2012 Festive Food in our house

Roast Goose

Christmas Lunch

 

We decided have a Roast Goose for this year Christmas Dinner instead of turkey. I have cooked goose once, 1997 (?) perhaps.

 

 I love festive season , planing and cooking , specially beginning of December, I always make  cranberry sauce, apple with chilli & ginger jelly for the cheese board.
Made plum sauce for the goose, it is first time but luckily it was very good, sweet .spicy and tangy. red wine , red wine vinegar and mustard seed and sugar, I add sumak( 1 tsp) as well.
My Christmas stuffing is sage and onion, chestnuts, dry cranberry , pine nuts , lemon zest and plenty of lardons with good sausage meat, deliciously fit for the Christmas .

 

Spicy cashew nuts, and almond . making chocolate  with Tabasco, ginger, dried cranberry and pine nuts are great, sweet,spicy (not too much) tangy dry cranberries and lemon zest,ginger. I just add all things I love. Well well. nuts were sorted and bottled for the drinks and gifts for the friends.

Now 22nd of December, Made gravy with roast chicken wings with onions, carrot, garlic. plenty of red wine and port. since 2009, i have started making gravy a few days before Christmas to avoid too much to do on the day , just add more stock, made from the bird's neck liver from inside bird .  

Our 2012 Festive Season Menu:

                                                                       
 24th, Dec, dinner : medley of Seafood and Fish with  char grilled pakchoi and green beans.

25th, Christmas Brunch: smoked salmon and prawn with egg dish

Christmas Dinner : roast goose, plum sauce, braised red cabbage, roast potatoes and parsnips, carrot and celeriac.
Cheese board and very simple dessert ( good  vanilla ice cream with strong italian coffee on the top with my spicy nutty chocolates.

Finally we will have Roast of Prime beef on the bone for our 2013 new Year's Lunch or Dinner.

 

Cranberry sauce and apple, chilli and ginger jelly

Medley of Seafood and Monk fish

Pakchoi and green beans

 

Smoked salmon & king prawn

 

Spicy & nutty chocolate

A day of Kimchi Making in 2013 ( 2nd/ Feb)

I think in  Korean winter Kimchi making day is finished for 2012, probably most of korean house holds doing this annual Kimchi making for the winter month in late November.

 

I had a lovely memory of Kimchi making day when I was a little girl, we were head of Cho's clan and being a head of family we had to make 3-4 different kimchi and a lots of them.Poor my Mum!!!

All family had to pull their weight, as a 6 years old,m my job was I have to count how many sack of cabbage delivered to our garden, I loved that job!!

 

Smell of spices with garlic and ginger , I still can smell , in a huge brown pot, deep red chilli mixture and oyster, what a memory!!

 

Well, I am going to have 2-3 kind of Kimchi making day on 2nd of Feubuary of 2013.

If any one likes to learn Kimchi, Do email me, it will be a fun day.

After make Kimchi you will have lunch with Bossam ( this is our family tradition when I was in Korea).

 

Hope you can ask this class  as a your New year Present .

 

 

Norangjin Fish Market in Seoul

Whenever I am in Korea, I always visit Market , specially fish market . I love looking all these fish and seafood, colour and shape , the noise, all of them.  They are my childhood memory.

On 3rd day,  I went NORANGJIN fish market, as my usual visit whenever I am in Seoul. as I grow up in South East seaside city, I love fish and seafood. specially Hoe ( sasimi, raw fish). I love firm fresh raw fish like sea brill. sauce has to be spicy and sour, sweet sauce ( cho gochujang), thinly sliced .  certain fish, we love with bone in , like spring baby sand dub .
Oyster is my all time favourite, it  was so cheap , £3 for a dozen on the shell, if you buy  shelled oyster , much cheaper, can you believe??? I usually pay £3 for per oyster in London.

I could not resist , bought 12 oyster and a plate of brill hoe , cost( £13) and went in the restaurant to eat,  as you pay for the table ( £2, per person, per fish dish) and give you sauce and a few side dish and lettuce.
It is a wonderful system to have fresh fish in the market, serve in the restaurant.
I wonder why not adopt this in UK.
Fishes are all alive, choose fish and ask them prepare whatever you wish, as sasimi or grill or stew.
take them to site restaurant, and ask them to cook or have as sasimi. it is fun !!

I took my Oyster and fish in the restaurant by myself, 2 French tourist were having raw fish with side Korean dishes, as soon as I told them 12 oyster is only £3 , they were so surprised, and shot out and he bought 12 oyster with a big smile.
 I know French love their oyster, specially from Brittany, we use to have holiday in Brittany, we always enjoyed oyster there, not cheap.

In the evening, the market and restaurant gets very busy, young and old come in the market choose fish or seafood and having a wonderful and jolly fish meal with Korean rice wine ( makgulli) or soju.
It is not only the tourist attraction, also local people's favourite as well. wishing Billingsgate market  can adopt this for London, Why not???

Well, I use to say, if I am ever be a millionaire I would love to eat oyster everyday with a glass of pink champagne .
I can eat oyster every day in Korea even I  am not a millionaire without champagne of course ! 

( raw fish wrapped in the shiso leave)

With Dan ( he is my Korean cookery student)

If any one travel to Seoul, must visit NORANGJIN  fish market .
Get off at Norangjin station,  take Exit 1 and 500 m down the road follow narrow vegetable market and you will be in the Fish market.