The July 18, 2009, edition of the JoongAng Ilbo wrote a feature article about the health benefits of eating chicken soup during the hottest summer months. Chubok, as I mentioned in this post, is considered the hottest month of the year in Korea’s lunar calendar. In traditional Korean medicine, it is recommended that one eat…
How an American ex-pat adopts a Korean hometown
Anyone who has spent any amount of time eating, sleeping, working and living in Korea grows to love and adore the place, even if you find some aspects of Korea annoying, frustrating or downright awful. South Korea is a country you will never forget. To commemorate where you came from, consider checking out DosBesitos. The…
Carried away with tea
If you’re one of those people who dislikes the generic black or green tea served in most restaurants, you probably carry your own teabags with you (or have been tempted to do so). The outgoing, do-it-yourself types boldly ask the waitress for a mug of hot water and are not shy about using their own…
Kimchi in the News: Freeze-dried Kimchi
The LA Times posted an article called South Korean creates kimchi that won’t smell. It appears that making space kimchi wasn’t challenging enough so now Koreans have come up with an even more difficult task–deodorized kimchi. Many foreigners dislike the smell of kimchi but even Koreans get annoyed by it on occasion. Even in South…
Kimchi in the News: Gwangu hosts Kimchi Festival
Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, will host the 16th Annual Kimchi Festival from Oct. 23 to Nov. 1. 2009 at the Gwangju World Cup Stadium and the surrounding vicinity. The Korean Tourism Organization says, The Gwangju Kimchi Festival is all about kimchi – Korea’s most representative food. There is a program to sample kimchi with foods…
Earth Day everyday from Etsy, Starbucks and Bae Yong Joon
Back in April 2009, Bae Yong Joon and some of his fellow Korean actors posed for a spread in the May 2009 edition of Korea’s Cosmopolitan magazine called “Kick the Habit”. The stars donated the money they’d normally make on their modeling fees to the UNEP (U.N. Environmental Project) Korean Committee. This got me thinking…
Cookbook recommendation: Korean Cuisine: An Illustrated History by Michael J. Pettid
I have been asked to recommend books on Korean history, cuisine and cookery from time to time. I don’t own many Korean cookbooks because, in my opinion, most of them publish the same basic recipes such as bulgogi, kalbi and kimchi. The repetition can be mind-numbing, especially if you already know the basics of Korean…
Essentials for a Korean pantry
On occasion, my YouTube video viewers have asked me what spices and condiments are essential for a Korean pantry. Here are the top 8 essential, can’t make Korean food without it pantry items: Gochujang (Korean fermented red pepper paste) Doenjang (Korean miso) Cham girum (Sesame seed oil) Cham ke (Roasted Sesame seeds) Kook ganjang (Korean…
Pentagon Channel features military chef competition
National Public Radio recently aired an episode about the Pentagon Channel’s cooking show called The Grill Sergents. The show is currently in its third season. According to the Pentagon Channel website: The Grill Sergeants…is a weekly, half-hour cooking show featuring some of the military’s top chefs as they guide viewers through step-by-step menu preparation, along…
LA move over, Portland, Ore. has a Korean taco truck, too!!!
Just as the Battle of the Korean Taco has calmed down in LA, another Korean taco truck is in the news, this time in Portland, Ore. FOX TV 12 in Portland reports “Food Truck’s Tweets Tell Location”. Koi Fusion PDX uses Twitter to update their 1600 + fans of their daily truck route. Owner Bo…