CULINARY

Korean Foods / 한국어 음식

              Hi viewers! i’ll  tell you about one of culinary that i have ever tried. From the tittle you surely know. Yes that is Korean food. Me and my family are a food traveler. Since 2011, we fell in love with Korean food. I admit that, Korean food has a very very good taste.  From the texture, taste, and looking of the food draw my attention to eat that.  The most famous of the korean food are Kimchi, bibimbap, jajangmyeon,ramyun bulgogi, korean grill, kimbap,  and many more. I love all Korean Foods. But the most i like Kimchi, Korean grill,and Jajangmyeon and Tteokbokki. Now, i will share you about Kimchi, Tteokbokki and Jjangmyeon.

            First is Kimchi. Kimchi is one of the hottest food trends today and it’s easy to see why. With a complex flavor, a variety of uses and an all-star nutritional scorecard, kimchi seems to have it all. 

What is Kimchi? Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made with vegetables, garlic, ginger, chili peppers, salt and fish. The mix is pickled and fermented which was originally a way to preserve the vegetables for the winter months. Cabbage is the most common vegetable used to make kimchi although radish, cucumber and scallions are also quite common.

There are hundreds of kimchi recipes that vary depending on the region and season in which they are produced. Kimchi’s flavor is complex and varies widely depending on the recipe. The main flavor notes you’ll find in kimchi include sour, spicy, and umami. The flavor will also vary depending on the vegetables, length of fermentation and the amount of salt or sugar used. That’s why I love Kimchi, the taste is so “nano-nano”

            And how to make Kimchi?

Ingredients :

·         2 large heads of Napa cabbage, sliced thin

·         2 large bunches of green onions, sliced thin

·         1 head of garlic, minced

·         1 to 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger (to taste)

·         1 to 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes or 1/4 lb fresh chilies minced (to taste)

·         3 to 4 tablespoons sea salt or to taste

Instructions

1.      Combine all ingredients in a very large bowl.

2.      Massage salt into vegetables and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes to give the salt an opportunity to draw out the juices.

3.      Pound with a wooden spoon or a clean mallet until the juices are released.

4.      Move to fermentation vessel and pack down until vegetables are covered in brine. Allow to ferment for 3 to 5 days at room temperature, longer if you can find a cooler location. Transfer to cold storage where it should keep for months.

Next is Tteokbokki. Tteokbokki is a traditional Korean street food which can be usually purchased from street vendors also called “pojangmacha” in Korean. The history of tteokbokki brings us back to the late Joseon dynasty. There are many hypotheses and controversy about its real origin. According to bibliographic data, the first tteokbokki in Korean history is said to appear in a cook book called “시의정서 (Siui jeongseo)” written in the late Joseon dynasty. However, based on the fact that tteok (the main ingredient, also known as rice cake) was produced even before in the Three Kingdoms period, it's possible to assume that the history is longer than what's usually considered.

Typical ingredients of Tteokbokki are boiled rice cakes (tteok), Surimi (eomuk), spring onion, soy-and-chili paste (gochujang), onions, diced garlic, salt, sugar and different kinds of seasoning based on the taste. Other ingredients include boiled eggs, pan-fried mandu (Korean dumplings), sausages, ramyeon (Korean version of ramen), and a variety of fried seafood or vegetables (which is called “twigim” in Korean).

And how to make Tteokbokki :

Ingredients :

·         1 pound tteokbokki tteok* (about 24 3-inch long rice cake pieces)

·         1 sheet of eomuk (fish cake – aka oden)

·         4 ounces cabbage

·         1 – 2 scallions (You can find these types of rice cakes either fresh, refrigerated or frozen, (in order of preference for this dish), at Korean markets)

·         3 cups anchovy broth (or water)

·         3 tablespoons Korean red chili pepper paste(gochujang)

·         1 – 3 teaspoons Korean red chili pepper flakes (gochugaru) – optional for extra heat

·         1 tablespoon soy sauce

·         1 tablespoon sugar

·         1 tablespoon corn syrup (or 1 more tablespoon sugar)

·         2 teaspoons minced garlic

·         1 teaspoon sesame oil

·         1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions

1.      Make anchovy broth. Cut the fish cake, cabbage, and scallions into about 2-inch long pieces.

2.      Add the anchovy broth (or water) to a large pan. Stir in the sauce ingredients, except the sesame oil and optional sesame seeds. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the red chili pepper paste (gochujang).

3.      Add the rice cakes. Boil until the rice cakes become very soft and the sauce is thickened, about 8 – 10 minutes. Stir frequently so the rice cakes don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

4.      Add the vegetables and fish cakes. Continue to boil, stirring constantly, for an additional 4 – 6 minutes. Taste the sauce, and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add the sesame oil and optional sesame seeds right before turning the heat off. Serve immediately. 

And the last is Jjangmyeon. Jajangmyeon (자장면; 짜장면; jjajangmyeon), is a noodle dish topped with a thick sauce made of chunjang (a salty black soybean paste), diced pork( but it can be beef or chicken) and vegetables, and sometimes also seafood. Jajang (alternately spelled jjajang), the name of the sauce, is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese characters 炸醬, which literally means "fried sauce." Myeon (also spelled myun) means "noodle", which Chinese character is 麵.                                                           

Jjangmyeon has a very good taste. Especially for the sauce. Jajangmyeon sauce made from black soy bean paste called chunjang (hangul: 춘장; hanja: 春 醬) supplemented with chopped onion, zucchini and red meat or seafood. When cooking the sauce is usually added cornstarch (a type of starch made from corn flour) so that the sauce so thick. Soy bean paste (chunjang) made from roasted soybeans (burned). Therefore, jajang means fried sauce even though the sauce is cooked by boiling.                                                                                          

How to make Jjangmyeon?                       

Ingredients

·         (37oz./1050g) premium fresh noodle or jajangmyeon noodle

·         1 large boneless and skinless chicken breast, cut into small cubes (marinate it with rice wine, salt, white pepper and cornstarch)

·         1/2 large yellow onion, chopped

·         1/2 zucchini (if large), 1 zucchini (if small), cut into cubes

·         1 small carrot, cut into cubes

·         3 heap Tbsp. Korean black bean sauce

·         1 cup water

·         2 tsp. sugar

·         2 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp. water

·         Oil for cooking

Instructions

1        Cook noodle per package direction.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  If not it will stick together and create clumps.  Unless you eat it right away.

2        Heat wok over high heat and when heated, add in some cooking oil.  When hot, add in the chicken and stir-fry until no longer pink.

3        Add in the cubes onion, carrot and then zucchini and stir-fry until soften. 

4        Add in the black bean sauce.  Stir to mix well.  Add in water and sugar.  Stir well.  Lastly thicken with cornstarch water.

5        Pour on top of the noodle to serve.

That some of the foods that I like from Ginseng Country. if you all have not tried before, you can try the food. I assure you'll be addicted hahaha . And in fact I had never been tried to make Korean food by my self. But soon, i will. Oh the last, if you want to try Korean cuisine, you can visit (if in Bandung) in Don Woori, Korean House, Bingsoo, Mujigae, Chingu. And for Jakarta far as I know are at Hang Gang and Bibigo. And be aware of the pork. Thank’s for reading! See you on my new post.

Source:

http://foodreference.about.com/od/traditional_foods/a/Kimchi.htm

http://www.culturesforhealth.com/simple-kimchi-recipe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tteokbokki

http://www.koreanbapsang.com/2012/03/tteokbokki-spicy-stir-fried-rice-cakes.html  

http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jajangmyeon

http://belachan2.blogspot.com/2011/05/korean-jajangmyeon-noodle-with-black.html

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jajangmyeon_by_KFoodaddict.jpg        

NATURAL PHENOMENA

RED TIDE

Red tide is a common name for a phenomenon known as an algal bloom (large concentrations of aquatic microorganisms) when it is caused by a few species of dinoflagellates and the bloom takes on a red or brown color. Red tides are events in which estuarine, marine, or fresh water algae accumulate rapidly in the water column, resulting in coloration of the surface water. It is usually found in coastal areas. It kills many manatees every year.

These algae, known as phytoplankton, are single-celled protists, plant-like organisms that can form dense, visible patches near the water's surface. Certain species of phytoplankton, dinoflagellates, contain photosynthetic pigments that vary in color from green to brown to red.

When the algae are present in high concentrations, the water appears to be discolored or murky, varying in color from purple to almost pink, normally being red or green. Not all algal blooms are dense enough to cause water discoloration, and not all discolored waters associated with algal blooms are red. Additionally, red tides are not typically associated with tidal movement of water, hence the preference among 

Some red tides are associated with the production of natural toxins, depletion of dissolved oxygen or other harmful effects, and are generally described as harmful algal blooms. The most conspicuous      effects of these kinds of red tides are the associated wildlife mortalities of marine and coastal species of fish, birds, marine mammals, and other organisms.

(http://www.awesomeocean.com/2014/11/20/5-year-study-dives-red-tide-mysteries/)

The occurrence of red tides in some locations appears to be entirely natural (algal blooms are a seasonal occurrence resulting from coastal upwelling, a natural result of the movement of certain ocean currents)while in others they appear to be a result of increased nutrient loading from human activities.The growth of marine phytoplankton is generally limited by the availability of nitrates and phosphates, which can be abundant in agricultural run-off as well as coastal upwelling zones. Coastal water pollution produced by humans and systematic increase in sea water temperature have also been implicated as contributing factors in red tides. Other factors such as iron-rich dust influx from large desert areas such as the Saharan desert are thought to play a major role in causing red tides.^[15] Some algal blooms on the Pacific coast have also been linked to occurrences of large-scale climatic oscillations such as El Niño events. While red tides in the Gulf of Mexico have been occurring since the time of early explorers such as Cabeza de Vaca, it is unclear what initiates these blooms and how large a role anthropogenic and natural factors play in their development. It is also debated whether the apparent increase in frequency and severity of algal blooms in various parts of the world is in fact a real increase or is due to increased observation effort and advances in species identification methods.

source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_tide

HOLIDAY

MY HOLIDAY

                Hi guys! 2015 has begining, lets start this new year with happiness. And now, i like to share a little story about my last holiday. Hmm,  i think this holiday is different from the previous holiday. So bored with it. Just spent days with my handphone and television. Yeah.. sometimes we went to Jakarta just for having lunch. And we all know bad news come from Air Asia QZ 8501 airplane lost contact and fall at Pangkalan Bun Sea. That news make me and my family always staring to the television all the time.  So much tears that we seen from the victim's family. We just can help them with pray. 

            Hmm okay, next i'll tell you about my New Year's Eve. 31^st of December 2014 was the last day in 2014. In the morning at 9 a.m, we went to Puncak, Bogor just  for had lunch at Rindu Alam Restaurant. After we ate, we planned to go to Taman Safari. We thought on that time, no more traffic jam again . But we were wrong, about 3 hours we trapped in Cisarua. At last, we cancelled our plan to go to Taman Safari.  So, at 3 p.m we were in Bogor city. Before we went back to Bandung, we bought our favourite breads. "Roti unyil Venus". With the great taste and cheap price made the breads very famous in Bogor. After we bought, we returned our way  to went back home. Finally, we arrived at 6 p.m. So tired with the long traffic jams that we've been through. And at 7 p.m , we were getting bored. So, we came out to celebrate the new year together. Our planned is, we celebrate it  in Hilton hotel. But after we called the hotel, the event was full of reserved which had been booked with people from far way days. So we called another hotel that had an event. In fact, all hotel full of reserved too. Yeah, we didn't had any choice so we went back home. At 10 p.m, we were very bored just watching TV and counting down until 12 p.m. So, we went to Trans Hotel for had dinner. And you know what? The restaurant full of resevered again. We were dissapointed and very hungry, and then we walked to Trans mall. We ate japanesee food at Marugame. After we had it, yeah.....We walked around mall with no purpose. Suddenly, around at 11 p.m, my sister got stomachache. We took her to Kimia Farma medical center. Luckily, there was a doctor who worked in midnight. Yeah, so the doctor checked up my sister condition. And the doctor said that her maag was relapse. So,it took about 1 hour until the days change and new year came. So, ya! i spent my new years eve at Kimia farma. At 12 p.m , we went back home with no special story. 

Yesss, that's story about my new year’s eve experince. So worse, but just take it enjoy and happiness.

And with the next days, i spent my holiday with watching some korean drama. Hahaha... I think just streaming korean drama make my holiday more better. 

(P.S : Sorry, the photos aren't available because the condition is not support for taking some pictures)