korean

Sweet Korean Pancakes, Hotteok

September 19, 2019

When my sister and I first moved to Korea as kids, one of our favorite discoveries was the street food hotteok, 호떡, a sweet griddled pancake stuffed with brown sugar and cinnamon. Up until then, we had lived in a suburban town in Southern California and had only experienced “street fare” at the annual county fair. It was a revelation to move to a big city where the majority of people took public transportation, and street food vendors could be found on every other pedestrian sidewalk. But before we were old enough to really get to know the street food scene, we learned about hotteok through a vendor in our neighborhood.

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Korean Sweet Rice Dessert, Yaksik

September 10, 2019

It may come as a surprise, but my favorite type of dessert is the Korean rice cake. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing like a thick slice of chocolate cake, and I’m a sucker for shortbread cookies, but if rice cakes are on the table, that’s what I’m going for (first).

Like so many other Koreans, ddeok or rice cakes were a big part of my childhood, which is probably why I love them so much. We had them for breakfast, as a snack, in savory dishes, for dessert, and during any major holiday or celebration. There are so many varieties to choose from, but this version, yaksik or Korean sweet rice dessert, is one of my all-time favorites.

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Asian Kitchen in Paris

June 5, 2010

Asian Kitchen in Paris | Jessica's Dinner Party

I’ve done a good job at avoiding the kitchen for two weeks, but I think it’s time I start working those hot plates! I’ve started to become a little homesick for Korean food, most likely sparked by a confrontation with a harsh old man who told my friend and I never to come back to his store. There was nothing wrong that we did, unless browsing through books in a bookstore is a crime here! I guess I need to learn more about the French service industry, obviously, the customer is not always right! It was about time I start craving for some rice anyway. After all, I am Asian.

Asian Kitchen in Paris | Jessica's Dinner Party

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Kimchi

November 12, 2009

The kimchi is done! It took two full days to complete, but if I were to do it myself, I think it would’ve taken weeks. Experiencing the whole process really made me appreciate kimchi in a whole new way. It’s such a standard presence on my dinner table, that I don’t think I’ve ever really given it a second thought. But that’s exactly why kimchi is so important, because I eat it everyday. To know where all the ingredients came from and how much preparation went into it makes you enjoy it more. I found it really impressive how authentic and culturally intact each part was. All the ingredients were local, seasonal, and all the methods used could have been seen 100, 300, 500 years ago. Well, maybe except the mandolin we used to cut the radishes. That probably cut three days worth of work to two.

In theory, this batch is supposed to last one year, so you can imagine how much of everything we needed (we’re talking restaurant kitchen proportions). No recipe was used and I lost count after 50 cabbage heads, that I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

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Sweet Potato Kimchi Pancakes

November 11, 2009

It’s kimchi season right now, which means many Korean families will be making enormous amounts of that famous spicy fermented cabbage. We’re in the middle of making our own right now, and I must say, it is quite a fete. I can see why many families forego the whole ordeal and just buy some at the supermarket. It’s not only a long process, but we’re dealing with pounds and pounds of cabbage, more than you would believe you’d eat in a lifetime. However, nothing beats food made at home. There’s that love and trust that is absent elsewhere.

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korean

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