Category: Video

  • The Nanoomi Gang on SBS

    “Morning Wide” on SBS featured a few bloggers from the Nanoomi network, particularly Rob (Roboseyo), Simon (Eat Your Kimchi), Stafford (Chosun Bimbo) and me. You can also get a glimpse of our fearless small-face leader Cynthia.

    The premise–I think–is that foreigners can like Korean food as easily as Koreans. I know it sounds moronic, but it’s such a point of fascination to the Korean media, who regularly assumes that Korean food hadn’t become popular because it’s too spicy. One example of this Koreans-only assumption is when the host goes up to a French chef and almost jumps out of his underpants when he finds out he’s a foreigner. It’s played up for the morning audience.

    I only had time to join them after my Korean class, and we had some Jjuggumi Bokkeum–TWICE!! The reshot the entire sequence with me in Rob’s place after he left. I had already made Jjuggumi Bokkeum at my home a couple of days before. And the day before Stafford and I spent the morning watching the Superbowl at The Wolfhound, while that night I was at a party populated by chefs until 1 a.m. So my stomach was not in the best shape. I could eat nothing but fruit the rest of the week.

    Thank you Simon and Stafford for posting the video.
    http://vimeo.com/eatyourkimchi/sbsmorningwide
    DISCLAIMER: They really wanted Stafford and me to make a big heart with our arms, and we flatly refused. We all negotiated and settled on a compromise of doing hand hearts as gangsta signs.

  • Video: Gourmet Ramyeon at Eat Your Kimchi

    Video: Gourmet Ramyeon at Eat Your Kimchi

    When I had ramen noodles in America, the only extras I threw in was some occasional Parmesan cheese. I learned that in Korea, you have to put basically a whole salad bar in the pot with the instant noodles package. The result is a tastier, more satisfying and slightly less junky concoction.

    Simon and Martina of Eat Your Kimchi have put together a nice instructional video on how to soup up your ramyeon (get it?). I particularly like Martina’s “Nigella moment.”

  • Qi Ranger Does Suji’s

    Qi Ranger Does Suji’s

    Qi Ranger Steve has posted a video about Suji’s. I think it’s the first time we have Suji herself on video–on an English language one, that is. I agree with Steve that they have a great Reuben.

  • Is This Me?

    Is This Me?

    This is freaky!

    I was checking out Eat Your Kimchi’s latest video on my favorite pub, The Wolfhound, when I could have sworn I saw my ugly scraggly bearded face bite into a burger at 00:53. I’ve hung out with Simon and Martina a few times, but I don’t remember us being at The Wolfhound together.

    So my evil twin has finally arrived in Seoul!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw-bjb4pf4M

    The Wolfhound – Eat Your Kimchi

  • Cooking Contest Video is Up

    The cooking contest I entered and won 2nd place last November was also part of a documentary that aired on Christmas Day. It’s here in three parts. It’s in Korean, but you can get the idea of what’s going on.

    Part 1

    [dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgwrfb_cj-cooking-contest-1-of-3_shortfilms[/dailymotion]

    (Not working? View here.)

    This is a quick introduction of the food expo at the COEX and the contests. The contest featured here was for spouses of Koreans–multicultural families. There were forty contestants. The theme was making a “global” dish using gochujang. A friend called me in late October asking me to participate in this contest and documentary. I was about to decline.

    “The winner gets ten million won.”

    That helped a bit. Besides, I’d been wanting to try my chops at a cooking contest. I’ve talked smack in the past. I was pretty swamped in November, and EJ was due to give birth on the day of the finals. But who gives birth on the due date? Really?

    Part 2

    [dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgx5jj_cj-cooking-contest-2-of-3_shortfilms[/dailymotion]

    (Not working? View here.)

    This section featured the three male contestants. The video was taken a couple of weeks before the contest. It starts with me making some French bread pizzas. My Facebook friends know that I was hooked on them for a while. Then the video crew is at a Nanoomi party, which actually was taken the week before. You see Simon from Eat Your Kimchi, Charles from KTLit (the one with the nametag on his forehead), Cynthia (our fearless small-faced leader). You may even catch a glimpse of Robert Neff.

    Part 3

    [dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh0foq_cj-cooking-contest-3-of-3_shortfilms[/dailymotion]

    (Not working? View here.)

    I was not expecting to make it to the finals. But it was nuts because after the finals, I gave EJ a call, and she told me she was going into labor.

    This is why I’m glad we did this. The documentary crew showed up at the hospital a few days later as we were getting ready to leave after Jian’s birth. They filmed the very first time I held Jian in my arms.

    Oh, and I also got second place and W1,000,000, a watch, some gift certificates and tons of CJ products, like cooking oil and gochujang. Yeah, more gochujang!

  • Cake in a Cup

    Cake in a Cup

    just baked chocolate cup cake11Maryjane, a locally owned little café on a side street in Wonju, looks innocent enough. It has a quaint, tiny terrace out front, glass doors that fold back to welcome spring breezes and summer sunshine, and a dreamy décor that makes having a nap after your coffee seem like the best idea you’ve had all day. But dear coffee sippers and chocolate lovers: do not be fooled. Maryjane’s menu will grab you by your taste buds and refuse to let go.

    For a small town, family run joint, Maryjane has an ambitiously diverse menu, offering coffees, teas, beer, hot dogs, fried rice, and cupcakes all fresh from their kitchen. And although I could probably jot down a few thousand words praising each menu item, I’d rather spend that time eating and drinking at Maryjane. So today I am going to focus on my favorite offering: the Just Baked Chocolate Cupcake.

    I miss cake and cupcakes. Most of the cake I have tried in Korea, although possibly delicious on its own merits, fails to meet my Western cake/cupcake expectations. Also, Korean cake = glorified bread. So when I heard about the Maryjane cupcake from some friends, I knew I had to try it. And try it I did, about 6 or 7 times. This cupcake is not a cupcake, friends. It is everything a cupcake dreams of becoming when they grow up.

    When I was young, my mother used to make brownies. For some reason, the brownies were always for other people. She did let me lick the brownie batter off the spatula though, and I have had a preference for batter over brownie ever since. The Maryjane cupcake reminds me of licking that spatula with every single bite.

    The cupcake is actually served in a cup. It comes baked with a crusty layer of cake on top. Once you break through that layer, you dip your spoon into brownie batter’s half-baked cousin of heavenly proportions hiding out underneath. It is warm, rich, gooey, and almost too good to share. They’re made to order, so settle in with a cup of coffee or a relaxing herbal tea and wait for that chocolate cupcake to arrive piping hot from the oven.

    The Just Baked Chocolate Cupcake, although personally believed to be the star of the show, is only one of many delicious options on the menu. I’ve also scarfed down my fair share of bulgogi hotdogs and tortilla pizzas. Maryjane is one of those little jewels you find in small towns like Wonju. They’re dedicated to excellent taste, kind service, and homemade goodies that make you want to move in next door. This café is a reason to hop on the bus, take a daytrip to Wonju, and eat some cake in a cup.

  • How to Make Really Good Nakji Bokkeum

    How to Make Really Good Nakji Bokkeum


    My lastest video for Samsung Imaging has been posted. During a TV shoot, we went to a stir-fried octopus restaurant in a back alley that was really popular. I took video of the woman making this famous Nakji Bokkeum and tried to make the same dish at home using that video. It totally worked! And it’s the best Nakji Bokkeum I’ve ever had. The secret is the ginger and the loads of shaved onions. Go to the Samsung site for the recipe.

    Nakji Bokkeum (Korean Spicy Octopus)

    The above photo/video has been shot with the HMX-M20, 
    provided by Samsung Electronics. Co., Ltd.
  • Video: Living and Breathing DNA, Hansik

    Video: Living and Breathing DNA, Hansik

    I finally had a chance to watch the documentary “Living and Breathing DNA, Hansik” which features delicious scenes of Korean food and people who adore it from different walks of life.  From Central Park to Chelsea Market, H-Mart, then at home, I had a lot of fun preparing for the day and filming it with my friends.  I am grateful that a moment in my foodie life is captured as part of this program.

    The documentary is mostly in Korean with no subtitles – except the interview part with my friends in English (my friend Monica talks about kimchi diet!).  So here goes a bit of explanation about what’s in the clip.

    In my home kitchen, I’m making biji ssambap (비지 쌈밥; sticky brown rice mixed with toasted soybean pulp, seasoned with doenjang sauce wrapped in perilla leaves) to make use of a lot of soy pulp that comes out of making tofu.  It’s also showing a bit of yukgaejang jorim (육개장 조림) in danhobak (단호박) bowl (brisket reduced in gochujang sauce with shitake mushrooms and sliced rice cakes, topped with mozzarella cheese, served in kabocha bowls) and shikhye patbingsu (식혜 팥빙수; sweet rice & malted barley granita with sweetened red beans, rice cake morsels, mango dice and mint leaves).

    In my interview, I talk about my blog and my cooking for friends.  By telling stories of particular dishes in person or in writing with pictures, whether it’s about ingredients in Korea, Korean holidays or my childhood memories, I hope that unfamiliar Korean dishes become more approachable to people around me.  Also, Korean cuisine to me is the best of both worlds combining fresh, seasonal ingredients and slow foods including fermented food.  I appreciate that I grew up in the culture eating the food that brings those two together.

    “The more I know [about Korean food], the more I want to learn.  It is a summary of everything I grew up with and an opportunity I can renew every day.  It is my memory, my history, my family, my home.  And the foundation of my progress also starts from Korean food.”

    I also wrote about the day of filming with food pictures back in August – you can see it here.

  • Video: Korean Food Home Delivery

    Video: Korean Food Home Delivery

    I almost completely cut off the tip of my thumb last night while chopping celery and holding an infant. It was a bloody mess, but the doctor says it will heal in time. I’m trying to get used to using the spacebar with a bandaged thumb. Don’t expect any long rants for a few days.

    Arirang’s “Today’s Blog” features a piece by Eat Your Kimchi on delivery bikes and how one could order almost any kind of food and have it delivered quickly in Korea. One wonders how they do it.

    (Secret: It’s the sidewalks.)

  • The Nanoomi Gang on KBS

    A few of us from megablog Nanoomi were on a KBS morning show this week. You’ll see Mike “Feetman Seoul” Hurt, Stafford “Chosun Bimbo” Lumsden (and from SeoulPodcast) and Simon and Martina from “Eat Your Kimchi” along with me. It’s the usual silly Korean TV stuff of “Ooh, look at these foreigners interested in our culture,” but it’s all in good fun. I particularly found it funny that even though Stafford said he was from New Zealand in Korean, they posted that he was from Europe on the screen.

    http://vimeo.com/18108885