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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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frankriccard
Joined: 05 Sep 2010
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 Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:08 am Post subject: |
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awesomesauce
Joined: 11 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 1:56 am Post subject: |
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I'll be moving to Korea for at least a year in the spring of 2011, and I am a big foodie. I love cooking and baking. I make a lot of Korean food already (kimchi, jigaes, guks, galbi, bulgogi, kimbap, a lot of banchan dishes, etc). But I also bake my own bread and roast whole chickens quite frequently, in addition to my vegetable addiction 
I'm aware that I will not likely have an oven in my Korean apartment (still makes me very sad) and I know that spices I'm used to aren't easily found there, but I'm now worried about not being able to easily and affordably find my staple foods.
I'm sorry I haven't read the entire thread, so please excuse me if anything I ask has already been mentioned!
The list below are things I eat everyday, so how easy are they to find in Korea and will they be expensive?
- tomatoes (roma/plum/field)
- apples (not granny smith!)
- lettuce (not iceburg, but romaine or leaf or other dark coloured)
- almonds (raw)
- onion (not green onions, but whole ones)
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
Also curious about these items which I eat/use regularly:
- yogurt (just plain or at least not loaded with sugar)
- wheat flour
- yeast (for making bread if I find an oven somewhere)
- quinoa (unlikely, right?)
- mushrooms (the button kind.. white or brown that I can eat raw)
- cheese (brie, old cheddar, goat cheese, etc)
- fresh basil
Lastly, is red wine really expensive there? I kind of... love it a lot  |
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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| Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 2:14 am Post subject: |
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| awesomesauce wrote: |
I'll be moving to Korea for at least a year in the spring of 2011, and I am a big foodie. I love cooking and baking. I make a lot of Korean food already (kimchi, jigaes, guks, galbi, bulgogi, kimbap, a lot of banchan dishes, etc). But I also bake my own bread and roast whole chickens quite frequently, in addition to my vegetable addiction
I'm aware that I will not likely have an oven in my Korean apartment (still makes me very sad) and I know that spices I'm used to aren't easily found there, but I'm now worried about not being able to easily and affordably find my staple foods.
I'm sorry I haven't read the entire thread, so please excuse me if anything I ask has already been mentioned!
The list below are things I eat everyday, so how easy are they to find in Korea and will they be expensive?
- tomatoes (roma/plum/field) seasonal can be very expensive
- apples (not granny smith!) seasonal can be very expensive
- lettuce (not iceburg, but romaine or leaf or other dark coloured) seasonal can be relatively expensive
- almonds (raw) yes
- onion (not green onions, but whole ones) yes but expensive at the moment
- olive oil yes relatively cheap
- balsamic vinegar yes
Also curious about these items which I eat/use regularly:
- yogurt (just plain or at least not loaded with sugar) yes Denmark
- wheat flour No idea
- yeast (for making bread if I find an oven somewhere) yes
- quinoa (unlikely, right?) No
- mushrooms (the button kind.. white or brown that I can eat raw) yes many different types
- cheese (brie, old cheddar, goat cheese, etc) ha ha ha
- fresh basil Yes but you may have to search it out
Lastly, is red wine really expensive there? I kind of... love it a lot (good stuff is expensive but there are quite a few drinkable ones in the 9000 to 15,000 range |
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awesomesauce
Joined: 11 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:18 am Post subject: |
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Thank you! I can deal without cheese, my waistline will thank me for it too.
Very sad to hear that tomatoes and apples are seasonal and expensive  |
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dory
Joined: 27 May 2010
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| Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:02 pm Post subject: |
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| awesomesauce wrote: |
The list below are things I eat everyday, so how easy are they to find in Korea and will they be expensive?
- tomatoes (roma/plum/field)
- apples (not granny smith!)
- lettuce (not iceburg, but romaine or leaf or other dark coloured)
- almonds (raw)
- onion (not green onions, but whole ones)
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
Also curious about these items which I eat/use regularly:
- yogurt (just plain or at least not loaded with sugar)
- wheat flour
- yeast (for making bread if I find an oven somewhere)
- quinoa (unlikely, right?)
- mushrooms (the button kind.. white or brown that I can eat raw)
- cheese (brie, old cheddar, goat cheese, etc)
- fresh basil
Lastly, is red wine really expensive there? I kind of... love it a lot |
Imported wine is really expensive here.
Tomatoes are currently cheap.
Produce is more expensive here in general, but there's plenty to keep buying.
Your staples you'll have no trouble finding. I get all that stuff at the mart.
Note strangely here large grocery stores (supermarkets) are called "marts" and small marts are called "supers."
Yogurt - np. It can be expensive. I buy plain organic myself. Occasionally
You can get all that stuff, even wheat flour, no problem.
It helps if you're not out in the countryside, though.
Fresh basil is the one thing I don't have nearby. That said, you can order a basil plant and grow it in your windowsill. |
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awesomesauce
Joined: 11 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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thank you, dory! Seems a little more hopeful than I expected, and I wanted a job in a major city anyway so I'm hoping they will be available.
The basil plant is a great idea.
I guess I'm most worried about apples, they are definitely an everyday staple and I eat them when I'm sick or just not feeling well. If I can't find them, I'm sure I could find a reasonable substitute there. |
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daeguowl
Joined: 06 Aug 2009
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:17 pm Post subject: |
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| awesomesauce wrote: |
thank you, dory! Seems a little more hopeful than I expected, and I wanted a job in a major city anyway so I'm hoping they will be available.
The basil plant is a great idea.
I guess I'm most worried about apples, they are definitely an everyday staple and I eat them when I'm sick or just not feeling well. If I can't find them, I'm sure I could find a reasonable substitute there. |
Good job you're not looking for Granny Smith's...I've never seen one in Korea. |
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Kelooki
Joined: 01 Jul 2010
Location: Houston, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Panama City
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| Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 11:19 pm Post subject: |
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Apples are expensive. A dollar each or more.
Tomatoes are about the same.
Meat is pricey also. I read that someone said "ham" was cheap - SPAM is pretty cheap and sometimes resembles ham.
Fruit is expensive in general. Apparently, they had a bad harvest. |
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corkgirl
Joined: 30 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 3:44 am Post subject: oven |
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awesome sauce -
you can pick up a little oven for about 60,000 or cheaper. you can get bigger ones for more. Mine cost 50,000 and also doubles as a grill. it's pretty small but i can roast a small chicken in it with some trimmings. |
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perelandra
Joined: 15 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 4:05 pm Post subject: |
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| awesomesauce wrote: |
I live in an urban area with easy access to Homeplus and Emart, so take that into consideration when reading my comments. ^^
- tomatoes (roma/plum/field)
as mentioned, these are pretty seasonal - I do almost always see some sort of tomato in the store, but lately - perhaps due to the typhoon earlier in the year - they've been absent except for small cherry tomatoes. I do not see multiple varieties of tomatoes - just a big pale standard sort. The roadside people often sell better quality tomatoes at better prices, so keep an eye out for deals as you walk around here.
- apples (not granny smith!)
I think I have seen granny smith once or twice, ha. Most apples seem to be a sort I haven't eaten often in the US. I hear they have different kinds that come with different seasons, but I rarely notice much of a difference. I have always been able to find apples in stores. Asian pears, of course, are also pretty much always available.
- lettuce (not iceburg, but romaine or leaf or other dark coloured)
Lots of different sorts of lettuces available, as well as a variety of sprouts. You should be fine for salads.
- almonds (raw)
I was surprised by the wide variety of nuts available here. You should be able to find the nuts you need without too much trouble.
- onion (not green onions, but whole ones)
Plentiful, always available.
- olive oil
Egads, it's everywhere, as are a large variety of other oils. What you won't find is peanut oil. If you're a health nut, this absence won't bother you, but I'm missing it terribly. I haven't looked for it in Itaewon yet, maybe it's there.
- balsamic vinegar
Pretty easy to find, as already mentioned.
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I've never seen quinoa or whole wheat flour - everything else I've seen occasionally, if not regularly. Basil definitely comes and goes. Like others said, wine is generally expensive, but things are getting better. Costco is a good place to look for beverages. Koreans tend to favor sweeter red wines, so be careful if you're ordering just a glass while out at a restaurant here. Cooking in general is just way expensive here - you really have to shop around for deals on produce, especially. But eating out is cheap. Sad for a cook, but not the worst deal for a simple foodie. ^^ |
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NYC_Gal
Joined: 08 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 4:18 pm Post subject: |
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| You can get whole wheat flour in Itaewon, www.nicedeli.com, or at the vegan shop "The Loving Hut," which is a franchise that's fairly popular in Korea. |
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machoman
Joined: 11 Jul 2007
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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| does anyone grow their own herbs here? i bought cilantro and basil seeds, but do i need a lamp (i assume i do.) what kind of wattage would i need? |
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Tropic of Cancer
Joined: 28 Sep 2010
Location: Bundang
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| Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2010 6:52 am Post subject: |
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The outdoor markets are the best places to seek out the simple foodstuffs. (Them or the streetside ajumma.) The one down the way from here--goes like this:
Onions, five for 1,000 (sometimes seven for the same price)
Apples, ten for 5,000. (Where I used to live--Bupyeong, Incheon--where the market is quite enormous, I was able to get fifteen apples for 3,000. At the same Bupyeong market, there'd often be bell peppers sold in bundles of ten for 1,000.)
Market tomatoes, I've found, can be darn cheap. Once carried home a sack too heavy for comfort, and the price tag was 3,000.
Thing with the market, though: you've got to take the time to look around. I think it's a fine activity for a clear, sunny day. Some vendors can be pushy; others are just darling. As for communication--I got by all right, early on, with pointing out items and nodding. If I ever got ripped off... well, the prices never betrayed that notion. |
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Daantaat
Joined: 07 Oct 2010
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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| I've been here about a year and I'm planning on staying for a few more. So I really wanted to have an oven to roast meat, etc. I bought a nice Daewoo brand convection oven/microwave/grill combination for about 200,000 won at Himart. It's awesome. I bake potatoes, grill vegetables, and even bake cookies in it. Hunting down ingredients takes research and determination, but once you find a good source for things that are hard to find it can really make your time here that much more enjoyable, especially if you are tired of eating cheap Korean food all the time. |
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v88
Joined: 28 Feb 2010
Location: here
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| Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2010 12:36 am Post subject: |
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| where can I buy hamburger buns? |
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