"Taegugki"

It has been too long since the last post! On this particular night, over a month ago in fact, we opted to steer away from the Oscar films (having been fairly disappointed in the quality of the nominated films) and watch something else that one of the members suggested. We therefore watched "Taegugki" a Korean film which was considered quite a successful film by Koreans and foreigners alike. Our nights are never really predictable, however (as you will see in our commentary)! Below, our video for our Korean-inspired meal.

RECIPES

Kimchi Stew (Kimchi Jjigae)

Ingredients for Kimchi Stew (with a side of mandu)

Ingredients:

1 to 1.5 cups kimchi (old kimchi works best - tastes slightly sour)

kimchi juice

1 pack tofu

2 stalks green onions/scallions

1 jalapeno/chili pepper

1/2 of large onion

2 -3 cloves of garlic

oil

2 cups water

approximately 1/4 cup gochujang (red pepper paste)

2 - 3 tbsp gochugaru (red pepper flakes)

pork belly chunks (or any pork with fat)*

1 hobak (use zucchini, if you cannot find korean hobak)

dashida - optional

Directions:

Prior to cooking, prepare the following.

1. Roughly chop kimchi into smaller chunks. Cube tofu into bite sized pieces. Slice scallions on a bias (on an angle) into 1-inch long slices. Chop onion into smaller slices. Mince garlic. Slice chili pepper on a bias. Slice zucchini (hobak) into 1/4 inch slices, then cube them into bite sized pieces.

2. In pot, add a little bit of oil (just a little - pork already has a lot of fat, so you wont need much). Add minced garlic to flavor the oil. Then add in pork belly chunks and cook until meat turns white.

3. Add kimchi chunks and cook for about 2 - 3 minutes (this will help the soup cook faster). Add water (approximately 2 cups serves 4 individual servings).

4. Bring heat up to high and boil for a few minutes. Add one scoop (a little less than 1/4 cup) of gochujang (red pepper paste) and stir until dissolved. Add a couple tablespoons of gochugaru (red pepper flakes). Let it cook on medium heat for approximately 5 to 7 minutes (this will allow the kimchi to cook through). Stir occasionally. Taste and if needed, re season with kimchi juice and dashida.

5. Add zucchini cubes, tofu, onion, and chili pepper slices. Let it cook for another 4minutes or so before adding in the scallions. (add in scallions last because you don't want them to wilt completely).

Kimchi Stew

Serve with Rice

*Note: Kimchi stew is best when made with pork, however, you may use tuna, spam, or bacon. When using tuna, add in the tuna with the vegetables, since it is already cooked.

Leita and Tijana discussing our stew

Note on the Kimchi Stew:

We made the soup with tuna, rather than pork. It's easier to make and the tuna is already flavored with kimchi juice, which helps with the overall taste. Pork kimchi stew, however, is really good. Try both ways...We also left out the dashida (Leita was not familiar with this addition as she never saw it made that way in Korea).


Ginger Pork with Vegetables (Jaeyuk Bokum)

Ingredients of Jaeyuk Bokum

Ingredients:

500 g (1 lb) belly pork, cut into thin strips

3 tbs Korean hot bean paste (gochujang)

1 tsp Soy Sauce

2 tsps minced ginger

1 tsp Korean chili powder (gochugaru)

1 tbs sugar

1 tbs rice wine

1 tbs sesame oil

1 tbs oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 head cabbage, sliced

Tijana shredding cabbage


1 spring onion, cut into lengths

1-2 green chilies, diced

Heike slicing peppers

Directions:

1. Combine the pork, hot bean paste, soy sauce, ginger, chili powder, sugar, rice wine and sesame oil in a large bowl and mix until well coated. Cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat and stir-fry the garlic until fragrant. Add the cabbage and spring onion and stir-fry for about 2 minutes until soft. Lower the heat to medium, add the pork and chili, and stir-fry for 5-7 minutes until cooked, adding a little water if the dish is too dry. Remove from the heat and serve hot with steamed rice.

Cooking it up!

Note on the Jaeyuk Bokum:

Considering the quantity of pork we had, we could have easily added more marinade to the dish. As it was, the dish was flavorful, but on the light side. The flavors should have been a bit stronger. It is entirely possible that the reason for this is we didn't let it marinate for as long as was suggested...

Final Product!

As is the norm in Korea, all meals are eaten with a plethora of side dishes. There was a bit of a misunderstanding as to which side dishes to purchase (Leita's fault! She should have indicated that people ask for "banchan" at the Korean grocery store. Instead she just told people to ask for side dishes, which is not specific enough). So we got dried shrimp, a very popular side dish,

Shrimp


mandu (dumplings), which is not usually eaten as a side dish in Korea,

Mandu


some sheets of dried seaweed

Seaweed: we bought this from a sushi restaurant. The Korean style ones are salted and yummier!


and Japanese-style seaweed salad.

Seaweed salad; not very Korean, but delicious nonetheless!

And let's not forget the piece de resistance! Soju!

Soju: a rice or potato based alcohol somewhat similar to sake.

Sitting down for our meal! Notice all the dishes on the table! Very typical of a Korean meal.

For dessert, we cheated and got hottok, an amazing Korean sweet that we can liken to a hot donut filled with melted brown sugar. Again, there was a misunderstanding (Leita's fault again!) and the Chinese version was purchased instead of the Korean version. The Korean version is better!
Chinese Hottok


DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS ON THE MOVIE "TAEGUGKI"

- There was a general consensus that the movie was very violent

- Most felt the movie started off pretty well, but when the main character started losing his mind, the movie fell apart and things started to get predictable and monotonous

- The emotional aspect of the film was lost when the character went "crazy"

- Some of the cuts were really good and others were really bad; example of bad: the scene with the plane crash

- Some thought that maybe the scene with the plane was added at the end to use up the left over money from the film's budget, as thought it were an afterthought (we are a cynical bunch!)

- It was interesting to see the way the brothers worked together

- One of us hated the movie from start to finish, possibly because he was trashed on soju (you know who you are!)

- There was an issue regarding the South Korean propaganda film style; you never see the characterization of the North Koreans, while the South Koreans' actions are portrayed as justified and this therefore presents a one-sided point of view

- Most were not bothered by the one-sided point of view as the film characterized and focused on South Korea; they didn't feel as though it detracted from the worth of the film and what it was trying to portray

- Some of us were frustrated with the fact that the film never tried to explain why the remains were identified as the younger brother's

- Some thought the internal conflict among the soldiers fairly original as they were actually anti-war, not something you see much in war films; the motto they adopted was "die starving or die fighting"

- Some thought the music detracted from the movie as it was trying too hard to pull on heartstrings; others hadn't noticed it

Individual Scores:

6
5.5
7
8.5
0

Final Score: 5.4/10