K-FOOD STORY

 Songpyeon, the Rice Cake I Always Think of at Chuseok Chuseok is just around the corner. Seollal and Chuseok are the two biggest traditional holidays in Korea. On the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, we look up at the big, round full moon and sometimes make wishes for our family’s health and for the things we hope for. I also look up at the moon and make a wish for my whole family to stay healthy. In autumn, people prepare the grains and fruits that have been harvested and may hold Charye, a traditional ceremony to honor their ancestors. Some also visit their family graves. These days, whether people continue these traditions depends on their family and circumstances. Still, Chuseok is a time when family members who live far apart often make an effort to see each other. The traditions of Seollal and Charye each have their own original meanings, but as I’ve gotten older, I sometimes wonder if there might be another meaning behind these holidays: Maybe they were a...

  Miyeok-guk, the Food That Connects Mothers and Children The first Miyeok-guk I remember is probably the beef Miyeok-guk my mother made for my birthday. Whenever it was someone’s birthday in our family, she would put a bowl of beef Miyeok-guk on the table instead of the Miyeok-guk we normally ate. I don’t remember eating cake when I was growing up in the countryside. In a way, it made sense. There simply wasn’t much cake around in the countryside back then. After we moved to Seoul, I vaguely remember buying a cake and blowing out the candles, starting sometime in elementary school. That’s why, when I was little, Miyeok-guk was the food that carried the full meaning of celebrating the fact that I was born. But once we started having cake, Miyeok-guk slowly began to lose its place to the cake. Cake was not something I could easily have back then, and my birthday was almost the only day I could eat such an expensive treat. Still, Miyeok-guk was never missing from th...

  Kimchi-jjigae (Kimchi stew) , the Food My Children Remember Me By For Koreans, asking us to choose between Doenjang-jjigae and Kimchi-jjigae (Kimchi stew) is like asking, “Do you love your mom or your dad?” or “Jjajangmyeon (Noodles in Black Bean Sauce) or Jjamppong (Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup) ?” It’s a really difficult question. But if I absolutely had to choose, I’d say Kimchi-jjigae, maybe 60 to 40. I guess it’s simply because I prefer food with a little more heat. Whenever I come back from a trip abroad, the very first thing I look for is Kimchi-jjigae. I must be craving that refreshing, spicy taste of Kimchi-jjigae. Kimchi-jjigae can taste quite different from one home to another, depending on the Kimchi each family uses. But in my opinion, while Kimchi itself really shows the personality of each household, those differences seem to become less noticeable once it turns into Kimchi-jjigae. I think what you add to it, and how you cook it, makes a ...

  Doenjang-jjigae (Soybean paste stew) , the Most Ordinary Food I Miss the Most Doenjang-jjigae is one of the most common dishes in Korea. We eat it often, and it is something many Korean families make at home all the time. When you add tofu and let it bubble away, its savory smell fills the house and eventually finds its way outside. These days, most of us live in apartments, but when I was growing up, there were still many houses in neighborhoods around Seoul. And in the countryside where I grew up, when we were playing outside with our friends, the smell of dinner would start drifting out from houses all around the neighborhood as evening came. Of all those smells, the one I probably smelled the most, and the dish I probably ate the most, was Doenjang-jjigae . We would be having so much fun playing with our friends when, suddenly, Mom would come outside and call, “Come home! Dinner’s ready!” We would say goodbye to our friends, wishing we could play a little l...