Category: Food (Page 21 of 22)

Korean food and recipes

Letting Food Go Cold

2012/07/12 / Nic / 28 Comments

So most of us have probably eaten cold pizza for breakfast or something right? This is different to that. I have noticed Koreans don’t worry as much about food going cold. I’m always hesitant to make generalisations because some things, especially if I’m judging just from my husband, are just a personality quirk and not a cultural difference. Korea however, is one of the most homogeneous countries in the world. When there is not much diversity you do get a culture that really has a certain way of doing things. So there are some things we can say is the Korean way of doing it.

This is something I have noticed and I noticed it early on when I first made Korean friends. If hot food is made and cools down, reheating it isn’t a priority. Many times I witnessed a meal being made and the food that was made first (and that I thought should be eaten hot) was left on the table while other food is being made. That food is then eaten cold even though it was originally hot.

The difference to Western culture is that we usually want our food to stay hot or at least warm. Do you remember being yelled at when it’s dinner time because you haven’t come to the table yet and the food is getting cold? Think how often we use phrases like “come get it while it’s hot!”

Koreans, I’ve noticed, can put leftover cold fried chicken on the table and no one is like “You should reheat that!” Once food has cooled down there isn’t much desire for them to heat it up again.

When I was helping my husband’s mother cook dinner while we were in Korea I made a dish, but she still had to make some more so it was still going to be a while before we ate. I started to panic about my dish because I was worried about it getting cold and not tasting as good. I put foil over it trying to keep the warmth in. In the end when it was put on the table it was cold but it didn’t bother anyone.

You may know a Korean who always wants their food to stay hot, but in general not reheating seems to be the norm. Sometimes people who have stayed in Korea might say things like “I never noticed that” about whatever the issue may be. But I think living constantly with a Korean means you pick up on these little things.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Making Kimchi

2012/07/04 / Nic / 13 Comments

Making kimchi for your Korean husband is stressful. It is something so important to Koreans so there is a lot of pressure to be able to make it. It’s my job to make it – not because my husband is old fashioned and thinks it’s the woman’s job – but because he simply doesn’t really possess any cooking skills. Is this typical of Korean guys? Not at all, many Korean guys are excellent cooks.

So not growing up in a Korean home, I’m immediately at a disadvantage when trying to make kimchi. There is no family recipe passed down, I have no childhood memories of watching my mother make kimchi, and I’m not even sure what really good kimchi tastes like.

I follow recipes but every recipe is different! I feel like it’s going to be years of experimenting before I work out which one I like to use. Some say for anchovies, some say for oysters, some say to just use that fish sauce stuff.

One of the first times I made kimchi my husband was really impressed. He even told other Korean guys how good at making kimchi I was. Unfortunately, that might have been a one time thing. The next time something went really really wrong. I’m pretty sure it was because I didn’t use the right type of salt. It was upsetting. I managed alright the next time but it still wasn’t as good as the time I got it perfect. I haven’t tried in a few months because we’ve been busy with travel and stuff and currently my husband is in Sydney while I am in my home town. He is job and apartment searching. BUT, today I am traveling to Sydney and I will see him tonight!

Once we are settled in Sydney I will have to attempt making kimchi again…

Cupcakes

2012/07/03 / Nic / 5 Comments

This comic is about the Korean guys who used to live next door to my parent’s house. My parents own the house and rent it out to Koreans on working holiday visas. These guys were also in THIS comic.

So…. this one is more about me secretly being 4 years old. Princesses! Unicorns! Yay!

So guys buying girly things to make it feel like there are girls there… I don’t know if that is a cultural thing or just a weird thing these guys do in particular… Cause they were kinda weird. Hilarious… but crazy.

They didn’t even really eat the cake and cupcakes because Koreans don’t like too much sweet stuff. Not me though, I love cupcakes so much! So I stole them and ran home and ate them…

Vegetarian

2012/06/26 / Nic / 4 Comments

How do you turn a levelheaded, kind and considerate Korean man into a whiny brat?

Tell him we aren’t having any meat for dinner.

Korean guys really love meat. However, I’m quite happy to go without meat and have gone through periods of vegetarianism. It is a constant battle though and I’m lucky if I can impose one meat free dinner on him per week.

Also, if you are wondering- yes I do all the cooking. But, he does all the cleaning so that works out well. (Except for the vegetarian argument).

Review: Vanuatu Port Vila Sky Garden Restaurant

2012/06/02 / Nic / 0 Comments

This is a review of the restaurant that opened officially on our last day in Vanuatu (see previous post for that story).

There was a Korean restaurant here before but it shut down. A restaurant was opened again on this site (there is a hotel as well) just recently. So probably best to ignore any reviews from before May 2012.

This is the sign that we saw when driving past that sparked our curiosity.

The restaurant is situated on a hill and has a really great view.

The inside is really nice. It opens out onto a large deck where you can see those views from. A lot of care has been taken with the appearance of this restaurant. It has a good atmosphere and the staff are lovely.

There is a menu with more western style food and another menu for Asian style food. We ordered a spicy pork and rice and a bibimbap.

So how did they taste? Pretty good actually! I was curious as it’s probably more difficult to get Korean ingredients to Vanuatu – getting anything into Vanuatu is a bit difficult really. It is a tropical paradise but when you go to the grocery store anything in a packet is out of date. However, even without Korean ingredients readily available our meals were just as good as meals in Korea or Australia. The pork was delicious and the bibimbap so tasty. Even though we had a large breakfast only a short time earlier, we finished everything on our plates. It was one of the best meals we had in Vanuatu- and there are some very nice restaurants there.

What about the price? Surprisingly it was a reasonable price for Vanuatu. Eating out is expensive in Vanuatu! You can get cheap meals at the markets and local takeaway but sitting down to a meal in a restaurant will cost two or three times what you usually pay in Australia. So we were pleasantly surprised at the prices at Sky Garden.

If you are traveling to Port Vila in Vanuatu have a meal at the Sky Garden restaurant sometime. A taxi or bus driver will know if you say “Sky Garden” to them and drive you there. If you say “Korean restaurant” they may not know. It is well worth a visit.

Cookies Again

2012/05/03 / Nic / 3 Comments

Last weekend I was in Sydney while he stayed home.

Recipe: Kimchi Pikelets

2012/04/30 / Nic / 2 Comments

Pikelets are a type of sweet mini pancake/hotcake. My siblings and I ate them a lot when we were younger. Usually they are eaten with just butter or with jam and cream.

I’ve taken the recipe for Kimchi Jeon (Kimchi pancake) and modified it to make Kimchi pikelets. I use wholemeal self raising flour because it gives it more texture which is better for a savoury type of pikelet/hotcake. The salt and sugar quantities can be adjusted to individual taste. This recipe makes about 8 – 10 but the ingredients can be doubled to make more. It’s a very quick and easy snack to make.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup wholemeal self raising flour

1/2 cup kimchi (chopped or cut into small pieces)

1 – 2 tablespoons of kimchi juice (the liquid that collects in the bottom of a container of kimchi)

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup water

1 egg

1- 2 tablespoons sugar

pinch of salt (or to taste)

olive oil (or any other type of oil that can be used for frying)

Ingredients (except the water)

1. In a bowl put the flour, sugar and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon.

2. Add the milk and water and mix well.

3. Add the egg and kimchi juice and stir well.

4. Finally add the kimchi and mix.

5. In a frypan add 1 – 2 tablespoons of oil. Heat on a medium heat and using just a normal size spoon put in some of the mixture. Since these are pikelets you don’t want them too big.

6. The pikelets will now start to rise a bit. To check they are ready to turn over, use a spatula to lift up one slightly. If it’s a nice golden brown colour flip them over.

7. Take the cooked ones out and continue with the rest of the mixture. You can serve with a dipping sauce. Anything you like is fine. I tend to use soy sauce and sesame oil.

Enjoy!