Korean Health Food: Chung Guk Jang (Part 2)

3 days later...

remove the gauze and the blanket on top of the beans,

and it should look like this:

It now has a rather brownish color than a vanilla color.

So the color is supposed to get darker during the 3 day fermentation process.

After taking out the straws, just stir them a little bit.

They should be REALLY sticky....

It was pretty hard to stir.

In this process, you can put some salt if you want.

If not, then you could just put some salt when you use this food to cook something.

You could stop here,
but if you want to make it better, here's what you do...

Put the beans in.

This Korean traditional grinder made of rock would be ideal,

but it's not easy to find these, so you can just put them in a bowl.

Then rather than grinding, just smash a part of them.

Dont' smash all because it tastes good in food when you can kind of just

taste the beans that are not smashed....

Smash maybe 30~40% of them...?

...and we're done! :)

If you made a large amount, and if you cannot finish this in a couple days,

then preserve it by putting them in a freezer.

Unfreeze as much as you would like to have that day, but keep the rest frozen to preserve!

Enjoy some healthy chung guk jang...! :)

Sukara, Korean Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurant (Part 1)

This restaurant called Sukara is not only for vegetarians but also for vegans because

this place does not use butter or eggs to make their food.

But since there's no rush, I'll show you guys their interior first just to tease you!! :)

Pretty unique door color, eh?

I think it's turquoise...

Their interior's calm and spacious.

It was amazing how people were energetic but not loud in that place.

Good way to keep the atmosphere cool.

It's also cozy in this place, too.

I meant cozy atmosphere-wise, not temperature-wise.

... and it's also like a casual cafe.

One cafe, multiple atmosphere?

That's got to count as a talent!

Here's their introduction and drink menu:

As if being a healthy vegetarian/vegan restaurant isn't enough,

this place uses organic vegetables as well!

Now, here comes our next blog about their food...

Get excited!!!

Korean Health Food: Chung Guk Jang (Part 1)

Chung Guk Jang (Korean) and Natto (Japan) are very similar in a way that

they are made from the same beans in very similar ways.

They even have similar health benefits.

I know some people are really interested in making them,

so I decided to show you guys how to make them...

Boil it at night and let it stay in water till the morning.

It should be so soft you could smash it easily with your finger.

Stick some straws in there...

I don't really know why,

but I think it's to provide some oxygen for the ones under the surface,

so that the healthy bacteria could breatheeeeee.....(ew?)

**btw, there is some straws on the bottom, too.

Put some thin gauze on top of it,

and then a very thin futon.

OH WAIT

Don't use futon(blankets) that you would need when you sleep.

As the beans start getting fermented, it will start smelling,

and that smell isn't going to be all that pleasant for some people

espcially because chung guk jang and natto are food that usually requires "acquired taste"

which means you have to kind of learn to like it.

Wait for 3 days.....!
See you in our Korean Health Food: Chung Guk Jang (Part 2)

Korean Crab Cuisine at....or ON Someone's Birthday Table

I was going to name this blog "Korean Crab at Its Best"

But I felt bad because the crab that I was talking about in the title wouldn't be alive,

and it would be at its worst if anything,

but still at OUR best because they taste so good....

Sorry, crab, but we really really wanted to get some taste of you!!! :'(

There were so many different kinds of crabs in the aquarium, all alive and energetic.

Just makes me feel more guilty.....

Oh, how am I going to eat themmmmmm ohhhh nooooo :'(

At least there were not that many guests in the restaurant

because crabs are one of the most expensive seafood.

I mean, the cheapest course menu was $60, and the most expensive one was...

I do not want to know....

This is Korean traditional appetizer.

Just like most western restaurants start off with bread and salad,

Koreans start off with rice porridge.

In this case, it's crab rice porridge (boiled rice).

This'll warm us up for all that food on our way.....

You may freak out.

These are just the banchan (side dishes)!!!

Free!!!

They also had roasted fish on some mashed potatoes.

Shrimp and vegetable fries.

Rather Japanese styled food.

Oh, wait...

This place is Koreanized Japanese restaurant.... oops...

Some exotic seafood....

...followed by some common sashimi!

and sushi!

Mmmmmmm <3

Finally, here comes our main dish...

Steamed king crab!

I'm so sorry for the crab,

but oh my gosh.... it was so good....

Sorry for the vegetarians witnessing this!!! :(

After finishing the king crab,

they also served us crab fried rice in the crab shell.

It was great because I was craving for some rice to finish all those awesome banchan.

As I started shoveling the fried rice and the bachans down,

I saw something big coming on the table...

It was this crab soup...

So I left the banchans and never looked back just for this awesome soup.

This soup was not too spicy, but not too bland,

and it was perfect with the crab friend rice.

OH MY.

I meant Crab FRIED rice, not friend rice. Oh my my...

Those were some really big amount of food,

but I couldn't possibly resist the dessert with Patbingsu with a cup of ice cream on top...

Patbingsu is a Korean version of ice cream, where they put sweet red bean

on top of ground ice with some fruits and sweet milk.

It's sooooo gooooood.....!!!

Sorry for raving about the dessert, but I'm sweet toothed.... Tee hee...

Anyway, the course meal was really good.

There were three people, and we only ordered for two people

but there were still leftovers, so if you go there, you should probably order

for less people than you have.

The food was expensive,

but it was definitely worth it...!

I recommend you guys this place.

Old Style Korean Restaurant: Gomjung Gomushin

This is Gomjung Gomushin.

This means black Korean traditional rubber shoes.

 

Just like its name,

this place looks pretty old style Korean.

They did have some Western modification like chairs and tables,

but they still had the vibe.

Apparently, this place is pretty famous!

Celebrity autographs! :)

Gotta admit that they do have a pretty unique look...!!

Even their lights are supposed to be watermelons and pumpkins,

One of Korea's most popular vegetable and fruit.

We found something even cooler!

Half of their drink menus were made up of Korean rice wine,

and no wonder....

This place was where the ex-President Dae Joong Kim bought the rice wine

for a gift for Kim Jung Il during a visit to North Korea.

Since then, the name of the rice wine of this place changed to:

Reuniting Rice Wine

Looks like rice wine here is no ordinary drink...

So we decided to order some rice wine (Mak-kolli)

and the food that went well with it:

Pan-fried Kimchi

Kimchi Stew

and...

Dakbal (Chicken feet)

I know the last food Dakbal (chicken feet) may sound and look unappetizing,

but don't judge the food before you taste it...!

Trust me, I've been grossed out by this same food,

but now it's one of my favorite food :)

Here's finally the famous rice wine of this place!

Btw,

when people drink Korean rice wine,

they always eat something that looks like a pancake with the drink.

It's called "boochimgae", and it can be made with kimchi like I showed you above,

or it could be made with seafood and vegetables, too.

Well, here we go for a taste of reconciliation :)

Cheers!!!

P.S. this is probably one of the best places to see the older side of Korea for tourists!

Definitely a point of interest...

Gomjung Gomushin (검정고무신)

Seoul-shi Mapo-gu Seogyo-dong 354-2 (서울시 마포구 서교동 364-2)