COEX Aquarium

For our trip of the week, David and I went to the COEX Mall, Asia's largest underground shopping structure on Tuesday. There were lots of fun stores--including a Zara, TGIFriday's, Coldstones, and more--and even, oddly enough, an Aquarium. Being the lover all creatures great and small, I wanted to go through the Aquarium and David obliged me in my request. [We realized, in the course of our visit, that of all the attractions that we have attended together, zoos and aquariums ranks the highest, just behind museums. What can I say? Before deciding to be a historian/curator, my two other dream jobs were to be a marine biologist or a zoologist. I feel at home among the animals.]

Unfortunately for every other aquarium that I visit, however, I volunteered at the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a year and every other aquarium simply pales in comparison. The COEX Aquarium was actually pretty decent given its size, location and hokey decor but I always leave an aquarium like that wishing the animals could have bigger enclosures and that the effort to educate rather than entertain the public was greater.

But enough of that, here's the animals!

We watched the penguin feeding though it was all in Korean. The woman kept saying penguin as "pengy" which just sounded odd. Also, why are penguins so darn cute?

Leafy seahorses tangled up with one another.

Some igaunas hanging out on the turtles backs. I loved the turtles' reflection in the water.

A glowing piranha.

Jellyfish.

Such simple, yet fascinating creatures.

They did have a large tank with one of those undersea tunnels that are always so popular at aquariums.

Crazy fish!

And some colorful fish.

And a two-headed turtle! Ah, those freaks of nature.

Though I got a bigger kick out of the horrid English translation of the sign. Go ahead, enlarge it and try not to laugh.

You remember this building? From our trip to Gyeongbokgung Palace?

Well there was a replica inside the aquarium with a pond full of koi.

I'll finish off the post with a photograph of a king crab (there's just one....the other is a reflection). These dudes just creeped the heck out of me. Ugh. Same with the eels, but I refused to take a picture of those. I hear the zoo here in Seoul is pretty good. I'll have to go check it out soon too.

Bulgogi at Home

There are a lot of Korean dishes I could do without--kimchi, I'm looking at you--but I love bulgogi oh so very much. It's absolutely delicious and, I discovered today, super easy to make. There are two different types of bulgogi typically served in restaurants: 1) the kind that is boiled in a delicious broth and 2) the kind that is marinated and cooked over an open flame. [Fun fact: Bulgogi means "fire meat" not because it is spicy but because of how it's cooked.] I'm still on the hunt for a bulgogi broth recipe, but today I attempted a marinated bulgogi to great success. I think it captures the essence and delicious flavors of bulgogi. Anyone playing along at home can replicate this dish with no problem.

After looking at several recipes, I decided to base my meal off this recipe from Savory Sweet Life. I'll be honest, I can't make a dish if I can't see what it should look like and I pick a lot of recipes because of the food photography over any other consideration. But moving on.....

Step One- Cut the meat. Luckily, the Commissary here sells meat that is already thinly sliced and perfect for bulgogi. If you don't have that option at your local grocery store, you can buy a rib-eye or sirloin steak (1-1.5 pounds) and cut it yourself across the grain in paper thin slices. Apparently, partially freezing it beforehand makes it easier to slice.

Step Two- Prepare the marinade, as follows:

1/3 cup of soy sauce [Several recipes explicitly recommended buying Korean soy sauce for better quality and taste. I dutifully visited the market and bought a bottle of the real deal (instead of using my low sodium Kikkoman sauce) but I wish I had stuck with the low sodium option. The finished product was just a tad too salty.]

3 Tablespoons white sugar

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 green onions including the white parts, finely sliced into small pieces

1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes [I use just a pinch because I don't like too much spice.]

2 pinches of black pepper

*optional 1/4 tsp. of ginger, finely minced [I didn't put this in this time, but I think I will next time.]

Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium bowl.

[Several recipes also recommend using a pureed kiwi, Fuji apple or Asian pear in the recipe to help tenderize the meat and add additional sweetness to the meat. I want to try this next time as well, probably with the kiwi. Bulgogi done well has a sweetness and a lightness about it that really delights the tongue. I report back on the success of this endeavor the next time I make bulgogi.]

Step Three- Cut 1/4 of a medium yellow onion, halved and sliced into medium moon shaped slivers. Add the beef and onion to the bowl of marinade and massage the marinade into each slice of beef. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (More is always better when it comes to marinating.)

Step Four- After the beef has marinated long enough, you can pan fry the meat. Place a few slices of beef in single layers and completely flat on a hot oiled frying pan and fry each side until cooked. Or you could do it my way, and just throw it all in there and cook it up like a stir fry. Comes out tasting just as good and it takes about 10 minutes.

Step Five- Serve bulgogi with rice (bap), sides, and lettuce for wrapping, if you so desire. And enjoy!

See? Super quick and easy. And so tasty!

I added enokitake mushrooms to David's bulgogi because he loves the little fungi. I'm not such a fan of mushrooms. And for those looking for a good carrot recipe, I used this recipe for Glazed Mini Carrots from EatingWell.com. Another quick and tasty recipe from my favorite recipe resource.

Now my friends. I've proven it can be done. Go forth and make good Korean food!

Gyeongbokgung

Last weekend, David and I finally sat down and wrote out a list of all the places we want to visit in Seoul, in Korea (day or weekend trips), and in Asia (longer trips). We've been in Korea 4 months and have sadly not seen a whole lot yet, on account of David's busy work schedule and our mutual lack of motivation. [Admittedly, I'm quite a homebody. I love to see new things and travel but most nights I'm content just to stay in.] On Monday, we forced ourselves to go and visit one of the items on our list: Gyeongbokgung Palace.

We'd previously visited Changdeokgung Palace (and honestly, if you've been to one Korean palace, you've seen all you need to see of Joseon era Korean architecture) but I'm a sucker for architecture, so we went anyway. I have to say that I loved Gyeongbokgung Palace so much more than Changdeokgung. For one, we were allowed to wander on our own through the many sections of the palace complex; at Changdeokgung, we had to stay with a large guided group. But mostly, Gyeongbokgung just felt more visually stunning to me. There were some extraordinarily beautiful spots in the palace and just a feeling of greater peace and beauty there.

So a brief history before the barrage of photographs: Gyeongbokgung, which means "a prayer for great bliss for the king" was originally built in 1395, at the very beginning of the Joseon Dynasty and served as the main palace until the Japanese burned it to the ground in 1592. It was rebuilt in 1867 but it was demolished by the Japanese again in 1915. (To say that Koreans despise the Japanese would be an understatement.) The current palace complex has been under restoration since 1990 and is nearly complete. You can obviously tell which are the newer sections of the palace (most of which are unpainted), but they've done a remarkable job of restoring the palace.

This is Heungryemun, the entrance to the palace complex and the gate protecting the main throne hall. At certain times of the day, Korean re-enactors recreate the ceremony of the changing of the guard, which we were able to see a little of.

This is Geunjeongjeong, the main throne hall of Gyeongbokgung. Your place in society determined what pathway you were allowed to take to reach the throne hall. Only the emperor could walk down the center footpath.

From another angle.

Inside the throne hall.

And the gorgeous ceiling.

There were lots of fun animal statues all throughout the palace complex. This, I believe, is Baekho, the guardian of the west.

This, according to my guide book, is either a rat or a rabbit. Doesn't really look like either to me (which is why I can't tell which it's supposed to be).

And on the stairs leading up to the library and reception hall for foreign envoys are what look like dragons and tigers. I mean, I have a picture guide to all the statues, but I swear they don't look a thing like the animal they are meant to portray. Except the rooster, but only because it's the only bird.

Like I said, I love architecture and architectural elements. Indulge me for a moment.

I'm a big fan of columns. I love the way they photograph.

Love the doors and colors. The lock is particularly interesting on this door.

The side of the throne hall as seen through a doorway.

The colors and curves of Korean architecture.

Willow trees. They're just plain cool.

I couldn't decide which shot I liked more. So you get both.
This is Gyeonghoeru Pavilion where the king threw lavish banquets and parties. It sits on an island in the middle of a man-made pond.

This was my favorite spot in the palace complex. This is Hyangwonjeong, a tiny building on an islet surrounding by beautiful trees and a pond full of fish. Unfortunately, this also stands in front of the queen's living quarters where Empress Myeongseong was assassinated by the Japanese in 1895.

Still pretty though.

I hope we'll get out a lot more and I can report back on our findings. And if things ever get boring, there's always the Seoul Museum of Chicken Art.....

How Do You Lose a 15 Pound Cat?

This is.....well, I don't know the cat's name because there were men involved in her transport who don't think or care about those things. I call her Sweetheart or Fatty because, well, she's a pretty massive cat. Suyom is a svelte 8 pounds, pocket-size really, in comparison to this 15 pound giant.

We took in the unnamed cat for a few days for a sailor who just arrived here in Korea. Since you spend your first few days (or sometimes weeks) living in the Dragon Hill Lodge on base before moving into a new home, people with pets either have to put them into a kennel or have other people look after them. Luckily when we arrived, we were able to drop off Suyom at the Bartlett's house (our friends who gave us Suyom in the first place) so we knew she was in good hands.

So long story short, a new sailor arrived, she needed a new place for her massive cat to stay and the LPO (lead petty officer) asked us if we could take in the cat for a few days since he knew we already had a cat and because we live right by him, thus making the transfer of the cat that much easier.

The unnamed cat (because my husband didn't ask and the LPO didn't know anyway) arrived sometime after 9pm. We got her settled in, listened to a little hissing and snarling between Suyom and the other cat (Suyom hates other cats....she eventually learns to tolerate them but she's an unpleasant ball of fur for the first few days a new cat is in her vicinity), David and I thought the cats would be fine and settled in to watch a little TV.

Halfway through the newest episode of How I Met Your Mother, I hadn't seen or heard from the new cat for a little while and I went to find her.

And she had simply vanished.

We turned our whole house upside down looking for the cat, pulling out cushions and beds and finding tiny crevices and hiding places I never knew existed. Now I've seen some cats get into some pretty interesting places, but not a massive 15 pound one. I could not fathom where she could have gone. We even looked outside although there was about a 5% chance she could have made it to the outside world. The thought of her wandering the twisted streets of Huam-dong alone on her first night in Korea made me want to cry.

After more than an hour of searching, David and I had exhausted all the options. We felt pretty certain that she was in the house somewhere, but might just be stuck or in hiding. We couldn't hear her however.

I picked up Suyom, who was much happier now that the new cat had disappeared, and went into the kitchen with her in my arms. As I neared the laundry room, she immediately started hissing and growling and leapt out of my arms and ran away. Now we'd already searched all the little crevices behind the washer and dryer, in the cupboards and behind the oven. But convinced that the cat was in that room, I tore out all the contents of the cupboard under the sink and discovered a furry patch peeping out of a hole in the bottom of the shelf. Somehow, this 15 pound cat had wedged herself between the bottom of the shelf and the floor underneath the sink and gotten stuck.

We were eventually able to wrest her free and pet her and calm her down. Poor thing. She's a very sweet cat. She's now set up camp underneath the bed in the guest room, while Suyom is taking surveillance from under the dining room table.

It's going to be an interesting week with these two cats in the house...I just hope we don't lose a 15 pound cat again. Sheesh.

Fall is Here!

Fall is finally here in Korea. I've always liked fall but I didn't fall in love with the season until I lived in Virginia. A Virginia fall would make anyone fall in love with autumn. Despite the hot summers and frigidly cold winters (a marked difference from the constant balmy weather of Hawaii), I was very excited to move to Korea because it meant that once again, I'd get to have fall.

I love the burst of color before the desolation of winter, the slow switch from hot, humid summers to a cool, refreshing fall. I enjoy the the emergence of warm sweaters, scarves and jackets from their summer hibernation and the bounty of the earth--apples and pumpkins and squashes and corn. I can't wait to make an apple pie or maple pumpkin cheesecake or eat butternut squash soup. I love the flavors and colors and feelings of fall.

Of course, living in a big city, you forget sometimes that you still live on a planet earth that is constantly changing around you. David and I went to Gyeongbokgung palace today (more on that visit later) and I finally got to see physical evidence beyond a milder climate that fall is, indeed, upon us.

And since I couldn't wait to sing my songs of joy for fall, I thought I'd post a few photographs that I took today of the early fall foliage. I need to get out more and find some more trees. Also, I really need to buy a good camera and Photoshop. (And stop trying to manipulate photographs in my pathetic little photo editor program.)

I still had fun playing around with it though.

And the leaves excite me. So glad I get a fall again.

Nope, I sure don't miss Hawaii at all.

Chicken Tikka Masala

About a year ago, I was newly married, living in a new city and really, REALLY craving some good Indian food. D.C. had several excellent Indian restaurants, but I didn't have much hope that Honolulu would have anything near as good. So I decided that it was time to learn how to cook Indian food myself and I started with my favorite Indian dish--chicken tikka masala.

I scoured the internet for different recipes, poring over which recipes seemed the most authentic, had the clearest instructions and the easiest preparation. I finally determined that Cook's Illustrated had the best recipe potential and set off to gather the ingredients to make the dish myself. I didn't know it at the time, since I had easily accessed [and luckily printed off] the recipe, but Cook's Illustrated recipes are generally blocked if you don't have a paid membership to their website and/or magazine.

My first attempt produced admirable results, but over time (and countless preparations of this dish which both David and I LOVE), this has become one of my absolute most foolproof and delicious meals. I've made it for several friends to rave reviews and it always comes out tasting delicious. I've passed this recipe onto several people and I know several others who have expressed interest in it, so I thought I'd put it up here for all the world [okay, all 10 people who read this blog] to see.

Without further ado, the recipe:

Chicken Tikka Masala
by Cook’s Illustrated 9/2007

Serves 4

Chicken Tikka
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 pounds (4 breasts) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (or ½ teaspoon ground ginger)

Masala Sauce
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 fresh Serrano chile, minced with ribs and seeds removed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon garam masala*
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup heavy cream
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1.) For the chicken: Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adheres. Place chicken on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. In large bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, garlic, and ginger; set aside.

2.) For the sauce: Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt; bring to boil. Reduce head to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.

3.) While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler. Using tongs, dip chicken into yogurt mixture and arrange on wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Broil chicken until thickest parts register 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.

4.) Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then cut into 1-inch chunks and stir into warm sauce (do not simmer chicken in sauce). Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning with salt, and serve with basmati rice and naan bread.

* Garam masala is a mixture of various spices. McCormick sells the mixture in the spice aisle. You can make your own mixture by combining 2 teaspoons ground coriander, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (which is an expensive spice), ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper.


A few personal notes:

When making this for more than just David and I, I generally use 5 chicken breasts instead of just four. It does, of course, reduce the amount of sauce overall, but ensures that everyone will get plenty of the delicious chicken. The recipe also recommends the use of whole-milk yogurt, but I always use non-fat (being the only kind I can find) and the meat always comes out tasting moist and delicious. (It also makes for great leftovers as the chicken reheats very nicely.)

Not being a fan of spicy (as in hot) foods, I used to eliminate the serrano chile. But now I always include either a serrano or Anaheim chile (being milder chiles) because I think it adds just a little extra spice and depth of flavor. Just be careful when buying chiles that you don't buy a jalapeno on accident like I did one time. Not only was the masala sauce very spicy but my fingertips burned for days from cutting the jalapeno. (Why must all chiles look alike?)

Be warned that this recipe is very time consuming but VERY much worth all the effort. The actual cooking does not take a great deal of time, but the prep does because you do need to cut and chop a lot of components. I do all my prep work first and then bang out the chicken and sauce in about 30 minutes. (But that is 30 minutes of constant cooking. You can't just leave the pot and come back to it. It's a progressive dance of adding new elements to the sauce, letting it simmer, stirring, and adding more.) Generally, I give myself at least an hour and half to make this dish, including the basmati rice. The naan bread takes longer because you need to let it rise for at least two hours (but of course, you don't have to stand around watching the bread rise).

I have a fairly decent naan bread recipe, but it never meets my expectations of the buttery, mouth-wateringly delicious stuff you can get from a real Indian restaurant. But then again, I don't have a clay oven, so I'll never be able to produce anything near as good. But if anyone has a good naan recipe or any other delicious Indian recipes, I'd love to try them out. While I love chicken tikka masala, I think I'm ready to branch out and try some new Indian recipes.

Because while Honolulu might not have had as good of Indian restaurant as D.C., at least they had some. I can't say the same for Korea.

Jeong Gam Eorin

Because it was Friday night and because David was dying after receiving a smallpox vaccine, flu shot, and anthrax shot this morning, and because I didn't want to cook, we decided to visit Jeong Gam Eorin, our favorite Korean restaurant. And luckily, this time, I brought my camera with me to finally document a traditional Korean meal.

Here's an overview of all the food and side dishes that accompany a meal at Jeong Gam Eorin....well, any Korean restaurant for that matter. Every Korean restaurant specializes in certain side dishes (though you tend to get a lot of similar ones each time) and they change periodically with the season and what's available. Today we ordered bulgogi and pork. You can see the bulgogi cooking in its absolutely delicious broth (I would bathe in the broth if it were appropriate) at our table and you can just barely make out one of the servers cooking our pork on the charcoal grill at the next table over. (We were very hungry.)

Bulgogi is very thinly sliced beef that is marinated in the world's most delicious broth (I must learn to make this) and boiled either right at your table or in earthenware pots that are then brought to your table, cooked and ready to go. There's something about having your food prepared right at your table that I love. For one, it allows me to see exactly what I'm eating and to determine how well-done I want my meat to be cooked. I can also add my own components (like fresh garlic) and it keeps the meat warm throughout the meal. Those white things on top of the bulgogi are tiny little mushrooms. I'm not much of a mushroom person to begin with, but David really likes them. And the red dish on bottom righthand corner is a chili paste of sorts that adds a little spiciness to your meat. I typically use it sparingly with my pork lettuce wraps.

And here's the marinated pork (next to some fresh garlic....I think David wishes I didn't love garlic so much because I'll eat the stuff raw). Normally, the pork is grilled and cut right at your table, but since we had the bulgogi, they grilled it at another table and brought it to us. The pork is one of my favorite meats to order at Jeong Gam Eorin because it's a thicker cut than the bulgogi but still not as thick as a steak but still very filling.

The pork is typically wrapped in lettuce (they bring both a bitter lettuce and mint leaves, but I prefer the lettuce) and eaten in one bite. I typically add rice (bap), garlic, onions, and other bits into my lettuce wrap and then eat it in a few bites or I just cram the whole thing in my mouth. Either way, it's a delicious bite of food. Featured next to the lettuce are three slices of mint green moo and a regular salad. Moo is a radish of some sort (dikon, I believe) that is thinly cut and then marinated. I've seen it all sorts of colors (yellow, pink, green) and it's got a little bit of a tart flavor but I love it. I typically eat all the salad, though the salad dressing tends to vary and they haven't had my favorite kind in quite some time. But then again, I have no clue what goes into any of the dressings so I really have no idea how to compare them. Also, I'm getting better at eating my salad with chopsticks but metal chopsticks can be slippery little suckers.

No Korean meal is complete without the requisite dish of kimchi (on the left). I've had kimchi that didn't make me instantly regret putting it in my mouth, but that's about the best I can say for the stuff. Kimchi and I just don't get along. It's just way too hot and spicy even if you disregard the fact that it's fermented cabbage. On the left is a sweet potato salad with carrots and corn. It's not really my favorite side dish either because I don't like sweet potatoes which is a tad odd since I love regular potatoes in all their many varieties (russet, Idaho, new, baby, red, yellow, etc.) and in all the ways they can be cooked (fried, roasted, mashed, broiled, baked, etc.). But moving on.....

....to Mystery Side Dish #1. The side dishes are more or less the same at every restaurant (there's always kimchi, rice, onions of some sort, a vegetable) but you tend to get one or two that are new and often, unidentifiable. David believes this was some sort of raw fish but I can't verify that since I steered clear of it.

However, Mystery Side Dish #2 wasn't so bad. It's a noodle of some sort (slimy, but not bad) covered in seaweed (kim). [Kimbap (literally seaweed rice) is Korean's version of sushi, though the fish, I hear, is cooked.] It really doesn't taste like much but it won't kill you either.


Rounding out the side dishes are thinly sliced and marinated onions. These aren't the onions I waxed rhapsodic about a few weeks ago, but they're still pretty tasty. Again, this is coming from a person who, until 4 months ago, wouldn't eat a raw onion if you paid her too. Now, I can polish off a whole dish of these myself.

I call this dish kimchi salad though I have no idea what it really is other than lettuce tossed with a hot, red, spicy dressing. Even though I don't like kimchi, I will eat this because it's fresher and typically more palpable to my anti-spicy taste buds though tonight's salad was spicier than usual.
Here's my bowl of bap (rice) next to a bowl of clear cold soup. Again, I'm not sure what the soup is called but it's a sweeter soup (the taste is similar to what they marinate the moo in) and it typically contains a carrot, cucumber, and more dikon.

Here's David in mid bite. He really needs a hair cut. But I'll give him a pass for maybe another day because he's currently an incubator for smallpox and anthrax. (Seriously, why do we still need to be inoculated against smallpox?)

And finally, my favorite part of dining at Jeong Gam Eorin: the juice (pineapple, kiwi and apricot). Oh, it is heavenly. And it's the perfect taste of sweet fruitiness to complement the spiciness of the meal. Sometimes I wish my tongue were longer so that I could lick the cup. I need to learn how to make it myself. It's just that good.

So there you have it: a typical Korean meal. It's a good thing I'm still so full from my dinner or else I'd be hungry again from looking at all these pictures.