Written By: Jeanie Chang
iheartkimchi.wordpress.com
My children's violin teacher loves kimchee! I mean she loves it so much that she and her husband can go through an entire jar in a week. The other night, she told me she was making kimchee fried rice after doing some research on the Internet on how to make it. I thought that was so cool. My kids' violin teacher is Caucasian and born and bred in North Carolina. She actually told me she wishes she had been born Korean because she loves the food. LOL. After all, she says she grew up on southern cuisine which she finds to be dull compared to Asian cuisine. You know - fried chicken, pulled pork, hush puppies, biscuits and gravy, okra,etc. Since moving to Raleigh, North Carolina four years ago, I have definitely enjoyed trying southern food. As much as I like it, I definitely couldn't live on it.
My kids' violin teacher isn't the only non-Korean mommy I know that loves Korean food. I have a very diverse group of mommy friends who have been exposed to Korean food through me and they all love it. I have had to figure out how to give them recipes for bulgogi and kalbi and even dduk boh gkee because they (and their husbands) love it so much they want to make it at home. I'm sure you all can agree that most Korean food do not really follow an exact recipe. I have learned how to cook Korean through watching my mom or by taste. Anyways, my mommy friends are quite happy with the recipes I've provided them so obviously I did something right!
After talking to my kids' violin teacher and offering as much advice as I could about cooking Korean food, I realized how much fun it was sharing with a non-Korean mommy about my culture. Food is a huge part of culture! I told her that I'll have to make her some kalbi after she told me she uses the store-bought sauce to make her Korean beef and she looked so excited that it gave me a wonderful idea for the holiday season! Guess what I decided to do for some of my mommy friends for Christmas?
If you haven't guessed, I'm going to put together a Korean food care package as Christmas gifts! Yep, they'll love it as will their husbands and kids. Of course my violin teacher will receive a Korean food care package too. What will I include in those care packages? Let's see: a small container of kimchee, homemade kalbi or bulgogi,some Korean rice (my friends LOVE our rice) and a couple Asian pears as dessert. I cut up some Asian pears which I put into a fruit salad for a luncheon at my son's preschool and everyone commented on how delicious they were!
Although the food is perishable, they won't have to be forced to eat it on the day I give it to them since the meat can be frozen within two days and we all know kimchee can last quite a while. LOL.
Besides sharing love, joy and peace this holiday season. I wanted to share kimchee!!!
Our tastes are so similar....
I have starred every single one of these recipes in my own Reader (besides my own,
of course -- I hope you like it!)
I can't wait to hear what you think of all these yummy-sounding dishes!
Posted by: cheap rolex watches | December 12, 2010 at 09:31 PM