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Clear Noodles with Beef and Vegetables (Japchae) 2

By Kim Yong-ja This is a must-have especially during the holidays like New Year's Day or 'Chuseok' (Full Moon Festival). Although it looks like a one-dish meal, it is served as a first course for an elaborate meal. Serve at room temperature but not cold. Everything can be prepared in advance, except for the noodles. INGREDIENTS (serves 4) 6 oz/170 g BEEF SIRLOIN, sliced thin VEGETABLE OIL 1 ONION, cut in half and sliced 1 CARROT, cut 2"/5 cm long and sliced thin 6 SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS cleaned with wet paper towel and cut ½ oz/14 g 'MOGI' (black) MUSHROOMS, soaked in water and cleaned SALT and PEPPER 1 bunch SPINACH, blanched 4 oz/113 g 'DANGMYEON' (sweet potato noodles) NOODLE MARINADE: 2 tablespoons SOY SAUCE 2 tablespoons WATER 1½ tablespoons SUGAR 2 tablespoons SESAME OIL 1 teaspoon SESAME SEEDS BLACK PEPPER 'BULGOGI' MARINADE: 1½ tablespoons SOY SAUCE 1½ teaspoons SUGAR 2 teaspoons SESAME OIL ½ teaspoon SESAME SEEDS 1 small GARLIC CLOVE ½ SCALLION (chopped) 1. Combine the meat wit

Sep 24, 2009

Hotels Offer Oktoberfest Delicacies

By Bae Ji-sook Staff Reporter Through Oct. 4, the southern German city of Munich will be a paradise for beer lovers worldwide. Oktoberfest, the event featuring hundreds of ale varieties, is welcoming more than 6 million people from around the world. Oktoberfest first started 176 years ago during a royal wedding. Now the festival has turned into a fete of traditional costume parades, various cultural performances, and events. It employs more than 12,000 staff to serve more than 100,000 seated customers at a given time ― with the rest enjoying their drinks while standing and enjoying the events. In total, one million liters of beer will be consumed. Starting from the mayor's ceremonial tapping of the first keg and ending with everybody getting joyfully inebriated and wishing for the next year, the festival is all about beer, great dishes and fun. According to Song Hun, brewmaster of Lotte Hotel World's Mega CC brewery, the festival brings strangers together. ``Six major brewery companies set up large tents of their own ― they can manage thousands of people at a time ― w

Sep 24, 2009

Equestrianism for Everyone

By Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter Equestrianism is largely regarded as an elitist pastime but galloping on horseback is more accessible than one may think. Horseback riding became relatively popular in Korea in the 1980s but dwindled with the onset of the Asian financial crisis. According to the Korea Racing Authority, there are only about 50,000 equestrians in the country of which only 5,000 or 10 percent regularly ride on a weekly basis. Nevertheless, the sport is beginning to garner more public interest and facilities offering affordable services can be found around the country. Equestrianism is recognized to encourage healthy body posture and develop physical endurance, flexibility, a sense of rhythm and mental concentration (``Classical Equestrianism'' by Kim Un-young; Gimm-Young Publishers, 326 pp., 38,000 won). Because the body moves in rhythm with the horse it requires the use of all the muscles and joints, particularly the hips and lower abdomen ― being thus a great diet solution. Moreover, it's a sport in which one can befriend one of mankind's long

Sep 24, 2009

KoreaToday Culture Nourishes Food Globalization

Emerging Korean-American Cook Advises Long-Term Policies to Promote Korean Food By Kim Hyun-cheol Staff Reporter It looks like Korean food is gradually gaining recognition and influence in Tinseltown. More and more celebrities are becoming fans of the cuisine. Gerard Butler became a co-owner of a Korean barbecue restaurant in Los Angeles last year. In an interview with a local newspaper there, the Scottish star of the movie ``300'' said the actual operator of the restaurant cooked him a Korean barbecue at a party back in 2000 when he first arrived in Hollywood, and he ``never forgot it.'' More recently, Gwyneth Peltrow drew some attention last month by posting a video clip of herself cooking her own style bibimbap at Goop, her lifestyle Web site. To Corey Lee, an emerging U.S. star chef of French cooking, Korean food means much more. ``When I first started cooking, I wanted to learn everything I could about European and Western cuisine because it was new to me. And in recent years, I've come to realize how important my Korean upbringing has been to understandi

Sep 23, 2009

KoreaToday SBS to Feature Success Stories of Korean Restaurants Overseas

By Kim Hyun-cheol Staff Reporter Following the success of ``Noodle Road,'' another television documentary program on food is waiting to impress local viewers during ``Chuseok.'' This time, it's about stories of Korean cuisine, or ``hansik,'' and its restaurants that are making their way into other countries. Under the title ``Hansik Odyssey,'' which will be aired on SBS on Oct. 4, the program will delve into the possibility of Korean cuisine's globalization and suggest strategies for that purpose by analyzing various cases of Korean eateries that have successfully settled in foreign markets, the Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation said Tuesday. Pierre Gagnaire, a worldly renowned French chef and operator of a Michelin three-star restaurant in Paris, will be the presenter of the documentary that will introduce four key messages of hansik globalization: consideration for locals, serving Korean culture not just food, creativity of dishes and standardization. It will also explore some Korean restaurants in the French capital. Consideration of locals requires Korean re

Sep 23, 2009

KoreaToday Lee’s Favorite: Galbijjim (Braised Beef Ribs)

Ingredients 400 grams of beef ribs, 1.5 kilograms of water, 10 grams of brown oak mushrooms, 100 grams of radish, 70 grams of carrot, 60 grams of chestnut, 16 grams of jujube, 16 grams of gingko, 3.5 grams (1 teaspoon) of pine nuts, 60 grams of egg (1 egg), 13 grams (1 tablespoon) of cooking oil, 13 grams (1 tablespoon) of sesame oil (pic 1) * Seasoning sauce: 36 grams (2 tablespoons) of soy sauce, 12 grams (1 tablespoon) of sugar, 6 grams (1 teaspoon) of honey, 50 grams of pear juice or 100 grams of pear, 14 grams (1 tablespoon) of minced green onion, 8 grams (0.5 tablespoon) of minced garlic, 3 grams (0.5 tablespoon) of sesame salt, 3 grams (1/8 teaspoon) of ground black pepper Preparation 1. Cut the beef ribs into 5-centimeter long strips, remove excessive fat and tendon. Soak in a cup of water for 3 hours changing the water every hour to draw out the blood. Put slits in the meat at intervals of 1.5-centimeters (pic 2) 2. Soak the brown oak mushrooms in water for 1 hour, remove stems, wipe water off with cotton cloth, and cut into 2 to 4 pieces. Cut the radish and

Sep 23, 2009

Author Shares Secrets on Korean Cooking in Book

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter When foreigners think of Korean cuisine, they immediately think of kimchi, but there's a wide array of Korean dishes that have yet to be discovered by the rest of the world. The government recently launched its globalization initiative for Korean cuisine, but there are some people like gastronomy journalist and cooking instructor Kim Yong-ja who are, in their own little way, helping more people discover the many flavors and delights of ``hansik.'' Kim, who is based in New York, has just released a book ``Korean Cuisine: Healthy Food, Full of Flavor,'' (Yekwong Publishing, 224pp. 28,000 won) where she shares not just recipes of well-loved Korean dishes but also its traditions and food culture. In an email interview with The Korea Times, Kim said she was always disappointed that Korean cookbooks were very hard to find in bookstores abroad. This prompted her to start writing a book on Korean cuisine a few years ago. ``I visited nearly 30 countries around the world. Wherever I go, I often go to the bookstores and see what kind

Sep 20, 2009

Hotel Lobby

Millennium Seoul Hilton The Millennium Seoul Hilton showcases pine mushrooms ― a seasonal delicacy ― at its Japanese, Chinese and French restaurants. Each restaurant will feature the fragrant mushrooms, considered the ``jewels of the forest,'' in a la carte and fixed course menus through mid October. Genji is offering specialties enhancing the pine mushrooms with Japanese flavor; Taipan is serving interesting dishes such as Monk Jumps Over the Wall with Pine Mushrooms; and Seasons combines premium Korean beef with the mushrooms for three dishes. For more information, call Genji at (02) 317-3240, Taipan at (02) 317-3237 or Seasons at (02) 317-3060. Courtyard by Marriott The first Courtyard by Marriott in Korea will open on Sept. 21 in Times Square ― the new shopping, entertainment and business center in in Yeongdeungpo. Courtyard by Marriott Times Square has 283 guestrooms including 10 suites. The Executive Lounge is located on the 15th floor and offers a continental breakfast, an all-day coffee service and evening cocktails with panoramic views of Seoul from the S

Sep 17, 2009

Hanoi Trip for the Palate

By Park Soo-mee Contributing Writer HANOI ― One of the random tricks I've developed over the years when traveling to a new city is to check the number of fast-food giants on the streets. Often, the less signs of familiar burger chains in a city, the richer and more unique the local food. This applies to Hanoi ― the Southeast Asian capital of one of the few remaining socialist states. The city doesn't have any Starbucks or McDonald's ― a symbolic sign in itself of the city's culinary ego. Pizza Hut opened their first shop in Hanoi last year. Wandering around, you quickly realize that the face of Colonel Sanders is about the only familiar logo you come across in this charming city with a Parisian edge. Instead, its colorful streets are dotted with pho stalls; vendors sell banh mi, crisp Vietnamese baguettes stuffed with grilled meat and pickled carrots with a kiss of p?t?, or banh cuon, soft rice crepes gently wrapped around shrimp or pork. A good place to get a feel of the city's dining scene is Quan An Ngon (18 Phan Boi Chau, 942-8162), a Vietnamese version of the Wes

Sep 17, 2009

15 Olle Trail Routes on Jeju Island

By Linda Myers Contributing Writer JEJU ― Breathe deeply. Can you smell how fresh the air is? Look out onto the horizon. Can you see the sunlight sparkling on the moving waves in the ocean? Listen carefully. Can you hear the birds singing in the trees? Do you feel the breeze on your skin and the path under your feet as you walk? If your answer to all of these questions is ``No,'' then you are not enjoying a walk on any of the 15 Jeju Olle trail routes that wait for you to come and learn their secrets. In 2008, 30,000 people walked one of these pathways, and before 2009 runs out, 150,000 are expected to have the pleasure. What about you? You may be asking yourself, ``Do I know what a Jeju Olle trail route is?'' A Jeju Olle trail route is a path along the pristine coastal perimeter of Jeju Island that has been purposefully marked by volunteers to enable walkers of all ages enjoy the unspoiled beauty of South Korea's first and largest natural UNESCO World Heritage site. Today you can choose from among 15 (13 main routes and 2 alpha routes) walking tours which str

Sep 17, 2009
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