Thursday, October 11, 2012

To be thankful


Everyone likes parties, especially when it's your kind of party. I'm attending a party this evening called:

추석

    Yes, you are right, it's Ch-oo-s-euh-k. It's a Korean Thanksgiving celebration in honor of good harvest. It happens on the 12th day of the 8th lunar month. I did some quick research, and to no avail could I understand the lunar calendar. Here's an example. The last day of September was a full moon, as was the first of October. So really, 추석 could happen either tonight or tomorrow night. However the event my local Korean Association is throwing is tonight. 

I look forward to this "celebration" here, but in South Korea, they don't celebrate it. They do honor the "holiday" as we call it, but it's more of a day of remembrance to them. They get up in the morning, go to their hometowns, visit their ancestors and trim their tombs, and prepare for the harvest. I expect there should be lots of food, because when they visit their ancestors, they must pay their respects to them. It's more of praising the ancestors for their support and teachings that they can share with their children. I look foward to eating some 잡채, 불고기 and 송편. I've never had 송편 (s-oh-ng p-yeo-n), and it's a delicacy in traditional Korean cuisine. It's rice cake filled with something sweet of their choice. See below:



That looks goooooood...... For a snack, that is. I found a recipe for this snack-worthy dish, but it came from a full Korean blog, called .... Now about the other food choices I mentioned. 잡채 (j-ah-p ch-ae) is commonly a side dish based of clear noodles and vegetables, but it can be a main dish served on top of rice. The picture is also a secret gateway to the recipe, Beyond Kimchi.



And last but not least, 불고기 (b-oo-l g-oh g-ee). This is Korean BBQ marinated beef, and it's very popular in South Korea as well as other countries with Korean cuisine. It is expensive too, so come with a hefty wallet and an empty stomach to enjoy it more.


I give full credit to Beyond Kimchi for making such delicious recipes and food porn for Korean cuisine. Oops, did I say food p*rn? My bad :).


4 comments:

  1. The bbq and sweet rice cake look so delicious! So I suppose the lunar celebration in this case would appropriately be during what we would call the "Harvest moon" or the full moon nearest the start of autumn. The Hebrew calender is also lunar-based.

    So does Korean culture hold festivals for the other seasons?

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  2. They do hold Chinese new year, but it's not limited to China, due to other countries celebrating it also. In Korea, it doesn't specify if it's limited to South Korea but I assume Korea as a whole country, celebrate 설날, which translates to New Year. It's usually referenced to 음력 설날, meaning Lunar New Year.

    For seasons in general, this is the only one I know of. I hope that answers your question.

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  3. Thank for the link. I appreciate it. I have been wanting to try to make the food you show on here and now, I think I am going to do it. Have you ever been to Oeanic, here in Tampa?

    If you have, then you know why it is such a special place. If you have not, here is the link to it.

    http://oceanicmarket.com/

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    Replies
    1. I have only been there once, I don't live near it sadly. But my experience there was incredible. The food you can get is so authentic to it's self. I know many Korean restaurants near that area, let me know if you want any recommendations!

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