An authentic Korean meal

Thus far, I have had limited exposure to Korean cuisine. That has been by choice, for it is, of course, readily available! But whether cooking for myself or ordering in restaurants, I have attempted to eat foods that are similar to what I would have at home. I’m really not a risk taker when it comes to food. Until now…

My Korean language teacher, YunSoo, invited us to her home one day after class for a traditional Korean meal. She is a fabulous cook and a gracious hostess! First we started with a homemade plum and mulberry fermented juice served in silver goblets. Next, she made kimchi pancakes, a savory rather than sweet pancake made with vegetables. I was told that there are over 100 different kinds of kimchi. It can be eaten fresh or after being marinated over a long period of time. She said it keeps best at a temperature somewhere between refrigerator and freezer settings, so she keeps it in a separate kimchi refrigerator that is about the size of a 3/4 freezer chest.

We sat down to a beautifully set table to try the pancakes. Definitely different from blueberry with maple syrup, but tasty nonetheless:) Then YunSoo brought a huge mixing bowl and many ingredients to the table to teach us how to mix up cabbage kimchi and daikon (radish) kimchi. Unlike me, she measured nothing. Years of experience guided her mixing of cabbage, onions, radishes, fresh ginger and garlic, anchovy sauce, vinegar, chili powder, and more.

After the fresh kimchi was mixed and seasoned to perfection, placed in a china serving bowl, and set in the middle of the table, the rest of the meal was brought out. There was bean paste soup, cooked multigrain rice with vegetables, main dishes (galbi/thinly sliced beef in a brown sauce, breaded chicken salad with vinegar dressing, and the cabbage and daikon kimchi), and sides dishes (cooked root of balloon flowers, seasoned bracken root, eggplant, and perilla leaf kimchi). It was so colorful! We also had a Korean rice wine.

For me, the most challenging part of the meal was managing the chopsticks. Being a newbie to Asia, I was the only chopstick-challenged person at the table, and it only took about two minutes for several people to offer me a fork! I did not accept, however… I suppose it’s my competitive nature, but I was bound and determined to eat the food like everyone else! The high point was when I was able to take rice, place it in a large sesame leaf, roll it up, and eat it…all with the chopsticks:)

What a delightful experience. So many unique and unfamiliar flavors. I am a person who prefers not to mix my foods. In fact, I love those divided pot-luck plates where you can create nice, neat islands of food that don’t touch and where the juices are kept separate. But what I found with Korean food, is that it’s sometimes in the mixing that you soften, bring out, or create new flavors all together. I truly enjoyed trying every dish in this feast YunSoo had prepared. Gamsa-hamnida! Thank you, YunSoo!