Korean Food Adventure ( in Korea this time)

Most of you know that I had the luck to be selected for a Korean Studies Fellowship to travel to Korea for two weeks.  Not only did we tour the country, but we also had an opportunity to eat many different types of Korean cuisine and get a sense of the culinary tradition of this country.  I definitely enjoyed myself with the many adventures and want to share a few with you.  Above, the national dish, Kimchee (pickled cabbage) is pictured.  Every version of kimchee that was served was absolutely delicious.  Korea, being a peninsula and criss-crossed by rivers, also has a long tradition of serving seafood and the fish below is an example of how it was served to us.  At the first restaurant we visited the server deboned the fish for us.  After this we were left to our own devices, which was not always so elegant.  I can't remember the word (maybe someone can help me) for bon apetit, but I do remember the translation, "eat now!"

Another traditional dish we tried was cornish game hen prepared in a stone pot.  The hen was stuffed with rice, ginseng root, a chestnut, and a date.  Then it was cooked for several hours and served in the pot.  It was served with a side of salt and hot sauce so I could spice it myself.  We ate this on a cold day that capped a lot of walking around, which was the perfect dish for me when I was tired.  On a side note, I shared this with Yongjin, the Director of the Fellowship program, she ate the accompanying chili peppers by first dipping them in hot sauce, wowwee!

Delicious flavors

On our last night in Seoul, we went to a fancy Korean restuarant.  Korean meals usually contain many different courses including appetizers, several soups, many side dishes that have spicy and/or pickled vegetables, and then a main course and even a side fish course.  One of the most unusual dishes I had on this trip is the one pictured above.  It was served on a roof tile and was deconstructed, it is up to the diner to put this delicacy together.  The professor who led our trip demonstrated how to combine the ingredients.  Begin with the round radish that was shaved very thin, it is used like a tortilla to hold the remaining ingredients.  Next you add the cabbage and pork belly.  Then, spread on a little bit of the shrimp paste (in the dish).  Finally, you add as much spicy pickled  vegetables as you like.  I added quite a bit of veggies because by this time, I had a high tolerance for spice.  You fold it up like a taco and eat it all in one bite (with chopsticks).  Now, I know many of you are thinking, gross, right?  You can't  judge until you try it.  This was one of the most delicious things I had on the entire trip, it was salty, spicy, rich, and flavorful!

Pastry Shop in Seoul

You know how you can get any type of cuisine in a big city?  Well, Seoul is no exception.  We had a delicious lunch of sandwiches with pastries for dessert.  The pastries were so pretty you almost (almost) didn't want to eat them.  I also ordered some fresh squeezed kiwi juice that was served looking like a diner shake.  

Mugwort

This is a delicious herb that grows in the mountains and wilds and was served in most places we visited.  It was tasty with sesame oil as a salad and also fried with a tempura batter.  Apparently, it is also really healthy and used by herbalists.

Korean Market

The Korean market had many fresh meats, fish, and vegetables for individual purchase.  Pictured are a few samples of essential ingredients for Korean fare.

Korean BBQ

Nouvelle Korean

      

Weekend Get Together

The Frickes invited the neighborhood gang to their home for dinner on Saturday for an evening of good conversation, wine, and food.  The evening started with us clinking glasses full of the Magistrate wine and tasting Andrea's delicious sun-dried tomato stuffed mushrooms.  We then moved to my new favorite dinner table (it was square so we all shared in one conversation all night) and were served a wonderful family-style dinner.  We had John's caesar salad served along with grilled halibut, twice-grilled potatoes (there were at least three types of cheese!!!), and green beans.  The halibut had a wonderful marinade that was sweet, gingery, and salty, the recipe is posted in the comments below.  Brannon brought over a preview of their wedding wine for us to try, yum, I can't wait until August 28!  The evening was capped by Jacki's family specialty, the Bailey's Pie.  I LOVE this dessert and when you see the ingredients in the comments below, you will know why.  Thanks, Jacki and Matt, we had such a great night!

60 Minute Meal

What can a chef prepare in 60 minutes?  If you are an Iron Chef, the answer is a lot of inventive dishes that have layers of flavor, not to mention a stunning presentation.  Well, luckily I am marrying my own Iron Chef who created an amazing feast for his parents and me on Friday night.  His inspiration was the flavors of Greece.  We (I only participated in the shopping and strategizing portion of this meal) kept the starters light with homemade blue cheese stuffed olives. Then started with a scallop resting on a sauce of red pepper coulis topped with a drizzle of garlic, oregano, and olive oil with lemon zest streamers.  The entree centered on Frenched (that means fancy) lamb chops with a homemade lamb stock, wine, and pomegranate reduction.  This was served with my favorite dollops of heaven, pureed parsnips and cauliflower with roasted garlic, and spring asparagus.  The meal was accompanied with special pinot noirs from Merv's collection, starring an amazing  '98 Williams Selyem and Savingy les Beaumont.  Finally, dessert was a fragrant surprise of vanilla ice cream topped with rose-infused fig preserves.  As far as I am concerned, my Iron Chef's feast was a winner!

Fiesta Salad

Erin hosted our bookclub this month and served us a healthy and delicious dinner of Fiesta Chicken Salad.  The salad was totally delicious and had so many flavorful goodies in it, I can't wait to make it myself.   The recipe is in the comment link, saludos!