If you want to make a nice #KoreanFoodWednesday for yourself and your family, here’s a simple guide for you based on my experience in America. This can be applied in anywhere in the world.
I will guide you to have a table full of exotic – could be, Korean food but not so difficult to prepare. Follow my lead, and be prepared to enjoy.
We are going to make a really common way of dining table – various side dishes, one main dish and the basic – a bowl of rice and soup. Pork for the main dish, and several types of Kimchi for the soup and the side dish.
You might need a little help from Asian or even better, Korean supermarket. Basic ingredients are just same. Rice, vegetables, meat, various sauce, and some more vegetables. But you know, certain places use certain types of certain things.
¤ Friendly Warning: Not vegetarian friendly.
Pork
Pork is pork. But, there are many different ways to prepare pork. We bought pork belly (sam gyup sal) and pork neck (mok sal). These are not in American market.
Vegetable
Green pepper (I saw in the market they call it ‘Korean pepper), lettuce, mushroom (a type Koreans call Paeng-i busut) and sesame leaf – get these in Asian / Korean supermarket. These are commonly use in Korea in any occasion.
And some extra: Garlic and onion
Rice
Rice is the most basic and very important part of Korean meal. Rice grows everywhere in the world but as we know, there are many different types. Any rice would be fine but if you want to make it more authentic, buy the one says ‘Korean rice’, or ‘Sushi rice’.
Cook it in the rice cooker, if you don’t have one, cook it using pot and try to cook it as not to much water in it.
Kimchi
This, you have to get it from Korean supermarket. Of course there’s recipe so you can make it but the ingredients for Kimchi is hard to find in foreign country. Get cabbage Kimchi because this is the most common type, and get other types according to your taste. We got cucumber Kimchi.
Side dish and extra
Garlic stem in the pack: one of many-many-many side dishes in Korea. These are almost same as pickle but the ingredient is garlic stem. They sell this in a pack. It is not spoiled easily- just like pickles.
Anchovy: widely use for making soup stock. And a common snack for beer.
Cooked sesame seed: Mostly using to make food pretty. Nice little touch at the end after put food in a bowl.
With the same ingredients we made two meals.
First.
Main dish: Multi-cultural pork dish with pork’s neck with red wine + say sauce + honey and vegetables (onion, pepper, garlic, carrot).
Side dish: Garlic stem, cabbage Kimchi, cucumber Kimchi on little bowls
And a bowl of rice and Kimchi soup
Second.
Main dish: Grilled or fried pork belly + eat it with pepper, garlic, sesame leaf, onion, mushroom – try wrap everything up with lettuce.
Put a single lettuce or/and sesame leaf on your palm, a bit of rice, a piece of meat, garlic stem and whatever you want, wrap and eat! Simple as that.
Side dish: Garlic stem, cabbage Kimchi, cucumber Kimchi on little bowls
And a bowl of rice and Kimchi soup.
So we made two meals out of same groceries. There you have it, your guide to hosting #KoreanFoodWednesday in a foreign land. Easy, huh? 🙂
Feel free to ask me if you have any questions.
Mission accomplished!
