For a few days while I was in South Korea, I felt like Oprah who has a resident chef that does magic in her kitchen. Well, we had a chef-in-residence and I felt very special, like royalty whose table would yield unexpected delights concocted right before my amazed eyes. When my son-in-law Graham made the move from being a hotelier to a professor of Culinary Arts, he did not abandon pots and pans, grillers and ovens. In their flat in Daejeon, he is the master and culinary wizard. Wife Mina does the dishes and prepares the drinks. Good arrangement, really.
It was a time of sumptuous meals, prepared with loving care. The plus factor of Korean meat is that cattle is grain fed. They are cut the right way, mostly in thin strips that would make perfect steaks and grillers. The same is true with pork. Other ingredients, like vegetables, are newly harvested and seafood is fresh catch. Like the Koreans, Graham takes advantage of healthy ingredients that include a variety of mushrooms, mung beans, radish, greens, chilis, bean paste, fish sauce and the highly-priced ginseng, which is believed to have rejuvenating attributes. No salt is used, as in the marinated Seabass in Orange Sauce, the grilled pork ribs rubbed with spices and herbs with brown sauce on top of sauted onions in olive oil, and the thinly sliced pork on a wine-based sauce topped with blanched broccoli. We are in the process of duplicating these recipes at home, which we will pass on to our readers as soon as we have succeeded.
As mentioned in a previous article, eating seems to be a major endeavor among the locals and resident expats, hence restaurants abound in every city. One does not need to go through the tedious preparation of a meal – it could easily be bought and served along the sidewalks where my daughter has a suki peddling delicious ham hock. Bulgogi and sweets, including rice coated with mashed beans, are also available. Depending on which part of the city you are, a serving can start from W1000 (about $1), to about W20,000 ($20). For more formal dining and for a feel of a typical Korean dining experience, go to a Korean restaurant. If you can not manage the Korean way, sitting on a mat with legs stretched out, find a place where they have regular chairs and tables. Again, hardly anyone speaks English, but they have pictures to which you can point to tell them what you want. Service is always gracious.
There will always be a selection of steamed vegetables laid out on the table before one even decides what to order. These side dishes are called Namul and can range from a selection of six to 10 small servings on ceramic saucers.
We reckon our readers are already familiar with bulgogi , kalbi chim and chapchae, so here are some of the other dishes that we enjoyed. Ginseng chicken soup with rice and chestnut stuffing (samyetang) is savory broth where the fowl is cooked to perfect tenderness. It is a cross between our nilaga and Hainanese chicken rice. What gives it distinctive flavor and texture is the ginseng, an expensive root that resembles a radish and tastes like potato with a hint of ginger. Unfortunately, even the Korean stores in Manila do not carry this. But they do sell a ready-to-cook soup pack. Because we are used to stronger seasoning, you may want to add a few drops of soy with sesame oil, or salt and pepper.
The tenderest beef spareribs we had was cooked on the table top, which is a popular way of cooking here. It is very difficult to remember names of the dishes. They are all in Korean and somehow the owners can not find the right English translation. But this dish consisted of big chunks of pre-tenderized meat cooked in broth with lots of vegetables (greens and mushrooms). One order was more than enough for three diners and with drinks, it cost us less than $30.
Mackwa Samjatang is another meat dish we had. As usual, this one had lots of greens on top of very thin slices of sirloin beef. Likewise, it was cooked on the table top and this was where we struggled with our legs stretched out under the low table. We did not mind the inconvenience because the food was excellent and service was flawless.
Upon our return to the Philippines, we checked the supplies of a Korean store in Alabang Town Center. They have the packed chicken ginseng soup, as well as lots of seasoning mixes and chili paste. Imported and locally produced kimchi, dried items like mushrooms, chapchae noodles and lots more are also available.
If you want to cook Korean food, we suggest you get a cookbook then visit a store that sells the proper ingredients.
Next week – Woo Song University’s Culinary Academy.
E-mail comments and questions to: lydia_d_castillo@yahoo.com