eG Foodblog: Domestic Goddess - Adobo & Fried Chicken in Korea

[Domestic Goddess]

Oh Boy!

It's soooo exciting to see pictures from Korea again. Cutting garlic! I was never without a bag of that in my fridge. Chilsung Cider! Hagwons! Oh my!

I have so many questions for you - where do you shop - Carrefour, Grandmart, or Homeplus? Do you have to take special runs into Seoul to get some ingredients? Have you ever tried the Indian food shop in Itaewon - they all sorts of great produce, sauces, and mixes available, as well as the cheapest selection of ground and whole spices in the city.

What's your favourite boxed cookie?

Do you have an oven?

Where do your children study - in a Korean public school, or at an International school?

So many questions! Oh, I'm getting homesick for Korea!

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Nakji - I didn't know you lived in Korea for sometime. Here is where my hubby works - Junior Collee Institute. For those who don't know, hagwons are languge tutorial schools mainly teaching English or Chinese (90% of them are the latter).

We are not close to any of the big stores that you mentioned ( Carrefour, Grandmart, or Homeplus), they're more than hour away by bus and we don't have a car. We do make special trips to Seoul to buy American and Filipino/asian food stuff.

I don't have a conventional oven, I have a convection one. Turbo Broiler oven

Jai goes to the local elementary school here. He's in the 6th grade and can read and write korean very well. We're home-schooling Billy as he is having trouble learning korean. Here's my son's school - Janghowon Elem. School

This was taken during the last Autumn Games. See the load-carrying military helicopter on top of the building?

[Domestic Goddess]

Your little guys are cute, and I liked the contrast in their names - Jai -for you, and Billy for DH and the USA? My older son's name is Ja-On - for moi, but both sons carry the William for DH.

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Jai was named by my parents after the Spanish betting game - "Jai-alai". His full name is Rodd Cameron. (I was a single mom before I got married). Billy is named after his grandpappy - William Earl III.

[Domestic Goddess]

Doddie, I've enjoyed your dinner threads...looking forward to your fusion of cultures food.  My bf was stationed in Korea while in the Air Force, how far are you from that area?  I believe he was in, forgive me in advance for spelling error, Kunsan?  I've heard many of stories of his dining adventures there, although they were usually on tight military budgets.  Looking forward to your blog....and your boys are just adorable.  Do you have any pets?

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Lucy, we're about an hour away from Kunsan, we do get a lot of military vehicles and aircrafts here in our area.

Hueys flying overhead...

Military trucks in front of Jai's school...

You asked about pets, well living in an apartment makes for little choices in that subjct. We used to have a hamster but he died last Autumn. All we have now are four little eels named Larry, Harry, Flo and Moe.

[Domestic Goddess]

Ok, I think I've covered all of the questions, now we go back to cooking/eating. Sunday was street market day, so the boys and I went out. Before I show you the market, lemme show you where and what we ate - at a Samgyeopsal Restaurant.

The kids love samgyeopsal (3-layer pork belly, and 2 of those layers are fat). I guess it is the Filipino blood in them, the innate love for porky dishes. Samgyeopsal can be fried or grilled before you. This restaurant grills them over coals. Yum!

First, they give you the basics - water, cup, chopsticks and spoon, sesame oil with salt, and a cold, wet towellete.

The meat is then slapped onto the grill.

The hovering agassi (lady or miss in korean) even helps turn the slices over and cut them into manageable bites.

Two different kinds of wrapping - lettuce and young napa cabbage. I leave the chili peppers alone.

Now we go to the ban chan (side dishes). Clockwise from the left we have: sauteed bean sprouts, spicy julienned leeks, radish kimchee, raw spicy crab and braised wild mountain herbs (a spring season specialty).

Here we have regular kimchee, white kimchee, braised whole soy beans, the typical salad with mayo, corn & apples , guchujang paste and raw garlic.

A hot pot of dwenjjang jjige (soybean stew) contain chockful of tofu blocks, zucchini slices, potato and root veggies.

Something I never seen served before - oysters with spicy sauce.

My bite before I bit...

Jai digging into his favorite food...

After finishing the hearty meal, we pay and go put our shoes back on.

I'll upload the market pics next and post them here.

[amapola]

What a great opening to a week of blogging. Your writing is so inviting and your photo's are disclosing an unknown world to me. I am looking forward to following your blog this week, learning lots about your food and culture- and keep on throwing in those pics of your adorable offspring

[Domestic Goddess]

The Janghowon street market is a weekly market that falls every 4 and 9 (or dates ending in 4 and 9). In other words, it happens every 5 days. Various vendors come from all over to sell their produce and wares. Everything is sold here - from shoes, to clothes, to freshly cooked bao buns & dumplings, etc.

Truck selling those small korean melons (smells like juicy fruit gum).

Handicapped vendors (deaf/mute) sell japanese cakes and waffles filled with cream.

Plastic flowers and plants for black-thumb gardeners like me. I confess... I kill potted plants.

Strawberry truck vendor bantering with his customers.

Trays of preserved fruits and plantain chips.

Real plants this time.

The shellfish truck with his sea cucumbers, clams, oysters, and shrimp. I'm a regular customer!

Acorn jelly blocks (great with soy sauce, leeks and peppers) and basins of silk worm larvae (shudder).

Blocks of freshly made tofu. They're still steaming when we past by.

Korea rice cake balls stuffed with potato...

Dried fish vendor wrestling with his ware...

You can get pots and pans here too.

That's part 1. I need to upload more pics and I'll post more in part 2.

[Domestic Goddess]

Part 2 of the Janghowon street market scene...

Men hunker down to drink and eat at this snack stand.

That serves gukbap (beef blood stew over rice).

A banchan stand which about 30 different covered trays...

A second-hand souvenir knick-knack paddy whack shop.

Complete with ancient warrior helmet.

Boiled pork hocks vendor who speaks suprisingly good English.

A typical veggie stand...

Hot steamed bao buns served fresh to a crowd of customers.

3-inch long strawberries sold for 10 dollars per container.

Leeks for the everyday korean dishes.

A fishy stall...

Billy gets up close and personal with the tiny crabs.

Shellfish galore.

Mr. Soybean Sprout guy... 1 basket costs about a dollar.

Fresh 'shrooms for 2 dollars a basket.

Freddie Kruger's stall... nah, just joking

A new butcher opens up and celebrates by throwing a free barbeque for everyone.

I buy a slab of pork to fix menudo tomorrow. No, the piggy head is not mine.

That ends my street market report. Upcoming is the Sunday dinner that we had - Grilled Lemon-Vinegar chicken.

Edited March 5, 2007 by Domestic Goddess (log)

[Rebecca263]

DG! How happy to have you blog! Thank you! We are really getting the best of bloggers lately. Such a joy!

Dear, that freezer, it's, well, it's DEFINITELY not mine. I do wish that I could say that mine was like that, but in our apartment you put your arms out in protection when you open the freezer door!

Homemade sausage is in your freezer! Do you make that delidious stew that gets served with eggplant? I am trying my best to remember the name, pochero or puchero? I KNOW, they are both stews, I always get them mixed up!!!

Bad girl, one is my favorite, the other is chicken, is all I know. LOL

Ah, and your little fort makers??? More photos, please, those boys are adorable!

[hzrt8w]

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Looks like you just sit on the floor? Do they provide cushions or you just sit on the hard wood floor? Is it typical of all Korean restaurants? Or just the barbeque ones?

[Domestic Goddess]

Homemade sausage is in your freezer! Do you make that delidious stew that gets served with eggplant? I am trying my best to remember the name, pochero or puchero? I KNOW, they are both stews, I always get them mixed up!!!

Bad girl, one is my favorite, the other is chicken, is all I know.  LOL

Ah, and your little fort makers??? More photos, please, those boys are adorable!

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Homemade brekkie sausage is Hubby's forte. Too expensive and too much of a hassle to go to Seoul to get Jimmy Dean's sausage. A package of 6 pcs. costs about 6 to 7 dollars!

Pochero is the name of the stew. I can make that later this week since this is how it looks like outside our window today.

The mashed eggplant sidedish that is served with pochero has some pieces of squash, minced garlic and vinegar with it. It makes for a delightful tongue cleanser after you slurp the oily broth.

And especially for you.... Billy just waking up.

Edited March 5, 2007 by Domestic Goddess (log)

[Domestic Goddess]

Looks like you just sit on the floor?  Do they provide cushions or you just sit on the hard wood floor?  Is it typical of all Korean restaurants?  Or just the barbeque ones?

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Ah Leung, most of the restaurants (samgyeopsal resto and others) are sit-down-on-the-floor-til-your-legs-feel-dead types. It's been trying to find places that actually have tables and chairs since hubby can't sit on the floor on account of his knees and discomfort. The kids and I grin and bear it.

They do provide thin cushions that do nothing to dull the pain of sitting down for a long time. Here's a pic of some other diners in the restaurant who wanted to say hello to Billy and shake his hand. Jai was too busy eating. LOL

[Domestic Goddess]

Wow, I never knew blogging could be so addictive ... and I am only on my second day. LOL

Yesterday was warm enough to cook some barbeque. I asked darling hubby to cut-up a couple of chickens (which he did in under 4 minutes) so I can make Chicken Inasal.

Chicken Inasal is a traditional Ilonggo barbeque dish where the chicken is marinated with a lot of lemongrass, wild yellow ginger, kalamansi juice, annato seeds (achuete in my language) and white sugarcane vinegar. The chicken pieces are also skewered on long bamboo sticks. Since I don't have almost all of those ingredients, here's my substitute: lemon zest for lemon grass, plain ginger for the wild yellow ones, lemon juice for kalamansi and annato powder.

Chickie pieces marinating for an hour.

Korean charcoal shaped in circle-block and is very easy to light.

We grill right out of our veranda porch. I'm not gonna show you that because I haven't cleaned up yet! Here's our grill though and me basting the chicken with oil to make the skin crackle and crispy.

Yeah, we're cooking!

Hubby's plate with garlic fried rice on the side.

Y'all may be asking why grill 2 chickens for a family of 4? For cold chicken leftovers of course!

[snowangel]

Two questions:

What does your family think about all of this photo'ing?

I'm assuming that the boys head to school tomorrow. What do they do for lunch at school?

[Domestic Goddess]

Two questions:

What does your family think about all of this photo'ing?

I'm assuming that the boys head to school tomorrow.  What do they do for lunch at school?

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Susan - I already got hubby well-trained after a couple of meals. He now fixes his plate prettily and patiently waits for me to take a picture before wolfing it down. He actually complained I took 3 pics of the grilled chicken platter before I let him have it. LOL

Jai eats in school. He usually has the korean lunch fare - seaweed soup, fried pork cutlets, kimchee and rice. He doesn't eat kimchee but likes smelling it.

Ok, naptime now and when I wake up, a new round of meals and pics.

[nakji]

I remember how militarized it was! There was a local base that used to transfer its tanks from one base to another at 4 in the morning. The first time they did it, when I had only been there for a month or so, I was scared out of my wits. I thought we were being attacked. And I remember what a hardship it was for all the young college-aged guys who had to do their two years military service.

One of things I miss the most about Korea is its convenience stores. Ministop, Family Mart, LG 25 - I always felt you could accomplish anything in those places. Wine, Onigiri (samgak gimbap in Korean, of course!) yogurt drinks, underwear, shower kits, and of course, 36 kinds of cold beverage, and at least three kinds of banana milk.

Do you ever eat in gimbap restaurants, like Gimbap Nara? I always liked going there for lunch, for a big hot dolsot bibimbap, usually the most expensive thing on the menu at around $4.50.

I notice your stove is just the right height for your eight-year-old son to cook!

I remember our sink being similarly low, a fact which my 6-foot husband always tried to use to get out of doing the dishes!

[Domestic Goddess]

I am stilla wake. For some reason I can't get to sleep. Nakji, our stove is regular-height. Billy, who is 6 by the way, is standing on a kitchen chair. LOL He also uses it when he helps wash the dishes.

I love eating at gimbap places (sushi roll plus dozens of cheap meals resto)! I usually have the gimbap while kids decide on noodles or fried pork cutlets. Dolsot bibimbap now costs $5.0.

The kids love going into those convenience stores too (not convenient for my wallet though). I'll promise to take pics of them and their goodies.

[insomniac]

I am stilla wake. For some reason I can't get to sleep. Nakji, our stove is regular-height. Billy, who is 6 by the way, is standing on a kitchen chair. LOL He also uses it when he helps wash the dishes.

I love eating at gimbap places (sushi roll plus dozens of cheap meals resto)! I usually have the gimbap while kids decide on noodles or fried pork cutlets. Dolsot bibimbap now costs $5.0.

The kids love going into those convenience stores too (not convenient for my wallet though). I'll promise to take pics of them and their goodies.

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the beginnings of a really interesting blog Doddie....looking forward to lots of new info....BTW do you ever cook kilauwin (esp. with pork innards??) my total favourite.

Is that your hubbie on the computer in the background of the kiddie fort photo...it's just a bit hard to see

[mizducky]

A banchan stand which about 30 different covered trays...

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I couldn't resist re-posting all three of these photos. They are a collective thing of beauty. Wishing I could get a sample of all thirty-some ...

I'd love to learn more about banchan, if you have time to fit that in, please.

[Domestic Goddess]

Insomniac - yes, I actually do cook kilawin but unfortunately I am the only one who eats it. Neither the boys nor hubby likes the vinegary raw fish. ECR aka Robyn visited the Philippines a month ago and was toured by my parents around Manila and the neighboring cities. She featured my mother's kinilaw in her blog HERE.

Here's a better pic of Domestic Hubby (he'll kill me if he finds out that I call him that in here )

MizDucky - I'll do a special posts on banchan. I think the first lunar new moon is coming up and koreans celebrate it by eating ogokbap (rice boiled with 5-grains) and cracking nuts with their teeth for luck. Eating the 5-grain rice also entails having dwenjjang jjige with spring mountain herbs and lots of ban chan.

[Pan]

[...]Our spice cabinet...

[...]

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What's alkali salt? Is it baking soda?

So most Koreans think cheese stinks. But is stinking a bad thing for Koreans? I mean, Korea is the country that has given kimchi to the world. It definitely has a strong smell and taste, so it's interesting if Koreans tend to hate cheese because it's smelly. (For the record, I like both kimchi and cheese very much, in general. My favorite type of kimchi is radish kimchi.)

That street market looks wonderful!

[Domestic Goddess]

Michael aka Pan - alkali salt is just a brand name. It's plain table salt or iodized salt. Re:Stinky cheese - I remember one time we went to a nearby city which had a Pizza Hut and I decided to bring home a Family Size Super Supreme pizza for supper. We took the cab home (cost us about 25 dollars for the dare) and all the way the taxi driver kept saying that the pizza stinked. All the time, my kids were clamoring for a piece because they said the aroma was driving them nuts and hungry. What a difference in culture. LOL

Today's breakfast was done in the wee hours of the morning, well 6:30 am to be exact. Jai wanted to catch the 7:30 village shuttle bus into town to have more free time in the morning with his classmates. I obligingly woke up for him.

I decided to make a classic Filipino breakfast - Potato omelet. Like what I said before, a lot of our cuisine is inspired and influenced by the Spanish culture. The Potato Omelet is one of them. I actually found similar dishes served in the Spanish tapas restaurants.

Frying the potatoes first.

Then adding the beaten egg.

Let everything cook and set over low heat.

Cut a wedge and serve with smoke pork loin & garlic fried rice.

A well-fed kid goes to school while his mom blearily stumbles back to bed.

[SheenaGreena]

whoo hooooooooo! I knew that I woke up at 5:30 am for reason (originally to finish a paper)! A slightly korean blog, finally!

reading your blog makes me homesick, I haven't been to korean since the summer of '03. I really miss it especially the food, the shopping, and most importantly my family.

Anyways, I saw that you had some more raw crab as a banchan! I know you secretly love that stuff Don't worry I'll eat it all with some hot rice.

So your kids love samgyeopsal (they are adorable by the way), do they like any other korean foods or do they like philipino foods more? I bet when you and your family goes out in public, korean people love to poke and squeeze your kids.

also what is the difference between filipino and philipino? I always feel like I am spelling it wrong!

p.s. I want to eat everything in all your pictures

[Domestic Goddess]

So your kids love samgyeopsal (they are adorable by the way), do they like any other korean foods or do they like philipino foods more? I bet when you and your family goes out in public, korean people love to poke and squeeze your kids.

also what is the difference between filipino and philipino?  I always feel like I am spelling it wrong! 

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Sheena - my kdis prefer American food or what my son Jai would call MEAT food (steak, fried chicken, ribs, etc.). Oh you said it about the poking and the squeezing of the cheeks. Jai would tolerate it but would later ask for the nth time why do koreans do it? Billy would always try to hide behind my coat as he is in the shy stage now.

Filipino is the correct way of spelling it (it can stand for a Philippine native man or woman too). A Philippine woman can be called Filipina. Filipino can also be spelled Pilipino. Are you more confused now?

[Domestic Goddess]

For Sheena and Nakji

Today I didn't feel like cooking so Billy and I went to Yongudong Restaurant. It's one of the many hole in the wall gimbap snack restaurants.

I ordered Dolsot Kimchee Albap (Fish Roe with Kimchee over Rice in a Stonepot). The hot stonepot bowl cooks the roe when you mix it up. I add several tablespoons of veggie broth to get the bits of crusty rice that sticks on the bottom.

I had them take the chopped kimchee out and substituted several squeezes of guchujang sauce (red pepper sauce) instead). Here is my bowl after mixing everything up.

Billyboy wanted Donggas (or Tonkatsu in Japanese or Fried Pork Cutlet in English). Impish boy wouldn't let me take a picture of his food without him in it.

[SheenaGreena]

so you are a filipina, but I'll just stick to calling you doddie instead (:

so what are you cooking up for us now?

I have never made filipino food, but I would love to give it a try. I am more interested in the traditional foods as opposed to the spanish-influenenced ones...even though those look delicious. There was a filipino recipe in saveur magazine during the holidays that looked delicious. I believe it was a soup where tamarind was one of the main ingredients.

I don't know if you get this in korea, but did you see bizarre foods with andrew zimmeran (I forget how to spell his last name)? He went to the phillipines and sampled a lot of foods. Do you guys really eat ice cream in a hamburger bun?