Jjukumi

Jjukumi or octopus are my hubby's favorite. He enjoys them even if they are fresh or boiled. They are too expensive but it worths it because seeing my hubby eating makes me feel so happy. You have no idea how he likes them. I sometimes buy them at the supermarket but usually my mother in law buys for us. She knows how my hubby loves them. Everytime we visit her specially when we go there to have meal with her, she usually prepares jjukumi.

Here are some jjukumi that my mother in law gave us.



I washed them well and boiled some water. When the water was boiling, I put the octopus and removed from the boiling water after a few minutes then drained. Just as easy as that!

Then prepared my hubby's favorite sauce, the chokochujang or vinegared red paper paste.



jjukumi

Start a Business

It has been years since I have thought of opening a business. At first, I was thinking of hamburgers restaurant like the famous fastfoods around the world but it isn't too easy. It needs a lot of requirements and financial. Then after living here in Korea for several years, I found out that vending machine services is a great business. You don't have to hire workers. You don't need to work, manage and work it all day because you can just leave the machine in the area and you're free to do everything you want. I really think it's a good business specially to those busy people who don't have time to manage their work. And way back home, I've never seen vending machines specially in my town that's why I'm thinking of the machines as a great business.

There are lots of vending machines here in Korea but I've never seen a snack machine. Most machines that I've seen are coffee, cold drinks, and books machines that's why I got an idea that a snack machine is a wonderful business because most kids, teenagers and even adults love eating snacks. Oh well, how much do I need to start with this vending machine business? I wish I'm living in Greely, Co or any part of Colorado so I can start with my business instantly because Quench offers free vending machine and you can earn 10% as a commission. Even if you don't have money, you can start your own business. It's easy! So grab now if you're living in Colorado!

For more information, please visit Quench and start your own business. So, what are you waiting for? Don't miss the opportunity! Check it out now!

Jjajang and Champeong Rice

I don't wanna cook anything so I asked my hubby what he wanted to eat. He said he didn't have anything in mind so I checked the food book and order this jjajangpap (black noodles with rice) and champeongpap (noodles with seafoods and rice). I didn't expect much about this food because I know that it's not as good as the famous chinese restaurants that we usually go to but there's nothing wrong in trying. What if it's delicious? At least we don't have to drive for almost an hour to eat Chinese food, right?

Well, here's what we ordered.

You can choose two menus in one order so I chose "fried rice" and "sweet and sour pork" (tangsuyug) and the other one is "jjajang and champeong". Oh well, my expectation wasn't wrong. It wasn't delicious. What can we expect more with the cheap dish? It's just worth the money. All I can say is, I will never order this kind of food in this restaurant anymore. Never!

Pizza Maru

Pizza Maru is one of the most famous pizza franchise restaurant in Korea. It's the pizza shop that is close to my apartment. It's just across the street, about 3 minutes on foot. Like Nanta Pizza, pizza maru is also cheap and I think healthier because of its green tea well-being dough.

I usually order sweet potato pizza but this time, I tried to order this steak and cheeze pizza. It's also yummy but still I prefer sweet potato.

Bread is too expensive so sometimes I prefer to buy pizza than bread because it's more delicious and fun. Why is it fun? Because the feeling is different when you see a box of pizza than a loaf of bread.

Kanpunggi

There is a new restaurant booklet hanging at our door so I checked it and found kanpunggi. Kanpunggi is chicken fried with flour and seasoned with spicy sauce. I used to order kanpunggi but a few months ago, I tried to call the restaurant several times and it seems like the restaurant has been closed. After seeing the Kanpunggi, I told my hubby to try it so we ordered a small size of it and we weren't disappointed for trying it. It's much more delicious than the kanpunggi restaurant where we used to order. Now I understand why my students recommended me to eat kanpunggi which I've never heard before. I knew the menu from them but I was upset when I first tried it. I think it's the reason why the kanpunggi where I used to order was bankrupted. You know what I mean?

Anyway, this kanpunggi is really delicious. Just the way I like it. It's sweet, spicy and crunchy. Now I prefer to order kanpunggi than chicken because of this.

Doesn't it look yummy? It's also healthy because it has lots of bell peppers and onions so I sometimes eat it with the vegetables. The salad is also delicious. Btw, salad in Korea is an appetizer and not dessert. If you go to the restaurant salad is always the first one to be served. So Koreans eat salad first before rice and the main dish.

Kimchi Bossam

When I'm tired from work and don't like to feel like cooking, I usually order some food. Also, if I want to be free from cooking specially on weekends or just craving for something yummy, I also pick the restaurants booklet and dial the number.

Today, we decided to have kimchi bossam. Kimchi Bossam is pork eaten with sweet and fresh kimchi. The kimchi is newly-made and it is sweeter than the normal kimchi. Like samgyopsal, kimchi bossam is also eaten with vegetables. Get a piece of lettuce leaf, put some pork, garlic and chilli pepper dipped with seasoned bean paste, and then kimchi and wrap.

Kimchi Bossam usually comes with bibim kuksu (noodles mixed with hot chilli pepper and some vegetables) for appetizer.

My Home made Starbucks Coffee

There are lots of franchise coffee shop in Korea and most of them like starbucks are expensive. Coffee is more delicious in winter and I can't spend around $5 for coffee everyday. I can't start work without a cup of coffee everyday so I drink coffee at work but I think having coffee with my husband at home is the most relaxing time on weekends so I thought of making delicious coffee at home. Of course, it's not as yummy and healthy like starbucks, holly, cafe bene, etc. but at least it's also tasty and much cheaper.

Here's how I make my semi-starbucks coffee. All I need is cappuccino mix and whipping cream. You can get them at e-mart or home plus if you wanna try it for yourself.

Put the cappuccino mix in a cup.

Pour some boiled water.

Put some whipping cream on top.

Enjoy the delicious and special home-made coffee.

Macaroni Salad in Korea

I saw a picture of macaroni salad on the internet so I suddenly craved for it. I searched on some recipes and I found out that each chef has its own recipes. It just depends on what kind of ingredients to put and which taste each and everyone prefers so I got an idea. I tried to make my own recipe. I just used the leftover ingredients when I made fruit salad but instead of condensed milk, I put mayonnaise which I think one of the most important ingredients in making macaroni salad. I mean mayonnaise is one of the ingredients that can't be removed. When I first came here in Korea, I always asked my family back home to send me some cheese and macaroni when I crave for salad but then I found out that I could also get them in big stores like home plus or e-mart.

Here are the ingredients that when I made macaroni salad. The fruit cocktail, raisins and cheese are leftovers when I made fruit salad so I only bought mayonnaise and conchiglie macaroni shells.

I boiled macaroni and when the shells are soft, I put all the above ingredients together in a big bowl and mixed. Btw, put some mayonnaise in a small bowl and season it with vinegar, sugar, and a little salt. I don't measure when I make some food so you have to follow your taste. In my case, I put more sugar because I like sweet food.

Here's how I made my macaroni salad.

Ready to be refrigerated.

Fruit Salad in Korea

We can't deny that we sometimes crave our native food. I've been staying here in Korea for more than 10 years and I already get used of eating Korean food. I rarely crave food back home usually when I just see some of it on the internet. What I always crave for is salad and fruit salad is my favorite. At first I gave up making some salad because I don't know where to get the ingredients that I need. Besides, it's expensive if I go to a store where I can get products made from my country.

But not anymore because I made my own salad which ingredients are from Korean products. Here's what you need. Raisins (Konpodo in korean), condensed milk (yonyu), fruit cocktail (you can get it at homeplus or e-mart), and sliced cheddar cheese (it's hard to get the not sliced ones). Here's what all you need.

All you have to do is to remove some of the syrup from the fruit cocktail. Then add the rest of the ingredients. You can add depends on which you like the most. In my case, I add much cheese because I'm a cheese lover. What I do is to put 3 slices of cheese together to make them thick and cut them into cubes. My hubby likes raisins or dried grapes so I put much of it. Just mix everything and put in the refrigerator.

Ready to be refrigerated.

The pictures above was eaten in one serve. My hubby and I had it the day after it was refrigerated so I made another one. Here's what I made for the second time. It must be put in the freezer but my hubby told me not to in the fridge because it's winter and he doesn't like to eat it with ice. Besides, it won't take long and we can eat it in a day or two and he was right.

Sweet Potato Pizza

I don't like sweet potatoes much but when it comes to pizza and cake, I prefer to eat sweet potato flavor. I think sweet potato pizza is more delicious than meat or vegetables.

I ordered this sweet potato pizza last weekend from Maru Pizza which is just across my apartment building. At first, they don't deliver but later on they do but you will be charged 2,000won more for the delivery fee. I think it's expensive so when I order I call first and pick it up afer 10 minutes.

I ordered pizza and added potato mousse for only 1,000won because sweet potato pizza is more delicious with sweet potato mousse. Here's the pizza.

When you order pizza in Korea, it always comes with pickles. If you want hot sauce and garlic sauce, you have to pay additional for that. Also, pizza is not complete without softdrinks so you can also order a liter of softdrinks at the restaurant and bring home.