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

[Domestic Goddess]

Now we're going shopping! We will head to Hanaro Mart grocery store where I buy the bulk of my groceries. It is a fairly medium-sized grocery, built over a year ago. When I run in the mornings I run up to this store and then turn head back home.

Boxes of apples and oranges for gifts line the entrance of the store. These would set you back $35 to $45 each.

The dollar-section of the store...

Here are the veggie wall fridges...

Red and green chili peppers on top while mountain herbs and veggies are stacked underneath.

Bell peppers, cukes, zucchinis, eggplants, etc.

Chestnuts, dried and fresh persimmons, korean melons, etc.

Cutting garlic (minced garlic actually), tofu blocks, sauces for the tofu, etc.

Dehydrated zucchinis, eggplant, mugwort, etc...

These veggies seemed to be pre-blanched.

Now we go to the fruit selection...

Bear in mind that 1,000 korean won is almost 1 US dollar.

Mushrooms galore!

Friendly store staff bag my bell peppers, they usually put some more produce in the bag after they weigh it and tell you "Service" (korean english for FREE) with an impish grin.

More chili peppers and garlic. Koreans count as one of the world's biggest consumers of garlic.

Okay, this is Part 1. Coming up is more of Hanaro store in Part 2.

Edited March 6, 2007 by Domestic Goddess (log)

[Domestic Goddess]

Sheena - I haven't seen the tiny crab soy sauce version. IN the Philippines, we would spice up these tiny crabs and deep fry them until crispy. Then you dip the the cruchy crittters in garlic vinegar and eat them like potato chips.

lovebenton - thank you.

[lswswein]

Hi DG

Love this blog and great job with the pics. I love Korean food and have a question. Do you have the stone pots at home?

Thanks

-h

[Domestic Goddess]

Part 2 of the Hanaro shopping experience.

Adjummas restocking the gochujang (chili pepper paste) and dwenjjang (fermented soybean paste) aisle.

Soy sauces, cooking wines, vinegars, etc...

The ban chan display...

The day's selection of fish and sea food.

Shellfish and chicken occupy the same section.

The meat case, I don't really buy meat here. It is fairly expensive. I buy our meat from the butcher in the street market.

Packs of dumplings (veggie, meat, kimchee, etc.).

Different tea brews.

Aaaah, the crunchy snack aisle...

Candies and sweets aisle...

Dried squid and nuts snacks for the beer and soju drinkers.

Of course, there should be a Pocky shot. Only this time, it is the korean-version - the Peppero sticks.

Ramyeon noodles ranging from mild spicy to mindblowing hot!

Potato starch noodles for japchae...

Premade mixes for donuts, pancakes, pa jeaon (savoury pancakes), etc.

Pasta, imported stuff and japanese food products...

Soju drinks, beer, maekkoli (rice liquor), wine...

Checking out my groceries...

The neat thing about Hanaro is that if you pack your groceries in a box.

And fill out the address sticker label with your name and addy.

And fill out the registration folder...

They will load it in their van and deliver it to your doorstep for free. No matter how much you buy. Isn't that neat?

That ends our grocery trip today. Hope you had fun shopping with me.

[Domestic Goddess]

Hi DG

Love this blog and great job with the pics. I love Korean food and have a question. Do you have the stone pots at home?

Thanks

-h

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Here is my small stonepot. I usually make single servings of dwenjjang jjige and kimchee jjige in this pot (I'm the only one who eats it in this household).

[alanamoana]

Doddie, I have to chime in and say what a wonderful job you're doing. Tons of pictures, your adorable sons.

I lived in Korea...oh, around 1983...for a couple of years. I lived on Yongsan (the US Army base) for about two years. My dad was in the Army. What a great experience. My mom being Chinese, she definitely made it more interesting for me because shopping in open air markets was something she was used to. Bargaining made it even more fun. Do you bargain at all?

When we lived on base, we actually had to have ration cards for grocery shopping at the base commissary because there was a thriving black market trade going on for things like instant coffee and stuff. Do you see any of that where you are? From what I understand (from my sil) they still have ration cards.

Your blog definitely brings back memories. I love that you're Philipina, have a caucasian husband and are living in Korea. What an amazing world we live in, isn't it?

[helenjp]

I love supermarket shots - inside and outside, that supermarket could easily be in Japan (except that they are much less obliging about photo-taking!).

Thank you so much. I had a good look, and I will surely go back to pore over those photos.

[Domestic Goddess]

Alanamoana - oh the black market stores are still here. There's one where we go to in Itaewon in Seoul. We call it the Red Front store (no sign on the store front, just a painted red windowframe and door). We get our pepperoni, lipton rice, brown gravy mix, spices, cheerios, etc. there.

Lunch today was light, tasty and very chinese. Wonton soup with bok choy. The addition of shitake mushrooms was my idea.

[Pan]

[...]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. 

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What a cute picture!

[insomniac]

You are SO lucky Doddie to have that sort of supermarket to go to.....looks very like the one near my daughter's apartment in Beijing ( except for the Korean script)....you should see what is available near us here in rural England......I am really jealous.....

p.s. not food but what sort of discipline does your son's school use?? My son's closest friend in HK is Korean and he did get a fair bit of 'disciplining' when he was growing up. Just wonder if it's common?

[Pan]

[...]2. Traditional kimchee would call for fish sauce. Older generation koreans would insist on using it. Newer generation koreans would substitute sea salt for the fish sauce component or leave it out entirely (for health reasons).[...]

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Why would they think pure salt would be more healthful than fish sauce?

[hzrt8w]

3. My moniker? LOL    In other message boards I am known as Riverdancer, in a Terry Pratchett board I am known as an orangutan. When I was invited to join here I was trying to figure out a name that would describe my dominance in the kitchen. I intially wanted Domestic Diva first but found it too snotty for my taste. I settled for Domestic Goddess instead because my husband always mention how he worships the food I fixed him and me. 

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Everybody has an interesting story to tell about his/her moniker.

[hzrt8w]

Bear in mind that 1,000 korean won is almost 1 US dollar.

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The apples (left, second) (are they apples?) are 385 won per what? 10g? (Couldn't read it). I am wondering why they wouldn't make that per 1kg to make calculation easier.

[Syrah]

Bear in mind that 1,000 korean won is almost 1 US dollar.

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The apples (left, second) (are they apples?) are 385 won per what? 10g? (Couldn't read it). I am wondering why they wouldn't make that per 1kg to make calculation easier.

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I think it is 100g, which is just as easy as 1kg, as long as it is consistent.

[Domestic Goddess]

p.s. not food but what sort of discipline does your son's school use?? My son's closest friend in HK is Korean and he did get a fair bit of 'disciplining' when he was growing up. Just wonder if it's common?

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Discipline is very ... how shall I say it - cotroversial here in Korea. Corporal punishment is still practiced all over, even in Jai's school and my hubby's hagwon. I always talk to the teachers whenever the school starts to tell them we don't approve of corporal punishment and if Jai misbehaves, we will deal the punishments ourselves. I have see teachers beat kids with 5-feet long thin sticks/branches.

Why would they think pure salt would be more healthful than fish sauce?

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I was replying to the vegetarian aspect of the question. The options of vegetarians have with regards to kimchee - I suggested getting the ones made with sea salt not with fish sauce.

Bear in mind that 1,000 korean won is almost 1 US dollar.

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The apples (left, second) (are they apples?) are 385 won per what? 10g? (Couldn't read it). I am wondering why they wouldn't make that per 1kg to make calculation easier.

←

Ah Leung, would you believe that the apples cost almost 2 dollars each? They're THAT expensive.

[Domestic Goddess]

An addition to my grocery shopping spree. In case yo're wondering what happens to the boxes that come with my grocery - they get recycled into tanks and comfy places to sit and watch TV with.

[Domestic Goddess]

Tonight's dinner was requested by Billy - our Sinigang boy. Yes, we're having Sinigang tonight. Sinigang is a sour soup so Filipino, it is comparable to borscht being so Russian. Almost any meat can be made into sinigang - pork (has to be fatty with skin on), beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, etc. The accompanying ingredients can be as complex and myriad: eggplant wedges, 2-inch long yard beans, peeled horseradish fruit, blocks of radish, bok choy leaves (or pechay in Filipino), etc. Or the ingredients can be as simple as an onion, a tomato and some bok choy leaves.

The key ingredient to Sinigang is the souring agent which is mashed tamarind. Traditional Filipinas (meaning grandmas and older aunts) would boil unripe tamarind fruit in palayoks (traditional Filipino clay pots) and mash the puree into the boiling soup to flavor it. Nowadays, the tedious process has been replaced by just snipping open a packet of Sinigang flavor granules mix. There are some instances when Sinigang can be flavored by kalamansi juice (great for shrimp and fish), unripe guavas (great for milkfish or bangus), and even kamias fruit (Averrhoa bilimbi) .

Tonight's Sinigang is a simple one with shrimps and bok choy. I will show you how my mother would make this comforting Filipino dish.

The ingredients:

In a small pot, pour rice washings into it (about 2/3's full). See my rice pot beside it? I would fix rice at the same time I cook sinigang. Add onion wedges and whole tomatoes into the pot and bring to a boil.

When the soup is boiling add the shrimp and the Sinigang flavor mix together. Fpr tougher meats like pork and beef, the meats are first boiled until they are tender. Then the sinigang mix is added. When the shrimp is almost cooked, add the bok choy leaves.

Deconstructed sinigang on Billy's plate. I usually fish out the shrimp for him so that it is easy for him to eat. Sinigang is best eaten with a tiny bowl of fish sauce for dipping the meat. You can see it on the lower right hand of the plate.

[Carrot Top]

Carrot Top - I'll show your quote to the kids and let them read it themselves/ 

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I can hear their groans of derision right now. Cheek-pinching is one of the banes of existence in childhood.

Here is my small stonepot. I usually make single servings of dwenjjang jjige and kimchee jjige in this pot (I'm the only one who eats it in this household). 

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I've been looking for a nice-looking pot like this - nothing in the stores near here, that's for sure - and haven't found one on-line either. Yours is a very comforting-looking pot. Lovely.

[Domestic Goddess]

Carrot - I can mail one to you, if you want. Just PM me your addy and I'll send it later this month.

[Carrot Top]

What a kind offer! Thank you, Domestic Goddess (and yes you are ). Will do.

[Domestic Goddess]

What's your favourite boxed cookie?

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Nakji, I haven't forgotten this question. Here is my answer:

While we are on the subject of snacks, here's a better look on what me and my men are snacking on these days (and nights)...

Edited March 6, 2007 by Domestic Goddess (log)

[nakji]

Thanks DG! I loved Binch as well, though my favourite was Chic Choc. And I could never look at a box of Coque d'Asse without giggling. Sometimes I splurge and buy Chic Choc here in Vietnam. They were cheaper in Korea!

I confess to missing Yangpa rings.

Everybody has an interesting story to tell about his/her moniker.

Speaking of which, will I be seeing any appearance of my namesake? Is there any octopus in your future? Nakji Bokkumbap, maybe?

(I called myself nakji because I love octopuses, and I consider eating raw live octopus the height of adventurous eating. My avatar is from a sign in Osaka)

I have see teachers beat kids with 5-feet long thin sticks/branches.

The "love" stick.

Your soup looked a lot like what I might see here. Is fish sauce a common condiment in the Philippines?

[Domestic Goddess]

Nakji, unfortunately your namesake does not agree with my tummy. Everytime I ate octopus here in Korea, it gave me indigestion and a very upset tummy. The funny thing is that the dried shredded squid does not bother me at all.

With regards to fish sauce, my answer would be a resounding YES! The Philippines have a longtime love affair with fish sauce. My late grandfather was once reprimanded by my grandmother (his 3rd wife), that he was not suppose to have fish sauce as ordered by his doctor. My granfather replied, "Hell, if I'm gonna die, I'd die happy.." (grabs the fish sace container and pours liberally over his sinigang soup).

[SheenaGreena]

speaking of fruit......do watermelons still cost like 35,000 won over there?

[SuzySushi]

Tonight's dinner was requested by Billy - our Sinigang boy. Yes, we're having Sinigang tonight. Sinigang is a sour soup so Filipino, it is comparable to borscht being so Russian. Almost any meat can be made into sinigang - pork (has to be fatty with skin on), beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, etc. The accompanying ingredients can be as complex and myriad: eggplant wedges, 2-inch long yard beans, peeled horseradish fruit, blocks of radish, bok choy leaves (or pechay in Filipino), etc. Or the ingredients can be as simple as an onion, a tomato and  some bok choy leaves.

Deconstructed sinigang on Billy's plate. I usually fish out the shrimp for him so that it is easy for him to eat. Sinigang is best eaten with a tiny bowl of fish sauce for dipping the meat. You can see it on the lower right hand of the plate.

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I that compartmentalized plate! Even a separate compartment for sauce!

What is "horseradish fruit"? The markets here sell marungay leaves, but fruit?