Among my friends, Rikke is the one who is most skeptical about foreign food. In addition to that, she doesn’t eat fish, lamb and lots of other stuff, which poses quite a challenge when I am travelling with her.
Luckily, Rikke is a dedicated McDonald’s fan (she managed to survive for a whole week on Big Mac’s and Diet Coke, when we were visiting Japan), so we simply just travel to travel to places where those golden arches are always in sight.
However, when we were in New York, she took me by surprise by agreeing to join me for dinner at a Korean restaurant in Koreatown. I suggested that she went for the bulgogi, which is marinated beef grilled at your table and eaten with garlic, lettuce and a delicious sauce. It is one of the more harmless Korean dishes, which most people like, and so did Rikke.
I seriously overestimated my appetite, and ordered 2 dishes: bibimbap (rice with vegetables and a raw egg yolk) naeng myun (cold noodle soup), and I couldn’t even eat half of it. The main reason why, was that I have eaten so much of the banchan, which are all the small dishes which are always served along a traditional Korean meal. Often, banchan includes kimchi (fermented cabbage), tiny salty fish, different kinds of pickled vegetables and tofu.
I really like kimchi, and the tingling taste it leaves on my tongue. For a long time I have wanted to try to make my own, since the kimchi I usually buy in the Asian supermarket is both expensive and not really that good.
If any of you have a good kimchi recipe, please don’t hesitate to send it to me, it would be highly appreciated:)
Miss Korea, 10 W 32nd St, Koreatown, New York
