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Cooking western food in Korea
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esetters21



Joined: 30 Apr 2006
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

madowlspeaks wrote:
esetters21 wrote:
I'm a trained chef from a Le Cordon Bleu academy in the States. My gf is 100% Korean. Both she and her family enjoy when I cook something that is not Korean. I can and do cook Korean food as well, but why would I limit myself to only that? Your logic makes little sense when it comes to enjoying food and living in Korea MOS. Basically you are saying that as long as you live in Korea, then you should only eat dishes that are indigenous to here. Rolling Eyes


I am saying stop whining about the lack of "comfort foods" and break out of your shell


And I'm saying expand your horizons and break out of your shell of thinking that local cuisine is the only way to go when you're living out of your element (comfort zone). Your way of thinking is fine if you are visiting somewhere for a short time, but shouldn't apply to living for extended amounts of time.
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Straphanger



Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Chilgok, Korea

PostPosted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 6:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well we all know that Barilla is spendy as hell. Make your own pasta sauce. Grab about 500g of ground pork, cherry tomatoes, onion, garlic, peppers - all ingredients to taste, of course. Cook the meat, add and mash up the cherry tomatoes when they're cooking - don't worry about skins and seeds, and throw in everything else. When it gets all liquid, get it all to boil for an hour or so...maybe simmer instead of boil, but make sure it's cooked and relatively homogeneous. Add sugar and salt until it tastes like the canned stuff if you wish.

Freeze in ziploc bags.

I like it with mushrooms.

In other words - IMPROVISE... Before you could buy pasta sauce in a jar, people actually made pasta sauce. And it wasn't rocket surgery.
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madowlspeaks



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Location: Somewhere in time and space

PostPosted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 8:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

esetters21 wrote:
madowlspeaks wrote:
esetters21 wrote:
I'm a trained chef from a Le Cordon Bleu academy in the States. My gf is 100% Korean. Both she and her family enjoy when I cook something that is not Korean. I can and do cook Korean food as well, but why would I limit myself to only that? Your logic makes little sense when it comes to enjoying food and living in Korea MOS. Basically you are saying that as long as you live in Korea, then you should only eat dishes that are indigenous to here. Rolling Eyes


I am saying stop whining about the lack of "comfort foods" and break out of your shell


And I'm saying expand your horizons and break out of your shell of thinking that local cuisine is the only way to go when you're living out of your element (comfort zone). Your way of thinking is fine if you are visiting somewhere for a short time, but shouldn't apply to living for extended amounts of time.


My way of thinking is fine, now go on and stuff your french fry hole.
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Straphanger



Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Chilgok, Korea

PostPosted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For the love of god, why do you people have to turn every thread into a flame war by the third page? Someone comes up with an idea for a pretty decent sticky and you people shit all over it. You're like a bunch of little kids.

To stay ON-TOPIC, one of the cooler things you can do to help you grow in culinary arts is to make something out of nothing. This goes from the simple - I can't get BBQ sauce, but I can make it with ketchup and sugar, etc - to the complicated - I can't get cottage cheese for my Lasagne, but I can make a reasonable facsimile by curdling hot milk with lemon juice.

Western food is relatively easy here. You want a challenge? Try Thai. And no, you can't go to Hannam Market or Red Door, and you get only half credit if you go to costco.
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hugekebab



Joined: 05 Jan 2008

PostPosted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is beyond pathetic. Its a recipe thread; that's it.

Stop the flaming, Jesus.
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Straphanger



Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Chilgok, Korea

PostPosted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hugekebab wrote:
This is beyond pathetic. Its a recipe thread; that's it.

Stop the flaming, Jesus.

Ahhhh...no, keep the flame on, just keep it on the stove.

This recipe is EPIC FAIL:

1 can chiggae tuna
1 1/2 cups or so of cooked rice
Pepper
A little egg.

Fry in oil.

DO NOT DO THIS. THIS DOES NOT WORK. IT IS DISGUSTING.
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roadwork



Joined: 24 Nov 2008
Location: Goin' up the country

PostPosted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm going to try that poster's recipe for the noodles with the peanut butter and green onions. I might throw in some chungyang peppers as well.
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robot



Joined: 07 Mar 2006

PostPosted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 9:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been living off of chili as of late.

I'm too lazy to post directions on how to make it -- it's pretty easy to figure out -- but this is what I throw together. It's a large recipe that should last at least most of the week.

From E-mart or anywhere else: the veggies
-4 (or more) chungyang chilis
-a couple clumps of ginger (the secret ingredient!)
-10 cloves of garlic
-two white onions
-green, red, yellow, orange bell peppers

From Homeplus: the base
-four cans of red kidney beans, drained
-two cans of black beans, drained
-two cans of stewed tomatoes
-a cup of frozen peas

From Costco: the meat
-six or more big fat American sausages

From Itaewon: the spices
-ground cloves
-bay leaf
-coriander/cumin
-basil

Serve on white rice with cheddar and chopped cilantro sprinkled overtop and tortilla chips on the side. Or alone a side of toast.
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esetters21



Joined: 30 Apr 2006
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 6:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for sharing robot, I have made chili recently as well that my kgf's family thoroughly enjoyed.

mos, got any recipes to share out of your lil' cookbook?
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aka Dave



Joined: 02 May 2008
Location: Down by the river

PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 6:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's a versatile recipe that I use when I'm trying get lots of protein after working out (adding non-fat milk helps). You can vary the main protein, but I usually shrimp and squid. I also use lean chicken breast and lean pork tenderloin.



In a pan sautee brocolli, mushrooms, garlic, onion, red pepper and other random vegetables in very little olive oil.

In a collander defrost half pound frozen shrimp/squid in the sink.

Add about one cup canned tomatoes (prefer Itallian if you can find), tumeric (healthy), and black pepper to the vegetables.

Add one cup non-fat milk to tomato/veg mixturre, reduce slightly.

Add shrimp and squid. Cook for a minute.

Add Kale and other leafy veggies (these you find at a big bin home plus or even other marts. Some of them I do not know the name, but they appear very healthy). These cook in just a couple minutes.

If you had more milk you could have this as a seafood soup. If you reduce it you can use it has a pasta sauce. Anyway, there's not much fat and tons of protein and good vitamins from all the vegetables.

And it tastes good.
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nicam



Joined: 14 Jun 2008

PostPosted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 6:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ooooh, I've been waiting for this post!

I too make ricotta cheese -- it's easy, just heat milk to a near boil and add lemon juice or white vinegar and salt to the separated curds and whey. Then strain in a strainer for an hour or so. Yum. I eat it with bread or use it to make my own raviolis, which are relatively easy to get the hang of with some practice and one of those pizza cutters. I've made wild mushroom ones so far and am thinking of chicken and chard for next time.

Make your own tomato sauce, it's soooooo easy, and you can even do it with fresh tomatoes, which are wonderful in Korea, as long as you blanch and peel them first.

Also, whole peppercorns make a world of difference. You can cook some spaghetti, reserve some of the cooking water, and add some sauteed garlic and crushed peppercorns along with the water to the cooked pasta. If you can get your hands on parmesan cheese this would be even better.

Last night my boyfriend and I bought a lobster from the fish market (you can do this with crab too) and added the shredded meat to some pasta along with some sauteed garlic, chilis, and spring onions. It was superb.

I really miss fresh herbs here, but there's this stuff that looks and tastes almost exactly like fresh flat leaf parsley, and after weeks of staring at it I finally just bought it and tested it out. It does the trick!

Since we can get cheap decent wine at homeplus we do a lot of wine reductions. You can take a chicken breast, dredge it in flour and or egg, brown it on both sides in oil, remove from pan, saute some veggies (or not) with butter, add white wine (and chicken stock if you can manage that) and reduce until thick.

Another winner -- buy one of those whole chickens, cut it up, marinade it in lemon and olive oil for as long as possible, remove from the marinade and pat dry, discard marinade, dredge chicken pieces in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, and fry in oil for about 25 mins until golden brown. This works well for calamari too.

Another great thing I discovered is EASY stovetop flatbreads and tortillas. I just googled "stovetop flatbread recipe" and or "stovetop tortilla recipe" and viola. You just need a rolling pin and some flour and water. The first time I made bread like this (and raviolis as well) it was difficult, but you learn quickly by trial and error and it becomes rather effortless.

Flatbreads go great with some chicken marinated in lemon, oil, and oregano, and sauteed with onions, bell peppers, and fresh tomatoes (almost caramelized). If you can get imported plain yogurt (Korean stuff is toooooo sweet) you can also make a tziki (sp?) sauce with garlic and cucumber to go along with it.

I make stock by simmering a whole chicken with onion and carrots with a bay leaf for a few hours. Then I shred the meat from the boiled chicken and use it to make arroz con pollo, or chicken tacos, with homemade tortillas. The stock freezes well and goes into all of my wine reductions.

You can really have fun with the challenge of cooking in Korea, and it's more gratifying when something is an utter success given the crap ingredients selection.

Anyone buying fresh fish from the fish market and working with that? I want to do this when it warms up but don't know how to identify the fish here in their live forms.

Planning on a nice mussels appetizer, and a pasta with mussels, clams, calamari, and shrimp next! Yum.
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esetters21



Joined: 30 Apr 2006
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 10:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm cooking a big pot of kimchi jjigae (more like "soldier's stew") right now to enjoy on this cold day. Very Happy
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Yesterday



Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Land of the Morning DongChim (Kancho)

PostPosted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 2:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I guess everyone is eating better than US prisoners -

http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=123
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Scamps



Joined: 01 Feb 2008

PostPosted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 4:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I found this recipe in Eloquence Magazine this month.
It's a recipe for ratatouille.
It sounds really simple and cheap to make. All vegetarian although they say you can add a steak on the side if you can't live without some meat.


You'll need-
Onion, 1 large finely choped
Garlic, 2 cloves crushed, 1 cloved halved
Olive Oil, 1 tablespoon
Eggplant, 2 diced
Zucchini, 1 diced
Red bell pepper, 1 diced
400 g can of tomatoes (I think they mean tomato paste)
Cherry tomatoes, 12
Basil, a small bunch or 1 teaspoon dried
Crusty bread

Cook the onion and crushed garlic in 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan for about 5 minutes.
Add the eggplant and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the zucchini and pepper and cook for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes.
It is okay to cook this for longer.
Add the basil just before serving with thick slices of bread
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aldershot



Joined: 17 Jul 2006

PostPosted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 6:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yesterday wrote:
I guess everyone is eating better than US prisoners -

http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=123


man, that's funny. or not. i clicked on the first thread:

Quote:
I got a letter from Wayne today with one of his prison recipes and wanted to share it:

"I made a burrito or Bomb Chino as I call them. You mix one individual serving of crushed corn chips, one crushed noodle soup, one crushed bag of BBQ potato chips together in a plastic bag - thourghly combine these fine gourmet items then add one to 1 1/2 cups of hot water to the bag, mix throughly, evenly and seal the bag wrapping in a towel or a month old newspaper. Let sit for 15 to 30 minutes unless you're starving. Empty the contents into a paper plate, paper bag, or anything somewhat clean. Eat with a fairly clean plastic spoon. It's a delight in convict cuisine. Add spices, meats, vegetables as available to suit your own tastes!"
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