Day Trip to Korea Town

If you've been reading my posts, you know that I love day trips.  Just getting away for the day.  Eating good food.  Getting stuff that I would not normally get back home.  You're probably thinking that all I do is eat and go to Asian stores, huh? Well, that's ok.  We indulged a little bit at Korea Town in Queens, New York.  It's not often that we go there so a little indulgence was lovely.  Sorry for the photo heavy post.  I love taking pictures of food!

We first went to a familiar Korean Barbecue restaurant.  There were so many to pick from in this particular neighborhood.  We had been there before a year or two ago and it was right across the street from the market.  I remember lots of food.  When the lady started to bring everything on to the table, I started to remember how good it was.  It was tough not being able to eat right away, making sure that I had a picture of everything.  I definitely looked like a tourist.  There were more than ten banchans or side dishes besides the main meal, which was beef barbecue (galbi) and the appetizers dumplings (mandoo) and seafood pancake (haemul pajeon).  Mostly everything was eaten with regular white rice and "purple rice" (heuk mee bap).

After our HUGE meal, we walked it off at the market across the street.  It was everything and mostly Korean food and products.  Something that we don't see often back home, especially a store that size.  My mother in law was armed with her list of groceries, my husband and I just walked around in awe because it's been a while since we had been there.  We asked each other, "do we need this?" or "should we get this?" a few times.  Remember when I posted rice cakes from the other Asian market? Well, this place had trays and trays of various rice cakes.  Some plain, flavored, mixed with pumpkin, red beans...just too many.  My favorite aisle is the snack aisle, where they have honey twists.  Oh man.  Then, there's the prepared food section where there's refrigerator displays of all the different kinds of kimchi, prepared side dishes, ready made soups, and of course Korean sushi (kim bap).  At the end of the leg of our grocery trip, we discovered a new addition in the store that we've never seen.  A steamed bun shop right in the middle of the frozen food section!!! Whoa!  Right next to the frozen mochi ice cream and the honeydew pops was a four walled glass structure, where inside there were about 5 people making steamed buns and two others working the front of the shop all working amazingly fast in a small space.  It was amazing to see how they made these snacks.  There were red bean, kimchi, pork, curry, and vegetable steamed bun to pick from.  

After our shopping trip, we ended up in a little cafe close by.  I remember having a dessert there that had shaved ice, rice cakes (mochi), and assorted fruits.  When I asked the lady over the counter for one, she said it wasn't the season for it yet and that they usually make them during the summer months.  Boo!  So I sadly ordered a mocha bubble tea instead.  Since I didn't get my special Korean dessert during this trip, I guess there will be a next time in a few months!

Pancakes for Dinner

We had pancakes for dinner....kimchi pancakes. Yum!  It was my first time making it.  I've watched my mother in law make it, I've had it at our favorite Korean restaurant, but never made it ever!  There's always a first, folks!

I'm pretty impressed with myself.  Considering it was the first time I made Kimchi pancakes [Kimchijeon], I did pretty well.  My mother in law would be proud!  The first pancake was a little too big so it ended up with a hole in the middle.  After that, I pretty much learned to make them smaller and easier to flip over.  I thought I cooked them well enough, but next time I will leave them on the pan a little bit longer for crispier results.

Hope you're having a great week so far!

Just Get a Few Things

Stopped by the Korean store in town to pick up a few things for a special lunch with the family.  One thing I learned is that when making Korean food is that it takes some preparation and having ALL of the ingredients is a must if you want it to turn out exactly to your preference.  Plus, what's a trip to the store without pictures??

Snacks, snacks, and more snacks! Wasabi peas anyone??

Sweet cookies and cakes.  Choco-Pie is the favorite in our home.

Wall of ramen.  From spicy to soybean to curry to seafood.  They're all there.

Korean sushi called kim bap or gim bap made fresh by the store owner.  

I regretted only getting one package when I got home.  It was so good!

On to the Next....Year 2012

It's been a while since my last post.  As the weeks and days got closer to the holidays, the "to do" list got longer and longer.  There has been less time for me to work on this blog.  However, finally today I have a little time to post about the past few days.  

Our dog posing in front of the tree with all of the presents.  Needless to say I think a bigger tree is needed.

Christmas at the in-laws involved presents and homemade Korean food.

T: Bimbimbap with bulgogi and spicy sauce

B: Kimchi pancake

Christmas with my family includes two big yummy meals in one day.  Brunch at my mom's where I made the B: ham and egg hash brown pie and a T: traditional Filipino Christmas dinner at my aunt's house.  Both meals were followed by opening of presents.  When my sister, cousins, and I were younger Christmas usually was an all day event, sometimes two.  However, as we got older some of us have moved away out of state, or out of the country but we still try to continue our traditions year after year.

One of my family's Christmas traditions is the passing of the Chia.  Long story, but this is the third Chia we've had ever since we started.  This year I got it!

Dela Chicky and Ella Elephant and I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Fabulous New Year!  Spend time with family and friends who truly care about you, and make sure you do - you!  

XOXO

Christine

Mashi-e-sseo-yo (delicious in Korean)

When I was growing up, the only Korean food I've had was airplane food from Korean Airlines.  As you can imagine airplane food more than twenty years ago wasn't that great, so my impression of Korean food was bland meat, rice, and a side of chili paste at nine years old.  Little did I know that years later, I would be married to someone who is half Korean and whose mother makes the best Korean food.  She has introduced me to a whole new cuisine that I've grown to love.  However, where I live doesn't really have an abundance of Korean restaurants.  Thank goodness for the Internet I've searched high and low for places where my husband and I can have our favorite Korean dishes.  I like to be adventurous when it comes to going out to eat.  It may be too much Travel Channel.  When I found a restaurant that was only fifteen minutes away from my house, and serves traditional Korean food, I was so excited to take my husband.  We were both pleased with what we ordered; Duk boki - Korean rice cakes in hot pepper sauce, cucumber and oshinko (pickled radish) rolls, bi bim bap, and bulgogi.  Everything was delicious! This small restaurant, with less than ten tables, located in a small shopping center that can be easily missed was a hidden gem.  If you're in Hamden, Connecticut Midori is definitely a place to visit, and it satisfied my craving for some yummy, spicy and flavorful Korean food! (pardon the blurry iPhone photos)

I've never had duk boki before, but I was definitely game to try it.  I was channeling my inner Anthony Bourdain.  This yummy duk boki was cooked with Korean rice cakes, napa cabbage, fish cakes (odem, omook, or what my husband calls fish bologna), and udon noodles simmered in spicy chili sauce.  I could eat this again and again.

This is my favorite Korean dish called bimbimbap.  This yummy and beautifully presented rice dish is actually very healthy, with the different vegetables and very small amount of beef and egg on top of white rice.  All of the ingredients are served in a hot stone pot where it makes the rice extra crispy.  Usually I like my bimbimbap with a runny sunny side up egg on top.  Whereas this one has chopped scrambled eggs.  The spicy sauce on top of the bimbimbap is sweet and spicy depending on the recipe.  A bottle of this yummy concoction is also given on the side just in case if you wanted to add more yummy goodness, which I do almost every bite.

This is my husband's favorite Korean dish, bulgogi.  Of course he prefers his Mom's cooking, however, he did say he really liked his order.  This beef dish is usually marinated with ingredients such as soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, and a type of meat tenderizer like a fruit juice.  It is most often grilled, but it tastes just as good when pan fried.  Definitely even better with a side of kimchi!