Sorry this is not a beautiful picture of a plated dish, but I made all of it myself (from your wonder ful recipes) and we enjoyed it at a beautiful picnic spot in Gongju, S. Korea. Thank you, Thank You Maangchi!
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My cookbooks
Which to get? Both are best sellers and either one is a good choice if you want to learn Korean home cooking. my first book has all the recipes for all the essential Korean pastes and sauces, but my second book Maangchi's Big Book of Korean Cooking has more recipes.
Maangchi's recipes by category:
Kimchi
Essential Korean dish
Side dishes
Banchan makes the meal
Rice
Our most important grain
Pancakes
Savory & simple
Rice cakes
Tteok for every occasion
Stews
Jjigae is our comfort food
Noodles
Long noodles = long life!
Soups
Guk at every meal
Sundubu-jjigae
Soft tofu stew
Gimbap
Seaweed paper rolls
Desserts
Special sweet stuff
Main dishes
Consider these mains
Mandu
Korean dumplings
Anju
Drinking food
BBQ
The Korean way to grill
Fried chicken
Double-deliciousness
One bowl meals
Nutritious & convenient
Street food
Quick & fun
Easy
Anyone can make these!
Lunchboxes
Dosirak made with love
Appetizers
These could be first
Fermented
Taste of centuries
Staple ingredients
Korean cuisine basics
Mitbanchan
Preserved side dishes
Pickles
Quick-brined
Spicy
I love spicy food :)
Nonspicy
There are plenty!
Beef
For meat lovers
Seafood
Surrounded by the sea
Pork
Some new dishes to try
Chicken
Our most delicious
Vegetarian
No fish, meat or chicken
Vegan
No animal products at all
Temple cuisine
From Buddhist temples
Korean Chinese
Chinese style Korean
Snacks
Quick dishes on the run
Korean bakery
Breads & pastries
Porridges
Good for your health!
Cold dishes
Icy, cold, or just chilled
Drinks
Fruits, grains & herbs
Not Korean
Fusion and western food
Wow, Nice view! this view reminds me of SBS Family outing couple years ago :)
Dear Maangchi,
I had the pleasure of spending almost a year in South Korea, living in both Seoul and Gongju. I learned to love Korean food when I lived in NYC, now I am living in Santa Fe, NM. When are you coming to visit? It is nice here!
On this summer day I was in Gongju and my friend Sunhee Kim said, “Let’s go have lunch as if we lived in Joseon times.” Gongju is a marvelous city that is proud of its contemporary and traditional arts and its history (it is the seat of the ancient Joseon Dynasty). The city has many amenities for its citizens including public wondumak (I’m happy to know the right word for them) that line the riverside, so anyone can enjoy them.
On that day I had prepared the soybean side dish (kongjang), an eggplant side dish (gaji namul), a dried anchovy side dish (myeolchibokkeum) and something kind of like Matang and maybe also boiled pumpkin (danhobak); from your great recipes. Sunhee taught me many recipes too, as well as a lot of other things.
The wondumak was very airy and comfortable. On another day we ordered fried chicken that was delivered right to the wondumak! Yumm!
In a small Korean village I saw a wondumak being used as a meeting place for senior citizens. The elderly were sitting in the cool shelter and were being attended by younger people. I need to get to work on my Korean because I want to retire there someday! It looked like a wonderful way to live.
Thank you for teaching me how to make Korean food. I have a long way to go but I have you to help me.
Amy
“Let’s go have lunch as if we lived in Joseon times.” haha! Thank you for sharing more beautiful stories about wondumak.
Happy cooking!
Oh thank you for sharing this awesome photo with us! This kind of pavilion is only seen in the Korean country side. It’s built in the middle of a vegetable patch, usually melons, and watermelons. We call it a wondumak (원두막) and it’s built to keep the vegetables and melons secure from thieves. The owner of the patch and his family spend time under in the pavilion because it’s nice and cool in the daytime. At nighttime young people hang out there.
You are living in Gongju? I think many of my readers (including me!) who see this photo will be curious about you. Let us know why you made Korean dishes and had a picnic there. At least you must be a friend of the pavilion owner. : )
One of the side dishes must be gajinamul (steamed and seasoned egg plant)!
Thank you again!