Food Club

The Food Cravings of Yoon Jin-Yi, Lee Soo-Kyung & Koo Dae-Young

(Residents of 804, 805 and 806 Hwangshil Officetel, Seoul)

1a) Steamed seafood with noodles and sauce from 청해대왕 / Cheonghae Daewang / King of Cheonghae.

1b) Chinese takeaway delivery: Sweet and sour pork. Black bean noodles with potatoes, fermented soybean sauce and onions.

2a) Boiled mackerel and radish leaves, served with rice.

2b) Barbeque sirloin steak on the rooftop.

3a) Noodles in anchovy broth.

3b) Hot soup shabu-shabu. Cooked in this order: meat, vegetables, meat. Finished off with rice porridge made with leftover shabu-shabu soup.

4a) Tteokbokki (stir fried rice cakes) with extra noodles and  boiled eggs.

4b) Chewy noodles in red bean soup. Some Koreans believe that red beans help to repel ghosts and ward off evil spirits.

5a) Four seasons pizza baked in a wood fired oven: green basil for spring; red tomato sauce representing the fierce taste of the summer sun; delicate cheese for autumn; mild fragrance of the firewood representing the taste of winter.

5b) Bungeoppang (hot bread filled with sweet red bean), from a great place in Hannam-dong.

5c) Budae Jjigae (army stew made with American processed meat and Korean kimchi) with extra ham, extra ramen and extra udon noodles. According to Soo-Kyung, budae jigae tastes better in a rice bowl when the rice has soaked up the soup.

6a) Mandu (Korean dumplings) handmade by Kyung-Mi (Soo-Kyung's friend).

6b) Tofu Bossam (thinly sliced boiled pork shoulder and side dishes, such as kimchi, are wrapped in lettuce) and Makgeolli (lightly sparkling rice wine).

7a) Grilled salted eel.

7b) Grilled shellfish.

8a) Toowoomba Spaghetti made by Dae-Young using leftover items in the fridge such as mushrooms, green onions and ham, as well as milk and cheese for the sauce. 

8b) Ramyun (Korean noodle soup) for solo diners.

8c) A home-cooked feast made by Soo-Kyung's mum: soybean stew with freshwater snails; Korean steamed egg custard; cockles; braised beef and hard boiled eggs; dongchimi (a water-based, non-spicy kimchi in refreshing broth) and scorched rice soup.

9a) Popcorn set; hot dogs; nachos; and dried squid from Popcorn Factory (cinema concessions stand).

9b) Bibimbap: a sumptuous feast made with old fashioned seasoned vegetables that your mum made; rice made by your mum's warmth; the spicy chili paste that resembles your mum's nagging; and the nutty sesame seed oil that makes you feel the comfort of your mum. Bibimbap truly represents the love of your mum.

10a) Korean braised pigs trotters.

10b)  Conveyor belt sushi.

10c) Korean dumpling  soup and steamed dumplings.

10d) Spicy Korean noodle salad and warm noodle soup using handmade knife-cut wheat noodles.

11a) Buffet food. 

According to Choi Kyu-Sik (Soo-Kyung's work colleague), at buffet restaurants, you should eat salty-sweet-salty-sweet. When you eat some salty food and when your tongue feels like it's too salty, get some sweet food to soothe your tongue so you can eat salty food again. That way, you don't get tired of eating just as if you're eating it for the first time. And then, you eat sweet food again. This is the so-called salty-sweet-salty-sweet method. You never lose your appetite so you ca get your moneys worth at a buffet.

However, Dae-Young disagrees as you may get your moneys worth but your stomach will blow up. It's not the way of enjoying food but torturing your stomach. A buffet may be a battlefield with food everywhere that we need to conquer. 

But remember this, the amount of food you eat is not important, enjoying food is what really matters. Like boosting morale of soldiers  before going to war, you need to boost your appetite first. And like soldiers wearing armour to protect their bodies, eat some warm soup or porridge to protect your stomach. After that, it's time to rush into the battlefield and attack the main dishes. Here's a tactic that nobody would anticipate. Making a creative dish of your own can be a good way too.

11b) Tinned Alaskan salmon in kimchi stew.

11c) Eating instant ramen outside when it's snowing is a fantastic feeling similar to how you feel in an outdoor hot tub.

12a) Teppanyaki. Food cooked on an iron griddle.  

12b) Soy sauce marinated crab. Food that's perfect for Valentine's Day especially after consuming a lot of sweet chocolate. 

With the salty taste of seasoned dried laver; the sweet taste of the fruity sauce; the nutty taste from the bright yellow roe; and the chewiness of translucent raw crab meat, soy sauce marinated crab is indeed the food that will unite people around the world as one, with its taste. It's like the United Nations.

13a) Korean fried chicken: half spicy, half non-spicy wings and drumsticks; boneless fried chicken; pickled radish and beer.

In Dae-Young's opinion, eating chicken is all about biting from the bone. You can bite, chew, taste and enjoy the fat chicken legs. For tender wings, you twist it around and round. Why would you give this fun up over some boneless chicken? Chicken is so much better with bones.

13b) Various dishes at a Japanese restaurant privately booked by Kim Hak-Moon for his date with Soo-Kyung.

14a) Pork belly cooked on a charcoal briquette.

14b) Beef soup made by Kyung-Mi.

14c) Chicken feet and cartilage. 

15a) Oh Do-Yeon (Soo-Kyung's colleague), comes off her diet and orders carbonara; seafood cream gratin; chop steak with grilled mushrooms; and bacon basil lasagne for lunch. 

16a) Ox bone and rice soup. 

* Information derived from a South Korean TV series called Let's Eat, currently available on Netflix *

* Check out episode recaps on: https://noonasoverforks.com *