December | 2012 | A Fat Girl's Food Guide to Eating in Korea

26
Dec
2012

Crystal Jade Restaurant

categories: Restaurant Reviews

As you may know, we are off to Hong Kong tomorrow to ring in the New Year. It has been a tradition of mine to for quite some time now that I spend New Years Eve in a different country every year. New years Eve can be such a let down, but if you spend it in a different place then you have no preconceived ideas and it always ends up being a great night. Anyhow, I thought I would leave you with one last post before I venture on my holidays since it is related to Hong Kong.

Last Saturday we were out and about in Myeongdong doing some last minute Christmas shopping when we were feeling rather peckish. Personally I can never find anywhere other than Ashley’s in Myeongdong that I really like to eat. However shopping days do not always go hand in hand with all you can eat buffets. It usually puts a swift stop to all shopping. We were having a browse around and saw a sign for Smokey’s, a burger place up on the 6th floor of Noon Square mall. However when we got there we saw this place next door and decided to try it instead to get us in the mood for all the dim sum we will be eating in Hong Kong.

They have a wide and varied menu consisting of many Chinese delights that I would have loved to have sampled. Noodle soups, wontons, fried rice, and meat dishes. There was a large variety that seemed of more of a western style than the Korean. Which is always a thumbs up for me! As I said before, we were eating light so we had an order of dumplings.

I ordered the steamed soupy pork dumplings – 6,000 for 6. In my zest to eat them I forgot to take a picture of the soupy goodness inside. For such a bargain these were incredibly tasty. The juice inside was great along with the soft doughy dumpling and a piece of pork these are my new favourite lunch. 6 was the perfect amount and with the free tea and traditional picked vegetables this was an ideal lunch.

Niall decided to get a mixed set of three spicy soup dumplings and 3 pork -7,000. Although in the end he said he preferred the original pork ones that I had ordered. They also have crab, and cheese varieties available. I cant wait to try them in Hong Kong now, who knows how many I shall manage to eat in the next week.

Although hidden at the top of the mall I’m very glad we ventured up to this little place, the series of escalators was well worth it and I’m sure this will be my new lunch venue of choice when I’m out shopping in Myeongdong. Not only is the food tasty and cheap but you even get some entertainment in the form of the chefs in the kitchen, showing off there talents as you watch them make noodles.

Crystal Jade restaurant is located on the 6th floor of Noon Square at 83-5 Myeong-dong 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul. It’s the same building as CGV and H&M. The closest station is Euljiro 1-ga Station (Line 2), Exit 6.
Walk straight for about 200 meters. The turn when you reach 7-11 and walk along the main shopping street. Noon Square is on the left. You can call them on 02-3783- 5428 or visit their website for more details.

26
Dec
2012

Chicken Stew and Dumplings

categories: Recipes

I love a good a good stew on a Winter’s eve. There’s nothing better than a hearty chicken and vegetable stew filled with dumplings. This is also a great recipe to use up any leftover chicken or turkey you have lying around. Forget the sandwiches and sort yourself out a great big stew. I’m a big fan of dumplings, especially if they come swimming in gravy. At first I thought you couldn’t make dumplings without suet so I got a box sent from home. However I since tried the same recipe with ice cold grated butter and they worked just as well. This is going to be one of my favourite dinners for quite some time to come as it’s so cheap,easy and tasty.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken cut up into 4-6 pieces

1 large onion

1 large carrot

5 cloves of garlic

4 potatoes

1 courgette

1 bay leaf

1.5-2 litres of chicken stock

1 tablespoon of mixed herbs

7-8 mushrooms

A glass or 2 of wine (optional)

Dumplings

200g of all purpose flour

100g of butter (ice cold)

5-7 tablespoons of ice cold water

1 teaspoon of mixed herbs

1 teaspoon of sage

A pinch of salt and pepper

Directions

Cut your chicken into 4- 6 pieces then coat in seasoned flour and fry in a little oil for a few minutes until it has browned on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and throw in the chopped onion and garlic. Fry for about 5 minutes or until translucent then add the chopped carrot to the pan and cook for a further two minutes. Put the chicken, carrots, onions, and garlic into a large saucepan then top with the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Meanwhile chop the potatoes into chunks then add them to pot once the stock is simmering. Add a bay leaf and a tablespoon of mixed herbs and a little pepper. Throw in a glass of wine if you have some lying around, red or white is fine. Leave to cook on a low simmer with a lid on top for about 2 hours. Make sure the chicken is covered in the stock. After about an hour you can add the chopped courgette and mushrooms.

To make the dumplings mix the herbs, salt, pepper, and flour together and then grate the butter into the flour. Gently mix it together. Add the cold water a spoon at a time and very softly bring it together in to a loose dough. Do not work it into a ball, keep it loose then break off lumps and roll them gently to form balls. Add them to the top of the stew, then cook for another 20 minutes. The gravy may be a bit watery so mix two or three tablespoons of cornflour or flour in a bowl with about a cup of the stock. Mix it thoroughly before adding it back into the pot to let it thicken. Serve by itself or with extra green vegetables. Voilà a Winter warming stew.

24
Dec
2012

Gingerbread House

categories: Baking

It’s Christmas Eve and I though there’s just about enough time to squeeze in one more little post before I take my Christmas break (to be fair I need to get something out of being at work today!) Yes, whilst everyone and their dog is at home enjoying Christmas merriment I’m at work, although it is the Christmas party today so it could be worse. I’m not actually a lover of gingerbread, but I thought I would make a gingerbread house for my students anyway. It wasn’t actually too hard and it really got me in the Christmas spirit. My decorating could certainly be improved upon but overall I’m quite happy with it. Niall actually made all the templates for the house but there are plenty of templates online that you can just print out if you don’t have handy and helpful boyfriend.

Ingredients

Gingerbread

800g of all-purpose flour (I used the one for noodles and dumplings)

275g of dark brown sugar

200g of molasses

128g of butter

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

1 tablespoon of ginger (I used the powder that you can buy in packets everywhere)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

280ml of milk

1 tablespoon of baking powder

Royal Icing Using Egg Whites

2 large (60 grams) egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

Directions

Combine brown sugar, molasses, butter, spices, and salt in a saucepan over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. This will take about 10 minutes. Stir in the milk and remove the mixture from the heat. In a large bowl mix the flour and baking powder then pour in the sugar mixture and combine to make the dough. Split the dough in to four pieces then wrap in clingfilm and leave in the fridge overnight.

Take the pieces out of the refrigerator and roll out on a floured surface, this will be quite hard to start with but it gets easier, just keep turning them as you work. Once your you dough is about 1/4 of an inch thick you can put your template on top and cut out the pieces. bake in an oven at 170 degrees Celcius for about 15-20 minutes or until they are browned and thoroughly cooked through.

When all of the pieces have been cooked they are ready to be assembled. I decided to use royal icing to stick mine together and this worked well, but you may wish to use sugar caramel instead. Make sure the royal icing is really thick, then apply liberally all down the edges and stick the pieces together. I made the main frame first then let it dry before adding the roof.

To make the royal icing, beat the egg whites with the lemon juice until they have quadrupled in volume. Add the sifted sugar and beat on low speed until smooth. If necessary, to get the right consistency, add more sugar or water. Add food coloring, if desired. You will need to split your icing into several different containers and add all the different colors you are planning to use. The icing needs to be used immediately or put in an airtight container as it hardens when exposed to air.

Decorate with more royal icing and as much candy as you like. Allow to dry thoroughly before diving in. Merry Christmas one and all.

22
Dec
2012

Kir Royal

categories: Drinks & Cocktails

There is nothing more I love more than a Champagne cocktail. Christmas is a time to celebrate and I like to do that by drinking copious amounts of alcohol! Now I like to think of myself as a very classy lady, only the finest cocktails for me and on those very special occasions I really like to up the ante and splash out on a bit of bubbly. I’ve been drinking Kir Royals for many years now since the queen of class Mrs. Suzy Potter née Marson introduced me to them many years ago.

If you like these as much as I do then you may not be able to use real champagne every time but since you have the added crème de cassis there’s nothing wrong with using sparkling wine instead. Like I always say, there’s nought wrong with a bit of Asti Spumante. I even decided to treat myself to some champagne glasses this year, Daiso’s finest at 3,000 a glass. Sadly I only bought two, so we will have to celebrate two at a time in my house.

Ingredients

1 Bottle of Champagne (or the best you can afford)

1-2 tablespoons of Crème de cassis (I found mine in a a bottle shop in Dongdaemun)

Directions

Open your bubbly and pour into a glass (preferably a champagne glass.) Top with the creme de cassis and enjoy. Repeat until you feel like a very classy lady or until the Champagne bottle is empty.

21
Dec
2012

Merry Christmas to me!

categories: Uncategorized

So would you Adam and Eve it, I only went and bloody won the holiday!!! Well actually I didn’t win, I came in second but Stephane so graciously offered me the prize as well (I do hope he knows what he’s let himself in for!!!) Thanks to all of my wonderful friends, family and faithful followers for all of your support, I couldn’t have done it without you. I’ll be thinking of whilst I am gorging myself in France. Incidentally if there are any other readers of my blog that would like to offer up their homes and fridges to me I would be more than happy to take you up on them. Now to choose who I shall take as my lucky guest…….. Maybe I shall start a contest of my own to determine who is worthy. Perhaps some kind of baking competition à la The Great British Bake Off! A cake sculpture likeness of me. Points will be given for taste and appearance and originality. I may also be bribed with Christmas presents (especially Marc Jacobs Handbags).

20
Dec
2012

Tiger Masala

categories: Restaurant Reviews

Last night we were on our way home all set to blend up some roast pumpkin for soup when we saw that Tiger Masala had finally opened its doors. We had been very excited about trying the new Indian restaurant right on our doorstep and the soup was swiftly forgotten. Although we have a good selection of cuisines within our neighborhood, Indian is not one of them, and I’m sure Tiger Masala will make an excellent addition.

The restaurant is very small, tiny in fact but what it lacks in size it makes up for in personality on an otherwise dull street. Although with Bakers Table and Poutine Factory on the same stretch it seems as though our bus stop is proving to be quite the culinary hot spot.

On to the food… The menu like the restaurant is quite small and straight forward but I’m happy to take a smaller menu of quality items over quantity any day. It reminded me of Casablanca’s chalk bard of sandwiches. They have seating for 10 plus a singles bar, or they will wrap it all up for you to take away and eat in the comfort of your own home.

We decided to go quite small for us and ordered a butter chicken (7,000) The dish is quite small, but at only 7,000 you wouldn’t expect to get much more. With a flavourful sauce and a few pieces of chicken, this was a nice dish.

We also tried the Paneer palak. A spinach and cheese curry. Slightly spicy and sure to be a hit with the vegetarians. I’m a big of a fan of paneer cheese so I was glad to see it on the menu.

We also ordered a rice and a naan bread both 1,500. The naan was standard fare, sadly no garlic naan as of yet but since its so cheap it would be hard to complain. We were pleasantly surprised to see pilau rice and not the standard white. It always livens up dinner time with a bit of color. We also ordered the cucumber raita, which I consider to be an Indian must have and never order a meal without it. This one was really tasty and I would eat it alone just as a dip. Quite a bargain considering its 3,000 price tag!

Overall I’m sure I will be visiting Tiger Masala again very soon. It’s cheap, convenient, and local. Would I make the effort to come here for a real dinner instead of one of the larger restaurants in Itaewon? Probably not. However, I think this place will be very popular with locals. For anyone who doesn’t like cooking, you cant beat a curry, naan and rice all for 10,000. The menu also includes several veggie options so I’m pretty sure it will be popular with the veggie crowd too as well as the locals. They also have a loyalty stamp card, rewarding regular customers.

Tiger Masala is located 1F, 713 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea 140-200. To get there come out of Noksapyeong station (line 6) exit 2 and walk straight down past the entrance leading to Hae bang chon and go over the pedestrian bridge above the road. Take the left set of stairs down. It’s just two doors down from the bakers table just under the bridge. You can call them on 070-7563-1411 or check out their facebook page.

19
Dec
2012

French Onion Soup

categories: Recipes, Vegan / Veggie Friendly

If you are an avid reader of my blog you may have heard me mention My French Heaven a few times. It is an amazing blog that you should all go and check out straight away. When you visit said blog you should follow it then leave a comment telling him that it was me the fat girl who so kindly delivered you so you can help me win a holiday to stay in his glorious château in France. I was in the lead but pole position could be lost at any time so please, please, please, please, help me out and help me to win a very well deserved holiday.

Anyway back to today’s post, one of the fabulously French recipes Stephane featured was this amazing French onion soup. I had to tweak it ever so slightly to make it work here in Korea. I have of course displayed Stephane’s beautiful picture of the soup at the top. My less attractive picture sits at the bottom. But looks aren’t everything are they? It’s the taste that counts.

Ingredients

9 small onions

4 cloves of garlic

1 1/2 liters of water

1 chicken stock cube

A knob of butter

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions

Thinly slice your onions and garlic then fry them in a large knob of butter and a glug of olive oil. Do this on a medium to low heat. This will take around 30 minutes, never leave your pan’s side even for a second. Stir them regularly to make sure they are getting an even coverage. They should be a very brown, but not burnt, by the time they are are done. Once your onions have caramelised, put them into a saucepan along with a 1.5 litres of water and a chicken stock cube. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat so the soup is simmering and cook for 20 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and fresh parsley if you have some. Pour the soup into bowls and top with a slice of baguette. Top with grated cheese (Gruyère in an ideal world, in Korea this will probably entail cheddar, mozzarella, or a mixture of both). Cook under a grill until the cheese is has melted and is slightly browned. Carefully remove bow from under the grill and enjoy! Voilà une très facile soupe à l’oignon.

15
Dec
2012

Mulled Wine

categories: Drinks & Cocktails

‘Tis the season to be jolly, tra la la la la la la la la! Usually the most effective way to make me jolly, is to ply me with booze. So with that in mind, I though it was time to get stuck into the Christmas spirit quite literally and get some Christmas themed booze down my neck as soon as humanly possible. What’s more festive than a glass or 5 of mulled wine? Sourcing the ingredients for mulled wine can be a little tricky if you didn’t bring any from home, but it is certainly possible. The main thing is to get the wine, sugar, and oranges. Then just use whatever spices you can get hold of. They have quite a good selection in the foreign food mart in Itaewon. But various things can be found at Home-plus and E mart so don’t worry if you don’t have everything, just use whatever you can find. The wine is the main feature here.

Ingredients

2 bottles of red wine (nothing fancy here, time to break out the Carlo Rossi)

200g of white sugar

2 oranges

1 lemon

2 cinnamon sticks (Pinoy Mart, foreign food mart)

8 cloves (found at Bangsan market)

2 star anise (foreign food mart)

1 teaspoon of mixed all spice

1/2 teaspoon of Nutmeg

Directions

Pour a glass or two of wine into the saucepan along with the sugar and spices. Bring to boil for about 5- 10 minutes until it has thickened and formed a syrup. Once it has become syrupy, add the rest of the wine and continue to heat until it is simmering. Once it is simmering, reduce the heat to very low. Pour your wine into a glass and enjoy. Repeat until cheeks are rosy and you are full of festive joy and cheer. Merry Christmas!

14
Dec
2012

Chocolate cake

categories: Baking

So last Sunday I had a pot luck dinner with my friends. Now the cold winters here I am not really into going outside. It’s just too cold and I prefer lying on my sofa and eating my baked treats to venturing outside. So hosting a potluck party is the perfect way for me to see all my friends and indulge in some delicious food all without leaving my house (although you do get stuck with the washing up, but it’s a small price to pay). I made the roast pork belly as my main dish but I also wanted to make something sweet. I decided upon chocolate cake, as everyone loves cake right? Plus I had a lot of chocolate in the cupboard that I had picked up at the Bakers Mart. I chose the cake recipe from the queen of indulgence herself, Ms. Nigella Lawson, but decided upon my own for the frosting.

Ingredients

200g of all-purpose flour (I use the one for noodles and dumplings)

200g of white sugar

175g of butter

2 eggs

40g of cocoa powder

150ml of sour cream (foreign food mart/costco)

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Butter cream

1 stick of butter

300g icing sugar

200g of milk chocolate

2 teaspoons of milk

Directions

Take everything out of the fridge so that all the ingredients can come to room temperature. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C and line and butter your cake tin. Now all you have to do is put all the cake ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarb, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream – into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter. If you want to go the long way around, just mix the flour, sugar and leavening agents in a large bowl and beat in the soft butter until you have a combined and creamy mixture. Now whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, vanilla and eggs and beat this into your bowl of mixture. Divide this batter, using a rubber spatula to help you scrape and spread, into the prepared tin and bake until a cake tester, or a thin skewer, comes out clean, which should be about 35 minutes, but it is wise to start checking at 25. Also, it might make sense to switch the cake around in the oven halfway through cooking time. Remove the cake, from its tin, to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out. Don’t worry about any cracks as they will easily be covered by the buttercream later.

To make the buttercream, Mix together the butter cream and powder sugar until thoroughly combined. If it’s a little tough you can add a teaspoon or two of milk. Melt the chocolate in bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. When the chocolate has completely melted allow to cool to bring down the temperature so it doesn’t melt the butter. Once its cooled but still liquid, add to the butter cream and mix thoroughly.

Once the cake has completely cooled, slice into two. Fill the middle of the cake with buttercream and do a crumb coating. Leave to set then decorate the top and sides with an extra layer of frosting. I piped little blobs all the way around the outside and finished with some chocolate curls I found at the bakers mart. Voilà there you have a scrumptious chocolate cake.

13
Dec
2012

Taste of Thailand – Sukhumvit

categories: Restaurant Reviews

Just a few weeks ago I wrote a review for Buddha’s belly in Kyungnidan. Well last Friday night I was craving Thai food once again. However I decided to make a change and try the restaurant opposite Called Sukhavit – A taste of Thailand. A taste of Thailand was exactly what I got. It trumped Buddha’s Belly in pretty much every department and will now be my new Thai restaurant of choice. Not only do they provide a great take away service with an extensive menu far longer than the one at Buddha’s Belly, they also have a large restaurant that can accommodate many people.

First up were the spring rolls. Slightly expensive at 7,000 for 6. But they were fairly good none the less. I have to say rolls are slightly better at Buddha’s Belly but the dipping sauce at Taste of Thailand was better.

Our next choice was the cashew chicken 11,000. This dish blew my mind. It was exactly the same as the ones I used to eat in Thailand. full of flavour without blowing my head off. There were plenty of cashews and lots of chicken The sauce was slightly sweet and spicy, just how I like it.

I also ordered the Pad See Ew – black-bean fried noodles with chicken 11,000. This is my favourite dish from across the road so I was curious to see how it would compare but it was just as good with lots of noodles, chicken and sticky sauce.

Last up was the Thai green Curry 11,000. The moment I opened the lid I could smell the lemon-grass wafting out. It was perfect. they also asked us how hot we would like it, which was a nice touch, everyone likes their curry differently and they got this one spot on. It also came with white rice, but I think we have all been in Korea long enough to know what that looks like.

They also have a great sweet and sour chicken dish that I don’t have a picture of it but it certainly gets the thumbs up from me.

I chose chicken for all my dishes but you have the option for tofu, pork, shrimp, or beef if that’s what floats your boat.

Sukhumvit is located in Kyungnidan at 671 Itaewon 2-dong, Yongsan-gu. Seoul. 140-861. To get there take a train to Noksapyeong station (line 6) exit 2 and walk straight down until you reach the under pass then go underneath. Sukhumvit is on the second floor above Noxa just opposite the exit of the underpass. You can call them on 02- 790- 2722 to place an order or make a reservation.

December 2012 archive