Has it already been over a month since our last post? Wow. We did not plan to be posting so infrequently, but life has been busy for both of us and with what little free time we have, we’ve had trouble getting around to food blogging. But Ben and I gave ourselves a little pep talk tonight over dinner and promised we’d do a better job from now on.

The problem with going long periods of time between posts is the amount of pressure you feel to write something exceptional when you finally do sit down in front of the computer. Ben and I recently took a weekend trip down to Gyeongju, and I was hoping to photograph all the delicious things we ate out in the countryside and have our next post be one giant photo series. As it turns out, Gyeongju is not exactly known for good food. In fact, we hear now it’s better known for a lack of it. We certainly found this to be true, as most of our meals were barely memorable, let alone blogworthy.

Disappointed, I put off posting for another week…and then another and now, here we are. Pressure…

Tonight I decided that I’ve waited long enough. This post might not be epic, but it does include good food, which is really the only criteria we had when starting Something-Tasty. So here’s our quick and easy dinner from tonight: chili tofu and broccoli.

It’s a simple Sunday night meal that we threw together using ingredients from our fridge that were dangerously close to becoming inedible. The inspiration was found on this beautiful food blog (which found the recipe on this blog).

Toss some tofu with corn starch and fry up until golden brown. All some onions, a ton of garlic, and chili sauce (we doctored it with a little honey and lots of ginger). Towards the end of cooking, I added some broccoli and topped it all with sesame seeds. Done and done. A solid cure for the pre-Monday blues, and a little inspiration for the week ahead.

Fighting jetlag and starting new jobs were difficult enough tasks, but the first couple months in Korea were especially hard for one reason in particular: no coffee maker. Both Janice and I worked as baristas for stretches during and after our college years, and our love for good, strong brew runs deep.

After a bit of searching, I was able to come up with a hand grinder and a Panasonic coffee mate. All that remained was findings beans — tricky in a country still in love with Maxwell House. While some cafes here sell their own roasts, they often taste a bit…off (I would guess due to a lack of training). Because of that, we’ve been relying mostly on care packages from home. But I was hopeful after reading about Beautiful Coffee in an article on World Fair Trade Day, and found a 200g bag of their Nepal roast (organic and fair trade) at a small shop near my work.

Neither one of us had tried Nepalese coffee before, and admittedly weren’t even aware it was a coffee-producing region. The beans smelled rich and earthy, and I ground them pretty fine to bring out the flavor.

It was a rainy morning and the mood was right, but this coffee just didn’t deliver. Despite its aroma, it lacked both body and flavor. It wasn’t burnt or bad….just not memorable. I’m hoping their Peruvian will be better, but if not, we’ll have to find another source. (Oh, how I miss Kickapoo.)

I’m a big fan of street food in Korea. Food carts, called pojangmacha, offer everything from french-fry covered hot dog on a stick to steamed silk worms and blood sausage. I had been wanting to try “hot bar” (핫바) for a while, but whenever I would come across a stand selling them I was either already full or just on my way to eat a meal.

There were two men working this particular cart in Myeongdong. One guy skillfully portioned out the batter and rolled it into logs before dropping them into a vat of oil, while the other continuously pushed the floating bars around so they cooked evenly before pulling them out and spearing them.

The taste is similar to fish cake (오뎅), and hot bar is also served on a stick. Each bar was made fresh to order, and there were two sauces to choose from, although neither bottle was labeled. The first I tried was like ketchup, which wasn’t terrible but wasn’t great either. The other sauce was similar to sriracha and was much tastier. I mean, everything tastes better with sriracha, right?

The hot bar itself was softer than fish cakes. It was mild in flavor and steaming hot. Perfect for a cold winter day (I don’t normally wear mittens in May… this was in March… it was still snowing).

The beginning of May is packed with holidays in Korea, and so at the start of a long weekend on Saturday Ben and I took a much-needed vacation to Taean County and the west coast.

We met up with my aunt and uncle from Busan, my three cousins and their spouses and children for an early celebration of 어린이날, or Children’s Day. What ensued was two days of eating delicious food and playing on the beach with my nieces and nephews.

Traffic was pretty rough going from Seoul to Taean, and by the time we made it to our rented pension, it was mid-afternoon and we were all starving. Luckily, my aunt was prepared and brought along 13 사발라면 (instant bowl-ramen), a dozen rolls of 김밥 (kimbap), and some 떡 (rice cakes). All we had to do was heat some water and dig in. Processed food never tasted so good!

My aunt and cousins brought carloads of food to cook and share, and we spent the first night grilling 갈비 (marinated short ribs), 삼겹살 (pork back) and 새우 (shrimps) outdoors. Throughout the evening, there was lots of laughter and beer and soju and nonstop eating. Being next to the ocean, surrounded by family and fresh, salty air, made everything taste even more incredible.

We finished off the night with lots of fresh fruit and a 윳노리 tournament before turning in for the night.

Even after all the eating the night before, everyone woke up hungry and ready to dig into the Korean breakfast spread my 언니’s prepared for us: 해장국 (there’s many types of this “hangover soup,” but this one had dried fish and bean sprouts), spicy crab stew, rice and loads of 반찬.

Later that day for lunch, we had fresh seafood which included raw sea anemone, sea cucumber, and wiggley octupus that Ben got to try for the first time. We finished the meal with 해물칼국수 and 매운탕 before saying goodbye, piling back into our cars, and returning to Seoul and reality.

Time flies when you’re not sitting in your dank office wishing you were on vacation.

Weekdays are hard days to cook at home. After being on my feet all day at work, the last thing I want to do is stand around in our tiny kitchen all night, cooking on our tiny stovetop and juggling ingredients on our tiny counter. Our dinners at the apartment usually consist of rice, some 반찬 (side dishes) and maybe a 찌개 (stew/soup) or some sort of 고기 (meat)… all pretty simple.

Last week, in an attempt to finally use up a can of Spam that had been collecting dust on our shelf, we made 김치찌개 (kimchi jjigae), the most beloved of all the jjigae’s in Korea. Pork would have been more traditional, but salty canned meats make everything better! (Note: Counter to what you might think, Spam — that is, name brand Spam — is not so cheap here. But at least we’re pretty sure it doesn’t have cardboard in it.)

We also threw in some onion, squash, tofu and a handful of 떡 (rice cakes) to make it more substantial. It was spicy and delicious, and only took about 30 minutes to make… and 24 hours for the smell to disappear.

We ran out of juice this morning, so I shook Ben out of bed and forced him to make a run down to the GS convenience store on the ground floor of our apartment building. While there, he eyed this and brought it up for us to try. Denmark Morning Cereals Milk is a “healthy benefit milk blended with nineteen cereals.” Even though I’m not a fan of milk, this actually sounded pretty appealing to me.

It tasted like the leftover milk in the bottom of your cereal bowl. It was slightly creamier and sweeter than regular milk with a subtle, not unpleasant grainy taste. I liked it. Ben liked it. And for 1,000 won, we’ll probably start buying it regularly.

On special occasions like anniversaries, instead of exchanging gifts, Ben and I like to go out and share a nice meal. It’s less stressful than trying to find the perfect present, and is always more memorable.

When we first started dating, I took Ben out to dinner at Sokran, a restaurant near the university where we were both studying. It seemed fitting that we return to celebrate our six month wedding anniversary this past January.

The restaurant serves dishes that were traditionally offered to Korean royalty, so everything was not only delicious but beautifully plated.

Our meal started with warm cups of mildly sweet 옥수수차 (corn tea) and unfolded into a multi-course spread. Favorites included 소머리편육 (cow’s head terrine) served with kimchi, 청포묵무침 (mung bean jelly salad with vegetables and tossed in sesame oil) and 갈비구이 (marinated beef ribs).

We especially loved assembling our own mini Korean-style crepes with the 구절판 (assorted vegetables and meat wrapped in crepes).

By the middle of the meal, we were pretty full. But more plates kept arriving and we were on a mission. We felt like it was our duty in a time of recession to eat everything that was put in front of us, without waste. And we did. And it was good.

Not too long ago, Ben celebrated his birthday. Because it landed on a Monday, we decided to go out for a low key dinner and maybe celebrate for real on the following weekend. Due to weekend work schedules/exhaustion from the work week/whatever reason, the weekend party did not come together… but we did end up having a relaxing dinner and some amazing birthday cake on Monday, and saw a great Korean band play near Hongik University the following Sunday.

Dinner on Monday was Ben’s choice, and he chose to eat pajeon (파전) and drink dongdongju (동동주). Pajeon is various meats and vegetables covered in egg batter and fried to greasy deliciousness. It’s usually served as a side dish (반찬) with dinner, or as a snack with alcohol (안주). The restaurant we went to in Hongdae fries up huge batches of pajeon every evening and leaves it on display in the window. The trick is to go when the pajeon ajusshi starts his shift… then you know everything is fresh and hasn’t been sitting around collecting street dust and bugs for hours.

To accompany dinner, Ben drank dongdongju… which I suspect is the real reason he wanted to go to this restaurant in the first place. I can’t drink alcohol. Therefore, I have no idea what dongdongju is or tastes like. You should ask Ben. (It’s the high-class cousin of mahkuli, a sweet, unfiltered and deceptively mild rice wine. Traditionally sipped from bowls; one pot will do you. — Ben)

At home, I surprised Ben with a birthday cake. He had been wanting to try a fresh fruits cake, so I made sure to pick one up on my way home from work. Korean cake is so, so much better than American cake (not to say I don’t love American cake). It’s lighter, less sweet, and sometimes topped with outrageous toppings like macarons or cream puffs or cherry tomatoes (I didn’t say they were all good). This one was the perfect way to end the night after such a heavy meal.

While breakfast normally consists of yogurt and muesli, on the weekends we like to eat a little something more. This particular morning consisted of eggs in a basket for Ben and electric-orange cheese toast for me. Our meal was rounded out with a cup of strong coffee, which Ben hand-ground earlier in the morning, and the screeching sound of aluminum being cut next door.