Here is my interview with Hana and the photos of Korean dishes that she has made. Hana told me she used to be hesitant to learn cooking before she found my website. She thought cooking is too troublesome and difficult. She followed my recipes one by one and eventually she has become more confident in cooking.

She says, “my mum and dad are finally relieved because their tomboy daughter finally really jump into the kitchen hahaha… my mum always tell me that I can show my love through cooking/foods, I didn’t really understand what she meant before, but now I do… after eating my cookings, my husband hugs me and say “thank you for making these delicious meals”, I think he feels my love for him through my cooking!! if that makes sense hahaha.. When I have my own children one day, I want them to be proud of me because of my foods, just like I’m proud of my mum’s cookings. Last time when I went back to my hometown, I talked with my sister’s in laws family. Some of them also know and cook from your recipes! we were so excited we learn from the same source lolz.. ”

1. What is your name and where do you live?
My name is Hana, I currently reside in Melbourne, Australia


2. What do you do and how many family members do you have ?
I’m a gemologist (in case you wonder what does a gemologist do, my works relate to gemstones & jewelry), I work for myself. I’m a third child of 4 children in my family. Not long ago, I started my own family of me and my husband ^_^

3. How often do you cook Korean food following my recipes?
3-4 times a week. It’s not always the same, depending on whether I can get all the needed ingredients. I alternate between korean, Indonesian, Japanese, and chinese foods. Sometime I cant make certain recipe from your web because I can’t find the main ingredient, for example: I haven’t been able to make songpyeon because so far no luck in finding frozen rice flour. Perilla leaves are not always readily available and they cost quite alot for a small bunch, so I usually substitute it with something else. My first venture on your recipe is hoedook (korean sweet pancake) :)

mandu (dumplings)

hobakjuk (pumpkin porridge)

oisobagi (spicy stuffed cucumber kimchi)

samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup)

soondubu jjigae (spicy soft tofu stew)

4. What are your favorite Korean dishes? Choose 3, please!
There are too many really. my first korean food was dokbokki and it’s been my fave ever since. I also love bibimbap and galbijim.  But I love all korean dishes in general. I made quite alot already from your recipes but I only took pictures of those that look presentable, I guess I still have a lot to learn about food presentation ;). I used to go out and frequent many korean restaurants around melbourne, after finding maangchi.com, I think those restaurants lost one of their major customers hahaha…

ddeokbokki (spicy rice cake)

galbijjim (braised beef short ribs )

jjajangbap (black sauce with rice)

maeuntang (spicy fish soup)

5. What’s your best Korean dish, the one that everybody compliments you on when you make it?
My gyongdan is famous amongst my friends now (I make it so often I can finish everything in less than one hour now using pre-made fillings :p for me, it’s an achievement lolz),  my husband really likes the bibimbap and Mandu that I made.

gyeongdan (rice cake balls)

2 Comments:

  1. Earthangel626 New York joined 11/10 & has 8 comments

    Great job Hana! Your presentations are quite nice, give yourself some credit!!
    By the way, if you can get your hands on some Perilla leaf seeds or plant and if you have a yard, they are very easy to grow!! I planted mine once and they come back every year, they grow like weeds! We have fresh perilla leaves every spring to fall and they are even more fragrant than the ones you buy in stores! Good luck and keep up the good job!

Leave a Reply

You must create a profile and be logged in to post a comment.