Tuesday, January 24, 2012

설날에 석불사 - Stone Buddha Temple on New Year's Day

Seok Bul temple (석불사) is one of Busan's most beautiful and unique temples.  Its name can be translated to "Stone Buddha temple".

Seok Bul temple is located on GeumJeong mountain (금정산), a large mountain in northern Busan.



On the southern face of GeumJeong mountain, from Mandeok pass (만덕고개) an unusual rock structure can be seen.




Upon closer examination, it is possible to distinguish buildings beside the rock structure.





Following a narrow mountain road,

that twists and turns around boulders and ridges,

Stone Buddha temple can be reached



After passing through the temple's gate,


one enters the temple yard,

and one is immediately struck by the beauty of this place.




The main temple building stands out from the others, as a large rock structure towers behind it.

And unlike the buildings of other temples, it is made of bricks, not wood.




Behind the main building, on the face of GeumJeong mountain, there are a number of remarkable Buddhist sculptures.





A prayer alter is located directly below one of them.




In the back, there is a small stairwell leading upwards to another small prayer space.




At the top of the stairs, there is a narrow space between two large boulders...

leading to the heart of the mountain...




On the lunar new year, there were many visitors there.  But in the winter cold, it felt serene and had a sacred air.  What a beautiful and special place! 

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Happy New Year - Bonne Année - 새해 복 많이 받으세요

En Asie, à la nouvelle lune, l'année du dragon débutera.
Je vous souhaite à tous qu'elle soit remplie de bonnes choses.
Bonne et heureuse nouvelle année, tout le monde!

Un souhait pour la nouvelle année de la ville de Séoul.  A new year wish from Seoul city.

In Asia, at the coming new moon, the year of the dragon will begin.
I hope you that it is full of joy and good things for all of you.
Happy new year to all!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Raw Fish, Pohang Style

by J.-P. L. Prévost and F. Mohamed


Many Canadians, perhaps even most Canadians, have never eaten raw fish.  However, maki, nigiri, and sashimi sushi is available in Japanese restaurants in Canada.  As a result, some Canadians enjoy eating raw fish very much, and they generally associate this food with Japanese cuisine.  But raw fish is a popular food in Korea as well.

A uniquely Korean raw fish dish is Pohang mul hoe (approximately pronounced "Pohang mool hway", "포항 물회" in Korean).  In Korean, "mul" ("물") is water and "hoe" ("회") is sliced raw fish.  Knowing this, one may assume that water and raw fish are the main constituents of Pohang mul hoe.  However, these ingredients are accompanied by a large quantity of vegetables and fruit, including shredded cucumber, dry sea weed, chopped cabbage, and long slices of Asian pear.  Furthermore, Pohang mul hoe is usually served with a number of vegetable side dishes, including cabbage kimchi, radish kimchi, preserved red beans, boiled peanuts, pickled sea weed, and sliced tofu.  Thus, there are a lot more vegetables in Pohang mul hoe than in typical servings of Japanese sushi.

Pohang mul hoe is served in a metal bowl, the fish presented on a beautiful mound of mixed vegetables and topped with dry seaweed.  It must be seasoned and watered before it is eaten.  We had Pohang mul hoe at a restaurant in the Daeyeon district of Busan, where recommendations for seasoning the mul hoe, written in Korean of course, are laminated onto the tables.  A restaurant patron sitting near to us offered to help season our mul hoe.  However, one of us had experienced mul hoe before, having been introduced to it by a Korean colleague, and so we seasoned it in our own way.  The recommended seasoning for Pohang mul hoe includes one table spoon of brown sugar, three table spoons of apple vinegar, at least one table spoon of spicy red pepper paste, and approximately half a cup of water.  We prefer to have it with less sugar, and only one or two table spoons of the red pepper paste depending on how spicy we feel like making it.
The sign advertising the restaurant where we had Pohang mul hoe, in Daeyeon-dong, Busan.
Live fish in aquariums in front of the restaurant.
Unseasoned Pohang mul hoe, just brought to us by our server.
The instructions for seasoning the Pohang mul hoe.
Pohang mul hoe, seasoned with sugar, vinegar, red pepper paste and water.

A serving of mul hoe is a substantial quantity of food, but in addition to the previously described vegetable side dishes, an order of Pohang mul hoe also includes a serving of hot fish soup.  This soup contains what remains of the fish with which the mul hoe was made, as well as some sliced radish, chopped leaks and tofu cubes.  The broth consists of boiled fish and red pepper paste.
The hot fish soup that accompanies the Pohang mul hoe.
Yup.  There was a fish head in there.

We appreciate Pohang mul hoe for many reasons.  First of all, seasoning the mul hoe prior to eating it is quite fun, and provides an opportunity for personalizing its taste.

Secondly, Pohang mul hoe is absolutely delicious!  The cool crunchiness of the raw vegetables provides a delectable complement to the soft subtle flavour of the raw fish.  The hot fish soup that accompanies the mul hoe is also delicious.  Though we were surprised to find that it contained fish parts that we were not familiar with, including a complete fish head, the more adventurous one of us sought to eat as much of the fish as he possibly could.  To separate the meat from the bones, he often resorted to using his fingers. In contrast, the Koreans eating next to us skillfully did so using their chop sticks.  The more squeamish one of us enjoyed the rich flavours of the soup, but ate mostly the tofu and the vegetables, opting to avoid the fish head.

Thirdly, Pohang mul hoe is made with very fresh ingredients.  This is particularly true in the late autumn, when the vegetables are recently harvested and therefore taste their absolute best.  Furthermore, until shortly before it is to be eaten, the fish is stored alive in aquariums in front of the restaurant.

Fourthly, Pohang mul hoe is a health nut's dream!  The vegetables that it contains are extra nutritious, as they are raw.  In addition, fish is perhaps the healthiest meat.  As a result, we were convinced that our bodies were thanking us for taking care of them so well after we ate mul hoe.

Finally, Pohang mul hoe is an example of a dish that originated in a particular region of Korea, and that efficiently makes use of the local food resources that are present in that region.  Pohang is a city located on the southeastern coast of the Korean peninsula.  It is perhaps best known as the home of the Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO), now one of the world's largest multinational steel corporations.  But Pohang is also a fishing community, so naturally, there is a lot of fish available there.  Most of the year, Pohang is very warm.  Before the advent of refrigerators, it was probably very difficult to preserve meat in Pohang, especially during the summer.  Keeping them alive in tanks would have been an effective way to preserve fish prior to the availability of refrigerators in Pohang.  This practice continues to this day.





If you are visiting Korea, and want to try Pohang mul hoe, we recommend that you ask someone to recommend you a location.  In many Korean cities, there are a number of Pohang mul hoe locations.  Often, they look very similar, but the quality and taste of the food is not consistent between them.  For instance, in Busan, there is a Pohang mul hoe restaurant in Daeyeon-dong and another in Danggam-dong.  We prefer the Daeyeon location.  If you cannot find someone to recommend you a location, you should search for a Pohang mul hoe restaurant that is full of Korean customers.  A busy restaurant is likely better than an empty one.
The Pohang mul hoe restaurant in Daeyeon-dong, Busan.
The Pohang mul hoe restaurant in Danggam-dong, Busan.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Ode to the Pajeon

by F. Mohamed and J.-P. L. Prévost


Eating pajeon (approximately pronounced "pah-john", "파전" in Korean) for the first time was an experience that our taste buds will not forget. This warm and satisfying savoury pancake is teeming with an assortment of seafood and fresh green onions. It is similar to a fritatta but the batter of the pajeon is more doughy, as it contains flour. It is also somewhat like a green onion cake but with the pajeon, the pancake part of the dish is secondary to the seafood and vegetables, which makes it seem a bit healthier even though it is also fried.
The pajeon at the "Drums Beating" ("북 치구, 장구 치구") restaurant.
The pajeon at "The Inn Without At Address" ("번지 없는 주막").

When it first arrived at our table, we attempted to use our chopsticks to break it apart into bite-sized pieces before digging in. We were clearly struggling, so our helpful server returned to our table with scissors to cut the pajeon into manageable portions for us. We then successfully used our chopsticks to pick it up, dip it into a small bowl of soy sauce mixed with sesame seeds, and then allowed our taste buds to relish in its savoury flavours.

Pajeon is a simple dish. It consists mainly of seafood, green onions, and batter. We have been struggling to articulate why we find this simple dish so delicious, so we have come up with a top 5 list of its best attributes:
5. The sight of a pajeon is simply beautiful. It is loaded to the max with vegetables and seafood and no two areas of the pajeon look the same.  
4. The aroma of pajeon has a freshness to it, full of potent green onions and fresh seafood.
3. Pajeon is fun to eat. Despite our ineptitude at breaking apart the pajeon with chopsticks, it is fun to do this.
2. There is a delicious contrast when you bite into pajeon, between the soft pancake batter and the crunchy seafood and green onions. This makes this dish a pleasure to eat.
1. Although the ingredients are simple, they all complement each other and all blend into a tasty goodness that left our tummies feeling warm, nourished, and happy.   

An interesting place to eat pajeon is on Insadong street in Seoul (map). In the alleys off Insadong street, many traditional Korean houses have been converted into restaurants with romantic names like "The Inn Without An Address" ("번지 없는 주막" in Korean), and "Drums Beating" ("북 치구, 장구 치구" in Korean). Pajeon, advertised in English as "seafood and green onion pancake", costs between KRW10000 to KRW20000. It is served on an iron pizza dish, which is brought piping hot to your table on a wooden board. All in a beautiful, rustic, romantic and cozy setting - perfect for planting little smooches on the cheeks of your special someone when no one is looking.
The sign over the door of "The Inn Without An Address" ("번지 없는 주막").
The front door of the "Drums Beating" ("북 치구, 장구 치구") restaurant.
Pajeon, as advertised on the menu board at the "Drums Beating" ("북 치구, 장구 치구") restaurant.
The decor inside the "Drums Beating" ("북 치구, 장구 치구") restaurant.
Seating inside the "Drums Beating" ("북 치구, 장구 치구") restaurant.
Seating inside "The Inn Without An Address" ("번지 없는 주막").

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Korean Food - A Cuisine Worth Discovering

by J.-P. L. Prévost and F. Mohamed


Asian food is quite popular in North America. Chinese food buffets can be found in most cities, and Japanese-style sushi has become quite popular, particularly on the west coast of the continent. Thai and Vietnamese food are also well known, as is Indian food. Korean food, on the other hand, is far less popular.

Perhaps realizing that Korean cuisine is not as well known as other Asian cuisines, the Korean government decided to promote Korean cuisine internationally in 2008, aiming to have it recognized as one of the top five most popular cuisines in the world by 2017 [1, 2]. Starting in May of 2009, the government commissioned a task force to study how Korean food could be globalized [3]. A number of conferences and food expos were held in order to help Korean food producers gain market share within Korea and internationally [4]. Even the first lady of Korea got involved, appearing on CNN to promote some of her favourite dishes [5]. The government also surveyed citizens of foreign nations, seeking their advice on how best to promote Korean cuisine [6].

It seems that there has been some success with this approach because Korea is gaining popularity as a food tourism destination [7]. However a closer examination of this trend suggests that efforts to promote Korean food are aimed primarily at Asian and American tourists [6], and it seems that the food that is most similar to North American cuisine is gaining the most popularity (eg. Korean barbecue) [8]. Moreover, there is a concerted effort on the part of the government to promote dishes with altered spiciness and saltiness, so that it is more "desirable" to foreign palettes [6]. This concerns us because we have sampled a wide range of delicious and authentic Korean foods and we believe that Korean cuisine should be appreciated for its naturally robust flavours and ingredients as much as possible, and not altered to cater to foreign tastes.

Our mission in this series on Korean food is to give you a taste of some of the mouthwatering Korean dishes that we have sampled (we are assuming they are authentic because we are often the only non-Koreans in busy Korean restaurants) and to make a case for non-Koreans to challenge themselves to explore as many new Korean dishes as possible.


References:
1 - KBS.  (2008, April 2).  "Gov't to Promote Korean Food Overseas".  Seoul:  KBS. 
Retrieved January 3, 2012 from:  http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Cu_detail.htm?No=53588

2 - KBS.  (2009, April 6).  "Gov't Seeks to Globalize Korean Food".  Seoul:  KBS.
Retrieved January 3, 2012 from:  http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Cu_detail.htm?No=62559

3 - KBS.  (2009, May 4).  "Joint Task Force Kicks Off to Promote Traditional Food".  Seoul:  KBS.
Retrieved January 3, 2012 from:  http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Ec_detail.htm?No=63240

4 - KBS.  (2009, October 13).  "Korea Food Expo Opens".  Seoul:  KBS.
Retrieved January 3, 2012 from:  http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Cu_detail.htm?No=58264

5 - KBS.  (2009, October 19).  "First Lady Promotes Korean Cuisine on CNN".  Seoul:  KBS.
Retrieved January 3, 2012 from:  http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Cu_detail.htm?No=67444

6 - KBS.  (2009, September 10).  "Gov't to Administer Overseas Surveys on Korean Food".  Seoul:  KBS.
Retrieved January 3, 2012 from:  http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Ec_detail.htm?No=66486

7 - KBS.  (2011, October 12).  "Survey:  Foreigners Pick Food as Seoul's Key Attraction".  Seoul:  KBS.
Retrieved January 3, 2012 from:  http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Dm_detail.htm?No=85190

8 - KBS.  (2011, October 24).  "Samgyeopsal Favorite Food Among Foreigners".  Seoul:  KBS.
Retrieved January 3, 2012 from:  http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Dm_detail.htm?No=85495