Food

I really did try to think of a snappier title, but I promised myself I wouldn't blog until all of my essays were graded and it hasn't left me much time!

So, we've been trying to remember to take pictures of the things we eat. However, we haven't been paid yet, so a lot of what we've been eating has been Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches, and we figure that y'all know what those look like (they are the same in Korea, we promise).

I feel that I should preface this post with the fact that a)I don't actually speak/write/read Korean, so if some of this is wrong I blame... someone else. Also, as with any place, every Korean restaurant makes things a little bit differently, so things will will not look the same from place to place, even within a franchise. One of our favorites, Gimbap Sarang, has very different takes on some of the same dishes, and we are learning what we prefer at each.

Tteokbokki 떡볶이

(sounds like: dock bo key)

Sam wouldn't stop eating long enough for me to take the picture. He loves this stuff! It's pretty tasty. You have your ricecake tube-thingy, some ramen like noodles, and a delicious spicy red sauce. All of the other stuff comes with your meal. On the far left we have some kimchi, some pickled radish (not my favorite), some lightly flavored broth, and in the silver cups is our mul (water). All of this food costs about 2,500 won (about $2.45). You can also buy this dish on the street as a snack at almost all of the markets.

Gimbap 김밥
(sounds like kim bap with a soft k)

It doesn't normally come with the random noodle. This was part of the same meal as the tteokbokki and I'm a little messy with the noodles/chopstick combo. So, gimbap is the pickled radish (I usually take that part out), ham, carrots, some cooked seaweed, egg, and some other random stuff all wrapped up in rice and seaweed. There are several varieties, chamchi (tuna), nude (no seaweed), kimchi (pictured above), triangle (because that makes it taste different?), and some others that I haven't had, but I'm sure are delicious. One roll (again, I wasn't fast enough with the camera, so we had already eaten about half) costs about 2,000-2,500 won.

Galbitang 갈비탕
(sounds like kal bee tahng)

Delicious soup that has some galbi (beef), rice noodles, onions, and spices in a delicious broth. It's served with bap (rice). This bowl cost around 4,000 won, but I couldn't even finish it! It's not nearly as spicy as most Korean dishes, so it made for a nice change.

Banchan 반잔

This is the name for all of the side dishes that come with just about every meal. In the white dish you have some kimchi(9 o'clock on the plate), seaweed(12 o'clock), bean sprouts(3 o'clock), and lotus root(6 o'clock). You also have the pickled radish again, and the broth again. Notice that Sam is eating the tteokbokki yet again :)

Okay, so there's a start for what we're eating. It's all been pretty tasty so far, and we'll try to keep you updated!

In other news, congratulations to Erin and Jason on the birth of their first baby! I'm so so happy for them, but it is definitely events like this that make me miss you all so much. We're having a great time, but sorry to miss the important events of loved ones lives!