So tonight I decided to actually try and cook something Korean - yes that's right, I've been living here for over a month and I have been surviving on meals out, omelettes and soy sauce. Terrible. Feeling brave though, I popped down to the local Lotte Mart (like Tesco’s but actually completely different) to fetch some supplies. The supermarkets here are a cross between your standard grocery store, and a bustling market stall you’d find somewhere in London on a busy Saturday morning. On the end of every aisle there is someone cooking up some delights, and giving out free tasters to passers by, whilst shouting something in Korean. Similar to Camden Market but with much less pressure. It’s amazing.
My weekly/monthly shop!
Amongst the numerous aisles of treats, things I couldn’t read, and ‘Hello Kitty’ cleaning products, I eventually found the items that I required. I am not much of a cook to be honest, but this is only because I absolutely despise it. I actually spent a year at Catering College and use to be a Chef, but I think I basically over cooked myself (see what I did there) and I just really began to loathe it. So long story short, I just gave up and never returned...until now, that is. I decided that I would attempt a dish that is very popular here. Who am I kidding, I basically just chucked loads of things in a pan to see what would happen. And what happened?! It was DELICIOUS! So here it is...
Ingredients
Onion. Garlic. Spinach. Bean Sprout. Carrots. Peppers. Tofu. Gochujang (hot pepper paste). Hot Salad Sauce (although this isn't actually hot...it just says that on the packet). Noodles. Spring onion and ofcourse Salt and Pepper.
It's all in the preparation!
First of all I threw some oil into the pan, waited for it to bubble, and then added my chopped onion and garlic into the mix. Next, I popped in the spinach, bean sprout, grated carrot and peppers. I waited for approximately 5 minutes whilst constantly moving it around in the pan, and then added some Tofu. I’ve never actually cooked Tofu before and wasn’t really sure what to do, so I did what any sensible person would do and google’d it. I then gave up, and just threw it in the pan (after drying it off of course).
...After 5 minutes!
...After 10 minutes!
After frying for another 5/10 minutes, I then popped in the Gochujang (hot pepper paste), Hot Salad Sauce, some salt and pepper, and stirred. I put it on a low heat and left it for another 5 minutes whilst cooking the noodles. The noodles I had bought still had remnants of flour on them so they felt incredibly homemade....but just not by me. I boiled these for a bit and then served the entire dish with a little garnish of Spring onion, and this was the result....
Yum!
I have no idea what this dish is called...and maybe I just created a new one. Or maybe its just a glorified stir-fry, but let me tell you something - it was divine (if I do say so myself), and there is also enough for another 3 or 4 meals so I’m basically done for the week. YAY! So as you can see, my first attempt at cooking in Korea went incredibly well, and it has actually left me thinking ...mmmm, maybe I should take up catering again?! ...No Sarah, stop it!
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