Back from Seoul

I came back from Seoul the other day!
I cannot believe I'm back, I didn't wanna go home..hahah
That's how it is whenever travelling right?

We had a great time lots of foods, I found new places and also visited old ones.
I did a lot of shopping.
I met friends and I had a lot of fun!

Please check my Instagram for photos and videos @swe_sokojbeauty

Ddeokbokki Saturday

The other week hubby and I spoke we both craved korean spicy rice cakes.

So last saturday we finally made some! And to go with it we had korean seaweed rolls aka kimbap.

Hubby missed out on some ingredients but it was still delicious!!!

Can't wait to go back to Korea!!

Korean Tofu Stew

I got Korean silken tofu at the Korean culture festival the other week.

And so we made Korean tofu stew the other day.

It's one of my fave dishes, and can come in so many varieties.

My hubby loves the plain one while I like to mix things into mine..e.g. dumplings.

It was truly delicious and I can recommend this dish for both vegetarians and meat lovers as you can add meat into it as you wish.

#KoreanFood #Food #Homemade #rice #Korea #South #Tofu #Stew #순두부찌개 #찌개 #순두부 #두부 #요리 #밥 #맛있다

Bibimmyeon

One of my cravings have been cold Korean spicy noodles.

I grabbed a package in NYC.
And luckily I got my hubby to cook it. A perfect dish for the summer!

We also added some samgyupsal (pork belly).

삼양 불닭볶음면 - 까르보

I have already reviewed most of the other ones here...

I have to say this one is my fave one!! Like I can eat this ANY DAY.

It's spicy and soooooooo delicious!

Where to begin, it has the spice as the other versions but this one is not only spicy, it has a flavour!

Compare to the cheese version this one has different spices, and the noodles are thick. I kinda wished for the normal ones, less flat and thick. But the taste..so delicious!

I'm kinda sad I only picked up on pack but who could have known. Anyway I can truly recommend this.. not only as a spicy challenge but as a GREAT MEAL!!!

This one is called "Carbo" short for Carbonara :)

Kimbap weekend

What cravings to do you get?

These days I'm craving salt and Korean food.

I begged my husband to make me kimbap (Seaweed rolls)... no no sushi!

I bought all ingredients and he made, why you might wonder.

He roll them better than me..hahahah

Anyway we made a lot so we had dinner, lunch and dinner ^^

Dinner at Gogigo (고기고)

On New Years we made a reservation at the Korean BBQ restaurant GoGiGo.

It's located in Sinsa-dong in central Seoul. Between Sinsa and Apgujeong station.

The building is huge but it felt quite small inside.

The service was nothing to show, I was extremely disappointed with the service consider the price.

They were rude to us telling us we didn't eat fast enough so the meat got a bit burnt.

We wanted to enjoy the meal, and we were told they were to grill it. We were not told to eat it all in a second! Honestly what kind of manner is that?

Also before we ordered we asked about the meats presented, the waiter told us to get the expensive one and a lot. I asked what the difference was, she replied "There is a big difference".

I asked again, in what way? texture, taste? her reply "you have to try yourself to know".

And we all spoke Korean so there was no "lost in translation".

I have gone to other meat places and the staff knew the difference and could explain the meats so well. These women were just there to work but had NO KNOWLEDGE at all. A shame for a restaurant serving such fine quality of food.

We also asked about the size of the meat for us and what to have, she told us to get A LOT.

In other words, she only wanted to sell and earn money. She didn't think of us eating and enjoying the experience.

I missed kimchi on the table and despite of asking, non was given UNTIL the very end of the meal.

The food was delicious, it was the best Korean meat I have had and the company made the dinner enjoyable.

If you ask...will i go back?

I don't think so, I think I'd look up other restaurants that serves similar food.

The reason I chose this place was that Sunny Dahye on Youtube said it was great... haha

Nothing bad about Sunny I love watching her and hopefully she and her family had much better experience. :)

우리는 12월31일에 예약했는데요. 인터넷에 많이 봐서 완전 기대하고 있었다. 근데 와서 실망있다. 이런 나쁜 서비스 처음이었다. 한국에는 서비스는 원래 좋은데 여기는...오마이갓!! 말도 안 돼요!!!!

맛있지만 서비스 안 좋아서 다시 가고 싶지 않다!

#Food #review #meat #Hanwoo #Korea #Seoul #Sinsa #GoGiGo #고기고 #한우 #리뷰 #맛집

Dinner at 오모리찌개

In Korea one of the nights I met up with BK oppa for dinner.

We had decided to meet at Lotte World mall. However so did the rest of Seoul. So instead of eating inside the mall BK oppa took me to this restaurant service Kimchi stew as their main dish.

I was struck by all the rice cookers as I entered the second floor of the restaurant.

They also had other dishes but since kimchi stew is what they are famous for we went for that!

They also had kimchi on the side and besides from the "regular side kimchi" we asked them to bring out the 3 year old kimchi!

Yes you heard it right, 3 year old! It was so fermented a different taste from regular kimchi. It was so good. During this meal we had three different kinds of Kimchi, it was difficult to decide which one was the best as they were so different.

The kimchi stew was delicious, I really recommend this place if you visit Seoul.

The three year old kimchi

The rice you are served comes from one of these rice cookers!!

Just the look of them make you happily surprised and the rice is of course SUPER DELICIOUS!

#kimchi #Jamsil #Stew #Seoul #Restaurant #food #delicious #맛집 #서울 #오모리 #김치 #찌개 #잠실 #리뷰 #review

snack treat

On the day we arrived to Korea I dropped off hubby at parents in law so I could go out for some shopping, not wanted to waste a minute.. Shopping was super successful and proved to be dangerous as I could spend so much in so little time 😂😇
When i returned i found hubby asleep. So mother in law made me a snack.. My fave.. Kimbab (seaweed rolls).
Her kimbap are so delicious, it's sad she lives so far away!!

Home made Bibimbap

I know we are going to Korea soon.

But I had a craving for Bibimbap. My darling was kind enough to prepare a very delicious one all from the basic! It was sooooooo delicious!

It also made me long even more for Seoul!

It's funny how this dish has become so popular around the world.

In Korean Bibim means to mix, and bab means rice or meal.

And although it's very pretty displayed, to eat it like a true Korean you have to mix it all together before you start eating. In Sweden this would be same as Pyttipanna!

What's your fave ingredients in your Bibimbap?

고기고

I think my hubby is going mad, but still kind enough to do what I ask.

We said that we'd have Korean BBQ for dinner this New Years Eve.

I had found a place but then I saw this place and as usual changed my mind!

This place looks awesome...and expensive!

But New Years is one time a year and we are not in Korea that often so it became a MUST.

I can't wait!!

The place is called Gogi Go and is located in Sinsa, Seoul.

Korea Countdown - D20

20 days to go!! So exited. I'm most looking forward to meet friends and go shopping!

I want to visit DDP and Myeongdong (photos) but of course other areas too.

Seoul is great for people who loves shopping!!

Korea Countdown - D25

I cannot believe there are only 25 days left to our Korea trip.

I really want some time off work.

It has been a busy year, I'm thankful for the opportunities given but at the same time I need a vaca!

I'm looking forward to eat delicious Korean food! Food we cannot get here in Sweden!

Korean spicy pork bulgogi

I made a spicy Korean pork bulgogi at home the other day. It turned out really delicious.
So I want to share it with you. I didn't make it that spicy, mainly because my hubby is not a fan of spicy food. It it had been only for me I'd had put more chili into it. Anyway. I think it turned out very nice.

When it comes to the meat. I chose pork tenderloin. For this dish you can also use pork shoulder or pork belly, but I like tenderloin because of the texture when it cooks :)
Choice is yours. Just try to select a piece which one become hard and stiff as it cooks.

Recipe
4-5 portions.

Ingredients

700 g pork (I prefer tenderloin)
1 large bell pepper
3-4 green onions
1 medium size onion
3 garlic cloves
1 thumb size ginger piece

Mirin
Soysauce (japanese / cooking soy)
Sesame oil
Black pepper
Gochujang (Koreansk red pepper paste)
Brown sugar

Optional
Korean chili flakes, 1 chilifruit
Carrots, mushrooms...
Be careful, the more you add can affect the seasoning.

How to cook
Cut the meat into smaller and thinner pieces
Wash and cut the bellpepper in middle size pieces, cut the onion into thin pieces. Wash and cut the green onion into smaller pieces, not too small.
Finely chop the garlic and ginger.
Add all into a pan.
Pour 2 tbs mirin, 3 tbs soy, 2-3 tbs sesame oil, 2 large tbs gochujang, 2-2 tbs brown sugar, add black pepper.
Put on the heat and let it cook, stir now and then so all ingredients get the good flavour.
Cook until the meat is done.
Serve with salad and rice.

#KoreanFood #Food #Bulgogi #Korean #FoodAtHome

Korean food at home

Our friends loves food, who doesn't?

We too, so as we went to their house for the weekend, we cooked dinner one of the days. And we decided to cook Korean food. In the end we did 4 dishes but we were so full from the late kebab lunch I'd say we only ate 3 dishes. Anyway.. I only took a photo of these 3 we ate most of. And best of it, they were happy and pleased, the whole family. So it was so fun to make it for them.

We were also able to find ingredients more similar to the Korean ones and also we found great ingredients to a great price. We'd never find it to that price in Stockholm, that's for sure!!!

The menu

Japchae, Rabokki and Bulgogi :) 

불닭볶음면 마라

The spiciness doesn't stop. Back in August Samyang released yet another version of their spicy noodles. This version 2 times as spicy as their red 핵불닭볶음면, the red package which were double the spiciness as their first release!!!

Yes, this pink-purple version called Mara (마라) is 4x as spicy the original!!!

Would you dare to try??

Getting pumped up

Just thinking we are going to Korea makes me excited. This time I also want to explore more places I never go to.
In Korea there are sooooooooooo many places and once you found your spots it's difficult to let go.
However this time I decided to try something new, and this place..I have heard a lot but never gone. I told my hubby we are to go to this place.
Hubby said... you know I used to live next to the market when I was a kid.
Me: does it mean it's bad or it will bring out childhood memories?
He said: Neither, you make the list of places to go, eat, shop and I will follow.

Take a look at this video by Youtuber Seongkyoung Longest.
Looks delicious no?
I so want to eat that noodle soup, I love Kalguksu!!!!!!!

Left overs becomes the main

Yesterday evening we went for a long walk, very nice :)

And on the way home we talked about dinner. I suddenly craved Korean spicy rice cakes (ddeokbokki) but we weren't sure if we had enough ingredients at home. I remember we had some opened packs of ddeok (rice cakes) both normal tube version and soup version. I also found some leek in the freezer and we also had a new pack of fish cake and we have a cupboard filled with noodles.

Yes, we made a complete dish of the left overs.

And you might know.. I'm the Ddeokbokki queen :) 

I could eat this several times a week, but since it's mostly (85%) carbs I wouldn't recommend it ^^

Still whenever eaten, so so so so delicious!!!

삼양 불닭볶음면

How many of you have tried these?

I have tried all but the curry one, I have it at home and waiting for a good time to eat it ^^

What can I say..

Let's go through them one by one.

1. The original

We all thought this was the max no?
This is the one that made the world go crazy and yes it's spicy.
I'd say eating by itself was boring, if you have some meat, chicken, veggis whatever, you can stirfry it making it taste better ^^

It goes well with cheese

2. Cheese version

The cheese powder made a difference and to me this was not spicy, it was like a regular Korean noodle but with "delicious" cheesy touch. Like a Korean version of Mac and cheese ^^

3. Curry version

Not tried yet... sounds scary we'll see

4. Cold version

The noodles were different, they were smaller, more similar to what is being used for "cold korean noodles". Spicy enough, an upgrade from Paldo's bibimmyeon I'd say. Still not a huge fan of this one.

Good for the summer but once - twice is enough. Move on to the next one.

5. Soup version

This one became spicy, I did not finish the soup and honestly by itself so-so.

I think it's better to use it to make a soup/stew. Not a favorite of mine.

6. X2 Spicy

OMG I just died... This was spicy and that's it.

To me no flavour jut the hotness of it. Fun challenge but eat on a regular basis..no.

My Indian colleague said this one was right for him, then again he eats all kinds of chili fruits as snacks. Try it with friends for fun.. I mean you all will be sweating and trying to do your best. ^^

Most simple yet so delicious Kimchi Stew

I made a simple Kimchi stew the other weekend. The most tasty I have tried with so few ingredients!!

Anyone can make kimchi stew this way.

If you don't eat pork, you can just leave it out and add more tofu instead.

I also served this with jasmine rice, I have seen several blogs saying it goes really well with the dish although jasmine rice is not very Korean.

And yes it was awesome, I so recommend to serve jasmine rice with Kimchi jjigae!

See steps and ingredients below :)

Recipe
2 hungry persons / 3 less hungry persons
Ingredients
200 grams of pork loin (pork belly can be used as well, I find loin more tender)
1 tablespoon soy sauce (Japanese / Korean kind)
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon of crushed garlic
1 yellow onion
1 spring onion
300 grams of kimchi
¼ of a tofu block (hard tofu)
cooking oil
water
soy sauce

How to
Cut the pork loin into smaller pieces and try to make them flat, make small cuts with the knife and flatten out. This makes them boil easier and becomes softer and tender. Put the meat in a bowl and pour on soy, mirin and garlic. Mix and let sit.

Cut the onion into pieces as you like to eat them 😊
In a saucepan pour a tablespoon of oil and add marinated meat and onions. Cook on medium heat.
Cut the kimchi into smaller pieces and pour in when the meat has been cooked through. Also add the kimchi water from the package. Let the kimchi get a little frying surface. Then pour in 4.5 dl water and 1 tablespoon soy. Let it boil and taste. Pour 1.5-2dl water and 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce. Taste to get the perfect saltiness to your taste. Please note do not pour all water and soy at once - 1. soy gives out more flavour as it cooks. 2. kimchi will swell and give also provide a salty flavour.
When you have found a good saltiness, cut spring onion and tofu into smaller pieces and add, let it boil for 10 minutes on the low/medium heat.

Serve with jasmine rice.


#Kimchi #KimchiStew #김치찌개 #요리 #Cooking #Food #KoreanFood #jjigae