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I love food. During my time in Korea, I have been collecting recipes and anecdotes about Korean food. I also have been working on survival techniques for westerners living in Korea.

In this journal are recipes for cooking Korean food in Korea or abroad and recipes for recreating western food with Korean ingredients.

But mostly, it's about enjoying life.

SUBJECT KEY
Christmas Chronicles - Trying to celebrate Christmas in Korea
Drink - Imbibe me
Event - Special events involving special Korean foods
FFF (Food for Foreigners) - Recipes for foreigners living in Korea
FP (Food Porn) - Pictures for stimulation
Fusion - A mixture -- or clash -- of cultures
Junk - Junk food
KFC (Korean Food Concept) - A blog entry explaining a type of Korean food
Kimchi - Something about kimchi
KR (Korean Recipe) - A recipe for Korean food, duh!
Miscellaneous - Stuff, stuff, and stuff
News - Korean food in the news
Out There - What others are saying
Rest (Restaurant) - An entry about a restaurant in Korea
Street Food - An entry about a street food concept or adventure
Tip - A survival tip for living or visiting Korea
Video - A summary of a video on the site
WTF - A feature on anything unusual that has to be investigated further

Friday, May 19, 2006

(Junk #3) The Freaky Frico - Lotteria's Frico Cheeseburger

When you take a food that comes from one culture and develop it in another, you can get some crazy concoctions that are either divine or downright pukeworthy. Sushi came to America and the California Roll was born. Mayonnaise came to Japan and created some ungodly creations.

Mr. Pizza in Korea throws a lot of experiments down people's throats without seemingly being taste tested first. One particular disaster that comes to mind is a nasty pizza that was topped with coconut.

Lotteria recently revealed a new invention that was a bit unconventional -- the Frico Cheeseburger. At first I got it confused with Hardee's old Sourdough Frisco Burger. The picture of the Frico looked so crazy-go-nuts that I had to try it just to see what the freak was inside of it.

Here it is in the golden wrapper. I wonder if Willy Wonka redeems these.

The burger only vaguely resembles its advertised counterpart. But what burgers do look like the pictures?

The top layer is pickles, onions, lettuce, cheese sauce, and tomato on top of a meat patty.

Under the patty is the "Frico" in the "Frico Cheeseburger. It's a breaded and fried patty of Dutch Maasdam cheese.

Let me repeat that. It's a breaded and fried patty of Dutch Maasdam cheese. That is just pure evil putting that in a burger.

Ooh, and what's this surprise at the bottom? A ring of yellow pepper with a smattering of black olives. Whodathunk?

It is one of the best fast food hamburgers I have ever tried. I'm serious. Who in America would think of putting yellow peppers and black olives on a mass market hamburger? It takes someone from a different culture to go outside the conventional rules and think of something like that.

Oh, and what's this?

Just like me to break the rules. I didn't know that there was a special place on the tray designated for ketchup.

Labels: Junk

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Sunday, March 19, 2006

(Junk #2) Kimbap -- In Convenient Triangle Shape

These things can be intimidating if you don't know what you're doing. Yet these are great inventions in South Korean junk food. It's called "samgak kimbap" 삼각 김밥, or triangle kimbap.

It's the most basic of basic convenience store snacks. What makes them interesting is that they come in many flavors. New flavors are popping up all the time. You can get Jeonju bibimbap, tuna and mayonnaise, tuna and gochujang, tuna barbecue (my favorite), tuna with fish eggs, charcoal grilled kalbi, chicken kalbi, crab salad --

When I don't have time to eat breakfast at home, I tend to get one or two of these things to rip open before class. And as far as junk food goes, they're not that unhealthy. And at 500 to 700 (50 to 70 cents) won a piece, they're economical.

The trick is opening them, which is something I'm still trying to master. You have to get a fresh samgak for it to work right. But it's always a crap shoot as to whether you have a fresh one. Busy convenience stores tend to have them in the morning. The samgak I'm having for breakfast here is kalbi jjim.

First, peel the strip down the middle, carefully tearing through the label.

Hold the samgak firmly in one hand and grab a bottom corner with the other. Tug it off. Then pull off the other one. Carefully.

If you're successful, you'll have a complete samgak without any of the very salty crunchy seaweed (kim 김) coming off.

Inside is a molded triangle of rice with a dent in the middle. In this case, it's filled with a kalbi jjim mixture. Basically it's cheap (read: throwaway) cuts of pork mixed with spicy sauce. It's pretty good.

Some people like to heat them in the microwave first. I like to have them straight. And with so much rice in there, it'll fill you up for a while. Now, if someone could take this to the next logical step and make samgak sushi.

Labels: Junk

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Thursday, January 12, 2006

(Junk #1) Shrimp Burger vs. Squid Burger

Yes, despite of culture of health consciousness, fast food has penetrated the Korean market with abandon. McDonald's has dressed in its own hanbok to adjust by having bulgogi burgers and other specialties meant to attract Korean diners.

Korea's mega-conglomerate Lotte has its own big franchise, Lotteria. My impression is that it is the most successful of Korean fast food franchises thus far. I have even seen stores in Japan.

Foreigners I know will not touch Lotteria. That's because foreigners tend to walk in and order something that is familiar to them. Lotteria is not the place to go for a hamburger. There are other artery thickening foods that are much tastier.

Every time I go, I try to explore a different menu item. Today, it's the
Shrimp ("Sae-u") Burger (새우 버거) versus the Hot Squid ("Ojingeo") Burger (오징어 버거).

What we would normally call a sandwich is all categorized as "burgers" in Korean fast food speak. A burger is anything on a round bun.

First, the Shrimp Burger. I remember there was one foreigner who raved over this thing and was always eating them. I initially avoided it because I assumed it was a fried patty of filler with shrimp flavoring in it.

The Shrimp Burger comes with a black sesame seed butter grilled bun, lettuce, and a special sauce similar to tartar sauce and Thousand Island dressing.

Biting into it is not mealy like expected. The fried patty is packed with processed shrimp. There's actual shrimp texture in there. The taste reminds me of a Cajun poboy from home. I have become hooked on these, to my detriment. I have also gotten other foreigners into the Shrimp Burger.

The Hot Squid Burger is a different animal but also tasty. Unlike the Shrimp Burger, the patty is quadrangle shaped. Along with a creamy sauce, it is loaded with a sweet and sour hot sauce, along with the requisite iceberg lettuce. It also has a black sesame seed bun.

The inside of a Squid Burger is more foreboding and sinful. It is freakin' spicy for a fast food item. I can only eat one of these in one sitting. The squid itself is flavorless (as is all squid), but it adds texture. The sauce and the flavorings make it sharply tangy.

My conclusion in this lunchtime experiment is that I still prefer the Shrimp Burger for sheer volume of goodness and poboy nostalgia. Yet the Squid Burger is an adequate companion for when I want something different and exciting -- especially with a cold beer.

Labels: Junk

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