먹방 (Mukbang) Monday: Budae Jjigae

부대찌개 (Budae Jjigae) is a popular Korean stew made with an interesting ingredient - hot dogs! The first time I saw it, I thought it looked so weird, as many fusion dishes look. But actually, I really love it! The stew is spicy, flavored with 고추장 (Gochujang = red chili paste), which somehow works with the hot dogs! Budae Jjigae is a very versatile dish, so you can customize it to include whatever ingredients you love or have on hand. After trying this 찌개 (Jjigae = stew) in a restaurant where the food was cooked at our table, I had to make it at home!

Here's how I laid the ingredients in my largest pan (thanks Mom!). I used onions, kimchi, hot dogs, glass noodles, spicy peppers, pork belly, and fish cakes.

Then I added some stock (we LOVE beef bone broth) and the gochujang. Brought to a boil, then simmered until all the ingredients were cooked.

I also put some chunky tofu, which I used to hate! But coming to Korea has opened my taste buds to enjoying new things.

When it was done, it was so spicy, steamy, and just cozy-feeling.

We ate it with "purple rice", which is just white rice with a little bit of black rice mixed in our beloved rice cooker!

먹방 (Mukbang) Monday: Making Mandu

Look at all this kimchi! Not only did we bring home a lot of kimchi from the kimjang event a few weeks ago, but our 할머니 (Halmony = gramdma) also brought us this huge tub of it! My 어머니 (Uhmuhnee = mother-in-law) had a great idea to use some of it to make kimchi dumplings! In Korean, dumplings are called 만두 (Mandu).

First, we mixed some kimchi with tofu and ground beef to make the filling. We used our little food processor, but it ended up being too homogenized. Next time, we will just chop up the kimchi and mix it all together in a bowl.

Here is Seong filling the mandu wrappers, wetting the edge with water, and pinching the sides to make the "fan" look.

The finished mandu look so pretty! They are definitey worthy of Mukbang Monday.

After using up a whole pack of mandu wrappers and realizing that two people shouldn't eat two plates of dumplings, we decided to freeze half of them for later!

For dinner, we made a simple radish soup. In Korean, radishes are large and white, not small and red. 할모니 (Halmony = grandma) taught me how to shave the radish pieces and boil them in bone broth. The soup, called 무국 (Moogook) traditionally has actual beef pieces, but you do what you can! We also added thin white mushrooms and green onions. I boiled the mandu directly in the soup, which was kind of a mashup of Korean dishes.

In the end, the mandu was so flavorful because of the kimchi and the moogook was also a winner!

먹방 (Mukbang) Monday: Chinese Takeout with Family

Our thanksgiving weekend was so full of good times with family. When we lived in the US, it seemed like we mostly spent time with the Wilkins side of our family, which keeps growing! Being in Korea is a special chance for us to get to know Seong's extended family. One evening, we invited a lot of family members over and decided to order takeout rather than try to cook for everyone!

Here's the delivery man unpacking the plastic bowls of food and us placing them on the table. I keep saying how much I love this long table that came with our apartment, but let me say it again! We couldn't afford a large dining room table with lots of chairs. But with this table, all we need are more pillows!

The food! It was so delicious! The black bowls are full of 자장면 (Jajangmyun = black bean noodles). These black bean noodles and the fried pork (탕수육 = Tangsooyook) are stereotypical Chinese dishes in Korea. These are "Koreanized," just like fried rice and general tsos chicken are "Americanized". The colorful dish on the left is a mixture of seafood with a mustard sauce (팔보채 = Palboche).

That evening we got to play with our baby cousins and even whip out a board game! Can you spot the toilet paper in the background of the group photo? In Korea, toilet paper is a traditional house warming gift!

Finally, I hope this entertaining photo makes up for us not posting a Mukbang last week!

Thanksgiving List

This thanksgiving was actually pretty normal, all things considered! We had all the necessary components...

Family...


Turkey...


Dessert...


And thankfulness..


This year, I am especially taking time to give thanks to the Lord for his love and blessings. It's important to me to be real and show the whole picture on this blog, so we included the reasons for our thankfulness. Here's a little list we came up with!

- The In-Laws are in Town!!
...because our joy from being in Korea is not complete without them! Not only do we love spending time with them, but we can really gain from their experiential knowledge of Korean AND of being a foreigner! It's hard to understand what that's like, but they do! I feel so blessed and encouraged to have them here, and I know they are so happy to spend some time with other family members.

- Skype & Facetime
...because nothing makes my day better than spending time with my family! I can be there to hear big news or talk seriously, and the small moments with my silly nephew or just chatting about my day.

- Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC is my on-post Bible study)
...because that's how I met the fabulous military wives I call friends and sisters. Yongsan, South Korea, is Seong's first duty station, so I am very new to the whole military life. I would be lost without these ladies. They teach me so much, support each other, and provide some much-needed socialization!

- Kimchi and Rice
...because I know that no matter where I go in Korea, wherever it sit down to eat, there will be something at the table that I can enjoy eating!

- Yongsan Garrison (US Military Base)
...because we are absolutely spoiled by the stores, restaurants, library, and grocery shopping. It is a piece of American pie in the middle of Seoul, the "Soul of Asia".

- Married Life
...because we have such a good time together! Being married is so different than we expected, but it is better. We share the same goals for our family and our life. We are so thankful for the freedom to reach for those goals or to goof off and have some fun.

- Seong's Job
...because someone needs to bring home the bacon, and he enjoys the haul.

- Our Internet VPN
...because the ability to watch Netflix and Amazon Prime is more valuable when you cannot flip through channels in your language.

- Our Apartment
...because it is our first home together! We joke that we don't go out enough because we love our apartment too much. On that note, we are very thankful for our realtor, who not only found us this amazing place, but helped us buy used appliances and furniture!

- Seong's Korean Language Skills
...because we can go anywhere in Korea and not worry about the typical foreigner problem of not being able to communicate. As an army wife in a foreign country, I am uber spoiled by Seong.

- Electronics
...because Seong loves electronics and I find them very useful. Phones, tablets, laptops, e-readers, cameras, televisions, cables, chargers, etc. These make our lives easier, so we need to be thankful for them.

- My New Sewing Machine
...because I can make my apartment pretty.

- Nice Weather
...because we really like walking by the river or around the city. We thought the air quality would be bad, but so far it is great.

- Quiet Time
...because it's how we get direction from God for our lives. For Christians, quiet alone time with the Lord is the best medicine for whatever is rocking our world and the best time for "prayer and thanksgiving". I know from experience that peace comes from direct communion with the Father. It is a necessity to your walk and it should be a priority!

And thank YOU for checking out this blog! Happy Thanksgiving!

먹방 (Mukbang) Monday: Kimjang

Well, it finally happened! We didn't get this posted on Monday! Dun dun dun!! Hopefully it is still Monday for most of our readers?    Anyway, this weekend we had the opportunity to volunteer by making kimchi for underprivileged children. The event was hosted by CJ, a South Korean company with more businesses than I can count! They own a movie theater chain, movie production studio, several tv channels, restaurants, cosmetics stores, and cafes, just to name a few. They hosted this event to share Korean culture with the expat community (Expat is short for expatriate, or someone temporarily residing in a foreign country). There were volunteers from the US army, international students, and CJ employees. CJ also heavily promoted their brands to us and encouraged us to donate to their philanthropy company too! But we didn't complain about that because we were having so much fun!
    The day included making kimchi, obviously, and a short concert by Hi.Ni, kpop artist, a dinner of 수육 (Suyuk = boiled pork), and a movie! "The Admiral" was downright amazing! We cried, laughed, and cheered! I highly recommend if you can see it with subtitles. We will probably buy it :)
Enjoy!

Combatting the Bread of Idleness

"She does not eat the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27b

I just wanted to pop in and say that I am committing to stop eating the bread of idleness!    Here is a little back story to this declaration. This year is a huge change for me. Before now, I was the super-busy graduate student who loved to complain (aka boast) about how stressed I was. Because being stressed = being important.
    When I came to Korea and found myself with all this free time, I had an identity crisis! I could literally watch television and eat candy all day and no one would know or care! It felt like my worth had taken a nose dive towards the useless. As a useless person, why shouldn't I lounge around the hotel all day? Well, I ended up doing that a lot, which I thought would be like a relaxing and fun vacation. But the truth is that it was boring! I realize now that I was eating the bread of idleness, which is stale and bitter.
    When we got our amazing apartment, it came with the need to cook, clean, decorate, and manage. That should have given me something to do, right? Actually, it was still not enough! I still lounged, even in a clean house. I'm not saying relaxation is bad. Everyone needs some rest in their lives. But I was pushing it.
    Can I tell you what I was missing? I didn't have the desire to fulfill other's goals, I was focused on myself. Learning the Korean language, consistently exercising, and maintaining our home are my goals. But that's so not enough!     To combat the curses of boredom and idleness, I am now taking a more active role in my community. Maybe I will get a job soon! I joined the praise team at my Bible study, I'm volunteering with the army spouses club, getting together with friends, helping my brother with his speeches over Skype, and seeking God's will for my time here. Today He showed me that idleness is a sickness and willingness to serve is the best medicine.

먹방 (Mukbang) Monday: The Truth about 감 (Gam)

    Remember that slimy tomato look-alike fruit that I turned my nose up to on our first Mukbang Monday? It's called 감 (Gam), and I said that I had never seen it in America. Well, while it is true that I don't recall ever seeing it, that doesn't mean that it isn't there! My lovely friend Tina informed me that the English name for 감 is persimmon, of which there are many varieties!
    You know how as soon as you say you've never heard of something, it pops up everywhere? Well, that happened to me! I was having lunch at a cafe with my army sister Amy and we ate a lemon and persimmon salad. It was amazing! Of course, it is easier to run into persimmons in Korea, but I even saw a persimmon recipe on a food blog I follow!
    So for this mukbang, I'm going to show you my first culinary application for 감, and that's in salads! I'm always trying to make new salads that make a whole meal. They are so healthy, especially if you make your own dressing, which my mother taught me how to do. I used firm persimmons in these salads, so I guess I still haven't made friends with the slimy ones!


Here is the first salad I attempted and it turned out great!
Ingredients
spinach
1 firm persimmon, peeled and sliced
1/2 pomegranate
cilantro
1 avocado, cubed
grilled chicken
cooked quinoa

    I have to be honest, I rarely use exact measurements. I'm kind of a recipe's worst nightmare! But that's okay for salads, so I just used enough of everything for 2 people! I also served this salad on top of cooked quinoa, so the meal has carbs, protein, and veggies. I used salt, pepper, olive oil, and lime juice for the dressing. I have made a similar salad with mango instead of 감, so it makes sense that the persimmon would work here. It's sweet and has a similar texture to mango! I see more substitutions in my persimmon future!


Salad number 2 was inspired by the cafe salad that opened my eyes to persimmon possibilities.
Ingredients
lettuce
red cabbage, sliced
1 firm persimmon, peeled and sliced
grilled chicken
feta cheese

    The dressing for this salad is my stereotypical "greek" dressing, which is just olive oil, lemon juice, and raw garlic emulsified in the blender! I love feta cheese with lemon dressing, and I tossed the chicken in lemon juice and garlic powder before grilling.

There you have it! I have made peace with persimmons, and I look forward to eating more in the future. Do you love persimmons? Leave me a recipe in the comments!

먹방 (Mukbang) Monday: Crab not Crap

This week we bought crab from the market and I, Seong,  cooked it for us.

In this video, I pointed out some tips and how to steam crab.

Enjoy.

It is a crab, not crap.

먹방 (Mukbang) Monday: Snacks

This Mukbang Monday is not a recipe, it is just a collection of snacks we bought from our Korean grocery store!
1) 고구마 - Goguma Chips
2) 김 - Crunchy Seaweed
3) 호빵 - Hobang (Red Bean Bun)
4) 불가리스 - Bulgaris (Kefir)
5) 떡 - Ddeok (Rice Cakes)
We would love to hear from you if you love or hate these items. This is by no means an exhaustive list, so we will keep you updated when we find new delicious snacks! If any of these look good to you, see if you can find them at your local Asian market. And don't forget to hashtag #mukbangmonday. Happy Snacking!

N Tower Vlog

Seoul N Tower is a landmark in Seoul, and the N stands for 남산 (Namsan = south mountain). We took a cable car up the mountain and spent the afternoon checking out the many shops, enjoying the views, and exploring the nooks and crannies. It felt like half park, half strip mall! It was actually around $17 for the cable car tickets (17,000 won to be exact). The worst part was that we underestimated the walk from the subway station to the cable car, which was long and uphill! The best part was definitely the view! I love seeing new aspects of this city, and up there, you can see forever.

먹방 (Mukbang) Monday: Kimchi Fried Rice

볶음밥 (Bokkeumbap) is Korean Fried Rice. There are so many different varieties, but my favorite 볶음밥 is Kimchi! It is so easy, and as a new wife and a new Korean homecook, simple meals are definitely the best!



Let me know your favorite 볶음밥 (Bokkeumbap = Fried Rice) in the comments!

먹방 (Mukbang) Monday: Better Ramen

5 Improvements on Classic Ramen

These fried noodles are cheap, easy, and yummy. While a cup of noodles isn't a balanced meal, you can use these tips to make your ramen slightly more healthy and even more delicious!
1) Buy Better Ramen
Top Ramen doesn't cut it! Get yourself to an Asian market and buy real ramen. You can even pick up flavors like seafood or spicy ramen. Unfortunately, when it comes to ramen, the pricier the better.
2) Use Stock
Recently we made some beef bone broth. On that day, we happened to have ramen for lunch. Seong just scooped some broth into the ramen pot in the place of water. The result? The best ramen ever! He also used half the seasoning packet, so it had less sodium!
3) Add Veggies
We start ramen with garlic and onion sauteeing with some oil. Then add stock or water and seasoning. When it comes to a boil, add the noodles and other mix-ins, like green onions, mushrooms, or chunks of tofu! We even throw some cooked dumplings in sometimes.
4) Finish With an Egg
Right before serving, crack an egg into the pot. Don't let the yolk break, just let the boiling water cook it through.
5) Eat with Side Dishes
We love eating ramen with kimchi (of course), seaweed (cruchy and salty), and 단무지 (tanmuji = yellow picked radishes).

Do you have another "ramen method"? Leave a comment!
Check back next week for another 먹방 (Mukbang Monday)!

Bucket List + Everyday

If you look above this post, you will now see a new page: Our Bucket List!! In an effort to make the most of this year, we've made a list of the things we want to do before we leave. The list will definitly change as we hear about new things, but as we check things off, we will add links to the corresponding posts! Since we haven't done anything SUPER interesting recently, here are some very every-day things we have been doing.
I have been exploring the large shopping malls and markets around Seoul that offer specialized goods. Dongdaemun has loads and loads of fabric and jewelry, and I only had time to shop on one floor!

We recycle every Wednesday!

I'm attempting to learn 1500 Korean vocab words before 2015. I use the large built-in white board in our office room to write them out!

We drink tea and coffee. This is Honey Citron Tea, which is like jam that is mixed with hot water to make instant tea!

The on-post library is an excellent place to get movies and books. We just got some Korean cookbooks, so I hope we can incorporate more Korean food into our home cooking!

And occasionally we take walks and eat street food. In this case it was waffles shaped like fish and filled with red bean paste. Yum!

먹방 (Mukbang) Monday - Korean Pancakes!

Here is our easy-peazy method for making Korean pancakes. They are savory, so you can dip them in soy sauce or enjoy with your favorite Korean side dishes. We are not chefs, and I have never been great at following recipes. So, think of this as a glimpse into our day rather than a tutorial! If you have any tips for making Korean pancakes, leave a comment! I know my mother uses a food processor to make it easier, and her kimchi pancakes are top notch. I hope you get a chance to make and/or taste your own 전 (Jeon).

한글날 = Hangul Day!

Seong:
October 9th is 한글날 (“Hangulnal, Korean alphabet day).
In Korean, the writing system is known as 한글 (Hangul), while the language itself is called 한국어 (Hangukuh) or 조선어 (Joseonuh = North Korea and a Manju province of China near North Korea). Christina learned 한글 (Hangul) easily, but 한국어 (Hangukuh) is difficult and takes a long time to learn.
Sejong the Great made a manual for the Korean alphabet, which is called 훈민정음 (Hunminjeongeum, “The Proper Sounds for the Education of the People”). This become a name of the Korean alphabet. (Yes, 훈민정음 is a name of the Korean writing system, and the name of the book that describe how to use it and how he made the writing system). In 1840, the name 한글 became more widely used.
The preface of 훈민정음 explains why 세종대왕 (Sejong the Great) made the new writing system.

“The language of [our] people is different from that of the nation of China and thus cannot be expressed by the written language of Chinese people. Because of this reason, the cries of illiterate peasants are not properly understood by the many [in the position of privilege]. I [feel the plight of the peasants and the difficulties faced by the public servants and] am saddened by the situation.Therefore, twenty eight* [written] characters have been newly created. [My desire is] such that, each [Korean] person may become familiar [with the newly created written language of Korean] and use them daily in an intuitive way.” 

(Wikipedia) * The 훈민정음 has 28 letters, but modern 한글 has 24 letters.

한글 is a one of kind writing system which has a manual from the creator to explain its purpose.

Christina: Learning Hangul was easy for me because the rules are simple and there are few exceptions. The only exceptions are there to make everything easy to pronounce. For example, Korean must have vowels in between consonants. The English word "stress" has 3 consonants in a row, which is difficult to pronounce. In Korean, this word is pronounced "seu teu reh seu". Hangul was beautifully organized and has not changed that much. In contrast, English has a long and complex history of evolution, taking influence from old German, Latin, French, and other languages. Hangul was also thoughtfully fashioned because the consonant strokes replicate the shape of the mouth, throat, and vocal cords made while articulating the sounds. For instance, the consonant ㅁ makes the sound "m". Make that sounds and your lips make a small square! It may seem like a stretch, but that was the inspiration for Hangul. On 한글날 (Hangul Day), we tried to visit the brand new Nation Museum of Hangul. But a lot of other people had the same idea, so it was extremely crowded. Instead, we opted to just walk around the Museum grounds since it was such a beautiful day. Hopefully we can visit again soon!

먹방 (Mukbang) Monday - Korean Market Trip

Hello everyone! And welcome to "Mukbang Monday"! Seong and I decided that we need a topic to regularly blog about, so we choose food! 먹다 (MukDa) means "to eat", and 방 (Bang) means broadcasting. Therefore, 먹방 means to post pictures and videos of what you are eating. We are committing to blog about food, mostly Korean food - but no promises, each Monday! We really hope that we can stick to this to show you what culinary creations we are experiencing and producing while we are in Korea. It may be a recipe, a food review, or some pics of something we love. But it will definitely be here every Monday.
I will also be using the following hashtags on Instagram and Facebook: #mukbang #먹방 #mukbangmonday #먹방monday . I would LOVE IT if you would post what you are eating on MukBang Monday and use these hashtags with me! If you ever wanted a non-cheesy excuse to post what you eat, I am giving it to you. If you ever wanted an invitation to try your hand at Korean cuisine, I'm giving it to you!
Here we go!

This week we went to the Korean fresh produce market near our apartment. We were so psyched when we found this because it is so close to home, so no car necessary. Some produce can get quite expensive, but sometimes I just NEED a specific item. It is also very fresh, especially the fish stall (you can see some fish still moving in the video). Another type of item you can buy at this type of market is pre-made 반찬(Banchan), which are Korean side dishes. It makes it more convenient to cook Korean food if you don't have to handmake every side dish. In the video we also talk about some interesting Korean produce that is different to what we are used to in the US. Enjoy!

아파트: Apartment Tour Part One

Welcome to our new and first apartment! This was before all of our stuff arrived, but I wanted to show you the open floor plan. We love it! In this post, I'm going to point out some features of our apartment that are common in Korea. Part 2 will be a video tour once I decorate a bit more!
The first thing is that in Seoul, everyone lives in apartments, so they got really good at building apartments that whole families will live in their whole lives. Our building has 21 floors, so it has a fabulous elevator. It also has a keypad instead of a keyhole, so that multiple people can have access without a key. I love being able to leave my house without worrying about remembering my key.

Our apartment feels very secure. There is a guard gate at the entrance to our parking lot and a locked door downstairs. If a guest comes to the apartment building, they can enter our apartment number and this phone will ring! It'll show a video of our guest and we can open the door for them to come up. It's in Korean, so our realtor put a "open door" sticker!

Inside the door are these awesome shoe cabinets. The rest of the apartment is a step up. The idea is to leave all your shoes in the entrance so that the apartment floors stay clean! This is especially important because Koreans spend time on the floor eating, playing games, watching television, and having after-dinner coffee. If you look at the first panorama in this post, you can see a long coffee table in front of the tv. I hope to do some entertaining around this table in true Korean style soon!

Next, there is heating control in every room. The problem is that it is in Celsius, so my American brain needs help figuring it out. In summer, you set it to very low so the heat is off. When it is hot, we rely on these AC units that you can see in the corner of this pic from moving day. There are only one large and two small units in the whole apartment, and Koreans try to conserve the use of AC because it uses expensive energy.

Speaking of temperature control, Korean apartments have these "verandas" on both sides to buffer the temperature with the outside. Like right now in early fall we probably could use the AC, but the windows let in a nice breeze. In the winter, the verandas will get cold before the apartment will. These are also an excellent place to hang your laundry to dry! This is also necessary because of the expensive energy thing.

The veranda next to our kitchen is our laundry room and pantry! Korean apartments have cabinets, cabinets, and more cabinets! Families who live here don't have garages or basements, so they need fantastic storage in their homes!


Finally, since we are leasing, our landlord provides use with some services. Included in our rent is internet, cable, and this water service. It is a blessing that we can drink clean water that is either refreshingly cold or hot and ready to make tea!

Seong and I are working on making this place our home. Even though we will only be here for 9 more months, I think that there is something special about our first home as a married couple!
P.S. 아파트 is an English loan word that is pronounced "Ah-pah-teu" from the beginning of the word "apartment".