My Blogger is in Korean, and...T-money!

Well, I am not sure how to change it, but my blogger is all in Korean (minus what I type). That is slightly annoying. It wouldn't be an issue if I was highly familiar with Blogger, but I am not so it is problematic. Anywho, moving on. Today was another little adventure. I went out and bought a T-money charm so I can use public transportation. I haven't actually attempted to use the subway yet, but baby steps. I felt pretty good though because I finally got to use some of the Korean I have learned. So far, up till purchasing the t-money charm, I had only managed to say simple things like Hello and Thank you. Today, I got to say, "sago sipoyo" (I butchered that romanized spelling, I'm sure) when explaining that I wanted to buy the t-money card. That felt good, and the woman at the counter l ooked infinitely more relieved that she didn't have to try to work it out in English.
After, I went for some tofu stew with ddeok (rice cake). It was really good. I am pretty much working my way down the menu at this one particular tofu stew place. First I had kimchi, then mandu (dumpling), and now the rice cake. Next I want to have the ham (looks like spam). I also went grocery shopping. It was a small haul of items; nothing too big, bulky, or that I really have to cook just yet, but I did pick up a few tasty things for dinner and a snack or two. While there, I spotted another foreigner. I guess he could be a native, who just so happens to have a white parent so he doesn't look Korean, but I don't think so. I didn't quite get up the guts to say hello, but it was nice not feeling like I was the only foreigner in the store (E-mart in Sindorim Techno Mart). On my walk back home, I saw yet another foreigner. I didn't talk to him either (damn my shyness!!). It was just odd. I have been here all week and I hadn't seen a single foreigner at all, and all in one day I spot 2. I guess it is likely because it is Saturday, and they are out doing their weekend thing (where they would have otherwise been teaching classes or working while I was out previously in the week).
Well, that's been my day so far. Perhaps there will be more to happen, but I will save that for another post.

Another H Mart Shopping Trip - Yay Korean Food!

I am being lazy, but let me tell you about my recent H Mart purchases.

First, these rice cookie things - yum!

 

Yeah, they were really yummy. It's a light sweetness and just the perfect amount of crunch. 

Second was something rather simple - pomegranate hard candies:

They ended up being rather yummy too. I really love pomegranate flavored things though, so I assumed that would be the case. There are a whole lot of them in the package too, so I don't think I will run out any time soon.

Lastly, I got a rainbow rice cake, and well... it was gross.

Now, to be fair, I think I left it too long (in the heat for a little while too) and it just got hard. If I'd eaten it when I bought it, perhaps my opinion of it would have been different. I think I will try again another time to test this theory. There are other little rice cake things that I've had that are really tasty, so I have faith!

So that's it for this week. If you have any suggestions of things I should try, let me know!

Adventures in Korean Cooking plus more language learning.

So I wanted to post my pictures of my wonderful adventures in cooking ddeokbokki (떡볶이). This was an adventure indeed, but it still came out pretty good - in my opinion. Let's start with the set-up:

So I had the ddeokbokki, gochujang paste and powder, fish cakes (that had onion and carrots in it), green onions, carrots, mushrooms (just because I love mushrooms), salt, pepper, soy sauce, and some sugar. It was all cooked in a shallow pot/pan using instructions from Simon and Martina's cooking demonstration of the same meal. And the final result was:

Overall it was a success though there are some changes I might make next time. First, I think I cooked the sauce down too much, so as you see it wasn't very saucy. I also think it could have cooked a little longer because some of the ddeokbokki wasn't quite done. I would also most likely make less of the fish cakes or slice them up smaller. The taste was pretty good. I haven't ever had it by actual Korean cooks though, so I could have been way off without even knowing it. It wasn't too spicy but I put a heaping spoonful and a half of the paste, so I don't think I would put any more than that. I did learn that substituting almond milk instead of regular milk (to reduce the spicy burn) is a TERRIBLE idea, not to mention completely pointless since apparently it's the lactic acid in milk that gets rid of the burn.... almond milk is lactose-free. >.> Yeah, you live and you learn.

Up next on the cooking schedule is either going to be kimchi stew or kimchi fried rice. Either way, I have to cook that when everyone else is asleep so they won't complain about the smell of the kimchi. As it is, I can't eat it in a small portion when people are around. I can only imagine how it'll be when making a meal where it is a huge portion of the meal itself.

Ah yes, and to the second part of this post - Korean Language Learning!

Below is a white board I have that I put a different word, verb, and phrase up in Korean every day - or every other day if I don't feel I have mastered those completely. 

This idea is thanks to MrJaeGun on youtube, who has been so kind to post up various videos of his lessons as he teaches in S. Korea (among other interesting and informational videos). I don't want to stick the board to the wall, so it is precariously standing with the aid of a full coke can and a bottle of powerade - flanked by a squad of Hello Kitty stuffed dolls and my XBOX 360, but it's in good view of my desk and seems to be helping me a great deal. Along with my other study aids and class videos, it brings be one step closer to my goal each day. 

Yep, that's it. Later!

HMart and Korean Food

So, I have been really super busy, but I have made time to stop at the HMart in Houston and pick up some things. First, let me say that that is the most awesome grocery store ever. I mean... really EVER. They have a cool section in the front like a mini-mall. I picked up some really nice headbands there. The one on the right, I wore to a wedding. It was a nice accessory and added some nice sparkle to the dress.

  

I also had a nice dinner in their food court, which has really good Korean food despite it being "food court" style. I had bibimbap and it was delicious! It came in a hot stone bowl, and came with soup and kimchi. So far, I've had it twice there. It is absolutely repeat visit kind of good.

Anywho, while I was there (I've been twice so far so this covers all of those visits) I picked up a few things to try. Check 'em out:

Okay, these chestnuts were just terrible. Perhaps they were bad, or perhaps it's something you either have to get used to or have to grow up with to like. Either way... they were bad. They tasted more like vienna sausages - which doesn't really fit in with the sweet part of the description on the bag. Don't worry all you Chestnut fans - I haven't given up on them forever. I will try them again when I can get some fresh roasted ones... some that don't come in a foil pouch. I will see if I like them better then. I hope so, because I was rather looking forward to liking them.

Oh, lovely lovely kimchi. This stuff is really tasty. From what I have heard, it isn't quite as spicy as it could be, but I am okay with that. I can add more spice if I want. I got some gochujang and red pepper powder, so there is plenty of spice to be had. Let me also say, I haven't had any kimchi that I didn't like. I did, however, find some in my local (non-Korean) market today and it sort of scared me. It looked really really bland, was full of water in the glass jar it came in, and had no color. It didn't look good at all. I thought about buying it just to try it, but decided to stick with what I already knew was good.

This wasn't something surprising, but I like Pepero. I already knew I liked Pocky, so this one was pretty much a given. I really wanted to get the one that was all fancy and had almonds or peanuts or some kind of nuts crushed into the chocolate but it came in a box the size of my head, so I passed on that this time. My birthday is coming up though, so I might buy it then. :p

And lastly I have some rice cakes. These were Strawberry and Blueberry flavored bean paste filled. Really it might sound weird if you don't already know what it is, but these things were DELICIOUS. It was just really too bad that one little thing was something like 400 calories. I ate 4 of them on my 6 hour drive from Houston to New Orleans, realized how many calories each had, and decided to ration out the rest. Additionally, I should note that these aren't Korean. They are actually wrapped up in a pink and purple Japanese package. That didn't matter. They were good, so I will have them again. There were a lot of other little rice cakes, some of them looked like regular flour cakes too, but most of them looked too messy to be eating while driving so I passed on them. I might get them another time or the next time I have an extended stay there in Houston.

Well, that's part of my haul I guess. I did get some other things that aren't included like ddeokbokki, the before mentioned gochujang paste and powder, and some fish cakes, but I will talk about those things later when I discuss making ddeokbokki for the first time in a later post. I also will weigh in on a kimchi stew meal I plan to make later in the week - but my family doesn't like the smell of kimchi so I sort of have to sneak it in when they are asleep or something. Bummer.

Yup, that's it for now. Let me know what you like to buy at the market and what you like to cook. If you have any cool recipes, let me know. I would like to learn to make more things.