Top: ddukbogi
Bottom: mandoo; kimchi pajeon (notice the "food art" I snuck in there?)
I've only realized fairly recently that I actually don't know much about Korean food at all, in fact all I ever eat at Korean places is Korean BBQ (I love meat, what can I say?) and my mother occasionally will give me banchan (small dishes) that she's bought and those will appear in my bento (notably I speak about it here), or I'll even get gimbap (Korean style sushi). But the other stuff? Meh. I'm not keen on spicy, and a lot of Korean food appears to be spicy, and I don't have a guide, someone to introduce me to new things on the menu, so I just stuck to what I know.
(In fact, if you followed me to any or all of the Asian places that I frequent, I always order from the same selection of 2-4 things. It appears I don't really stray from my beaten path... will have to change that!)
But last week, having drinks with BF's coworkers, after which they wanted Korean food, and it reminded me that I wasn't too familiar with Korean food. When we arrived, however, they wanted Korean BBQ, but it brought Korean food to the forefront of my mind. So a few nights ago, while shopping with Cookie (of Cookie Bento fame), I did something unprecedented: I went to the same restaurant from a week earlier (I never go to the same place twice in such quick succession). But this time, I wanted something different; Cookie being there helped a lot because she's a vegetarian, so obviously Korean BBQ (which is mostly meat, from my understanding) was out, and because she's familiar with Korean cuisine.
The above bento is leftovers from our meal: ddukbogi, a sweet and spicy rice cake (not that kind of rice cake; it's rice noodles but in tube form) cooked with fish cakes, onions, and glass noodles; mandoo, Korean dumplings filled with glass noodles, beef and veggies (she didn't have any); and kimchi pajeon, pancake with kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage) strewn throughout it. Pretty yummy, though I was sweating and tearing up from the heat at one point.
Yummy, here's to exploring new (to us) cuisines and making great discoveries!
Happy bento!!!
This lunch looks especially tasty. And is that a bunny I spy? ;0)
ReplyDeleteack, i can't believe they were only 99c! my bf had been making fun of me since i got them, saying i spent too much. haha, guess this proves him right. they are definitely durable and i'm sure i will get a lot of use out of it. oh, i hope you're having fun settling into your new apartment! it's so exciting to set up a place that is all yours. =)
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