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Post by Fritz on Sept 9, 2017 16:50:20 GMT
While traveling over the Labor Day holiday weekend, I had a rare opportunity to visit an H-Mart (a first-class Korean grocery store chain in the US). I was able to load up on new and interesting Korean food items to try (in addition to my monthly SnackFever boxes). If you have any interest in Korean cuisine and ever have the chance to visit an H-Mart, I highly recommend it. They have every imaginable ingredient you'd need to prepare proper Korean dishes, from exotic vegetables and spices, soups and sauces, unusual seafood and meats, to staples like rice cakes, noodles, and of course, kimchi. It's not just Korean stuff they have either. They are quite well stocked in Chinese and Japanese food items as well. They even have non-food items like specialty cooking utensils, pans, rice cookers, and such (I bought a rolling sheet for making kimbap or sushi rolls). I spent over an hour, just browsing over all of the cool stuff they had.
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Post by Fritz on Sept 9, 2017 16:53:28 GMT
I'm NaNa Corn (난 나나콘)One of the items I picked-up at H-Mart were these curiously-named corn chips, I'm NaNa Corn. I think I was expecting fairly typical salty corn chips with these, but they're not salty at all; they're sweet with a light sugar glaze on them. They have a tiny bit of red pepper spice on them to give them a little more flavor, but it's barely noticeable. What you do notice is the crunch. They are surprisingly hard and crunchy, not like most American corn chips at all. I quite like them. My rating: ★★★★☆
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Post by Fritz on Sept 16, 2017 17:30:16 GMT
Bon Go Jang Deuchi Udon (본고장 데우찌 우종)Another one of my H-Mart acquisitions, today's snack (or in my case lunch) is another noodle soup variety - this time with Japanese-style udon noodles instead of ramen. The cardboard bucket, which can be used for microwaving, contains a sealed plastic pouch for the moist udon, a separate packet for the liquid soup base, and a packet of vegetables. You put the udon and soup base in the bucket and fill to the creased line with water and microwave for 5-6 minutes on high. You add the veggies right before serving. I added some slices of fresh carrots and a split hard-boiled egg for good measure. Unlike some of the fiery offerings I've had lately, this one was not particularly spicy at all. The soup seemed to be mainly flavored with soy sauce with bonito and anchovy extract. The veggies were plentiful and included green onion and a bit of red pepper powder. It was quite filling, but otherwise pretty unremarkable. Not bad at all, but probably not something I would seek out again. My rating: ★★★☆☆
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Post by Fritz on Sept 17, 2017 17:27:04 GMT
Namyang Corn Silk Tea (남양 옥수수수염 차)As cold beverages go, corn silk tea is certainly an unusual one. I wonder who thought to make tea out of corn silk. For anyone watching their weight, it certainly has one thing going for it; it as 0 calories. I didn't really notice much of a flavor while drinking it, but it left a curious aftertaste in my mouth, like I'd been eating corn chips. I can't say that this drink did much for me. My rating: ★★☆☆☆
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Post by Fritz on Sept 23, 2017 17:29:18 GMT
Sam Hak Instant Spicy Rice Cake (즉석떡볶이)Today I've got another of my H-Mart purchases - instant tteokbokki (spicy rice cake). I'm sure like me, you've seen tteokbokki eaten frequently in dramas. Rather than a Korean import, this one is actually a product of a Korean-American company from New Jersey, Sam Hak Food Corp. The package comes with a sealed packet of rice cakes ( 떡) and another with the sauce. You need to separate the rice cakes, which are a bit stuck together, and place them in the plastic cup. You then pour the sauce over them and mix. You cover the cup with the plastic lid and microwave for 2-1/2 minutes. I admit I've never had fresh-made tteokbokki, so I don't have much of a reference point for comparison, but this wasn't bad at all. The rice cakes were rather chewy and the sauce was sweet, yet quite tangy. It was quite filling - I only ate half of this (the package said it was 2 servings, so it's not just me). I'm quite sure fresh-made tteokbokki is much better than this, but I get the still get the general idea. I can see why it's such a popular dish in Korea. My rating: ★★★☆☆
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Post by Fritz on Sept 24, 2017 14:56:36 GMT
Haitai Green Tea Latte Roly Poly (해태 녹차라떼 롤리폴리)
These curious round cookie sticks look like oversized cardboard straws, but they are lined with sweet green tea icing. They reminded me a lot of the Choco Heim wafers I had a while back, except that they had green tea-flavored icing rather than chocolate. And like the Choco Heim, I liked them more after I ate a few. They come in separate twin packs, like the Choco Heim, so I expect that they are probably meant to be eaten as a snack with a cup of tea. My rating: ★★★☆☆
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Post by montana on Sept 24, 2017 15:01:54 GMT
looks like they would be great with ice cream
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Post by Fritz on Sept 24, 2017 15:09:21 GMT
looks like they would be great with ice cream Yeah, they probably would. I've got another item - a honey-flavored wafer I haven't tried yet, which is specially intended to be eaten with ice cream.
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Post by Fritz on Sept 30, 2017 16:41:41 GMT
Haitai Bba Sae! (해태 빠새!)These are shrimp-falvored wheat chips. These chips are surprisingly light and airy (like Rice Crispies), with a distinct fishy/shrimp flavor. Different! Definitely not something you'd commonly find in an American snack food aisle. I don't recommend sticking your nose in the bag; they smell awful - like dead fish. But they do taste okay. My rating: ★★★☆☆
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Post by Fritz on Oct 1, 2017 16:50:04 GMT
Ottogi Zucchini Soybean Paste Soup (오뚜기 애호박된장국)Today instead of ramen, I've got a dried soup mix, zucchini soybean paste soup. The package comes with two servings, which are conveniently in separate bricks, so you don't have to prepare both at the same time. The directions call for 250ml of water per serving and 5 minutes in the microwave. I added a few slices of fresh zucchini to liven it up a bit. The flavor of the soup was similar to a few of the ramen varieties I've had. It was fairly strong on the garlic and onions. Not bad, but I wouldn't say it was great either. My rating: ★★★☆☆
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Post by Fritz on Oct 8, 2017 16:16:28 GMT
Nongshim Honey Twist Snack (농심 꿀꽈배기)
These snack chips are sweetened with honey and apple flavor. They look a bit like little twisted bread sticks. In fact, their Korean name kkwabaegi ( 꽈배기) is actually the same word they use for "twisted bread sticks". These snack chips are lightly sweetened with sugar, honey, and apple but not overly so. The apple flavor is very subtle and if they hadn't shown it on the package, I might have missed it. They are quite crunchy and pretty tasty. I liked 'em. My rating: ★★★★☆
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Post by Fritz on Oct 15, 2017 17:56:06 GMT
Crown Defcorn (크라운 데프콘)These corn chips are both sweet and spicy. I thought these were really delicious. They were quite tangy, but combined with the sweetness, it's an awesome combination. I'd love to have these again. Great snack! My rating: ★★★★★
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Post by Fritz on Oct 21, 2017 19:13:48 GMT
Korean-style Hot Dog (핫도그)Today's snack is a Korean-style hot dog, courtesy of a Korean Food Festival at a local Korean United Methodist Church. This popular Korean street food is often referred to as a "corn dog" because it looks like an American corn dog, but this is a misnomer. There's no cornmeal involved. It's a batter-dipped deep-fried hot dog on a stick. I'm not sure that there was anything special about the hot dog itself; it was probably just a typical American hot dog. The breaded coating is slightly sweet and tastes very much like a buttermilk pancake. They gave the option of dusting in it in cinnamon/sugar. I liked it. My rating: ★★★★☆
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Post by Fritz on Oct 21, 2017 19:22:55 GMT
Grilled Spicy Rice Cake Skewer (떡꼬지)Another "street food" item from the Korean Food Festival is this spicy rice cake skewer. It basically the same idea as the tteokbokki I had a while back, but served on a stick. The sauce is quite tangy, but sweet. Good stuff! The fresh rice cake is much better than the "instant" variety I had before - a whole lot less rubbery. My rating: ★★★★☆
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Post by Fritz on Oct 28, 2017 17:05:12 GMT
Paldo Bibim Men (팔도 비빔면)Want ramen noodles, but not in the mood for hot soup? Bibim Men (or bibimmyeon) is just that - ramen noodles without the soup, normally served cold. And instead of the usual soup to add flavor, the noodles are seasoned with gochujang ( 고추장), Korean hot pepper sauce. The cooking directions are a bit different than typical ramen soup in that you only cook the plain noodles, drain, and then rinse in cold water. You then mix in the sauce and serve. I garnished it with a hard boiled egg. Like all ramen, this dish was quite filling. The portion was quite generous and easily enough for two servings (at least for me). If you're a wuss like me, you'll definitely want to have a large drink handy to quench the burn of the hot sauce. I can't say that I'm a big fan of the flavor of gochujang, so for me at least, this dish was merely okay. My rating: ★★★☆☆
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