When I lived in Korea in the 1990s, my compatriots and I took a road trip from Incheon to Mokpo. About half-way there, we ate at a rest stop somewhere near Gwangju and discovered the tastiest, butteriest roasted potatoes any of us had experienced. The language barrier at the time precluded me from learning the…
Recipe: Doenjang (된장) Coleslaw
I longed for a coleslaw recipe that didn’t require mayonnaise or a similar product for this summer’s barbecue season. I also wanted something I could pair with a Fourth of July hot dog and pretend I was eating a healthful meal. It might be my imagination, but I seem to find mis0-based salad dressings in…
Recipe: Korean-style Kale Chips (케일 칩)
Kale seems to be coming out of my ears recently. Maybe it’s because I live in California, but many I know seem to consider it some kind of miracle vegetable. But I’ve noticed that when foods become trendy, how they’re eaten tend to travel in an arc, starting with all the tried and true recipes for…
Review: Campbell’s Slow Cooker Sweet Korean BBQ Pot Roast sauce
I do appreciate the “set it and forget it” convenience of my slow cooker, but smelling food wafting through my house — also my full-time office — for hours distracts my nose and stomach from my work. So I rarely bring it out. During a grocery trip some time ago, found this bag of Campbell’s Sweet Korean…
Food Review: Saffron Road Bibimbap With Tofu microwave meal
Quite frankly, out of the four microwave meals that Saffron Road sent me for review, I did not look forward to this one. It’s really difficult, in my opinion, to make tofu edible when subjected to the rigors of microwave cooking. Microwaves seem to toughen tofu — and most stuff — into jaw-exhausting chewiness. However, it’s probably even…
Food Review: Saffron Road Beef Bulgogi microwave meal
Saffron Road recently released a line of microwave hansik (Korean food) recreating classic dishes such as 비빔밥 bibimbap and 불고기 bulgogi. After reviewing sample meals of 고추장 gochujang-slathered chicken and bibimbap with beef, we examined Saffron Road’s Beef Bulgogi. [learn_more caption=”What is 불고기 bulgogi?”]불고기 Bulgogi is marinated grilled meat, from 불 bul (fire) and 고기 gogi (meat). The marinade includes soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, pepper…
Hidden Kimchi: Sam’s Teriyaki, Fairfield, Calif.
Hubby and I did not expect to end up in the north San Francisco Bay Area city of Fairfield the Sunday before Memorial Day — really. Nor did we set out to find one of that city’s best-loved Korean food joints. Our original plan was to take a leisurely trip to tourist-oriented downtown Napa to check out a…
Recipe: Spicy Grilled Bok Choy
I am happy to be a member of a community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm. I enjoy the surprise, the excitement of what will be in the box, and the challenge of what to do with them. [learn_more caption=”What is a CSA?”]Wikipedia defines a CSA as, “…a particular network or association of individuals who have pledged to support…
Korean-style toast wins hearts in San Francisco
Large slabs of Texas-sized sliced bread, toasted to perfection slathered with fancy toppings, long the purview of coffee shops in Seoul and Hong Kong has now come to San Francisco. But it wouldn’t be San Francisco unless the trend of $4 토스트 toaseu-teu (toast) also turned political with equal time to hand-wringing about the menace of gentrification. …
Food Review: Saffron Road Bibimbap With Beef microwave meal
Some time ago after finding my review of Saffron Road’s Korean Tacos, the company sent me an email offering to send samples of line of Korean microwave meals. The package of four microwave meals came packed in a cushioned Styrofoam box with dry ice to keep the frozen microwave meals frozen. The meals are certified halal…