Jump to content

ZenKimchi

participating member
  • Posts

    172
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by ZenKimchi

  1. I was happy to find that pig's feet are fairly cheap in Korea, as opposed to soup bones, which are so expensive you'd have to get them on layaway.

    Either I miscommunicated with the lady at the butcher, or she just ignored me because I was a stupid foreigner, but she told the butcher to chop it into four sections and split the feet.

    It actually turned out to be a blessing because it gave me an opportunity to try two different techniques.

    Details on the Food Journal.

    German Roasted Eisbein (basted in dark beer)

    gallery_44307_3586_148187.jpg

    And trust me. Kimchi goes great with German food. Korean sauerkraut.

    ChefJohnny's Braised Trotters

    gallery_44307_3586_29685.jpg

    DISCLAIMER: Actually, I based it on ChefJohnny's recipe -- followed it in spirit with what I had available. And I was too lazy and hungry to make rillettes.

    Question, though. Most of the readers of my web site in Korea don't have ovens. Is it possible to come out with similar results by stewing the trotters on the stove top rather than braising them?

  2. That looks incredible! It is just the kind of food I was thinking about when I started this thread.

    A question about the anchovies, I don't believe I have seen those before here in Japan, I wonder if it would be ok to substitute niboshi?

    When we make Dwinjang Jjigae, we sometimes use the anchovies. We sometimes use dashi. The goal is to get a fishy broth.

    It has become one of my most favorite sublime dishes in Korea. I call it the "stinky miso." The flavor depends on the Dwinjang you use. A few months ago, we discovered a restaurant that made a punch-you-in-the-stomach Dwinjang Jjigae. We raved about it so much that the owner gave us a bag of her own secret Dwinjang. We have been using it at home, and I still can't fully dissect what the owner did to make it taste so good. Eun Jeong thinks she mixed in some minced garlic and ground anchovies and let it sit a bit longer. A good Dwinjang Jjigae is supposed to smell and taste like a stinky cheese soup.

    Which explains why Eun Jeong loves it when I make Welsh Rarebit.

  3. Does anyone know why some kimchis have this like sparkly carbonated taste to them after they ferment?  Some of them taste a little bit like 7 up.  I was wondering why some taste like this and others don't

    What's the oldest kimchi you have ever eaten?  With a kimchi fridgerator I have eaten some over a year old and boy are they stinky, but delicious

    The sparkling ones I have tried have been old kimchis -- at least over a year old. The first time I had one was two years ago at a friend's house during Chuseok. I've since come across it in a rare moment in nice folksy restaurants.

  4. As much as I love Korea and Korean food, I am also a cruel merciless critic of Korean food culture at times, especially when it comes to foreign food. Here are the rules I have been coming to discover:

    RULE #1: Western food must taste as close to candy as possible.

    If you can sweeten it enough for kids to like it, then everyone else will like it. You can't have any strong odors, nothing greasy, and for goodness sake, it can't be savory. It is a crap shoot on whether or not that ham and cheese sandwich you got at the bakery is slathered with ketchup, kiwi sauce, or just sweet corn syrup itself.

    RULE #2: We are no longer a poor country, but we must act like it. Especially in pretentious situations

    Wine bars and whiskey bars in Korea are laughably depressing. They are all dolled up in black and purple lighting, trying to look sophisticated with the plasticized girls who are there to talk to the patrons. You sit there at this expensive bar, and it is quiet. You get a small plate of stale nuts or tiny slices of dried seaweed while the bar girl stares at you uncomfortably, wishing she paid more attention to English classes in high school. These places try to give a look of sophistication that is intimidating but gets it all wrong in making it uncomfortable -- offering their classic whiskey and milk sets for $150.

    RULE #3: Foreigners are fat because they don't eat Korean food

    So nothing should be deep fried and if so, it should always be served with kimchi or something pickled -- preferrably sweet (see RULE #1).

    RULE #4: This is exactly how they serve it there

    Don't even think of trying to correct the pizza guy by saying you don't need sweet pickles with your pizza and spaghetti. You are supposed to have it that way because that's how real Americans and Italians eat pizza and spaghetti.

    "But I'm American," you say.

    That does not matter. You are in Korea. We are Korean. We are right.

  5. The banana stuffed french toast at the Polynesian Resort in Disney is wonderful. And the pastries at Epcot in the French and Swedish pavilions are a treat.

    I actually stayed at the Polynesian resort in Disney w/my grandparents when I was 10. Unfortunately I don't remember much about the food. Although, I do remember having an awesome brunch with all the Disney characters. I probably had egg beaters, microwave bacon, and pancakes.

    I think my experience at the Polynesian Resort at 8 years old was what started me getting interested in exotic foods. We weren't staying at the Polynesian Resort, but my parents wanted to have dinner there. I remember it being different, and I really liked the tiki glass my dad's drink was served in. We brought it home, and it was my favorite souvenir. For years, I made little tropical drinks at home to put in my tiki glass.

    I don't know if there was a point to that story -- I'm sure it was way off topic.

  6. These are what I consider man foods in Korea:

    Cow Intestines Grilled with Soju

    Still Squirming Squid and Octopus

    SundaeGuk: a spicy heavy stew with all the nasty bits of blood sausage, intestines, cartilege

    HaejangGuk (Hangover Stew), usually including big Fred Flinstone racks of pork spine and coagulated cow's blood

    BulDalk and DalkBal (Spicy Charcoal Grilled Chicken and Chicken Feet) -- Never eat these when you have something to do the next day. You will spend much of it on the Thinking Chair.

  7. Here is a link to an article about the Le Cordon Bleu Kimchi cookbook in the JoongAng daily.

    http://service.joins.com/asp/print_article...+a+la+Francaise

    Where can I get that book? I've hunted Amazon, WhatTheBook (Korea), and Google, and I can't find any place that sells it. Would it be at Kyobo?

    EDIT: I found an online version at the Korean Agriculture and Fisheries Board site (which co-produced the book).

    Click on Kimchi in the Western World >> Le Cordon Bleu

  8. I like to stick to the ddok boggie and yache twigim (fried veggies) mixed together. Or takki yaki, a new but wildly popular street snack in the downtown and university areas.

    Oh yeah, the takoyaki -- Osaka's big contribution to Seoul street cuisine. Gimme some octopus balls, yeah!

  9. I thought it was gizzards the whole time. I have had these things a few times before. They taste great, but the texture is unsettling. Meat ain't supposed to have the crunch of vegetables.

    My guess is that they are gizzards, but it's more entertaining to say that they are the "House of Poo." I mean, this is a country where a popular costumed children's character's trademark is farting every time he's happy.

×
×
  • Create New...