Gapshida Rotterdam in Susanne’s house

When I first arrived in Rotterdam, Susanne came with Reinier to greet me in my hotel. She had a great idea.

“I have 2 pink wigs for us to wear for the video shoot!”

“Oh, you and I will wear pink wigs?” I said, “That’s a great idea! Let’s wear black shirts and skirts with the wigs!”

Reinier and Susanne also told me about their new website, Koreaans Koken, where they are translating my Korean cooking recipes into Dutch. Amazing!

She picked me up at my hotel on the day of the shoot. We didn’t have to go shopping because she had already prepared everything for the shoot and the meetup afterwards. Our plan was to make and film bibimguksu, a kind of spicy cold noodles. She’d emailed me a few days before I left New York. She sent a photo and asked, “Maangchi, are these the noodles that you need for bibimguksu? If not, I’ll have to go back to the store to pick up right ones.”

I couldn’t help laughing when I saw the photo. It was a photo of her smiling face with a big bag of noodles, nothing else in the picture. The expression on her face told me the whole story:

“Maangchi said we’re going to make bibimguksu and told me to buy thin noodles. How thin should they be? I found the thinnest noodles I could find, but I’m not sure if they’re right ones. What if they’re not the ones Maangchi wants? Ummm, what shall I do? I have to get the answer quickly, before she leaves for her tour. Once she starts traveling, she may not be able to read my email. Yes, the only solution is to take a photo of the noodles and ask her!”

She got the right noodles!

She has a spacious open kitchen in her house and a beautiful back yard. Once I got to her house, she showed me what she had cooked for our meetup. She made dakjjim (braised chicken), godeungeojorim (braised mackerel with daikon), kongjorim (black soy bean side dish), ojingeochae muchim (seasoned dried shredded squid) …

One of her friends, Seema, is a videographer and came to shoot our bibimguksu video.

“Ok, let’s start, Susanne! Bring the pink wigs!”

I wore mine first and saw her struggling with her wig. I helped her adjust the wig. She looked so pretty with the pink wig!

I said, “You look like a Korean TV star!”

She asked me, “Oh yeah? Who do I look like?”

Oh, uh I didn’t expect that question! She was getting serious!

I said: “Hmm Wonder girl?” That’s the only name that I could come up with.

Our filming was so easy that it was finished in 30 minutes! Susanne said, “Welcome to my cooking show, everybody!” in her strong and clear voice. She’s not only good at Korean cooking but also many other cultures’ dishes. I hope she posts her own video recipes on YouTube soon! I’d like to see so many “mini Maangchis!” : )

We made 2 bowls of bibimguksu and ate them in a few minutes with her brother Dave and Seema after filming. She kept saying, “Ahh, delicious, delicious! I will make this for my family soon!” I was very happy to hear that: it reminded of my late grandmother. Whenever I tasted her food, it was so delicious. I always said, “Delicious! yummy!” One day my grandmother announced in front of the whole family: “My Maangchi always appreciates my food and keeps saying ‘delicious delicious’ while eating. I’m sure she will have fortune someday.” Thanks to her blessing, I’m fortunate enough to be in the middle of my Gapshida tour. I think most of you who read this will agree that you’re very happy to hear “delicious” from your family and friends when they taste your food.

Bibimguksu recipe

“Hooroorook hooroorook jjeop jjeop!” I’m a little embarrassed about the amount of the noodles I picked with the chopsticks. Yum yum!

We made a large quantity of bibimguksu again to share at the meetup party. At about 6:00 pm people arrived one by one. The meetup party started with the bibimguksu as an appetizer to the delicious food and desserts that everybody brought. I was happy to be surrounded by these awesome people and got some energy for my next Gapshida itinerary!

With  Susanne’s daughter Yon and son Julius

Katharine came with her 2 children from Belgium, which is a 3-hour train ride away. How passionate she is about food!

“We are happy to help you!” The man showing his back working at the kitchen sink is Susanne’s brother Dave. He helped us a lot!

Everybody, beautiful pose for the group photo!

Yum!

“Bibimguksu is delicious!”

Yummy yummy apple crumble

Colorful desserts

Braised mackerel made with canned mackerel. It was delicious.

Daughter and mom

We love Korean food!

Wendel Zwaal made these cookies! Susanne’s daughter Yon and I played with them. I asked Yon to eat a cookie. When she cut the cookie with one bite, I said, “ouch ouch!” holding my face with my hands. Yon was laughing and laughing. Thank you Wendel!

Susanne’s parents, and her 2 children