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Fast & Easy Dinner: Skewered Beef

partysugar — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:30:12 -0700

Get your grill on this weekend with Korean-style beef skewers. This recipe flash marinades strips of tender meat in a mixture of soy sauce, garlic, and sesame oil. Don't despair vegetarians: this blend would be great for tofu; simply slide the tofu on in place of the beef.

Scallions and rice cake sticks round out the menu, but feel free to get creative. Mushrooms, bell peppers, broccoli, or red onions would be equally scrumptious. To make this tonight, get the recipe now

Would You Eat This Mushroom Chocolate?

YumSugar — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:15:10 -0700

A friend recently returned from South Korea bearing gifts. One of them was a bar of North Korean chocolate candy she'd picked up from the country's demilitarized border. In the manner of a Nestle Crunch bar, it was crispy and crumbly, with little taste of mushrooms at first. But a few minutes later, my mouth was filled with the distinct, earthy taste of shrooms - not terrible but certainly odd. I wish understood Korean so I could have deciphered the ingredients (any takers?), but the bar looked to be composed of corn flakes and pumpkin seeds, coated in mushroom-infused chocolate. Would you have been willing to try it?

Would You Eat Dogmeat?

YumSugar — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:43:31 -0700

I'm a huge pet lover and even though I'll eat just about anything, I'm pretty positive I couldn't knowingly order up dog. However if the Seoul city government has its way, dogmeat could be reclassified as livestock and will legally appear on menus in South Korea. Right now it appears illegally and there are no hygiene regulations regarding slaughter. So tell me, could you ever order dog?

To see the graphic photo the comments are referring to - and warning, you probably won't want to do this near lunch time, or if you're a huge pet lover - click here.

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Would You Drink This Aloe Juice?

YumSugar — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:03:31 -0700

Last week I saw a can of juice I'd never seen before: pomegranate-flavored aloe juice from Korean company J1. The color was a vivid orange-pink, and although it looked like one solid color, there were actually bits of floating chunks in it. The almost-invisible chunks are the aloe, and they have the consistency of somewhat thick Jello. I was surprisingly pleased by this drink, and liked the way it tasted. It was a light pomegranate flavor and was cool and refreshing. The texture was a little odd - it was slimy and thick at the same time - and the whole thing made me think of dessert. I would definitely try it again, and yet I can see how the texture would really bother some people. Are you one of those people, or would you drink this juice?

Name That Dish!

partysugar — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:30:00 -0700

Yesterday's definition of kimchi reminded me of one of my favorite Korean dishes, pictured below. A popular beef dish, this consists of tender strips of beef that are typically marinated and grilled. Do you know what it's called?

Definition: Kimchi

YumSugar — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 06:18:11 -0700

Kimchi
A traditional Korean dish made of fermented, seasoned vegetables - such as cabbage and radishes - that are pickled and stored tightly in pots or jars. It is spicy-hot and is served as a condiment with almost every Korean meal.

Also written as kimchee.

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Yummy Links: From Leah Cohen to Korean Barbecue

partysugar — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:50:47 -0700

Making ravioli with Top Chef's Leah Cohen. - Decider New York
Learn the difference between pudding and custard. - Chow
Go green with Cuisinart's new Green Gourmet cookware. - Al Dente
One expert's advice on hosting the perfect Seder. - The Epi-Log
Padma Lakshmi appeared in this weekend's Parade magazine. - Eat Me Daily
Use a whisk to break up brown sugar. - The Kitchn
Find out what your favorite contestants from The Next Food Network Star are up to now. - The FN Dish
Take a trip to Korea in your kitchen by making this easy barbecue beef bulgogi. - Serious Eats

Glazed Carrots Two Ways - Beginner and Expert

YumSugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:50:07 -0800

It isn't a true Thanksgiving meal without loads of sides, scattered around the table like banchan at a Korean barbecue. And one side (other than creamed spinach) that I can't do without is a bowl of candied carrots.

The premise behind glazed carrots couldn't be more basic: you simmer the root vegetables in some form of sweetener (sugar, maple syrup, honey, etc.) until the sauce has thickened and coats the carrots.

If you're taking part in a beginner, budget-conscious, or fast Thanksgiving dinner, opt for a two-step recipe made of only four pantry ingredients. Alternately, add citrus for a side that has layers of complexity. Scope out both recipes after the break.

Street Food Explodes Onto the Scene at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

YumSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:30:45 -0700

I'm completely serious when I tell people that the Ferry Plaza farmers market is a major reason why I live in San Francisco - it would not be an overstatement to say that the first time I went there, it changed my view of eating. So I could barely contain my excitement when the market's organizer, the Center For Urban Education and Sustainable Agriculture, or CUESA, announced it would be instituting a Thursday farmers market with an emphasis on artisanal street food. I took a trip over during my lunch break to see what the hype was all about. Learn more about the street food market - only in its second week of existence! - when you read on.

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North Korea Opens First Fast-Food Burger Joint - Well, Sort Of

YumSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:50:00 -0700

North Korea doesn't merely have beef with the US government - it's also taken issue with America's most iconic food: the hamburger. Although the communist regime and its authoritarian leader, Kim Jong-Il, have long banned any cultural influences considered to be "US imperialist," the country opened its first-ever fast-food restaurant last month. The only thing that won't be served? Burgers.

At the Samtaeseong restaurant in Pyongyang, customers can get a "minced beef with bread sandwich," an order that bears an unmistakable resemblance to the American favorite. The item, which is priced at $1.70 - more than half the average North Korean's daily income - comes with kimchee, or spicy fermented cabbage. Diners can also order sandwiches made of minced fish or vegetables, waffles, and draft beer. In addition, the restaurant will soon serve hot dogs and croissants that have been given Korean names.

My guess is that opening night at Pyongyang's inaugural fast-food joint was probably the talk of the town, although - with the addition of unintentionally of-the-moment kimchee-topped hot dogs to the menu, I'm pretty sure the menu would draw just as much attention in a major US city. What do you make of the situation? Does the renaming of the hamburger seem reminiscent of the "freedom fries" controversy from several years ago? What do you think of North Korea making mincemeat of the hamburger?