[Food]

[Food] Myeongranjut (명란젓, Salted Pollack Roe)

From ancient times, Koreans have been very good at making salted or pickled or fermented food with vegetables and seafood. Kimchi is the world famous and the most popular dish in among them. However Koreans have more dish that they enjoy on their meal table :)

Myeongranjut (명란젓, salted pollack roe) is very typical dish of Korean side dish and salted food which assumed to be eaten by Koreans since the 19th century. Koreans manufacture, cook and eat wall-eyed pollack in so many ways, and myeongranjut is one of them. It's roe of fresh pollack, it's washed in salt water then seasoned with minced garlic, spicy red pepper powder and salt. They are stored in any jar or pot to be fermented for about two weeks.

It tastes fresh, salty and flavor of sea. Koreans usually serve it with sesame oil and sesame to add savory flavor on it, and eat it with hot steamed-rice. It is originated in Korea but many people usually know it's Japanese food which is definitely wrong. Myeongranjut was known to Fukuoka of Japan in 1949 by Korean-Japanese who was born in Busan. Myeongranjut is called 'Mentaiko' in Japan, and it's local specialty of Fukuoka today.

Today, it's being used in many style of dish by many cooks. It's cooked in many ways to be used in even in bakery, pasta, stew and more.

I personally loves aglio e olio with myeongranjut topping on it and roasted myeongranjut :) It usually tastes salty and marine, but you may don't like it if you are not a fan of seafood :)

Bon Appétit!

 [Food]

[Food] Full Recipe of Budaejjigae (부대찌개, Korean Army Stew)

Story of Budaejjigae - http://www.peacebreeze.net/2018/09/food-budae-jjigae-general-infantry-stew.html

Today I'm introducing a recipe of Budaejjigae (부대찌개, Korean Army Stew) for you :) It's straightforward, step by step so it won't be hard to follow :) Let's start.

Ingredients: 

Zucchini, sliced bacon, sausage, baked beans, some kimchi, salt (I've used salted shrimp instead for more flavor), ham (can of spam is the best), minced pork, tofu and onion

Stock: Dried anchovy and kelp

Seasoning: Soy sauce, sesame oil, red chili powder, honey, pepper, salt, minced garlic, soju (Korean rice wine), minced ginger or ginger powder and scallion.

1. Prepare all ingredients

2. Parboil ham and bacon to remove chemicals in it for 5~10 minutes :) If they are handmade, it's not necessary.

3. Meanwhile, boil stock for budaejjigae with dried anchovy and kelp :) for 10 minutes.

4. Marinate minced pork with ginger powder, soju, pepper, little salt (I've used mixed herb too for more flavor) in a freezer.

5. Chop all the ingredients :) as small as you want

6. Roast parboiled bacon on a pan with some oil (bean, corn or canola oil) to increase its flavor and scent :)

7. Make spicy seasoning for the stew :)

8. Put all the ingredients into a big pot, and pour the stock :)

9. Please boil it on medium-high heat once, then you can season it with salt to suit its flavor :)

Bon Appétit!

[Food]

[Food] Ggaejangeotang (깨장어탕, Elvers Soup)

Ggaejangeotang (깨장어탕, Elvers Soup)

Yeosu is not only famous for its beautiful night sea view and gatkimchi (Mustard Kimchi), but also for its dish of sea eel. Many restaurants make broiled sea eel and spicy eel soup, but not many for today's dish Ggaejangeotang (깨장어탕, Elvers Soup).

'Ggae' usually means 'sesame' in Korean so 'Ggaejangeotang' sounds like 'sesame and eel soup', but it means 'baby' in the dialect of Jeolla province. So 'Ggaejangeotang' means 'elvers soup'. Actually, local cooks in Yeosu put a lot of perilla powder (which is similar to sesame) to cook ggaejangeotang.

I've visited a small, local (but popular) ggaejangeotang restaurant in Yeosu. It was already booming with customers from neighboring and nationwide cities throughout Korea.

Ggaejangeotang (Elvers Soup) with side dishes

Gatkimchi (Mustard Kimchi) is Must-Have-Dish in Yeosu

People who disike sea food or are not familiar with eel would say, 'I don't want to taste this dish ever. It's wrong and disgusting eating baby eel!' But if you've ever tasted ggaejangeotang, you may regret having said that and change your mind.

Elver fillet is chopped and boiled with dried radish leaves, perilla powder and doenjang paste. Its savory and marine-flavored soup fills ones palate, and the silky and chewy elver meat goes very well with crispy-dried radish leaves. It gives a mixture of all the mild flavors that Koreans (or non-Koreans) love most. I think that savory, marine-flavored soup with elver stock and doenjang paste provides more than 90% of ggaejangeotang's gorgeous flavor.

Moreover, I love that the chef puts so many elver fillets into the soup :) How generous she was. If you are a seafood lover who will visit Yeosu, Korea someday, don't miss out on ggaejangeotang :)

Bon Appétit!

[Food]

[Food] Yukgaejang (육개장, Spicy Meat Stew)

Yukgaejang (육개장, Spicy Meat Stew)

Ancient Koreans were not very fond of meat diets; they usually gained energy and protein from abundant bean and seafoods instead of meat. The meat diet flowed into Korea in the 13th century through the Mongol Invasion but it still remained uncommon because Korea's major religion at that time was Buddhism. Even the 16th century's Chosun Dynasty prohibited the butchering of cows because cows were a very precious tool and resource for farming.

So Koreans cooked stew with dog or an old cow for a party or a patient. They added strong and bitter spices and seasonings to remove the pungent smell of meat, and thick green onions, mung-bean sprouts, bracken, taro branch, red chili and more. This traditional recipe has passed down to today, except for dog meat :)

Yukgaejang is also famous as the dish eaten by King Soonjong who was the last king of the Chosun dynasty. The Master chef of Chosun palace served King Soonjong a bowl of yukgaejang when King Soonjong was in deep sorrow and pain after losing the kingdom to Japan. The anecdote tells of King Soonjong eating yukgaejang with tears running down his cheeks.

These days, Koreans enjoy eating yukgaejang in all seasons regardless of the weather. In contrast with traditional recipes, chicken or beef is used for today's yukgaejang and is still very spicy and hot. Koreans usually eat yukgaejang in summer because its spicy taste builds an appetite and the meat gives energy and stamina to those who are exhausted from the heat.

However, yukgaejang is not an easy dish to cook. Every vegetable has to be chopped and seasoned with spices, and the meat has to be fully steamed and torn into small pieces. Then every prepared vegetable, seasoning and meat is boiled for several hours in beef stock. To cook a delicious yukgaejang quickly, your hands must be very busy. More than 10 years ago, I cooked it with one of my friends. I remember deeply thanking my grandmother who cooked yukgaejang by herself for me every time I visited her after finishing cooking yukgaejang.

Nevertheless, yukgaejang is a very popular traditional Korean dish :) Its spicy, savory and meaty flavors are more than enough to awaken one's spirit and body :)

Kalguksu (Hand-made chopped noodles) in yukgaejang, it's as good as eating yukgaejang with steamed rice :)

Korean home-made yukgaejang

Do you love spicy and meaty soup? Try yukgaejang, it will fill your tummy :)

Bon Appétit!

[Food]

[Food] Too BUSY to grab a bite? Here's some Biji-Jjigae. (비지찌개, Biji (Soybean Pulp) Stew)

Biji-Jjigae (비지찌개, Biji (Soybean Pulp) Stew)

Biji is not commonly eaten by the younger Korean generation. They may know 'dubu' (tofu/bean curd), which is a very common, cheap and delicious food. Biji is the product of bean curd, like dofu is to soybean. For a long time it's been eaten by poorer households who are unable to afford bean curd, but many Koreans love it today for its savory and mild flavor which often tastes better than bean curd.

Koreans use biji as a side dish and stew; Biji-Jjigae (비지찌개, Biji (Soybean Pulp) Stew) is one of them. Biji-Jjigae is also one of my favorite Korean foods. A typical Biji-Jjigae recipe uses pork and fermented kimchi to add some spice and a deep savory flavor.

It may look very creamy and crunchy, but it gives you a traditional, savory, mild and soft soybean flavor :) I'm sure that the older poorer generation who only survived on biji wouldn't have imagined that their future generation would eat biji as gourmet cuisine :)

Biji (비지, Soybean Pulp)

Biji-Jjigae (비지찌개, Biji (Soybean Pulp) Stew) with Kimchi in it

It's not hard to find biji or biji-jjigae at the grocer's or restaurant in Korea as it's a typical Korean food but is not well-known to non-Koreans and the younger Korean generation. I think the reason is that there are more delicious and better foods and ingredients than biji today :)

However, biji and biji-jjigae is still a great Korean dish that I want to introduce you to because it is a hearty and warm meal for Koreans who have had to go through all kinds of hardship even until now :)

Bon Appétit!

[Food] Dak-Gangjeong (닭강정, Sweet and sour chicken)

[Food]

[Food] Dak-Gangjeong (닭강정, Sweet and sour chicken)

It is an undeniable fact that famous deep-fried chicken originates from the U.S.A through the tragic history of slavery. Nevertheless, when deep-fried chicken flowed into Korea, Korean-style deep-fried chicken became more famous globbally than the original. (However, it doesn't mean Korea didn't have any deep-fried chicken recipe. Korea had traditional deep-fried chicken recipe called 'Pogye', which is soy-sauce and vinegar-based deep-fried chicken.).

Today's dish, 'Dak-Gangjeong (닭강정, Sweet and sour chicken)', is a very modern Korean dish that appeared from 1970s; the era when Korea was massively industrialized and started to develop its culture, quality and diet. In 1993, dak-gangjeong was introduced in a newspaper as a good dish to cook when deep-fried chicken is left over at home, which means dak-gangjeong was a beloved and popular recipe for the public.

A dak-gangjeong shop in a market of Gangneung Central Market

Dak-gangjeong originated in two cities, Incheon in western Korea and Sokcho in eastern Korea. Several dak-gangjeong shops claim that they have the original dak-gangjeong with 40 years of tradition but no one knows who the original really is.

Dak-gangjeong slightly differs from 'Seasoned spicy chicken' through some of its features, though it is similar. Its seasoning is less watery, more viscous, and fully coated fried-chicken, not 'poured' on chicken. It is usually spicier than seasoned spicy chicken because of garlic and spicy chili, and a bit more crunchy with more nuts.

Western dak-gangjeong from Incheon features bigger chunks of chicken which is very similar to seasoned spicy chicken. On the other hand, eastern dak-gangjeong from Sokcho has smaller pieces of chicken and is usually boned. To me, they are all nice and delicious anyway.

The recipe is very similar to seasoned spicy chicken.

1. Deep-fry chicken pieces.
2. Stir-fry them on a wide and round pan with sliced garlic and spicy chili.
3. Add soy-sauce, starch syrup and water. (Here you can add more seasoning such as chili paste, chili powder etc.)
4. Add starch water and nuts, boil down.

'Dak' means chicken and 'gangjeong' means traditional Korean crunchy crackers with rice, sesame, beans, nuts etc. in Korean. I think that its name suits it very well with its crunchy and sweet features. Dak-gangjeong is one of my favorite dishes, and it is also very popular to many tourists who visit Korea because....I mean, who dare hates deep-fried chicken?! You look at the photos in this article. Don't you see that crunchy, crispy-fried chicken with lip-smacking seasoning?

A dak-gangjeong from Shinpo Market, Incheon, western South Korea

A dak-gangjeong from Sokcho Central Market, Sokcho, eastern South Korea

Nowadays, you can find dak-gangjeong very easily in any market in Korea because it is popular to Koreans and non-Koreans alike. Once I saw tourists from the U.S.A trying some sample of dak-gangjeong at a market in Busan (when I visited Busan), then they bought 2 boxes of dak-gangjeong per person.

A dak-gangjeong with fried rice cake pieces

If you are sick of 'normal' fried chicken, try dak-gangjeong. It will open your door to a new world of deep fried chicken :)

Bon Appétit!

[Food] Jangkalguksu (장칼국수, Chopped noodle in spicy paste soup)

[Food]

[Food] Jangkalguksu (장칼국수, Chopped noodle in spicy paste soup)

Korea is in spring and beautiful flowers are blossoming everywhere. Numerous cherry-blossom trees are waving their pink palms under the golden rays of the unique blue sky. I decided to go to Jumunjin which is a small port town in the north of Gangneung city near the town of Yangyang.

I took a bus to Jumunjin with my good friend 'Hong'. The city is famous for squid and the filming site of Korean dramas. Jumunjin's warm and cool breeze had some saltiness to it.

Jumunjin isn't a town alive with the energy of the youth, but of busy grandmas and visiting tourists (like myself and Hong) breathing life into it. When I was a staff sergeant regularly visiting a military hospital near Jumunjin for the well-being of my fellow soldiers, the town was my playground where I enjoyed unique Korean gourmet during a short lunchbreak.

Today, I'll be visiting a Jangkalguksu restaurant that has been my frequent visiting place since my 'army-time' with Hong.

The only alley to the restaurant, behind old buildings.

You enter Jumunjin market and have to find a little billboard on the way to the heart of the market. Then you can find the way to get to the restaurant.

The restaurant looks like a normal Korean home, but it is a restaurant for people like Hong and I who eagerly want to gulp a bowl of Jangkalguksu. It was 3 o'clock (already one hour past the usual Korean lunchtime) but there was still a lady there finishing her dish.

Hong and I ordered 2 Jangkalguksu before we even sat (LOL) and waited for our happy moment to come. Soon, the female owner kicked the door of the room open with two dishes of Jangkalguksu, a dish of kimchi and kkakduki (radish kimchi) and a bottle of water in her hands, like a superhero who come out of nowhere to kick some ass.

I would say this kimchi is one of the best in Korea

I have never met anyone who says the jangkalguksu in this restaurant isn't 'the best'. If you are not fond of noodles, spicy or Korean food, I'm so sorry that you can't taste this fantastic dish.

The proof of its taste

After a happy time with Jangkalguksu, we walked for some time on our way to a bus stop back home. The spring sky, cherry-blossoms, river and winds...and deep-fried sticky bread with sweet white-bean paste in my hand.

It was sweet and fantastic. That's all I can say for now.

Bon Appétit!