powerplantop

Right now in pots I have Kkaenip and Korean Peppers.

If I had time for a garden I would have Kkaenip, Korean Peppers, Korean Cucumber, Korean Radish, Napa Cabbage, Sookgat, Chinese Chives, Korean Squash

Tonight I grilled pork tender loins with a Yaki-tori sauce. I am sure that seeing these pics are what made me do it.

I went to Korea last summer for a vacation. It was way different than my first trip. I remember on my first trip to get a decent cup of coffee you had to look for a dunkin donuts (which were hard to find) or go to a very expensive hotel. Now American coffee is every where.

It maybe slow but one thing you can count on is change. Some of it is good and some bad. But Koreans have been adapting to hardship and change for a very long time and they will continue to do so.

“it takes a lot of time and your kitchen wont smell nice… be warned…”

Something about pork bones, when I made Gamjatang I did most of the long cooking out side using the side burned on the BBQ grill.

Tony,

Great post we share the same frustration trying to learn how to cook Korean food. I am a white guy from the South. So it assumed that there is no way I can learn how to cook Korean. During my time in the Navy I was lucky to have visited Korea 12 times (late 80’s). I was in Busan during the Olympics. While in Korea I always ate local. What I mean is you were more likely to find me at a Haeundae Beach soju tent than at fancy Hotel.

Once me and a friend were out and we got hungry. We were drawn to a small restaurant that looked good and had some great smells coming from it. We went in and sat down. The waitress gave us menus in Korean (she had a worried look on her face). We randomly picked 4 items from different sections of the menu. She could tell that we were guessing (she shook her head no on one item and we followed her advice). When the food came out it was really good and we were eating like crazy (with chop sticks, slurping our soup ect). Now everyone in the restaurant was watching us smiling and laughing. Then more dishes started coming out of the kitchen. Some were Banchan but most were more like samples of main dishes. We had four ladies taking care of us almost like we were kids. So Yes I love Korean food and I am not scared to try anything.

Anyway after the Navy I missed Korean food. I can cook so I looked for Korean cook books (in English). Let’s just say that the results were not that good. The Korean ladies I met who were from the last generation of make it from scratch assumed that there was no way I learn.

But now with You Tube we can watch Maangchi step by step cook Korean food. I watch for the techniques more than the recipes. By learning the techniques I can experiment with other recipes. I will never be as good as my wife’s Aunt who passed away last year. But I can make some good stuff.

I am very interested in this, and would love to try it. I think it is great that Korean food is evolving LA style. Not that I want to lose real Korean food.

Korean food has a long history of adapting. Mandu is adapted from the Mongols, the chili pepper is fairly new to Korean Cuisine. With the introduction of Spam during the Korean War we now have Pudae Jjige.

I love the idea of a Kalbi, Bulgogi or spicy pork taco and will have to try to make some. As to the Kimchi Quesadilla I am not sure about cheese with Kimchi, but then again there is Kimchi pizza.

I have also looked and looked online for a recipie in English for jokbal. I don’t read or speack Korean but I bet there is recipie in Korean online. I may just give it a try and see how it turns out.

The soondae in the Houston Ko-Mart food court is great. The same place has a great soondae kook. To bad I am no longer on a project in TX.

My mother-in-law mails my wife soondae and jokbal from a place in Los Angeles korean town but I don’t know the name.