My trip to Korea and my November Korean home cookery class

I am going to be in Korea for 20 days from 15th of October, which I am very much looking forward to seeing family and friends . I will be taking Korean temple food class, I understand temple food in Korea is a new sensation at the moment. Seasonal and organic ingredients are a core of temple food that is my understanding but somehow Temple food is regarding as a super food in Korea, Why?

Fast moving Korean society and  people are looking for and may need spiritual side of life, this is my own theory. well , wait and see this space, when I had temple food class and tasted , I certainly write a blog. I am hopping interview one of temple lady monk who specialises the Temple Food!!

 

When I am back from my travel , I will certainly have a few new recipes from my trip in South West of Korea..

My November class : 10th/Nov, 17th, and 24th. Do email me,  actually if any one in London area can even invite me to just talk about Korean food and cook.
My email: kiejosarsfield@hotmail.co.uk

Let's cook unfussy and highly flavoured Korean Home food with me.

I am talking with certain UK publisher about possibility of publishing my Korean Cook Book but you never know this things.
I do do hope I will get the contract , they will taste my food first, kimchi  ( I am absolutely confident , my recipe ,I inherited from my mum) and others,
Wish Me LUCK! 

Our Chuseok Meal - Korean Thanks Giving Day

 

Today ( 30th of September,2012) is one of the biggest holiday in Korea,  celebrating new harvest season and ceremony to our ancestors. All family travel to the head of family's house,( I know very well, being a daughter of very long line of head of family, the Cho) usually the traffic on the motorway is stand still, takes 3-5 times longer than usual.
 

I miss the this kind of Korean festival day most. All family get together and have a jolly good big party, food and conversation goes hand in hand.

The day starts with ceremony for the ancestors, On the big rectangle low table, put all kind of food, but not to be spicy, and all male members of family offer the food with rice wine to ancestor and pray and offering these newly harvested food, ask to all ancestors for their protection and prosperity to all family, kneeling down with big bow, traditionally, female members are not participate this ceremony , we, female members stay in the kitchen to make sure all foods are cooked properly. I miss not only taste of the food also the smell of burning incense sticks !!

 

After the ceremony we all sit down have a feast, I love this ceremonial and ritual food, even not spicy, I love slightly salty, steamed fish with bibimbab and special soup ( Tangsuyuk).

One thing I can not have here in England this festival food , salty yellow fish, soup, even I make this soup but tastes all different.
 Bibimbab is eaten without chilli paste sauce, put light soy sauce but still I can not match like home in Korea. Well, my sister told me, our ancestor in Korea did not visit my house in England and therefor not blessed by the ancestor, What a lovely story!!! I use to tell my children , told them we have to open the doors to our ghost of ancestors get in and have a nice meal. My children loved this fairy tale !!

After all ceremony we all have mid morning feast, non spicy bibimbab is strangely delicious with salty steamed( on the hay) fish is my all time favourite. I or any one in Korea do not eat non spicy bibimbab but this festival season and memorial day of ancestors , we do eat non spicy food.
according to my parents the ghost of ancestors does not like red colour or spicy food, I love this story as well.
After the feast we talk and drink all day and evening we play Korean card game or go to the hill to see full moon. How I miss this occasion!!

Well, well,  I can not beat all this but we do have mix and match special meal for the Chuseok, always.

This year our special Chuseok :
Lunch : Mandu - steamed Korean dumpling with dipping sauce
            Bossam - slow cooked belly pork wrapped in lettuce with oyster and ssamjang( sauce)
Dinner: Pan fried scallops and spicy squid with black pudding sauce.
             Slow roast lamb shoulder with roast potatoes
 

Slow cooked belly pork

Bossam without oyster 

Scallops and chilli squid

 

Courgette & Green Chilli Pancake ( Yachaejeon)

This pancake is a good end of Summer pancake. Kind of my childhood rainy Summer day's comfort food, of course before crisps or chocolate bar were widely available in Korea.

Courgette's sweet taste and chilli are perfect combination, if you have field sesame leaves ( shiso) are in your kitchen, in my case , in the garden( you can grow in the pot) add  as well.
It is a perfect afternoon snack , this is all my family's all time favourite with dipping sauce.

Ingredients:. 3-4 courgette. 3 long green chilli. 1 garlic ( grated). Strong bread flour.  1tbsp vegetable stock powder. 1 egg. rape seed oil . Dipping sauce: soy sauce ( 2tbsp). rice vinegar (3tsp). 1tbsp chopped spring onion. toasted sesame seed.

Cut courgettes like 5 cm long match stick and sprinkle salt (1 tsp) and leave 30minutes rinse quickly and pat dry with tea towel, do not squeeze, set aside. Cut chilli very thinly and mix with courgettes.
In a big mixing bowl, put vegetables , Put stock powder in a small dish and pour boiling water and stir, add to vegetables.
Put 2 cup of flour into the vegetables and add water little by little and make batter, it should be like thick pancake mixture. season with salt and pepper. If you have sesame leaves (4), chop and add to the mixture. Finally add egg mixture in the batter . leave 30 minutes .
Heat oil in the pan and put 1 ladle of batter in the middle and spread out with back of spoon and cook until light brown, turn over and cook.
Cut cooked pancake 2cm square and serve with dipping sauce ( All dipping sauce ingredients in the bowl and mix, if you like spicy one add chopped red chilli)

Pan cake is better eaten when they are hot.
This is much healthier option than cake or crisps for a snack,, perfect for the vegetarian!.

PS: October Korean Cookery: 6th, 13th.

I will blog from Korea when I am in Seoul , from mid of October.


 

My ideal 5 course Real Korean Food

 

Korean food is getting really a lots of attention from Londoners , and one glamorous TV chef is going to open Pop Up Korean Restaurant in East London.  It is a very good news indeed as long as the chef knows how to make real one, as the chef is cooking all of dish ( according the article).

Mentioned of making spicy fried chicken marinated in butter milk but sounds just like American / Texan chicken than Korean .

5 course meal for £35 with fun karaoke as well.

 

The chef was inspired by Korean Food Scene in LA and NY, specially David Jang's eatery in NY.

Lets hope the chef knows all about Korean cuisine first.

I love David Jang's Book, MOMOFUKU, but certainly it is not a Korean cook book , more like his own take, twist on Korean ( as he is America born with Korean parents from Korea), Japanese, and Chinese. Do not get me wrong, I think Jang's recipes are wonderful and lovingly westernised on Oriental cuisine.

 

Well My only wish is the chef know traditional Korean food first !!

I do not mind fusion Korean food but not call them Korean, should serve and understand Kimchi, without kimchi, Korean cuisine does not exist that's the very uniqueness of Korean cuisine.

As far as I know , any other cuisine in the world has one single dish has to be eaten every meal like Korean food, Kimchi!! Lets hope chef serve real kimchi,

 

Let me tell you how I present my ideal 5 course Korean Meal.

 

1.Steam 3 dumplings and serve with  beef broth (Manduguk)  or Spicy Beef Soup (yukgaejang)
 

2. Seafood  mini pancakes with dipping sauce (Haemul pajeon).Or asparagus wrapped in pancake

3. Grilled spicy fish ( salmon or mackerel) with asparagus or Seafood Japchae wrapped in the pancake.

4.. Short rib ,grilled ( galbi gui) with kimchi and mooli salad or cucumber salad.

      OR  Spicy belly pork or Chicken

5. Mini bibimbab with tofu soup, Mini baked kimchi rice with fried egg on the top and soup

6. Spicy fruit soup with pear

 

 

Wash down with cold beer or dry white wine !!, Yummmm

 

 



Glyndebourne Opera and Picnic

 

Finally I could be able to buy  tickets for the 2012 Glyndebourne Summer Opera Festival but I got  tickets for the double bill by Ravel's Opera , I would have loved to see Marriage of Figaro but by the time I was able to buy, they  were  sold out . Since I moved to UK, I always wished to go to the  Glyndebourne Opera but it looks so over the top with picnic and champagne and black tie event, it  looked out our reach.  but this year, I decided to go and judge for myself.

 

 

Set off 3:00 pm to Sussex , arrived around 4:15pm ,greeted by very polite old guard, our small Honda civic looks odd among posh and big cars. The garden looks so pretty and lake was far end. Already a lots of people were having picnic, chairs and tables dotted around this vast garden with wine and food .  not an ordinary picnic at all. It looks more like very a posh social event and opera through in !!!!!!!

 

Some ladies are wearing velvet cape,just like in the old movie, all of men were in black tie, but a few  men were wearing open shirts( surprisingly), some ladies were in long dress, but mostly wearing cocktail dress like me.
 

 

 90 minutes picnic break are too long for my liking, my husband and I had nice very well made, tasty sandwiches ( by me actually) smoked salmon and ham, had to eat in the car because, it was too cold have picnic dinner in the garden. Washed down with sparkling water rather than sparkling wine because of driving.

The opera itself was extremely well produced and enjoyed very much , but we won't be back next year, too long and too far from our house.
 I will try to see Glyndebourne production when they are touring near us. I am glad to be able to see the most famous English Summer opera and picnic event at last !!

 I and my husband had a very good experience but not for us. I will stick to Royal Opera and ENO as usual.

  

Stuufed and Griiled Beef /찹쌀 불고기

This is another Korean wrapped dish from my family, it is not the famous Korean BBQ dish, Bulgogi but the idea is similar, using very thin piece of meat and wrapped with herb and vegetable makes more interesting to look and different layer of texture and flavour are linger in your mouth. I usually serve with soy and mustard sauce. As Sir Loin  stake meat is quite expensive I am using more economical beef such feather Blade side , thinly cut feather blade is widely use for the famous Korean grilled meat, bulgogi and get from local butcher. first of all ask them cut thinly as possible or just but at Korean super market.
This dish is easy to make , tasty and very presentable.

Thinly cut feather blade beef or sir loin beef (about 5cm by 8cm)  ; 20 pieces.  Shiso leaves( M size) : 20,
Sticky rice ( glutenous rice) flour for dusting, Spring onion; 1 bunch,
Sauce: 2 tbs soy sauce, 3 tsp mustard, 2 tsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp sugar,

Warpped beef

Cooked beef with sauce

My students Dan & Cristina,

1. if using feather blade side, marinade in apple juice( 1 cup) for 1 hour , sir loin does need to marinade.
2. Cut spring onion very thinly 5cm long and set aside. 2. Put rice flour in a wide dish, wash and dry shiso leaves and get ready for wrap.
3. Dust a piece of beef with flour, and hold on your left hand, and dust shiso leave but only one side, and put a few piece of spring onion in the middle and wrap carefully and stick with a small tooth pick and carry on until finish.
4. Making sauce: mix all ingredients in a bowl and season as you like.
5. Heat oil ( rape seed oil), in a pan and cook wrapped beef , and turn over cook as well, serve with sauce . 

Korean Cookery/ learn how to cook Korean home food with me

I am receiving a lots of email from readers and Korean food lovers about my Korean cookery. I am running Korean Home food cookery mostly on Saturdays ( as all my cookery members are working in London)) at my house in south Buckinghamshire. If any readers like to receive monthly cookery information please send me email to me.

My email: kiejosarsfield@hotmail.co.uk.

September Korean cookery Dates:  1st/ Sept, 8th/Sept, 15th/Sept, 22nd/Sept.

Time, usually 2:30 Pm to 5:30 Pm .