Korean Cooking 2

I first saw this banchan on Korean dramas (hello Boys before flowers) of course.  It's called 계란말이 (gaeranmari) which is basically just a rolled up egg.  Not rocket science here.  First start by chopping up whatever you want in your egg.  Think of it like an omelet.  

I think I used onion, green onion, korean turkey ham, mushrooms, carrots, and a slice of torn up cheese.  Second mix 3 eggs with the rest of the ingredients.  This is where my pictures start.  Heat a frying pan up with a little oil and pour 1/3 of the egg mixture onto the pan (this is important..if you pour it all in at once, it will be too thick and won't roll properly).  Let it cook and then slowly start to roll up one edge with a spatula.  Once you roll it a little, pour in some more of the egg mixture (about half of what's left) and swivel the pan around so the egg mixture covers the remaining area.  Continue rolling and repeat the process with the remaining egg mixture.  When the roll is complete, cook on all 4 sides to ensure the roll holds together.  Then slice the roll into small sushi-roll like pieces and you're finished!  I like to arrange the pieces on their sides so you can see the rolled up part and think of myself as fancy.

Mix everything together with the 3 eggs..sometimes I add a little milk if I have it too..

Spring Break

I might be the worst blog upkeeper ever, but for those of you (5 people who read this blog) who don't know, I went to Malaysia for spring break!  Spring break aka the random week the kids have off school in between the end of one school year and the beginning of the new one.  We went to Langkawi for 5 days and then spent one night in Kuala Lumpur before flying back to Seoul.  In the midst of a seriously frigid winter here, it was amazing to land in a country with hot and humid weather for a change.  The morning we arrived, actually as the plane was landing in Kuala, there were tons of heat lightning bolts.  Then when we got to Langkawi, it was raining during our short cab ride to our motel, Sandy Beach.  We immediately ate some food and took a short nap to recover from the overnight traveling, and the rest of the trip had gorgeous weather.

It was kind of a short trip considering we only had 4 full days, but we made the most of them!  We laid on the beach, went swimming in the Strait of Malacca (ya that's the body of water, who knew?), took a cable car up a mountain, walked across the sky bridge, hiked up 300+ stairs, swam in the Seven Wells waterfalls, got swarmed by wild monkeys, had fresh coconuts, went island hopping, got a massage in a strangee house (thai spa 3), took a moped ride along the coast, ate 4 times at the Red Tomato (amazing American style breakfasts), took a boat to a random island for the half moon party, and spent plenty of time drinking chang and tiger at the Babylon.

Korean Cooking

I took my first stab at cooking a Korean dish last week.  After a trip to Homeplus to pick up all the essentials needed to make Doenjang Jjigae (soybean soup served at pretty much every typical Korean joint), I searched the store for at least 20 minutes in search of rice.

Yes, you heard right..rice..in a Korean grocery store.  I couldn't find it.  I'll admit it, I've lived here for over 5 months, and I have never bought rice even though it is a staple in the Korean home.  I always felt that I eat rice every day for school lunch so why make it at home??  Well, when I finally found the rice aisle (oddly placed next to the fruits, hence not being able to find it), I discovered the smallest bag of rice I could purchase was a 3kg monster.  I guess I'll be eating more rice at home now.

Ingredients and my large bag of rice

Finished product!

A Day at the Jimjilbang.

Last Sunday, I went to my first jimjilbang here in Korea.  Jimjilbangs are basically public bath houses where people can go sit in hot tubs, saunas, or take a rest on the heated floor for a while.  All of the main bath areas where the hot tubs, showers, and massage tables are are gender segregated because everyone walks around completely naked in these areas.  I knew people would be naked, but I honestly had no idea they literally just walk naked from one section to another without covering themselves up.

The other areas in the jimjilbang are unisex so a lot of people actually go on dates here, and families bring their kids to just hang out in the main common room for a day or weekend outing.  In all the unisex rooms, including the hot and cold saunas, people are wearing the uniform given to them by the jimjilbang.  Just like the gyms here, there is one uniform for women and a slightly different color shirt for men.  Because you can sleep in these places, sometimes people go there specifically for a cheap place to sleep rather than paying for an expensive taxi home or a motel in the middle of the night.  I think they generally cost between 8,000 and 12,000 won and you are allowed to stay for something like 12 hours under that entrance fee.

I went with 3 of my friends to Dragon Hill Spa at Yongsan Station.  You go in, pay the fee, and they give you 2 small towels, a uniform, and a bracelet with a number on it.  Then you go find your bracelet number on a tiny locker meant just for your shoes so you don't walk around with your shoes on inside the spa.  Then, you go through to the male or female sections to find another larger locker with your number where you can store the rest of your clothes and things.  We got naked right away and headed to the hot tubs.  At first, I was totally not comfortable with this, but the longer we were there, the more I got used to it.  When in Rome...  I guess.

There are a bunch of different hot tubs with varying temperatures, jets, and minerals.  We wandered around to a few different tubs, and then Kristen and I got a scrub down by ajummas wearing black bras and panties. This ajumma was no joke.  She sloughed my body of a boat load of dead skin.  It was absolutely disgusting and wonderful.  It's also kind of weird because you're laying naked on a table, being twisted into all sorts of awkward positions by a middle aged woman.
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After the hot tubs, we put on our uniform and went out into the unisex area where there are multiple snack bars and crowds of people just lounging around.  We went into some of the saunas of different degrees and materials, where I felt like I was going to suffocate.  Korean people were just in these pyramid saunas reading books, relaxing, and not sweating at all.  Typical.  My first jimjilbang experience was a perfect escape from the freezing cold winter, and I will definitely be going back for some relaxation.