Janghowon Peach Festival 2007

[Domestic Goddess]

Last year I reported on the yearly Janghowon Peach Festival. For information about this yearly event, the official website states:

The yellow peach, harvested in Janghowon, Icheon, has long been popular for its pleasant scent, nice appearance, and unique taste. From September 14th to 16th, the Janhgowon Peach Festival will be held at the terrace land of Cheongmicheon (stream) at Janghowon, where visitors can buy peaches and also have experience of picking their own. A harvesting experience will be given to the first 80 visitors to the festival on the 15th and the 16th. This is a good experience, as it is rare in Korea for non-farmers to have the opportunity to harvest peaches.

This year's festival was marred by heavy rains brought by a typhoon. Still, for the sake of eGullet and my youngest son (who looks forward to the carnival games and rides), we went on a drizzly Friday.

Here's a shot of the fair grounds. You can see my son's yellow umbrella on the lower right hand side. You can also see a fried donut cake vendor and a roasted chestnut stand.

Last year I forgot to post pics of the peaches featured in the festival. I do hope these would suffice for this year.

Here is a close-up of the luscious peaches on sale in the fairgrounds. Each box retails approx. between $10 - $20 each.

One of the displays they had there were these red cars. I dunno what they are for but they sure do look like small Zambonis.

Foodie pics coming up...

[Domestic Goddess]

The Peach Festival is divided into two sections: the peach displays and the food/games grounds. This food tent is located in the peach displays.

A huge pot of Kalbi Tang (Beef Short Rib soup) simmering happily away.

Tteokbokki snack - long rice cake sticks in gochujang (red pepper paste sauce) with fish cakes and leeks.

Heads up Sheena, the next couple of pictures are for you.

Sundae sausages with steamed offal.

Sausages being sliced for an order.

In another tent, they were selling Peach Maekkoli (a fermented drink usually made out of rice).

Billy and I now moved down to the gams/rides section of the fair. Billy was fascinated by this drinks cart.

A blurry shot of the roasted chestnut stand. You can see two roasters on the cart. I love this kind of chestnut (small, mandarin ones). I think it is sweeter than the bigger chestnuts.

Now we come up to the food/restaurant stands. Here is an adjuma (woman) tending the stirfry station. Note the interesting display of empty soju bottles in front of the whole section.

This restaurant stand has the best roasted pork in the fair. There are several restaurants who offer roasted pork but this one serves the tenderest pork (not dried out) and more bang for your buck (lotsa pork pieces).

If I am not mistaken, these are fried pigeons. (if not squab)

For diners who want a light fare, there are udeng (boiled fish cakes) on a stick and in the huge pan on the left (with the metal colander) steamed mussels.

Now we move on to one of the many snack stands. This one has takkotchi (grilled dark chicken meat on a stick) and corn dogs.

A clearer picture of the corn dogs, fried rice cake (stuffed with fake crab sticks) and plain hot dogs.

This stand also sells steamed river snails, silkworm larvae and steamed/grilled corn.

Corn here are boiled and then grilled. On the left side you can see clear cups of crunchy sweet potato sticks.

More pics coming up.

Edited September 17, 2007 by Domestic Goddess (log)

[Domestic Goddess]

The Peach Festival also showcases a lot of small vendores selling different housewares, carved wooden items, clothes, etc. There was huge dollar-store tent set up in the middle of the fairgrounds.

Billy poses in front of bed/linen display.

Purses and wallets on sale for $5 dollars.

We now get back to foodie pics. Baby back ribs being prepped for grilling. The seller was taking the silverskin off the back of the ribs.

Steamed king crabs that retail for around $20 to $30 per huge piece.

Live fish in tanks for sashimi. I don't know the name or variety of the fish.

Huge shellfish (about a foot long) served either grilled or raw.

This restaurant stand serves stirfry intestines with potato noodles and veggies.

A dish served to passersby for free sampling.

Twikim (Seafood and veggies deep-fried in batter) foodstand. They also serve steamed dumplings (both meat and kimchi ones).

More huge king crabs. These are usually served with a gochujang-based dipping sauce.

A friendly vendor picks one up to show me a closer look.

Pardon the blurry picture, there are also lots of stuffed squid available in the seafood restaurant stands. The squid is stuffed with carrots and chives.

Too bad it is raining, these covered piles of food are different stacks of intestines, sliced pigs ear/face, pork, chicken, etc.

There are also Chukpal (boiled pigs trotters) to be ordered.

Again snacks like Takkotchi. Here there are two kinds, the spicy red kind (with gochujang sauce) and a sweet-savoury one (soysauce based).

This looks like braised kimchi and for what dish or use, I don't know.

More Sundae sausage pics for Sheena.

Huge oysters bigger than my palm, washed by the pouring rain.

More pics coming right up.

[Domestic Goddess]

We passed by a seafood grill restaurant and here are the assortment of fish available for grilling:

Fillets of squid.

Samchi (Spanish mackerel)

More fish and some shrimp at the back.

Remember those baby back ribs? Well here they are grilled and ready to serve.

Not only do they grill ribs but also sweet potato yams.

All this walking under the rain, patiently waiting for Mommy to finish taking pictures, my son had enough. He wanted to play some games.

This game is simple, you toss a coin (a 100-won) and whatever square it lands, you get the coinXthe number on the square. Tricky part is that the coin shouldn't touch any line.

Billy skipped this for the ball toss.

And the ring toss...

He also played some darts but I didn't get any pics of that. We then smelled this fabulous scent of grilled pork and spied this. Billy declared he was hungry and actually requested some pork.

While waiting for our pork slices to be served, Billy showcases his prizes from the games he won.

And finally, our pork platter is served. I also ordered rice, some hot soup to warm us up and a couple of softdrinks.

Well, there's my report on this year's wet Peach Festival. Hope y'all enjoyed it as much as I did.

Edited September 17, 2007 by Domestic Goddess (log)

[heidih]

Thank you for this report. Last year's was wonderful as well- I wanted to eat it all. You are quite the trooper in the rain. I totally understand the pull of a young child with his heart set on the games and prizes and excitement thinking he would be thwarted by the rain. You are a wonderful mom for braving the elements and even photographing in such difficult conditions. Did you get any crunchy pork skin with that plate? What were all the little dollops of sauce on the cabbage and the lettuce? Was that raw garlic along side? Great reporting as always.

[Domestic Goddess]

Thanks Heidih! Yes, there was wonderful crunchy pork skin (I ate it all -Mommy privileges). The dollop of sauce on the leaf was dwenjang sauce mix (fermented soybean sauce). The red sauce on the cabbage was ... KETCHUP! LOL, I didn't eat this but it sure made a for a great dipping sauce for Billy who didn't like the dwenjang sauce.

Yes, those are slivers/pieces of raw garlic. Somehow, it made up for a nice flavor when you eat a piece of pork with it.

Thanks for enjoying my report. It was well worth it after getting this nasty cold.

Edited September 18, 2007 by Domestic Goddess (log)

[Peter Green]

Fresh soodae and makkolli. Now that'd be a breakfast to wake up for.

Are the big shellfish the same as geoducks? A long, long foot hanging out of the shell?

What time of the day were these shots taken? Is it really late, or was the rain just that heavy?

Cheers,

Peter

[Domestic Goddess]

Hi Peter!

No, the shellfish were not geoducks. It actually looks like a huge mussel and looks like a half opened fan. The shell is very dark-green in color (almost black) and is used to make mother-of=pearl items like windows, lamps, decorative knickknacks.

We went to the festival around 6:00pm. I guess it was really dark with the dusk setting in and the heavy rains adding to it.

[SheenaGreena]

loved all the soondae pics, thanks. I really want some warm soondae now...and those peaches are a good price. I thought they'd be more expensive and they probably are if you bought them in a department store

[Domestic Goddess]

Sheena,

I just found out that the prices I quoted: $14-20 per box were for the ones with the smallest peaches. The bigger peaches retails to almost $30 to $40 per box. Wow!

[milgwimper]

Domestic Goddess thanks so much for posting the pictures! I have to admit though they make me home sick for Korean food! Hmmm Peach makkoli sounds interesting, and the peaches look really good, but I had forgotten how much some of the peaches can cost. I have to say I cannot wait to see your next post in Korea, eventhough it does make my mouth water, and it makes me miss my Mom's cooking even more!

Oh they even have saury there...Where is the drool icon? I love grilled saury! Well actually I like it any which way. I asked my Mom to send me some of the canned ones, and well I will be eating canned saury for awhile now! Not as good as fresh but quite good drained and mixed with soysauce, red pepper, garlic sesame oil, and green onions and boiled for a couple of minutes. I better stop I am getting hungry.

You are such a wonderful Mom to take your son out in the rain so he could play the carnival games! Was it just you and your younger son or did the whole family troop out there in the rain?

okay I am babbling on my first post! I better quit while I am ahead!

[Peter Green]

Where is the drool icon?

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I second that! We need a "drool" icon for egullet!

[Domestic Goddess]

milgwimper - I was gonna ask what a saury was and googled it and found out it was one of those common fishes I always encounter in the street markets here. I love it grilled and dusted with cornstarch & fried too.

No, my whole family didn't go as my eldest son is back in the Philippines and hubby still had classes until 8:10 pm (and he didn't want to walk in the mud and squishy grass).

Peter - I also echo that motion. eGullet Gods we need a drool icon.

[milgwimper]

milgwimper - I was gonna ask what a saury was and googled it and found out it was one of those common fishes I always encounter in the street markets here. I love it grilled and dusted with cornstarch & fried too.

Oh I love them so very much, and I am so jealous that you can get them fresh! YUM! It is one of my fav fish, and one of the things I loved as a kid. So it is quite a comfort food for me with rice. Now I really need the drool icon.

Wow he works late, hopefully it doesn't work a split shift, and just works swing? Sorry if I am asking too many personal questions! I don't mean to pry!

YES! We need a droo icon! Some how this isn't cutting it ~

[milgwimper]

Oh I forgot to post how much I miss the rice patty snails! I love the water that the snails are boiled in...Yummy. When I was a kid we used to take those snails into the movie theatres...Instead of crunching popcorn you heard click click click (of people throwing the shells on the floor), and if youi were unlucky loud slurps. er okay that doesn't sound nice but it is one of my fav memories!

[Domestic Goddess]

milgwimper - Hubby's work doesn't start until 1:00 pm and he gets overtime for working until 8pm. No worries about the questions, keep 'em coming!

I love those rice paddy snails too. My kids were horrified when I ordered a cup last year and proceeded to slurp and suck the buggers all the time when we were walking around the Peach Festival. My eldest son had this horrified look on his face while I continued to eat all the snails. LOL

[milgwimper]

milgwimper - Hubby's work doesn't start until 1:00 pm and he gets overtime for working until 8pm. No worries about the questions, keep 'em coming!

I love those rice paddy snails too. My kids were horrified when I ordered a cup last year and proceeded to slurp and suck the buggers all the time when we were walking around the Peach Festival. My eldest son had this horrified look on his face while I continued to eat all the snails. LOL

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Well I am glad your husband get overtime! Sometimes you hear some horror stories about teaching english in Korea.

That is hilarious! I can picture your son's horrified face! I love the stuff, and was a little sad I did not see them the last time I was there in 1999. Something similar happened to me the last time I went with my famiy to Korea(sometime in the 80's). My brother couldn't get away from me fast enough. Although the last time I went to Korea I didn't see any of the rice patty snails ( I forgot what they are called in Korean besides the generic sora) but then again I didn't want to scare away my fiance now husband. But I don't think he would care, I dragged him to so many street food stalls he said his head was spinning. He couldn't believe how much we packed in our stomaches but then again we walked everywhere!

I miss the street food so much...er okay I miss any type of Korean food period! LOL My husband misses the Icecreams, junkfood, and the street stalls.

Thanks Domestic goddess for the pics I showed them to a friend of mine and she said it was cruel of me to subject her to food she couldn't have! But that didn't stop her from drooling over the pics!

[Peter Green]

Okay, rice paddy snails are on the list of "must eats".

[phage]

Hmmm, I just made and ate a peach smoothie before turning my computer on and coming here.....

Reminds me of the time we went to the big festival that alternated eachyear between Gongju and Buyeo. That year it was in Buyeo and the tents were filled with piles of delicous food and absolutely nobody was there eating. Alas, we didn't eat there either 'cause we'd just had a tasty meal at a restaurant in town. At least the Peach festival seemed to have some customers, if not jam-packed.....

Yes, I'd like some of that sundae too. One of the things I miss most about Korea.

The peach makkoli looked tasty. Though makkoli is usually made mostly from wheat rather than rice. Though there's usually some rudimentary rice in it.

Unfortunately I didn't get to see all the photos, cause my computer stopped downloading them about halfway through. I think it has an electronic disease, though my anti-virus software isn't picking it up.....

--phage

[milgwimper]

Okay, rice paddy snails are on the list of "must eats".

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Peter I hope you will like them. My brother and father cannot stand the texture of the snails, but I love them!

Phage- That sounds so sad that there wasn't a soul there to eat any of the delicious food...*sigh* I can't be everywhere. I have to agree with you though on the peach makkoli it is so pretty!

[SheenaGreena]

Hmmm, I just made and ate a peach smoothie before turning my computer on and coming here.....

Reminds me of the time we went to the big festival that alternated eachyear between Gongju and Buyeo.  That year it was in Buyeo and the tents were filled with piles of delicous food and absolutely nobody was there eating.  Alas, we didn't eat there either 'cause we'd just had a tasty meal at a restaurant in town.  At least the  Peach festival seemed to have some customers, if not jam-packed.....

Yes, I'd like some of that sundae too.  One of the things I miss most about Korea. 

The peach makkoli looked tasty.  Though makkoli is usually made mostly from wheat rather than rice.  Though there's usually some rudimentary rice in it. 

Unfortunately I didn't get to see all the photos, cause my computer stopped downloading them about halfway through.  I think it has an electronic disease, though my anti-virus software isn't picking it up.....

--phage

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I believe they do tangerine makkoli in chejudo, cause they grow a TON of them over there....that and tangerine sujaebi

[milgwimper]

SheenaGreena,

I believe they do tangerine makkoli in chejudo, cause they grow a TON of them over there....that and tangerine sujaebi

Oh Tangerine makkoli sounds good too, but the tangerine sujaebi sounds good one minute and then another not so much. I love sujaebi!

[SheenaGreena]

sujaebi = lazy dinner for me. Just take some dashida, potatos, flour, and water and you have a meal

Last night i had a dream that I was in korea shopping and eating soondae. I want to die right now, bc the apparently the next time I am going to Korea is after I graduate college.

[milgwimper]

sujaebi = lazy dinner for me.  Just take some dashida, potatos, flour, and water and you have a meal

Last night i had a dream that I was in korea shopping and eating soondae.  I want to die right now, bc the apparently the next time I am going to Korea is after I graduate college.

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LOL Yeah I make sujaebi when I am lazy too! Although I usually just put in mehrucchi (the anchovies) garlic and boil the heck out of them, and go from there. I made my Mom make me sujaebi before I left California...

Yeah I would love to go to korea too! Don't think I will be going any time soon. Maybe in three years from now if I am lucky.

[Fugu]

Those "Huge Shellfish" are called Pen shells. I read an article on them in scuba diver magazines, on foraging under the sea.