Posted by Ginny
Korean pancakes are not really pancakes in the American sense. However, they are round, flat, and made of batter.
파전 - is a pancake made of green onions. The green onions are sliced into long strips. Then they are mixed in a batter of flour and eggs, with a little salt. The 파전 is fried and the edges are usually crispy. Like most Korean pancakes, they are cut into squares and dipped into some soy sauce.
김치전 - is a pancake made of 김치. I make this when I have some 김치 that’s about to spoil. Instead of letting it go to waste, I put it in some batter and fry it. The red pepper of the 김치 give the pancake a reddish/pink color.
호박전 - is made of squash. The squash can be sliced into thin strips, but most often it’s cut into thin circles. The 호박전 tend to look like mini pancakes. A lot of them are small enough to fit your mouth. One tip I’ll suggest is to chop them into thin round slices, so that they cook all the way through.
Additionally, all these ingredients can be put together in one pancake.
Posted by Ginny
In Korea, the common cure for a hangover is Hejangguk (해장국). Hejangguk (해장국) can be made in different ways. The people of Seoul have a tendency to mix together denjang (된장) or soybean paste with kongnamul (콩나물) or sprouts, mu (무) or radish, bechu (배추) or cabbage, junbok (전복) or abalone, and kumbulgunsek (검붉은색) or oxblood. The bones of the ox are first boiled in water before all the other ingredients.
Jechupguk (재첩국) is a type of hejangguk (해장국) that contains clams. This hejangguk (해장국) is especially popular in the province of Gyungsang (경상). The clams are cleaned then boiled and mixed with buchu (부추) or minced garlic and salt. The great thing about the Gyungsang (경상) province is that the area is known for a special type of clam called jechup (재첩). In fact, this is where the name of the soup comes from.
Gulgukbap (굴국밥) is a type of hejangguk (해장국) that has oysters, radish, onions, green onions, anchovies, and mushrooms. Like other hejangguk (해장국), gulgukbap (굴국밥) is often sold in restaurants in a earthenware pot called dduk begi (뚝배기). Dduk begi (뚝배기) is a black pot that allows the soup to stay warm for longer periods than a regular bowl. Again, like other kinds of hejangguk (해장국), rice is mixed with the soup.
There’s also a type of hejangguk (해장국) that is popular in Junju (전주). Kimchi (김치), garlic, rice, beef broth, bean sprouts, chili pepper paste, and seujut (새우젓), which is shrimp that has been salted. Some people put in a raw egg in the soup. Another optional ingredient is the ox bone and the scallion. This type of hejangguk (해장국) is often homemade.
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Posted by Ginny
February 14th is Valentines Day. March 14th is White Day (화이트 데이) and April 14th is Black Day (블랙데이). February is when girls give chocolates and other gifts to boys. March is the month where boys give presents to girls. April is the sad month where singles go out and commiserate how they didn’t get any gifts. This is for both genders. Basically people who didn’t get any gifts pig out on jajang myun (자장 면). Jajang myun (자장 면) is a black bean paste dish mixed with noodles. That’s why the 14th is called Black Day (블랙데이). Well, it’s also called Black Day (블랙데이) because it’s a dark and brooding day for those people who are alone.
Jajang myun (자장면) is a type of comfort food for those who are depressed about not having a significant other or not getting any gifts. Despite the negative nature of this day, it’s actually a really social day where people go out to get jajang myun (자장면) with others who are in the same boat as them. It may start out a sad day, but it can quickly turn out to be a joyous celebration where people down drinks and sing at karaoke bars. Right after drinks, it can turn into a heated discussion about how being single is soo much better than being in a relationship. In many ways it’s a comical day rather than a sorrowful day.
Although the word jajang myun (자장면) is correctly spelled this way, colloquially it’s pronounced as jjajang myun (짜장면). The coloquial way is the way you’ll hear the most often, but the correct way is the jajang myun (자장면) way. So if you want to be cool and blend in with the crowd, use jjajang myun (짜장면). If you want to stand out, possibly as an elitist, use jajang myun (자장면).
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Before I go let me tell you a little more about jajang myun (자장면). There is the instant kind, where you boil some water and mix in the black paste, but the ones at good restaurants hand make the noodles. Jajang myun (자장면) is really inexpensive. About 3-4 U.S. dollars per bowl, which includes the side dishes. The side dishes include kimchi (김치) or spicy cabbage and danmuji (단무지) or pickled radish. If you’re still hungry you can mix some rice with the black bean paste sauce. This is called jajang bap (자장밥). If you’re really hungry you can order a kopbbegi (곱빼기), which is double the portion of one bowl of jajang myun (자장면).
Posted by Ginny
I am craving Korean street food so badly! Korean street food are cheap, packaged in a portable way and usually served warm.
호떡 is a Korean pancake made of flour, water, sugar, yeast, milk, brown sugar and cinnamon. The batter is poured on a griddle in the shape of a circle. 호떡 tastes sweet. The filler is honey, which oozes out of the pancake when you take a bite out of it. I like American pancakes, but it’s a little hard to take the pancake on the go. The fact that the syrup needs to be poured on the outside necessitates a plate and a fork. Since the 호떡 has everything inside, all you need are your hands and maybe a cardboard to hold the scalding hot 호떡.
붕어빵 are kind of like waffle cakes. The batter is poured into a mold that looks like a fish and 팥 or red bean paste is spread over the batter, which is then covered up with some more batter. 붕어빵 is soft and crunchy (if you make it right). Sometimes 붕어빵 is sold frozen with an ice cream filling. These 붕어빵 are sold in convenience stores and not on the street. For the cost of about one U.S. dollar you can get at least three 붕어빵.
호빵 is made of rice flour with sweet bean paste. The sweet bean paste. They look like white, round dumplings. My favorite are the sweet ones, but there are different kinds of 호빵. Some have vegetables inside, while others are more creative with meat and cheese. You can also get these at retail stores in pre-packaged cases, but I prefer them fresh off the street. Unlike the other street food, which are fried, 호빵 is steamed with boiling water.
This just goes to show that cheap food isn’t always terrible tasting!
Posted by Ginny
Today’s post is going to be about food! I recently had a craving for namul (나물) and decided to write a post about the different kinds of namul (나물) out there. At this point you might be wondering what namul (나물) is. Namul (나물) is a generic term for a marinated vegetable or plant dish. Namuls (나물) are usually served as banchan (반찬) or side dishes. A Korean meal can consist of several namul (나물) consumed with a bowl of rice.
My favorite namul (나물) so far is miyok muchim (미역 무침). Miyok muchim (미역 무침) is a dish of seaweed with vinegar, salt, and some processed crab fish. Miyok (미역) means seaweed while muchim (무침) means marinated mixture. You can also add some cucumber and shrimp to the mix as well.
Chiwi namul (취나물) is a type of namul that has been stir-fried and seasoned with seasame seeds, garlic and soy sauce. Chiwi namul (취나물) is a type of Korean spinach. Eating spinach isn’t really my thing, but somehow chiwi namul (취나물) tastes so good that I can overlook the fact that it’s spinach.
Lastly, there’s doraji namul (도라지 나물). Doraji namul (도라지 나물) is a type of root from a flower that has been boiled until the roots turn soft. Sometimes red pepper paste is added to make it spicy. The best thing about doraji namul (도라지 나물) is that it’s really healthy. Other than food, doraji (도라지 ) is used in many eastern medicines.
There are many other types of namul (나물). However these three are my favorite! Maybe somewhere down the line I’ll write another post on namul (나물). Until then. Take care everyone!
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