[Temple to Table] Food of compassion, seoritae biji-jjigae

The secular world uses meat flavored stocks to add savory taste to food, but at temples, vegetable stock is an indispensable ingredient. To make vegetable stock, most temples boil white radish, shiitake mushrooms and kelp, but Jinkwansa does not use kelp. Ven. Gyeho prefers not to add the fishy smell of kelp to the plain taste of veggie stock. Instead she prefers adding dried chilies to give dishes a mild heat. Ginger is also a common ingredient in Jinkwansa’s winter temple food. In addit

Jan. 22, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul launches ‘Yut-Nori With Black Tiger’ promotion JW Marriott Hotel Seoul marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year with a package promotion curated for families celebrating the new year together. The stay package features yut sticks, a yut board and yut tokens handcrafted by the hotel’s pastry team for a joyful family game experience. Two glasses of Black Tiger Guinness will be provided by master mixologists at the seventh-floor MOBO Bar. The packag

Jan. 21, 2022

Online Kimchi exhibit opens in Canada

An online website that explores kimchi making recipes and Korea’s unique kimjang culture, will be open to global viewers until the end of March, the Korean Cultural Center Canada announced Sunday. Titled as “Kimjang: The Aesthetics of Sharing,” the website explains in detail the history of how kimjang culture has been treasured by Koreans for generations, and thus came to be acknowledged in 2013 on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Alongside its

Jan. 17, 2022

Destination bakeries beckon

Over the past two decades, large-scale franchise bakeries have swept across the country, growing in numbers to a point where it seems there is at least one franchise around the corner offering the standard cakes and baked goods. In recent years, however, independent bakeries serving items fresh out of the oven alongside warm drinks have been on the rise, not just in big cities but more often on city outskirts. These “destination bakeries” attract customers with unique interiors and

Jan. 15, 2022

[Holly’s Korean Kitchen] Easy kimchi recipe for beginners

It is a wonderful phenomenon that more and more people around the world are developing a taste for kimchi. That pleasantly pungent, sour, spicy, and perfectly salty taste — with the crisp texture of cabbage — indicates that you have yourself some good kimchi. Koreans make their cabbage kimchi in different ways depending on the season and the purpose. Cabbage kimchi is perhaps the best known and common kimchi eaten in Korea. The next common kimchi would be the cubed radish kimchi. W

Jan. 15, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Four Seasons Hotel collaborates with Nespresso Four Seasons Hotel Seoul has teamed up with premium coffee brand Nespresso to promote limited-edition coffee capsules from Nespresso’s Forest Collection, under the theme of sustainable environment. The “Gifts of the Forest” promotion presents a special staycation with various desserts and cocktails provided by the hotel inspired by Nespresso’s coffee. A portion of the profit will go to Naver’s Happybean Foundation t

Jan. 14, 2022

A beginner’s guide to naengmyeon, Korean cold noodles

The four seasons of Korea are distinct, which led to the development of seasonal dishes depending on which ingredients that were fresh and available at the time. Naengmyeon, cold noodles served in broth usually made of beef stock, is an exception. The popular Korean cold noodle dish sharpens the appetites of noodle lovers not only in the summer, but also during the height of the winter season. In fact, some naengmyeon lovers will swear by slurping icy cold noodles while seated on a warm ondol

Jan. 8, 2022

[Temple to Table] Deep flavor of soybeans, cheonggukjang

In my childhood there was always a basket of fermenting cheonggukjang, rich soybean paste, on the warm part of the ondol floor of the room where I wanted to lie down. I used to grumble to my mom why she had to put it there, and I pleaded with her not to make it anymore because I didn’t need to eat it. I didn’t realize until I was out in the real world how much effort and devotion it takes to make it. Now, as an adult, I appreciate the full, deep taste of cheonggukjang. The fun par

Jan. 8, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Fairmont Ambassador Seoul presents High Tea at Fairmont Very Berry Fairmont Ambassador Seoul presents High Tea at Fairmont Very Berry, inspired by winter strawberries and other seasonal fruit served at the Atrium Lounge until March 13. The high tea set features a selection of desserts crafted to celebrate the aromas of strawberries, a choice of sweet beverages and a menu of savory items. The dessert menu features seven desserts presented on a three-tier tray, including miniature pistachio spo

Jan. 7, 2022

[Holly’s Korean Kitchen] Korean beef bulgogi hot pot

As I review fond memories of wintertime in Korea when I was growing up, I think of my mother preparing this delicious, savory bulgogi hot pot for dinner. A large shallow pot is adorned with a beautiful arrangement of Korean beef bulgogi meat, along with a variety of leafy vegetables, mushrooms and Korean glass noodles, known as dangmyeon. Then a slightly sweet and savory broth is poured over it all. My mother placed the pot on a portable burner in the middle of the table. The entire family of

Jan. 1, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul presents ‘Falling in Love with Strawberry Afternoon Tea Set’ JW Marriott Hotel Seoul’s The Lounge, located on the eighth-floor reception lobby presents “Falling in Love with Strawberry Afternoon Tea Set.” 　 This season’s tea set showcases nine desserts including strawberry mont blanc, crafted from juicy strawberries and almond cream enveloped in rich Chantilly cream; strawberry cheesecake; flamingo almond cake; strawberry macarons; an

Dec. 31, 2021

[Temple to Table] Tastes of winter breeze

Rice with seaweed fusiforme (tot) Loaded with minerals, fusiforme (tot) is a seaweed that provides diverse nutrients in winter. The fragrance and flavor of rice cooked by adding plump seasonal tot is much better than when dried tot is used. If you add chestnuts, you will experience the harmony of the familiar and the unfamiliar as the prickly textured tot and sweet chestnuts come together in your mouth. Ingredients 200 g fresh tot 5 chestnuts 1 cup rice 1 cup water 1 tbsp sesame oil Sau

Dec. 25, 2021

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Mayfield Seoul offers ‘Private Party’ package Mayfield Hotel in Seoul is offering an in-room dining package called “Private Party,” for guests to enjoy gatherings in a private space instead of dining out to celebrate the end of the year. The package provides two bottles of wine – one red and one sparkling -- along with a 100,000 won dining voucher that can be used at the hotel’s restaurant, which offers a choice of steak and smoked salmon dishes. Cheese pla

Dec. 24, 2021

‘Roots of temple food are in the state of mind’

On an early December afternoon, Kim Ji-young, head chef at Balwoo Gongyang, a restaurant dedicated to temple cuisine operated by the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism, was demonstrating how to make root vegetable geotjeori, or a light salad of root vegetables. Unrushed and with a generous smile, the chef hummed a tune as she demonstrated the cooking process, step by step. With 1,700 years of history, some keywords come to mind upon hearing “temple food,” such as vegetarian or slow

Dec. 23, 2021

3 foreign chefs give thumbs-up to ‘small, but tasty’ Korean chicken

Korean-style fried chicken has made a name for itself in the global food scene with its crisp texture and various seasoning sauces.  On its home turf, it has become the subject of a debate among local foodies after a famous food critic Hwang Kyo-ik slammed chefs who make the dish for using small chickens and relying too much on sauce.  “Korean chicken is not tasty because the chicken is small. The dish sold at local restaurants uses a broiler weighing about 1.5 kilograms. It i

Dec. 20, 2021

[Holly’s Korean Kitchen] Steamed soft tofu with soy chili sauce

Several years ago, I was on vacation in Korea’s east coast with my family, riding three-wheeled all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Our guide told us to go up a steep mountain in the rain. Unfortunately I had a very bad fall, which led to a fracture on my upper femur bone right below the socket. Long story short, instead of spending the day riding ATVs we rode ambulances. I had surgery and was hospitalized for a few days. During the hospitalization I lost over 4.5 kilograms due to the stress and

Dec. 18, 2021

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

InterContinental Seoul pesents ‘Romantic Holiday’ Package Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Samseong-dong announced its plan to offer the Romantic Holiday Package, prepared especially for lovers in the Christmas and year-end season, until Dec. 31. A body oil and body lotion set worth 174,000 won from French haute couture beauty brand BULY 1803 is included as a Christmas gift. A complimentary bottle of Mosel Christmas wine for a year-end mood and a tin of cookies are also provid

Dec. 17, 2021

[Photo News] Season of dried persimmons

Dried persimmons are considered a representative Korean traditional snack, one that was long favored by royalty. Because of an arduous cultivation process, dried persimmons were only available to people of high class.  People from Haman, North Gyeongsang Province, take deep pride in their dried persimmons, which are extremely chewy and sweet. The texture and sweetness are achieved by drying them in the clean wind at the apex of Yeohangsan, which stands approximately 770 meters above sea l

Dec. 11, 2021

[Temple to Table] Crunchy taste of the sea

Seasoned dried sea lettuce with chili pepper bugak Every year in late fall Yeongseonsa staff trim chili peppers, the last harvest of the season, and prepare a generous batch of bugak by coating them with glutinous rice paste and drying them. Whenever the temple has an event, big or small, they deep fry this bugak, mix it with chili paste (gochujang) and grain syrup and serve. If you pan-fry dried sea lettuce (parae), which has the savory taste of the sea, and mix together with bugak, it will en

Dec. 11, 2021

[Well-curated] Enjoy winter vibe with carols, long walks and ice cream

With Christmas right around the corner, there’s never been a better time to listen to K-pop especially tailored for the festive season. Following is a selection of Christmas music featuring BTS, Davichi and Wheein and Ailee sure to create just the right Christmas mood for listeners. BTS’ “Butter (Holiday Remix)” K-pop sensation BTS is ringing in the season of festive joy with its first-ever Christmas-themed song, “Butter (Holiday Remix),” released on Dec.

Dec. 10, 2021