lørdag den 13. juni 2009

saenggang cha (ginger tea)


it has been raining a lot in copenhagen for the past two days. not a very nice start to the weekend... but today as the dane and i were stepping out, the sky opened up and the sun shone down on us. summer is such a tease here in denmark!

while it was raining hard on friday i tried my hand at brewing some saenggang cha (생강차). i got the recipe from my korean kitchen and though the ingredients are cheap, the result is a very intensely flavoured tea that can be enjoyed at any temperature. piping hot while curled up on the couch at night or chilled in the morning after a jog. the only thing i'm longing for is a dried persimmon to enjoy with the tea or even some pine nuts. i kick myself when i think of that persimmon tree in my parents' yard. ):


lunch was leftover kongnamul guk. i sprinkled some gim on top to make it a little more exciting. not to say that it was boring! actually i am constantly thinking about how little space we have and wishing we could store more leftovers. of course it's not the refrigerator that's small; we are 7 people living in the flat and each person gets their own shelf, but i share one with the dane. already i've set up a long-term occupation with two jars of gochujang, a tub of doenjang, and a sourdough. yes, it's greedy. but those ingredients won't go bad for a long time. my mom actually has two refrigerators at home, which is not that uncommon in korean households. the one in the kitchen holds all the regularly-used food and the one in the garage holds the smelly, fermenting (mostly korean) food. (:

i remember during one of the times i was visiting california, my mom called to ask me to fix my dad some dinner once he got home from work. i don't know how he would survive without my mom to cook for him. anyway, all i had to do was microwave a bag of frozen cooked rice and take 5-6 plates of banchan out of the refrigerator. so fast and easy and delicious! my mouth is watering, thinking about those dishes of fish egg, spicy mackerel with radish, seasoned soy beans... and of course all the kimchi! if only i had a little more space to keep 'emergency' leftovers. eventually the dane and i will find our own place and then i can fill up the fridge with all my nasty korean food. or at least half of it.