Travelogue: 4 weeks at Sheena mommy's house

[SheenaGreena]

whoops, realized I forgot to respond to some people. My apologies...

Thank you so much doing this travel-log Sheena! I really get alot out of seeing how other people eat and it is especially interesting when they are adapting their cultural eating style to a new land. Those jars outside look fascinating. You can really smell some from 5 feet? What is the absolute favorite thing your mom makes when you go home that you can got even come close to elsewhere?

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no problem, thank you for enjoying it. Yes you can smell the jars from 5 feet away (they have no lids...only a cheesecloth on top. The other pots/kimchi jars that I posted upthread yesterday are actually empty. My favorite thing that my mom cooks is probably sam gyup sal. She buys a ton of meat and makes a lot of panchan to go with it. The other day she didn't make as much and well it tastes better and is more enjoyable eating it at home than at a restaurant. I also like pretty much everything else that my mom makes.

Hi, Sheena--

I'm enjoying your travelogue lots already! As you know, I am a big fan of Korean food, although I feel I still have tons to learn, so I'm looking forward to learning more from this topic.

I love your mom's jars of fermenting foods out in the great outdoors. This is the second topic in as many days that has reminded me of my maternal grandmother's habit of keeping jars of fermenting sauerkraut out on her tenement flat's fire escape during the winter. Gotta love that immigrant inventiveness in translating homeland ways to new circumstances.

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hi hi! I love sauerkraut and so does my mother. It tastes a lot like really old kimchi, but without the chiles, ginger, and garlic. My father's mom (I call her granny) grew up with a lot of pennsylvaina dutch cuisine so she makes sauerkraut and pork a lot. Unfortunately the sauerkraut is purchased from the grocery store and isn't homemade.

Thanks, Sheena!  You've already cleared up one question.  We did bibimbap last night, and I'd asked what toraji was.  Yoonhi's response was "it's toraji".  But Bellflower root got her right back on track.  She remembers her mom growing it in their garden.

The gosari has her clamouring now for yugaejang.

Cheers,

Peter

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no problem, maybe I'll ask my mom to make some ddeokbokki for yoonhi.

What a wonderful report Sheena! Gosh, I didn't know that those huge jars cost $100. Somebody wanted to give me one and I turned her down since I had no space put it in our tiny apartment and have  now idea what sauce to put in it.

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you better take it the next time you are offered!!!!!!!! Maybe you can make some fantastic chicken adobo with it?

oh and by the way, I wanted my mom to make soy sauce crabs with the crabs we caught the other day, but I killed them by putting ice on them. My mom said they had to be alive in order to make it. I was soooo upset, because I knew you were dying to see that doddie I kid I kid!

[Dejah]

Wonderful travelogue, Sheena.

I was looking at the Korean watercress. Does it grow in soil or water? It "almost" looks like Chinese celery, but the stalk is not big enough to be.

This is the first time I have ever seen sesame leaves. Is it possible to describe the taste or aroma? It is eaten raw - like lettuce?

[Peter Green]

Sheena,

We like your mom's fridge. She's got the same brand of gochujang we use over here.

Are you going to be allowed to do a pictorial of the local Korean grocery store? Or are things to restricted on shooting photos in shops?

Oh, and we've got a question for your mom. One of our friends was talking about a little yellow, round seed she'd eat in her rice. It was about the size and shape of bird food. Does she know what the English name would be? We think the Korean name was "oksal".

Keep the photos coming!

Peter

[SheenaGreena]

Wonderful travelogue, Sheena.

I was looking at the Korean watercress. Does it grow in soil or water? It "almost" looks like Chinese celery, but the stalk is not big enough to be.

This is the first time I have ever seen sesame leaves. Is it possible to describe the taste or aroma? It is eaten raw - like lettuce?

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the watercress grows in soil. It kinda does look like chinese celery, but you're right the stalks are very small. The sesame leaves are eaten raw or cooked. I like them cooked with fish in a spicy soup, because they lend a nice aroma to it. I would describe the taste as really green with a hint of mint. I have never tasted shiso, but I think they taste almost the same. My mom's sesame leaves taste fantastic. Sometimes I will go out to the backyard and eat a few leaves right off the plant. When they are eaten raw, usually they are used for wrapping around sashimi or meat. They can also be "kimchied"

Sheena,

We like your mom's fridge.  She's got the same brand of gochujang we use over here.

Are you going to be allowed to do a pictorial of the local Korean grocery store?  Or are things to restricted on shooting photos in shops?

Oh, and we've got a question for your mom.  One of our friends was talking about a little yellow, round seed she'd eat in her rice.  It was about the size and shape of bird food.  Does she know what the English name would be?  We think the Korean name was "oksal". 

Keep the photos coming!

Peter

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I think that gochujang tastes too sweet. However it does taste good as a dip for cucumbers. When I asked my mother what oksal meant, she said "jail." I thought that was pretty funny. Then I mentioned something about a yellow seed and she had no idea what I was talking about. Maybe they are mustard seeds? I think koreans put black mustard seeds in soondae guk.

[Abra]

Oh good, the Korean Association party should show us all sorts of interesting food. Three cheers for Sheena's Mom for participating in her blog!

Some nice simple panchan recipes would also be a great addition to the blog. I know less about Korean food than any other Asian cuisine, and it's the only Asian food that I never cook at all. We love to eat Korean food at a restaurant, but it would be fun to be able to cook some of it myself.

[srhcb]

I love the names of Korean food! Are the spellings phonetic?

How do you pronounce "bibimbap"?

SB (great blog. Reminds me of Tony Bourdain and Nori visiting Korea! )

[Peter Green]

Sheena,

We think we found the answer for oksal (and, yes, "jail" would also be pretty close).

After some phone calls, we think it could be millet (now a primary ingredient in bird food).

What's Mom cooking for dinner tonight?

Cheers,

Peter

[gus_tatory]

Hi Sheena--

I'm one of the many enjoying your 'cooking Korean food with Mom' travelogue.

Does your Mom make mandhu ever? And is there that much difference between gyozas, jiaozi, and mandhu?

Thanks!

[Shelby]

For the next four weeks, I am in Maryland visiting my family.  My mother, father, and little sister all live here in the house.  As some of you may know, I'm half korean so for the next few weeks I will be eating A LOT of korean food and so far I took a few pictures of what I've been eating.  Due to my camera, most of the pictures are horrible and/or blurry, so please bear with me. 

oh and by the way in Korea, you always call a woman (with children) her oldest child's name + mom.  So since I'm the oldest, my mother is known as Sheena momma or Sheena amma by all of her friends....hence the title of the thread.

enjoy

(i'll post pics as I go along)

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Oh wow, I just saw this! I'm excited to read--I stopped right here to tell you I love learning about other cultures. What an honor, then, to be the first child! Do siblings get jealous?

[Shelby]

We went crabbing the next day and here are some random pics of what we caught, found, ate, and drank (nasty natty bo)

oh and we went fishing a few days ago and this is what we caught: trout and "sunnies"

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Sheena, we catch the same bass and sun perch (sunnies) here in Kansas! It's cool to see some of the same things even though we live far apart!

[Shelby]

When we came back from crabbing at around 6 pm, we ate some delicious pigs feet with korean salted tiny shrimp, aka seojut.  My mother boiled the pigs feet with some ginger and then threw them in the fridge to firm up and cool down.  They make a great snack with beer and it's fun to stick feet in your mouth 

Then finally today for lunch we ate samgyupsal or pork belly outside in the backyard.  It's hot outside, but since we ate under the shade it was really cool.  We also cooked the samgyupsal with some sliced king oyster mushrooms, whole garlic cloves, and sliced onion.  We used the same wrapping that we used with kalbi (lettuce, sesame leaves, watercress) and we also added some sliced jalapenos and fermented soy bean for dipping. 

here's my family eating:  mom, dad, baby sis, and her boyfriend (you'll see a lot of him)

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What a beautiful family you have!

[slo_ted]

Sheena, I'm loving this alot. And yes, your pix are fine. It's good fun tagging along with you and I look forward to the next installment.

[markemorse]

Awesome, amazing thread...I've been hoping for some full-on SheenaGreena for awhile now....thanks!

mark

[Chufi]

  I know less about Korean food than any other Asian cuisine, and it's the only Asian food that I never cook at all.  We love to eat Korean food at a restaurant, but it would be fun to be able to cook some of it myself.

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Abra have you seen this thread? That got me interested in Korean food , which is hard to find in Amsterdam. Lots of recipes on that thread.

Sheena, this is so interesting. Keep the pics coming and the descriptions of all the different smells, too

Edited July 16, 2007 by Chufi (log)

[SheenaGreena]

Jeez, I just typed a huge message and my internet cut out.

Anyways, Im sorry I haven't been on in a while. I haven't had any stellar meals as of lately, because I have two huge canker sores/fever blisters on the inside of my mouth. If that's too much info, my apologies, but thats why I haven't been eating. I tried eating some tomatoes yesterday and it KILLED. Oh and my mom hasn't cooked anything, because my parents are getting their kitchen remodeled. They replaced their countertops (white) with some dark granite and it looks awesome. However the new sink that was installed is leaking and a piece of the granite is cracked SO it won't be finished till this thursday.

I will post some pics of kalgooksu (from 2 days ago) and try to respond to your posts throughout the week.

ps: pray for me (:

[heidih]

Sounds painful. Tomato- what were you thinking! Take care of yourself Prayers all around. We miss your dialogue so in self interest hope you recover soon. As to the kitchen remodel issues for your parents- as long as their contractors are responsive that is good. Every remodel has its issues. Try to get them to get "drop dead" dates - linked to payments- always more effective!

[Pan]

Jeez, I just typed a huge message and my internet cut out.

Anyways,  Im sorry I haven't been on in a while.  I haven't had any stellar meals as of lately, because I have two huge canker sores/fever blisters on the inside of my mouth.  If that's too much info, my apologies, but thats why I haven't been eating.  I tried eating some tomatoes yesterday and it KILLED.  Oh and my mom hasn't cooked anything, because my parents are getting their kitchen remodeled.  They replaced their countertops (white) with some dark granite and it looks awesome.  However the new sink that was installed is leaking and a piece of the granite is cracked SO it won't be finished till this thursday. 

I will post some pics of kalgooksu (from 2 days ago) and try to respond to your posts throughout the week.

ps:  pray for me (:

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Oy! I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I haven't had one of those in a long time, but I used to get them, and they kill! But make sure to avoid everything acidic and spicy. Sorry, no kimchi until you're better.

[SheenaGreena]

Hi Sheena--

I'm one of the many enjoying your 'cooking Korean food with Mom' travelogue.

Does your Mom make mandhu ever? And is there that much difference between gyozas, jiaozi, and mandhu?

Thanks!

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my mom does make mandu and I don't know if there is a huge difference between korean dumplings vs. chinese and japanese ones. I just know that in korea you can eat them steamed, boiled in soup, or panfried in some oil. My mom makes fantastic ones around new years that are stuffed with really old winter kimchi and soft tofu. They go great in rice cake soup. I think that chinese style buns are popular in korea. I used to eat the frozen ones all the time when I was younger and pop them in the microwave for a few seconds. I would take the hot chinese bun and touch my cheeks with it because of the warmth....once in a while i'll do that nowadays

For the next four weeks, I am in Maryland visiting my family.  My mother, father, and little sister all live here in the house.  As some of you may know, I'm half korean so for the next few weeks I will be eating A LOT of korean food and so far I took a few pictures of what I've been eating.  Due to my camera, most of the pictures are horrible and/or blurry, so please bear with me. 

oh and by the way in Korea, you always call a woman (with children) her oldest child's name + mom.  So since I'm the oldest, my mother is known as Sheena momma or Sheena amma by all of her friends....hence the title of the thread.

enjoy

(i'll post pics as I go along)

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Oh wow, I just saw this! I'm excited to read--I stopped right here to tell you I love learning about other cultures. What an honor, then, to be the first child! Do siblings get jealous?

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I don't think my little sister gets jealous. She's pretty close in age to me (only 3 years younger) and she is considered the baby of the family. In fact, we call her "baby T" or "Tiny T" or "Little T"...her name is Christina. Although she is 21, she likes to eat all of her meals with hello kitty chopsticks and spoons.

Awesome, amazing thread...I've been hoping for some full-on SheenaGreena for awhile now....thanks!

mark

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how kind, thanks!

oh and chufi, you should contribute more to that korean home cooking thread! That thing is always dead and needs to be revived some more

tonight I'm eating korean food, but I have no clue what it is. Hopefully you will be as surprised as me. Last night for dinner I ate some grilled salmon with japanese "unagi sauce" drizzled on top. My mom also baked some shrimp and my sister made a really fattening and super delicious crab dip.

[Hiroyuki]

here are some pics of the back...maybe someone can translate for me?  sorry about the flash btw

my family ate them with some soju     They make great drinking snacks

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I thought it was a wonderful travelogue until I noticed this.

The product name is plain stupid: Ohmori (Large Portion) Kikaku (Plans).

Very roughly, the second photo says:

Plan 1: Appetizers for beer and sake. Joyfully with everybody, many times by yourself

Plan 2: Snacks for kids. Something to nibble at when they are hungry.

Plan 3: In a family, in a group, companions for a trip.

The third photo is simply full of sales talk. Not worthy of translation!

Edited to add:

Do you happened to know how to call yomogi (mugwort) in Korean?

Edited July 17, 2007 by Hiroyuki (log)

[SheenaGreena]

here are some pics of the back...maybe someone can translate for me?  sorry about the flash btw

my family ate them with some soju     They make great drinking snacks

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I thought it was a wonderful travelogue until I noticed this.

The product name is plain stupid: Ohmori (Large Portion) Kikaku (Plans).

Very roughly, the second photo says:

Plan 1: Appetizers for beer and sake. Joyfully with everybody, many times by yourself

Plan 2: Snacks for kids. Something to nibble at when they are hungry.

Plan 3: In a family, in a group, companions for a trip.

The third photo is simply full of sales talk. Not worthy of translation!

Edited to add:

Do you happened to know how to call yomogi (mugwort) in Korean?

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hey, this travelogue/blog is the greatest thing to happen to egullet!!!!!!! just kidding

all I have to say about those japanese snacks is that they cost way too much money (1000 yen) and that the ratio of peanuts to seafood is 10 to 1.

I think yomogi in korean is "souk" I find it everywhere. There are always korean ladies picking that stuff here in maryland. My mom's friend got fined once for doing that. I think for hiroyuki I will do something with my konnyaku that I bought the other day. My sister has never had it and I'm thinking of a good preparation for her. Perhaps grill it and baste it with daengjang? I have no miso here, so chunky daengjang is a great substitute even with some kochujang.

Im actually at work with my father right now. He's a financial director of a private school and I found out there is a garden on the grounds. he just picked me 2 really nice orange bell peppers and a zuchini. Does anyone have any good ideas for either? I was thinking of cutting the zuchinni into strips and grilling them or maybe I will ask my mom to pan fry them and make them into "jeon"

[hummingbirdkiss]

please will you tell me how your mother grows sesame leaves?

this is such a good blog thanks Sheena ..sorry about your mouth OUCH!!!

stop stressing and they will go away ..they are stress related I know that first hand

[SheenaGreena]

uhhhhh I have no idea how she grows them, but I know that they grow so freakin fast every summer and the leaves taste a BAJILLION times better than the kind you get at the grocery store. They are also way bigger...sometimes as big as my face, and I have a huge head. I'll ask her when I go home

[Abra]

Sheena, try getting a pile of baking soda in the palm of your hand. Wet your finger, dip it in the soda, and paste a big glop on the sore. I predict it'll be gone in a matter of hours.

Thanks for pointing me to that Korean home cooking thread, Chufi. Somehow I've completely missed it up until now.

[SheenaGreena]

I love the names of Korean food!   Are the spellings phonetic?

How do you pronounce "bibimbap"?

SB (great blog.  Reminds me of Tony Bourdain and Nori visiting Korea! )

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yes they are spelled phonetically and bibimbap is pronounced like this:

bee bim bap, but say it kinda quickly

[Endy']

my mom does make mandu and I don't know if there is a huge difference between korean dumplings vs. chinese and japanese ones.  I just know that in korea you can eat them steamed, boiled in soup, or panfried in some oil.  My mom makes fantastic ones around new years that are stuffed with really old winter kimchi and soft tofu.

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something that surprised me the first time I had mandu was the presence of noodles (think they were those translucent "bean stick") inside. I don't think I've ever seen that in Chinese dumplings, which are most often filled with pork + chives/napa cabbage/mushrooms, or shrimp. Less common would be cucumber or egg (still in a base of pork). Kimchi would of course be a very distinctly Korean filling