Thursday, September 23, 2010

Chuseok! Korean Thanksgiving!

Yesterday was the first day of the Korean Thankgiving.

Korean Thanksgiving is a three day holiday at which Koreans return to their hometowns to pay respect to the spirits of their ancestors. Rituals are performed to give thanks to ancestors such as a visit to the tombs of their immediate ancestors. At the tomb, families offer food, drink, and crops.

Because Chuseok is a major holiday, korean businesses close down, and people are given time off from work. Hotels are even giving out special deals, to encourage people to stay at their hotels since it will be more vacant due to people going home for the holiday. In an article on korea.net, the author talks about Chuseok and says, "Korean society and culture continues to revolve around the consumption of food and drink, and emphasis is always placed on using the freshest and healthiest ingredients. It goes without saying that to a people so deeply intertwined with their agrarian past, celebrating the harvest would be of the utmost importance." The connection between the two websites, show the significance of the holiday in Korea. Hotels are taking the holiday into consideration and creating special rates, and the official website of Korea is making sure to detail the importance of the festival. I chose to make my personal blog about Korean food because of the long history and importance of food in our culture.

One of the major foods prepared and eaten during the Chuseok holiday is songpyeon (송편), a crescent-shaped rice cake, steamed, with crushed sweet pine nuts inside. The rice cake is found in many different colors but in my experience they all taste very similar.

Other foods commonly prepared are japchae (noodles), bulgogi (beef) and fruits.

Chuseok is such major holiday in Korea that is even celebrated by Korean people in the United States. I personally do not celebrate it with my family, but my family does enjoy eating seongpyun to participate in a small way.


I would love to go to Korea and experience Chuseok first hand someday!



Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Korean BBQ! Yummmm....

This meal will satisfy any meat lover!


Eventhough you cook the food yourself (in most cases), you get to smell the amazing fragrance of Korean BBQ! if you go to any Korean restaurant they offer this dish but it's a little pricey for the average strugglin' college student. The price varies depending on the type of meat.

Kalbi (갈비): Marinated beef or pork short ribs [$20-25]
Bulgogi (불고기): Marinated beef [$15-20]
Samgyeopsal (삼겹살): Unseasoned pork belly [$15]

In my opinion these are the most popular meats, but there are plenty more! Most people grill the onions, spicy peppers, and peeled garlic with the meat to make it more flavorful.

The way to correctly eat Korean BBQ is to dip the meat in sesame oil and the hot pepper paste given, take a scoop of rice, then wrap it all up in a piece of lettuce


That's all there is to eating Korean BBQ! In some ways trying new food and experiencing new things is relatable to technology and society. Many of us are excited to try new technology, but we don't give new food a try. I won't eat something if it looks different but I will invest in an expensive macbook that i'm not even sure how to work! (I've recently left PC for Mac :] )

you won't regret trying Korean BBQ! it's worth every cent!