Behemoth

Makes sense. What we had was more braised than stir-fried. Also, it was served in one of those cast-iron plates that I coveted so much (but for which I lacked suitcase space, alas...) I think I had the bokkum version in Philly a long time ago, but I think I like the braised dishes better. (That's true in general, actually). Thanks for clearing it all up

I had an octopus version as well as a pork version in Seoul. It wasn't that spicy, or rather, the spice level built up slowly as you ate. Great stuff. But there was definitely some sugar, or at least some type of sweet flavor, in the sauce. Or is the bean paste sweet? (or did I have something else entirely? ) What is the difference between a "chorim" and a "pokkum"? I had the former, but I thought they were kind of the same thing.

Okay, who wrote in to the NYTimes ethicist column? Or has Mr. Randy Cohen joined the ranks of eG? Response:

Muslims are allowed to eat shellfish. They shouldn't drink alcohol but I've yet to meet a Muslim (strict or not) who goes easy on the tea & coffee. Some Muslims frown on smoking but most of the ones I know smoke like chimneys. The fasting is during Ramadan, as someone mentioned, but you can also do it sometimes outside Ramadan, if you have days to make up or are feeling particularly erm, "atoneful". I can translate the passage from the Koran if you'd like, I've never heard of the shellfish thing. (In large part, I suspect it just didn't come up that often, being in the desert and all...) Also, there is another big difference between jewish kosher and muslim halal: Muslims are allowed to eat the entire animal, whereas in Kosher you can only eat the front bits, right? the moderation thing is amusing to me. It is mentioned in various hadith, but tell that to your average muslim grandmother when the grandkids are coming to visit Oh, here's a neat factoid -- I read somewhere that the prophet's wives were vegetarians. I can't say that one has caught on with anyone I know...

Congrats! The catering arm of Manna did our wedding last year. They were super nice and professional, the food was great, and affordable, and for a great cause to boot. They were as good or better than any caterers I've tried in Philly. (I used to hire caterers for events at my old job, with lots o' funding). In any case, definitely worth checking out. As far as spaces, take a look at Fleisher Art Memorial in South Philly. They have a nice rentable space, (at a good price) which we were considering but couldn't use for completely unrelated reasons. Here's the link, with picture: link

Elie, I am sorry I was out of town while you were doing your blog -- Lebanon represents! I remember wasting entire afternoons at my cousin's house over plates of those toasted cheese sandwiches and pots of very sweet black tea. A culinary match made in heaven, and still my favorite comfort food. Nice job with the blog!

Lord, I have to admit I have no idea where to start with this. I'll start with what I did not eat. No dog (didn't really come up, didn't make any effort to seek it out), and none of those larvae at street stalls (not that I have anything against insects, but those things smelled like an open grave, gah!)Also, sadly, I didn't get to see the fish market. It just didn't work in our schedule, plus we got to eat fish pretty much every night we were there. Also, in two years the conference will be in Tokyo so I get to see that market instead Now then, what I did eat: So we were staying in the Lotte hotel north of the river. As you know, this is attached to a department store with an outstanding food court and supermarket in the basement. This would be my base camp for the next week, providing me with relatively inexpensive and very excellent brunches as I headed out to explore the city. First night, we grabbed various foods on sticks. Koreans seem to be particularly skilled in this area. We had some sort of shrimp paste rolled on a stick then pan fried, and chicken skewers with a great sweet sour sauce. We walked around the supermarket and admired the beautiful fish displays, the immaculately arranged multitudes of kimchis, greens, beautifully packaged grains, dried shrimp in various grades, dried sardines in various grades, sesame seeds, seaweeds etc etc etc. Later in the evening we walked around and picked a random bar to walk into. It looked to be sorta westernized, but in fact the waiter spoke no english, and had only korean menus. I used my full language capabilities here. Sadly, this consisted of "waiter, I would like two beers an the squid appetizer, please." I say sadly because the squid turned out to be this whole dried cuttle fish that had been char grilled. It actually tasted quite nice, but was a little tricky to eat. Basically, squid jerky. The beer was nice though. Hite Prime, I think. On the way home we stopped by a 7-11 and picked up some cacus fruit yoghurt, some soda, water and a couple of triangle kimbab. Tuna salad and some kind of spicy beef, I think. We need to petition all american convenience stores to start carrying these, so good! That was our first night. Let's see. Day 2. It was raining like crazy, we grabbed pad thai and some dim-sum style dumplings in the food hall. Great stuff. Later in the evening it calmed down a bit so we could walk around. Took my spouse to his first bulgogi experience. This was a place in the side street next to the bell pavilion. Charcoal grills and all the side dishes. Must say my man was blown away. We got a very nice waiter who spoke good english, he seemed to be a student who had spent some time in Chicago. In any case, most menus have pictures so you can usually just manage by pointing at what you want. Also got Mul Naeng Myun here, very refreshing. Day 3. I walked all over town, had tea in insadong. Met up later and had dinner at a restaurant in insadong. A braised octopus dish in a spicy/sweet chili sauce (divine!), a scallion pancake, and all kinds of little side dishes, the new one for me was bracken in sesame oil, very good. Much later that night, we decided to hit a club or two near the university area. as we were walking around we found a great little record store, the clerk was really nice and recommended a few local DJ CDs for me, and turned out to be a big cure fan. Then we found a cool bar, had a couple of drinks and basically people watched. We got some puffy peanut flavored chips with our drinks...afterwards, grabbed some kimchi mandu from a place that was open late. Didn't look like much but the food was good and they were really nice to us. Day 4. Deposited various tempura stuff for lunch for my hard working spouse. Later about town, for me, hand cut noodles with clams. Why have I been denied this dish all my life?? Walked around lots, saw a street rally (and lots of riot gear) in front of city hall, walked past the american embassy, past the museums and up to Geongbukgung. Evening, attended the conference reception in my role as faculty spouse. rather dull, but lots of decent sashimi later that night we met some friends for drinks in what would turn out to be our favorite bar in Seoul (a japanese place with friendly staff and good snacks and lots of activity wel into the night.) Day 5. Wandered around the ingwansan shamanist mountain area. Cool atmosphere, really quiet and only 2 subway stops away from the center of Seoul. Also walked around the prison on the other side of the Dongnimmun station. Returned to insadong street, bought a cookbook at Seoul selections bookstore (very nice people, again) and then stopped at a small and rather eccentric little place for some really amazing bi bim naengmyun. The lady there was worried I'd find it too spicy, and apparently I didn't stir it around vigoroulsy enough when I got it so she did it for me. she seemed more amused than annoyed, though. I got over my embarassement as soon as I had my first taste. Another thing I will be craving forever. I need to figure out how to duplicate that version...it was not particularly fancy but the sauce was really outstanding. Then visited jogyesa temple and got a very generous tour of the place with an english-speaking guide. Oh then in the evening the conference had this giant event with tons of great food, including chapchae, kimbab and sweet rice cakes. Oh yeah, and tons of sashimi. Day 6. Conference breakfast -- decided the korean soup/rice option was for more appealing than the sausage and scrambled eggs. Walked around Namdaemun mkt, admired the cooking supply stores and lamented the lack of space in my suitcase. Went back to the hotel, bought more tea cakes on the way, seriously addictive! Had lunch in the basement Lotteria -- wasn't nuts about the bugogi burger but the shrimp one was really almost improbably good -- like a very fresh crab cake. We were really late to get to dinner and found a hole-in-the-wall kalbi place with a bunch of friends. The woman there spoke no english but my learning of hangul alphabet came in handy and I was able to order. This place really didn't look like much, but the food was great. Again, we visited our favorite japanese bar for beer and soju. Street food -- spicy rice cake stuff! Day 7. Last day We took a DMZ tour. My spouse is german so he is especially interested in this. Was pretty impressive, on several different levels... In the afternoon we toured another palace (it was insanely humid!) then had tea and coffee in an extremely cute insadong tea shop set up to look like a bookstore. Saw the Jogyesa temple closing ceremony. Had dinner at another place in insadong with friends, most memorable dish for me was a kind of braised pork in chili sauce dish. Basically, I don't think we did anything particularly remarkable or exotic, but I can't imagine having a nicer experience. Two things that struck me: Given the US craze over the Atkins diet, And given the Korean diet of white rice, noodles and rice flour, I have to say we saw all of maybe two people in Seoul who could be considered even slightly overwieght. The supermarkets we saw were an inverse of what you'd find in the states. Prepared foods were a tiny percentage of the stores, with most of the space taken up by fresh foods. The complete opposite of an american supermarket. Also, even the poorest markets had beautiful produce, in large variety. I currently live in the midwest so the difference is especially striking. The other thing was, I consider myself someone who has travelled a good deal, and I know this is kind of a cliche, but I have to say I have never been treated so nicely, or felt so well taken care of as when I was in Seoul. People were actually coming up to me and asking me if I was enjoying my visit, if I needed help getting anywhere, at the city hall rally one guy actually asked my if I would like to share some lunch with the soldiers(!) really incredibly cool place. I am hoping to study more Korean and travel back, to see more of the countryside. Thanks again for all the suggestions, you all really steered me towards some new favorites.

Just got back from Seoul -- I bought this one: A Korean Mother's Cooking Notes Came very highly recommended from the owner of the Soul Selection bookstore. The writing style is charming, the recipes seem great, and I am looking forward to trying them as soon as *%&! British Airways finds our luggage...

Just got back, and wanted to thank everyone for all the great suggestions. Amazing city, unbelievably nice people and the food... wow. Now I need sleep...

Or perhaps an orange stealth bomber? BTW, your eating habits are very reassuring. I am deeply suspicious of adults who don't like vegetables.

Ha! The best is in Germany though. The little old retired ladies always seem to wait until saturday afternoon when the stores are about to close and all the non-retireds are doing their mad dash to buy milk and bread. Then they have to have a long and involved conversation with the checkout person about how everything is more expensive now with the Euro etc etc and they are MEAN! They totally cut the line and pretend they didn't see you, or else keep bumping their carts into your shins if you dare assert your place in line. And then as a dumb american I always forgot my "Einkaufstasche" (shopping bag) and had to squeeze everything in my messenger bag. (With the obligatory bottle of cachaca in hand, so I look like a serious alcoholic walking home...) Now in the states, I always carry my shopping bags with me (I keep em in my car). My local supermarket teens are highly amused, and think I'm some sort of hippy. I prefer self checkout, it probably appeals to my control freak tendencies. Plus then I don't have to have a conversation about my swiss chard and what I plan do with it.

I am really craving meat right now. It's kind of disturbing. I am stuck with eggs & cereal because I'm trying to clean out the fridge but as soon as that plane lands in Hamburg I am getting a big fat Thüringer bratwurst, dammit! Reesek, that is a very pretty terrine.

Susan, if you find yourself getting stuck there for a while, take a tour of the art exhibitions. A few friends of mine have curated over the years and they have shown some pretty interesting stuff...they really put a lot of effort into that. (The information booth across from Caviar Assouline should be able to tell you where the exhibits are).

Brilliant! I'll be there around 9pm. What are we having?

Lucky Charms and a Studs Terkel reference. I am a fan already...

What is good besides hot dogs (meh) at O'Hare? I will be there Friday. Oh, I think I had Popeye's there once, in a pinch. Again, meh. If you are stuck in Philadelphia Int'l go to the central area (between terminals B&C) and buy a sandwich at Assouline caviar... good stuff. They also have some sushi stuff to takeaway, I get the sense tourists don't realize they have anything besides caviar. I guess I prefer being stuck in Heathrow -- I love Pret a Manger's BLT and their fruit spritzers. And their coffee. In general I don't go to restaurants in airports but I was stuck alone in Heathrow 2 years ago during the world cup game between england and (denmark?) and watched it in the pub there, with a pint and a bunch of screaming fans, that was really fun.

Sorry it's taken so long to reply -- its been crazy trying to tie up loose ends before I leave. We are staing in the Lotte Hotel in Gwanghwamun, so the food court will be a nice way to put my toe in the water on the first evening, without being too intimidated. We also now have a guide who will take us to the fish market. (I don't know if she was so excited about that, might let her take us wherever she thinks is wothwhile and do the fish thing on our own. I just wanted someone who could order for me ) jrufusj, if you can remember the fancier of the two BBQ places you recommended, it would really be appreciated. (If not, don't worry about it). I think one of the two will be a good choice for taking out my spouse and his colleague. Will also certainly hit the sashimi place you mentioned, I can't wait, I am dying for good fish. As far as liver sashimi, I used to eat it (lamb) quite often in Lebanon as a kid, and absolutely love it. I'm taking my husband there next May so he can meet my (extended) family, so I think I will hold off on exposing him to that until then, when it won't seem quite as unfamiliar (and he has enough Arak in him ). How is the baby? I've printed out the topic, have my lonely planet guide, my phrase book and my language CDs copied onto mini-disks, have my guide's number and email, have my camera... I hope to bring back lots of pictures from my trip, will try to post a few here. Whew, one more week!

Definitely not too much! I shoved my fresh garlic cloves into a tub of miso last night. We'll see what happens once I'm back in town in three weeks. How long does it usually take to become a pickle? (I didn't blanch & press, I hope that's okay -- the garlic was smelling very pleasant as is.) Hopefully it won't rot in the fridge... I need to send the ginger shoot pickle picture to my mom. It's really nice to see how Japanese food is eaten "in situ". Since my experience with it is purely in restaurants, I never have any intuition about what you would eat with what, or what time of year etc. Your kids seem very cute

Welcome to eGullet! Frankly, for me it is less of a moral issue, more of just not wanting to constantly get depressed about being in the middle of the midwest. People eat some seriously crappy food around here, which is why it's so hard to find supermarkets with decent produce/meat/cheese/whatever departments.

Hmmm, y'see, everything in the world boils down to semantics. Those Yemenite wrap-type things are called, in Hebrew, "aish tanoor." If you want one of those, you wouldn't ask for a pita, because if you did you'd get, well, a pita, and not an aish tanoor. I thought they were called Laffa, or Iraqi pita. "Laffa" in arabic literally means "wrap". (The noun, not the verb.)

Great blog! I am completely overwhelmed by the quantity of new information. I need to pickle my fresh garlic. This blog has been bookmarked.

They usually have little bottles of the stuff next to the cash register in German Döner shops, as a digestif. Kinda loses its "glamour" that way, just makes me think of old German men and too-heavy lunches.

Lebanese people soak 'em in cold water for about 30 minutes. The water may have salt in it, though we never used any. After soaking, rinse them in fresh cold water to get rid of the milky stuff.

That's funny, that was the exact suggestion I was going to make when I read the title of this thread! Before it got popular on the East coast in the US, I used a combination of white rum and white tequila to approximate the Cachaca. Actually, I think white tequila on its own tastes pretty damn close...the rum was merely an attempt to cut the alcohol level and avoid a hangover. It goes so well with any type of highly spiced food, so it can cover a lot of cuisines. It is definitely the aperatif of choice in our household.

Fresh mozarella is a lot more about texture than taste. Should be creamy once it melts. The one thing that is worrying me is that the lasagne is in the corner of the pan, once it gets hot it might run a bit. Maybe you could press some crumpled foil in the empty corner, put a layer of buttered foil over it to compensate for the missing space? In any case, it is sure to taste good, and if you plate it in the kitchen, no one is the wiser. As far as rusted pans, definitely replace, though next time you could in a pinch cover it with buttered foil. It's worth spending as much as you can afford on good pans (once you know what kinds of stuff you need), since that way you will only need to buy them once. Hope you have a nice dinner!