This is a type of dried seaweed. If you go to a Korean store, ask the owner to give “GimJaBan”, then they will know what you want.

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In Korea, dried hot peppers are usually used for making kimchi or broth. You can find dried hot peppers in Korean or Asian grocery stores and also in some American grocery stores like Walmart.

• Use:
  For making kimchi or broth

• Storage:
  Keep in the freezer.

Red Beans are common in Korean cuisine. This particular type (chunky, not mashed) is for PotBingSu (Korean Summer Dessert). You can make it at home, although it is more convenient to buy it from a store. It is basically boiled red beans with sugar.

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This is special sticky rice cake is for PotBingSu. These little bite sized sweet sticky rice cakes are great in Potbingsu.

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Condensed milk is not usual for Korean cuisine. But it can be used for some dessert like PotBingSu, or bakery products.

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There are different kinds of potatoes in the world depending on the color, size, texture, and the flavor. These bite size baby potatoes that I post today are used for side-dishes in Korean cuisine. We call them AlGamJa. Al means an egg or an egg shaped thing. The potato shape matches good with the name. 😉 Since the skin is very thin and soft, you can just eat the potatoes with the skin.

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• Use: Side-dish
• Storage:
  Keep in the storage place without light.

• Use: Side-dish
• Storage:
  Keep in the refrigerator.

In Korea, pollack (“명태=MyungTae) is a very common and popular fish for cooking. I want to introduce different types of pollack that Korean people use. Simply I will divide into 4 groups depending on how they were prepared for cooking. Fresh (생태=SaengTae), Frozen (동태=DongTae), Half Dried (코다리=KoDaRi), and Fully Dried (북어=BookEo). As you can see, each one has own name. KoDaRi is pictured. It is half dried pollack for side-dishes or stews. Since its half dried, the texture is different from fresh (or frozen) or fully dried ones. If I have a chance later, I will introduce other types of pollack and how you can use them for Korean cooking. 🙂

• Use:
  Side-dish or Stew

• Storage:
  Keep in the freezer.

Short Korean Lesson

• UmMa (엄마) = Mom
• ABba (아빠) = Dad

Food example from Wikipedia…

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GoChuJang is one of the most important Korean ingredients. If you are into Korean food, you will need this for your Korean cooking. There are many different brands on the market, but “SoonChang (순창) Gochujang” is known as a very good brand in Korea.

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