All posts filed under: blog

Ssambap with Sesame Noodles

One of my favourite things about living in Korea is the amazing food I’ve been exposed to on a very frequent basis from bibimbap to dakgalbi to Korean bbq. If you ever get the chance to eat Korean food, I hope you get to experience it the way I did, right here in good ol’ Korea. When I first arrived, I ate out a lot more often than I do now. I usually reserved cooking for the weekends when I was home or an odd midweek meal. One reason I ate out so much was that I could not get enough of the grilled meats. In many restaurants here, at each individual table, there is a gas or electric ring where you cook your own meat and vegetables. I can remember vividly placing each piece of mouth-watering pork, beef or chicken hot from the grill onto a piece of crunchy green lettuce. Using my chopsticks in my right hand, I top the meat with kimchi, raw or grilled garlic, ssamjang, onions, and whatever other vegetables I can find at my table. …

Dinners at Maggie’s: Egyptian Rice and Lentils

“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.” – James Beard A couple of years ago, we had a big family get together. Ostensibly, it was a celebration for my mom’s birthday but in reality we were celebrating a time of change and celebration. My mother and two of my sisters had birthdays that needed recognition. As it was the beginning of the summer, it was a last opportunity for everyone to enjoy each other’s company. We bid adieu to my brother as he left for a year of travel and work in Italy and Korea. Another sister, plus her family, was moving to Minnesota for 6 months as her husband was going to work at the Mayo Clinic. And the youngest member of our family was going too. Taking the opportunity to work in Minnesota for the summer and help our sister with the move. It was a fun but emotional day as everyone chopped, sliced, diced and came together. While we ate many incredibly dishes, most of which were from Extending the Table by Joetta Handrich Schlabach, one …