day we remember the dead. Cha-rye is a big feast for ancestors. This is the opening of the holiday. It calls for some unusual way of cooking and display of the food. For instance, red colored food is located on east while the white is located on the west. Few very ceremonial foods such as dried whole cod also appear. Steamed rice on the table is made out of new grain to celebrate the season. As my grandmother used to do it, my mother prepared extra bowl of rice for those one who have no one to remember them.

After the ceremony at home, we also visit the grave of ancestors. Christians usually attend service instead of Charye or after the Charye. I went to mass with my mother.

The best known food of Hangawi is Songpyeon; a crescent-shaped rice dumpling stuffed with toasted sesame or sweetened beans and steamed on the pine needles. Gotgam -a dried persimmon- and Sikhye - a sweet fermented rice and ginger drink - is also special treat for this season.

Sikhye & Songpyeon cooked and photographed by Namoole, http://namool.com

During the evening, people gather nearby hill tops to greet the full moon and make a wish upon it. I did it with my friend this year back in Korea. Full bright moon lights up the town with such a joy was really good thing to see, in deed!

My kind of fast food - Dubukimchi (Tofu & Kimchi)

Hot long summer day does not just drag its legs, it drains my energy, too.
And there goes my desire to eat leaving screaming stomach behind.

I crave something quick and easy; this is good time to have somebody cooking for you but I am alone. Besides, that someone would have gone through same day with me.

Heat up sliced firm-tofu in microwave for 1 or 2 min. Add cut kimchi. Now you have my kind of fast food, Dobukimchi.

Dobu is comforting temperture and crisp cool Kimchi gives salty spicy bite. All the desire of life comes back.
Also it is guilty free since the half package of firm dobu and kimchi would not exceed 400Kcal.

...Well, it will be different story if you stir-fry Kimchi with pork and eat it with a cold beer. Almost all beer place in Korea have this manu.

Even forget about guilt-free part, it tastes so simple and good.

Speaking of guilt, have you watched Korean movie, Lady Vengence? There are two scens that features dubu; one with real dubu, and the other with dubu-shaped cake.
I don't know when it has begun, but in Korea, after realising from the prison, one eat plan dubu. Friends and family (if any one left to wait the prisoner outside) will bring a hunk of dubu. The white color of dubu simbolize furification, forgiveness, and new begining.

Do not let your eyes deceive you; the art of green chili

As Korean, my color conception tells me any red food would be hot. It is mostly true for Korean food. Tomato is not introduced till very recently and the only red seasoning in traditional Korean food was red chili. Red food, therefore, is usually hot unless it is dessert.

But, not all spicy food is red.

One day, I have overheard one very misleading advice how to avoid spicy food in Korea.

“Avoid color red, and you will be safe.”

Sorry, that is absolutely not true.
Despite its relatively short history in Korea – chili is introduced about 300 years ago – I don't think any Korean can imagine Korean food without chili.

Koreans love chili in general even though I know many Koreans who do not care much for spicy food including myself. But, now and then, I crave for clean sharp taste of green chili to wake up my sense. We even eat one of the most spicy chili with chili paste on top.
We put chili in our Kimchi, Ghuk, Jjigea, and every food imaginable; powdered, fermented in paste, mix with oil, pickled, stuffed or even row, chili has very important role in Korean cuisine.

Unfortunately for many people who don’t like spicy food, Koreans even invented ways to snick fiery taste into food without the color or appearance.

We just have to have it.

Adding one or two spited green chili into the broth add taste of chili. By doing this, the sharp but not over-dominating taste of chili is added. By no means will it be subtle, however.



Look at this Kongnamool Ghuk (Soybean sprout soup), for instance.

Doesn't it look benign? Clean broth and gentle soy bean sprout soup, huh? Can you sense the danger? The broth is little bit spicy -for me, and probably spicy enough to kill few of my friends- since I put green chili and take out before serving.


This is one more example; Doenjangjjigea (Korean bean paste pot stew) . In the name, you don't see any thing about chili. I put chili on top of tofu as garnish here, but often the chili is removed before serving. So, don’t let your eyes deceive you. You will get much more than you see.

The best way to avoid spicy food in Korea is asking one who prepares food to cook without green chili or chili powder. Emphasise "zero" chili; as you might have guessed, unless you are from Latin America or India, Koreans probably have higher threshold for what is 'hot'.

Even though I scare you to death, Korean food is NOT all about spiciness.

The most misleading perception (but most popular impression) of Korean food is all of it is spicy and hot, bombarded with garlic.

Simply omitting green chili from recipe, you can enjoy not so spicy Korean food which is often done in many homes in Korea. You can avoid garlic, too. A lot of restaurant which specialise in Buddhist temple cuisine in Korea serves mild but full flavored food without the bite of garlic.

Dubujoen

I have told you stories about this flat fried pancakes called joen. Here is my favorite.

It can not be simpler than this; the tased of soft dobu, egg, and green onion.

Good comfort food it is.


I don't like to use flour in this recipe, even though you certainly can. In my opinion, flour add tough texture which ruins the delicate taste this joen can offer. So, please do resist the temptation of flour.
It may be harder to make without flour, but your patience and anticipation will be fully rewarded when you feel the light fluffy texture!


recipe

Firm tofu 1/2 package, one large egg, green onion finely chopped 1 T, pinch of salt & black pepper, vegetable oil 1 T

Sauce: soy sauce 1 T, rice vinegar 1 T, spicy green chili finely chopped 1/2 t (optional)

1. Crush tofu as well as you can.
2. Beat egg, and add it to crushed tofu. Add green onion, salt and pepper, mix well.
3. On skillet heat oil on medium heat. Add one table spoonful of tofu mixture and flatten it little bit. Leave enough space in between them. Wait for 3-4 minutes or till the bottom is harden enough to flip before flipping.
4. Drain the excess oil well on the paper towel and serve hot with deeping sauce

Cool & Hot, balance of yin and yang - Oisobaghi

As a cook either home cook or a professional, one probably has food trauma (or even karma); one, two or even few more dishes that never come out well. One of my food trauma is this one; Oisobaghi, stuffed cucumber kimchi. Cucumber look very different depending on where you are. On top of your head-if you are food lover- you can come up with at least three different types of cucumber. Each has unique texture and usage. Some have very thick waxy skin while others have very thin. One type develops a lot of seeds while the other type doesn’t have seed in them.

I just can not find the right cucumber to make this dish till very recently.
I could have used Korean cucumber (AKA Japanese or Chinese cucumber, as many of the common food items are known in U.S.). But it is very hard to find and very expensive. Hey, I am very poor graduate student who lives on tight budget. I have looked around and tried each cucumber I come across. Ordinary cucumber is out of question, first. The crunch texture of thin cucumber skin is essential; the cucumber must hold shape after curing. Skinless cucumber just doew not work for this. English cucumber has too much water and it doesn’t ferment very well. Finally, I come across little baby cucumbers as summer seasonal food in the market. It look exactly same with the cucumber I know from Korea but just in smaller size.
I bought them with a beating heart; my expectation was getting high each minute. I couldn’t wait to get home and to get into cooking. And, as I expected, it was success at last!!!



Cucumber is cool. Seasoning of Korean red chillie powder, ginger and garlic add fire. First the tung feels burns but the cooling taste of cucumber comes.
Perfect balance of yin and yang; you may find the true delight of summer in it.

I’ve heard the pickling cucumber works great. I guess it may be easier to handle since it is thicker than the cucumber I used.

Pickling cucumber (or baby seedless cucumbers) 2 lb, Salt 1/2 cup + 1 T, boiling water, green onions (julienned) 2 cup, grounded fresh ginger 1/2 T, grounded garlic 1 T, Korean chillie powder 3 T, grounded fresh red chillie peppers 1 T (optional, if you can’t get red chillie pepper then substitute it with 1/2T Korean chillie powder), sugar 1/2 T, sweet rice porridge 1/2 cup

1. Sprinkle salt well on all of the cucumber, and coat them with salt very well. Let it sit till you can bend the cucumber without breaking.
2. Wash the excess salt well, transfer the cucumbers on the drainer and pure hot boiling water over. This keeps cucumber crispy.
3. Cut cucumber into 3 inch length and make a slit in length (or crossed depending on the thickness of your cucumber) way into without cutting it half.
4. In a big mixing bowl, mix well sweet rice porridge, sugar, 1 T salt, chilie pepper and chilie powder, ginger, garlic, and green onions.
5. Rub outside of cucumber well with seasonings and open the slit and stuff green onions into it. (It would be better if you use flat leafy chives AKA Chinese chives since jullienning the green onion is not so easy.)
6. Place the cucumber in the tight sealing container and refrigerate it.

You can eat this kimchi right away. Actually many of my friends prefer to eat it without fermenting it. However, if you have patience to way, do so. It develops very unique sour flavor which I love.