September | 2013 | A Fat Girl's Food Guide to Eating in Korea

30
Sep
2013

Caprese Pasta Bake

categories: Recipes

I whipped up this amazing dish last week for dinner. I’m a huge fan of caprese salad, but now the nights are growing chilly, a salad doesn’t exactly cut it for dinner. I’m very keen to use up my basil plants before the cold kills them off in the next few weeks. I also wanted to use the rigatoni I had bought in Bali and was saving for something special. It was the perfect comforting meal for a chilly autumn night.

Ingredients

250g of Pasta (I used rigatoni but you could use penne)

100g of fresh mozzarella

100g of grated cheddar & mozzarella mix

50g of grated parmesan

10 cherry tomatoes

10-12 basil leaves

Sauce

300g of tomatoes or 1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1/2 red onion

5 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon mixed herbs

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

100ml cream (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Garlic bread

1 french baguette

4 cloves of garlic

4 tablespoons of butter

1 tablespoon of pesto

Grated fresh Parmesan

Directions

To make the sauce blend the tomatoes, onion, and garlic until it’s a smooth paste. Add the sugar, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, herbs, and salt & pepper, and boil for about 10 minutes. While the sauce is boiling, cook the pasta until it’s soft on the outside but still a little hard in the middle then drain. When the tomato sauce is done stir in the cream if using. Put the pasta in a dish and pour over the sauce. Top with the remaining cherry tomatoes, scatter over the cheese and torn basil leaves, and bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

To make the pesto garlic bread, crush the garlic and mix together with the butter and pesto until it is a nice soft paste. Spread generously on the french bread and top with grated parmesan. Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the butter and cheese have melted and they are golden brown.

Serve the pasta caprese with the garlic pesto bread and a glass of wine. Warning: your home may be filled with a delicious smell for long after the pasta is gone which may cause you to repeat all previous cooking instructions!

26
Sep
2013

Chocolate & Peanut butter bars

categories: Baking, Recipes

I love these babies so much, I had to share them with you. They are insanely easy to make and taste just like a Reese’s peanut butter cup, but bigger! I love peanut butter and chocolate combinations, it’s possibly my favourite sweet pairing. I’m pretty sure I could manage to eat peanut butter cups all day long. However here they are just so pricey and hard to find. It’s easy enough to make them yourself but with the double chocolate layers it can take a while to make them. This way they are made in 10 minutes. The only hard part is waiting 40 minutes for the chocolate to set. I love them so much I already finished the entire pan, and have already bought the ingredients to make a second batch, except next time I’m going to add Nutella too! I shall let you know the results.

Ingredients

200g digestive biscuits (called Digest)

226g of butter (2 sticks)

3/4 of a jar of peanut butter

3/4 of a cup of icing sugar

150g of chocolate (I used 3 dove bars)

4 tablespoons peanut butter

Directions

Line a square tin with a layer of grease proof paper and set aside. Crush the digestive biscuits until they resemble fine crumbs. Melt the butter on the stove then stir in the biscuit crumbs. Stir in the peanut butter and icing sugar until you have a golden paste then pour into the tin, and level off with a knife. Put in the refrigerator to chill while you make the topping.

Melt your chocolate in a glass or metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, then stir in the 4 tablespoons of peanut butter. Pour the melted chocolate on top of the peanut mixture and leave to set in the fridge for 40 minutes to 1 hour. You can lick the bowl to help comfort you during the long wait. Pull the paper out from the tin and cut your delicious treats into slices and devour. Voilà peanut butter bars in an hour all from a quick trip to your local Korean supermarket.

24
Sep
2013

Whitby

categories: Restaurant Reviews

When I first found that an English fish and chip shop was going to open on my street I was very, very excited. Being a Brit I take fish and chips very seriously, it is our national dish after all. So when I walked past and found out that it had finally opened I was one of the first people in line to give it a try. it’s a tiny hole in the wall which looked very authentic. With a name like Whitby, one of Britain’s premier seaside towns and a fish and chip mecca, I had my hopes up high.

I ordered a fish and chips (9,000). I duly waited for about 5-10 minutes and was presented with a package wrapped in paper, exactly as we would get them at home.

i opened them up to reveal two pieces of fish and a portion of chips served with tartar sauce. The chips, which are my personal favourite part of the meal, weren’t bad; but for a restaurant that sells only two things, fish and chips, the chips should be made with real potatoes not bought in frozen from Costco.

The fish is not bad, the batter is fairly light, and it does hit the spot. But it is in no way reminiscent of the lovely thick soft and crispy batter we have at home. The fish and chips at the wolfhound is far superior.

Whitby is located in HaebangCheon. Take a train to Noksapyeong station (line 6) . Walk straight out of exit 2 for about 200 meters and take the first left and walk straight along the road with all the kimchi pots. Keep walking straight up the hill until you see Whitby tucked away to your left.

22
Sep
2013

Lemon Mayonnaise

categories: Recipes

Yesterday I was making a killer sandwich. I purchased some turkey from Suji’s Deli and wanted to make something really delicious. I had my bread, turkey, and bacon but we had no mayo. I don’t like a dry sandwich so I figured I’d better whip some up. It was quick, easy, and really tasty. From now on I will be making all my own mayo.

Ingredients

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of mustard powder (optional)

1 cup olive oil (roughly)

1 lemon (zest and juice to taste)

1 teaspoon of chives

Directions

In a bowl whisk the egg yolk, salt, lemon juice, and mustard powder (if using) together until combined. Add the olive oil a little at a time and whisk. Don’t add the next bit until the last part has fully combined. Some people do this in a steady stream but I just added a little at a time and it worked perfectly. If you add too much oil it will curdle, but don’t despair, all a fresh egg to the bowl and add the curdled mixture to it a little at a time until you are back on track. After a while you should see it turn and become thicker like mayo. Keep adding as much oil as you like until you are happy with the taste.Then add the zest and lemon juice to give it that lemony flavour. I also stirred in some chives. Once it’s ready smear it all over your favourite sandwich or just dip your finger in it like I did. It will keep for a couple of days in the fridge covered. Voilà home-made lemon mayo.

20
Sep
2013

Sancheong Medicinal Cooking Contest

categories: Recipes, Uncategorized

Last weekend I ventured down to Sangcheon to enter the medicinal cooking contest. Lured by the cash prizes on offer I entered and got accepted. We boarded a bus on Friday night at midnight and arrived at 4:45am and were told we should be back on the bus by 7am. Not much time to sleep huh? We arrived at the festival in the early morning to find it was outside and in the middle of a thunderstorm. The ground was crazy muddy and I wasn’t looking forward to it at all.

On the sides of the tents there were pictures of all the contestants, everyone else was in a chefs outfit then there is me in my holiday photo looking very inappropriate, oops.

Despite the mud and adverse weather conditions we sat through the opening ceremony and started cooking our dishes. Everything went amazingly and the sun came out. I later found out that we were not just representing ourselves in this international competition , we were representing England too! It was very exciting as I had never represented my country before. It was especially exciting for Niall since he is Irish! Things were going well, my dessert was done and the risotto was nearly finished. Who knew I had the skills to knock out a cheesecake in a thunderstorm in a muddy field. (I will seriously have to up my game next time we go camping!) We finished our dishes on time and laid them out, it was then that we realized we had missed the mark somehow. The level of skill and presentation from the other teams was amazing, I had no idea this was what we were coming up against and suffice to say we didn’t win.

Despite the lack of a win, we had a crazy fun time, met lots of lovely people and ate a lot of different foods. Even if the judges weren’t so keen, all the other participants went crazy over my risotto and cheesecake, so I shall share the recipes with you guys anyway.

Ginseng & Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

200g of Korean Rice

1-2 litres of chicken stock

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

50g ginseng

100g of chestnut mushrooms

1 chicken breast

1 cup green tea

50g of dried shiitake mushrooms

25g of butter

100g of freshly shaved parmesan

75ml of cream

1 glass of white wine

To make the stock, boil the chicken stock with the dried mushrooms and ginseng for 20 minutes
Chop and fry the mushrooms in butter for 5 minutes and set aside.
Chop the onion and garlic and fry off in a little olive oil and butter for five minutes.
Add the rice to the pan. and stir for a few minutes until it is translucent.
Add one ladle full of the stock to the rice and stir until absorbed.
Add another ladle full of stock and stir until absorbed. Repeat this process until the rice has cooked (about 20 minutes)
Add the mushrooms to the pan of rice, along with a knob of butter, cream and 50g of parmesan and stir.
To cook the chicken breast, boil the green tea and place the chicken above it in a steamer for 20 minutes until cooked.
Slice the chicken breast and serve of a bed of risotto and top with more fresh parmesan.

Ginger and Citron Cheesecake

Ingredients

200g of ginger biscuits (FFM or HSM)

200g cream cheese (room temperature)

200ml whipping cream

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

200ml white chocolate

100g of butter

100g of citron jelly (유자 )

Directions

Melt the butter and crush the biscuits until they are breadcrumb texture. Stir the biscuits into the melted butter then put into the mould and push down to form the base and chill.
Whip the cream cheese, cream, and vanilla together.
Melt the white chocolate and allow to cool slightly.
Stir the white chocolate into the cream cheese and cream mixture.
Put the cheesecake mixture into the mould on top of the base.
Melt the 유자 jelly and top the cheesecake. Leave to set in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.

16
Sep
2013

Jalapeno Hummus

categories: Recipes, Vegan / Veggie Friendly

I was compelled to make this after I tried the amazing jalapeño hummus from the fabulous people at Hummus in Korea. We eat a truckload of hummus in our house, mainly because I always have lots left over from my batches that I sell. I’m always looking to make things a bit different, otherwise I would go insane eating the same hummus day after day as a work snack. I haven’t quite mastered this recipe as it’s not as lovely as the one made by the Hummus in Korea professionals but it added a nice kick that wasn’t too hot or spicy. I’d certainly urge you to give it a try if you are in the mood for something a little different.

Ingredients

Hummus

400g of Chickpeas (soaked weight)

10 slices of jalapeño (they come in a jar)

2-4 tablespoons of olive oil

1-2 tablespoons of cumin

1-2 lemons

1-2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper pepper

Tahini

100ml of olive oil

3-5 cloves garlic

100g of sesame seeds

Directions

The first thing you need to do is soak your chickpeas. This can take between 6 hours to overnight. The longer the better in my opinion. After they have been soaked, you need to cook them. This can take a while. I usually cook mine in the rice cooker because you don’t have to top up the water as often and they won’t burn. If not you can cook them in a pan of water, they will take between 2-3 hours. Or you can skip this step and buy a can. When your chick peas are done, drain them but make sure you keep hold of that water, you will need it for the hummus.

The next step is to blend the chickpeas, you may need to do this in a couple of batches depending on the size of your blender. If they are too hard to blend, use a little of the hummus water to get things going. Some like their hummus chunky and rugged others like it smooth and silky, so blend until you get the consistency you’re happy with. If you want want an ultra silky hummus then peel off all of the skins of the chick peas before blending. It’s a pain in the ass so I never do it. Also my hummus is generally made in industrial style batches so it would probably take me a month to do it, plus I’m very lazy.

You can buy tahini in the foreign food mart in Itaewon and on iHerb and various other stores. It’s also very easy to make. Just place the garlic, sesame seeds, and olive oil in a blender and blend for a few minutes until the seeds have been pulverized.

Once the chick peas are blended, place in a large bowl and stir in the tahini and lemon juice. Then the salt, pepper, and cumin. Hummus is a very personal food, so start by adding a little of each at a time until you get a taste you’re happy with. A lot of factors can affect the taste of hummus so you rarely use the exact same amount of each ingredient every time. I always get the best results when the chick peas are warm.

To make the hummus jalapeño flavoured, blend your jalapeños with a little olive oil until you have a paste then stir it into the hummus. Use as much or as little as you need to suit your own tastes. Serve with your favourite dipping apparatus and enjoy. Voilà jalapeño flavoured hummus.

12
Sep
2013

Indian Rice Salad

categories: Recipes, Vegan / Veggie Friendly

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Here’s a little salad I knocked up last week for my school lunches. I get bored eating the same things all the time so I wanted to mix it up a bit. It was delicious with a few falafels. Switch up the ingredients to suit your own tastes, but keep the cashews and raisins so it looks bejeweled. I would love to throw some pomegranate in next time if I can afford one.

Makes 6 – 8 portions

Ingredients

1 cups of Jasmine rice (i-Herb)

25g cashew nuts

50g raisins

2 roasted red peppers

5 spring onions

1 teaspoon of turmeric or a few strands of saffron

A bunch of cilantro (coriander)

Directions

Cook the rice using the 2 cups of water to one cup of rice method, adding the saffron or turmeric to the water. Rinse the rice when it has cooked and leave to cool. Lightly toast the cashew nuts and break into pieces. Chop your roasted peppers into pieces and mix in with the rice, raisins, cashew nuts, finely chopped spring onions, and some freshly chopped cilantro.You could also drizzle over a little dressing or olive oil if you like. Voilà Indian rice salad.

10
Sep
2013

Kervan

categories: Restaurant Reviews

I had been meaning to try this place forever. I am mad for kebabs as you may have noticed from my kebab crawl post. And thought it was about high time that I got around to trying some other Turkish food. I did go to Turkey years ago, but can’t really remember what I ate. I knew there would be lots of lovely lamb on the menu to try, soi that was reason enough to go.

To start we tried the baba ghanoush (8,000) . This one was fresher than the ones you normally come across, probably due to the tomatoes, but it still retained the smokey aubergine goodness. It was nice and refreshing and I felt healthy eating it.

We also ordered the cheese pide (15,500) . We needed something to dip into our baba ghanoush so, the pide seemed perfect. A thick dough crust that was stuffed with Turkish kashar cheese. They have various other flavorings with different meats and vegetables.

Lastly we ordered the lamb shish kebab (23,000). It was too tempting to resist. There were chunks of char grilled lamb, that were so morish. You could taste the grilled flavours mingled with the lovely spices. My only complaint is that there wasn’t enough! We shared this between two but it would have been better for only one. It came with rice and salad, but it would be nice if there was some bread with it too.

I really enjoyed the food at Kervan, everything we had was tasty, but for me it is a little bit on the expensive side for the portions. However you get what you pay for, so I’d keep this restaurant for a treat. It’s also very large so it’s a great place to go for large parties, as they have a lot of room.

Kervan is located at 2F -127-3, Itaewon dong, Yongsan gu, Seoul. To get there take a train to Itaewon station (line 6) and come out of exit 3. Walk straight for about 100 meters, Kervan is on the right on the second floor above U Square, just before you get to Dunkin Donuts. For more information call them on 02-792-4767 or check out their website.

07
Sep
2013

Cucumber Infused Gin

categories: Drinks & Cocktails

OK, so it’s happened, since the opening of Flower Gin, I have become a bit of a Gin slag. I’ve had more gin in the past 2 weeks than I have had in a lifetime. When having a browse of some gin based cocktails I came across Heston Blumenthal’s cucumber infused gin. I wanted it immediately, so I rushed right out to buy all the ingredients. Heston used his own lovely Waitrose earl grey gin to make it, but sadly we can’t buy it here. I would have used a bottle of Bombay Sapphire or some lovely Hendrick’s but it’s still 5 days until pay day so I used a bottom of the barrel bottle of cheap Combo gin. After a little more research though, I found this could be a plus as the cucumber will have more of a presence due to the lack of flavour the gin has. After consuming copious amounts, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that cheap gin is the way forward, it was bloody gorgeous and as soon as I finish this bottle I shall be making another. Happy Ginning!

Ingredients

1 bottle of gin

3 cucumbers

Directions

Peel your cucumbers then roughly chop them. Put them into a jug with the gin and blend them until pulverized. Cover and refrigerate for about 24 hours. When the gin has infused strain off the cucumber though a sieve.

To make the gin and tonic, fill a tall glass with ice. you may notice from my picture that my ice cubes are nice and fancy. I chopped up some pieces of lemon and cucumber and form them into the ice cubes to make them extra pretty. Top with 50ml of gin and 150ml-200ml of tonic. Serve with a wedge of lemon and enjoy. Voilà cucumber infused gin!

06
Sep
2013

I Want to Find Roger!

categories: Uncategorized

Product Details

Hello lovely readers, I am sorry if I have got your hopes up but this post is not food related. It is me related though, which I am sure is the reason you are all so dedicated to reading this blog. Earlier in the year I had a dream that I had written a book called I want to find Roger. Even through my morning disarray, I realized what a jaunty title for a book this would make and managed to secure it into my mind. A few weeks later I got fired from my job and decided to be very constructive with my final days at work and bashed out this very long short story.

Despite my usual lack of seeing things through, I manage to finish it, get it edited and get a cover made by my very talented boyfriend. I have now had it published on Kindle. It costs 77p, as I was not allowed to publish it for free. However from 4pm today and until 4pm Sunday it is 100% free. So I am asking you to please please download it. Here is the link (UK) or link (for US) Even if you have no intention of reading it, please download it for me. If you do not own a kindle you can still download the kindle app on to your smartphone, iPad or computer and read it that way. Below is a short excerpt to wet your whistle.

I want to find Roger

By Gemma Jane

Abbey

“You’re fired!” screamed my boss. A little piece of spittle flew out of his mouth

and landed on my cheek. He was such a vile and loathsome man. Short and fat, he

looked as though he had been squashed. He had the face of a frog; small squinty

eyes encased in thick black glasses which just made him look even more foolish.

I noticed he had a stain on his tie from his greasy breakfast. The longer I stood

there the more contempt I had for him. The fact that his spit was now on my face

made my skin crawl, I would never be clean again. I wiped the spit from my cheek

and walked out the door of his office, slamming it behind me for good measure.

Everyone looked up from their desks when they heard the noise. I stalked over to

my desk, picked up my bag and walked out the door, the whispers and murmurs

growing louder as I left.

As I walked outside into the fresh cool air I felt disorientated. I looked at my watch,

it was only 10:55. I didn’t know what the hell I was supposed to do now. I knew

going back home to watch This Morning wasn’t the answer. Nor was a coffee. I

needed something to dull the growing ball of anxiety in my stomach. I walked past

our local, still closed. Probably not a good idea to go there anyway. I kept walking

through the quiet, dirty streets of Soho. I walked aimlessly, not my usual route to

the bus stop. I clearly had some time to kill. What time do pubs even open these

days? I have never really had the penchant for an early morning drink. The times

when my hangover had been in need of a hair of the dog remedy, I had never

surfaced before lunch time.

I was on a street I had never been down before. There was a pub up ahead; The

Black Fox. Just as I approached the doors flew open.

“You’re a bit keen aren’t you?” a gruff voice asked me. I didn’t know what to say.

I just followed him into the dank dark pub, a stale smell filling my nostrils. It was

here that I first met Roger.

That day sticks in my mind. It was a hard day to forget for so many reasons. Maybe

just because it was so unusual – it’s not every day that you get fired is it? It’s also

not every day that you meet someone like Roger. Things changed for me that day,

for better and for worse. I need to retrace my steps a bit. You need to know how I

first met Roger to understand why I need to find him again.

I sat down at the bar. I had never sat at the bar in my life, but it seemed pointless to

sit at a table in an empty pub.

“What’ll you have?” the bar man asked.

“A double brandy,” came my reply. I don’t know where that came from. It wasn’t

my usual vodka tonic. I hadn’t drunk brandy since I was 14 when my best friend

and I had stolen a bottle from my parents’ liquor cabinet. Why was I ordering it

now?

“Medicinal?” the barman asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“What?’ I replied.

“Brandy, its medicinal.” he replied. “You’re as white a sheet, get some bad news did

ya?”

“I just got fired.” I stated. I sipped the brandy. It spread warmth throughout my

body. I sipped some more. I felt the gnawing pain in my stomach subside a little.

“Makes sense.”

“Why the hell would you say that, look like the kind of person who gets fired, do I?”

I asked defensively. I don’t know what had gotten into me today.

“Why else would you be here, all done up for work? If someone had died you

wouldn’t be here would you? You would have somewhere to go.” He said matterof-factly. He was right I didn’t have anywhere to go. The thought sobered me a

little, not what I wanted. I took another gulp of the brandy.

“Same again,” I said.

“Steady on there love, it’s not even 11:30 yet.”

“I’m unemployed!” I retaliated. “I’ll drink as much as I damn well want.” It was

what the jobless did wasn’t it. I could spend my days wandering the streets with a

can of Special Brew in hand, watching Jeremy Kyle and lining up at the dole queue.

You were expected to be drunk weren’t you?

“Anyway this could actually be your lucky day, I might know of a job

going.” “Working here for you?” I asked pensively. No way in hell I was working in

a dump like this.

“God no” he chuckled. “I’m not the boss, I’m just a barman.” Made sense, he didn’t

look like the kind of man that owned a pub in central London. Although he did fit

the bar; looked like he belonged; a kind of run down aura about him. His craggy

face was ageless, he could have been anywhere between late 20’s and 40’s.

“My mate Roger’s looking for an assistant; got an office round the corner. He’ll be

in at lunchtime, you can see him then. And you don’t want to be three sheets to the

wind now do ya? That would be going too far, even for Roger.”

I didn’t even ask what kind of work it was, I had enough on my mind as it was. My

phone bleeped, Suzie’s name came on the screen. I threw the phone back into my

bag. God knows how she was going to react when she heard I had lost my job. I

would worry about that later. Maybe I could get a job with the mysterious Roger.

I drank more steadily after that; switching to my more familiar vodka tonic. My

senses dulled and my problems were forgotten. I just drank. I felt a pang in my

stomach some time later. Not anxiety, something different. Hunger. I looked at the

clock; 2:35.

“I thought you said he was coming in at lunchtime?” I asked Tim the bartender. We

were on a first name basis by now.

“He’ll be here, don’t worry.” He might be, but I won’t be I thought. What the hell

was I doing in a place like this anyway? I needed to go home and get something

to eat, I shouldn’t be here. I gulped down the last of my vodka, picked up my bag

and went to the ladies. As I washed my hands I looked in the mirror. I looked like

shit. My long brown hair was limp and greasy. It was due a wash but I had run out

of shampoo a few days ago and had forgotten to get more. I made a mental note

to stop into Boots on the way home. My face had seen better days too. My already

pale skin looked dull and washed out. The drinks had done me no favours. My red

tinged eyes had large black bags underneath them. The concealer I had put on

this morning had failed to stay put. I fished around in my bag for some makeup.

I never brought it to work on week days though. I found a lipstick missing its lid,

the dirt and dust from my bag stuck to the stick. I rubbed as much off as I could

with my finger and put some on. A bit of colour, there, I looked minutely better. No

one looked good under these florescent lights anyway. I’d get a bit of shopping, get

home and have a nice long bath. Maybe everything would be okay after all.

“Here she is,” Tim exclaimed. I stood in shock as the ladies door closed behind me. I

was in awe. There before me was tallest, most handsome man I had ever seen. Not

handsome in the conventional sense you understand. I didn’t go for that pretty boy

look. He was tall, stocky, and manly. He had a shock of black hair, a stubble ridden

chin, and a slightly crooked nose with piecing green eyes. He was rugged, the kind

of man that only need to look at you to make your knickers drop. This was Roger!

September 2013 archive