Halal Mandu in Seoul

다문화 만두 - student style

I love mandu also known as manti or mumtu, manty, gyoza or dumplings. My first mandu were at R's place when I was in my teens and they were hosting me in Gilgit, Northern Pakistan. Her grandmother was from Kashghar, Xinjiang, China and used to visit once a year and luckily I was there too.

Manti in Dongdaemun

R's grandma made laghman (or hand-made noodles) and a couple of other dishes too and they were quite a treat then. Mandu  and noodles can be found in kitchens around Northern Pakistan...and it's nothing weird. Since these areas are close to the Chinese border hence, the food culture may have fused at some point  through travelers and traders. The baking of salted bread is very similar to a Russian bread I saw in Moscow or salted tea is also a common practice. An interesting thing the people of Northern Pakistan love to eat is the salted/dried beef which they prepare and process themselves at home...and that, I've never heard of in other parts of Pakistan. Use of sun-dried tomatoes and other vegetables is also a common practice since temperature are minus 15 to minus 50 Celsius, depending on the altitude and nothing can grow or is visible except snow during winter.

Japanese stall in Seoul

Later on, when I got to live in Central Asia and Russia, I came across manti and Palmini etc. and a number of dishes that were common in Northern Pakistan, of course the tastes were slightly different but still, it surprised me.  My most loved manti had a filling of squash and lamb's meat with the only seasoning to be that of salt and black pepper.

Potatoes, Rice Cake and Kimchi Mandu - it is Halal!

Finally, when I moved to Korea,  mandu were sold at every nook and corner but until recently, almost every place selling mandu - used pork as one one of the ingredients hence, I could not eat them, as much as I wanted to. One chef said, how can a mandu be made without pork...

In Dongdaemun, Insadong and Ansan, I have been able to find halal mandu. I have  tried seafood manu and shrimp mandu in Insadong but such places are very few. I have also tried vege and tofu filled mandu. These days, companies are selling hobak-khamja mandu (with a filling of pumpkin and potatoes) or kimchi and potato filling, I saw freezers packed with them to be sold at Lotte Mart.

In the end, I was fed up with my mandu folding style and then I simply pressed the corners of the mandu skin - they r ready to go in a freezer.

I had a craving for mandu and of course, I wasn't ready to eat out in Dongdaemun in this crazy cold. After being inspired by a friend from China, who made a couple of dozen of mandu on new year, I have also tried my hand on making mandu last night.

Home-made Chinese mandu

Mandu wraps calledㅡMadnu Phi (만두 피) is sold at every store for about 1200 won (50 sheets) or a dollar a pack. I made filling of potatoes, finely chopped cabbage, spring onion, tofu and paprika and seasoned it with cumin, black pepper and salt. After making 15 mandu I gave up! Every mandu was different from the other in shape. A friend called them 'multicultural mandu'...다문화 만두!

Mandu on extreme right is made by a Mongol student and it was the prettiest

In killer winters, like this year here in Korea, mandu-kuk (soup) is such a treat. I made mine in combination with rice noodles and it was awesome.

Mandu -kuk

I think that it would be fun and a treat to see if one can wrap them nicely...I couldn't and it made me feel bad however, their taste was great!

Finally....

My preparation and cooking time was 40 minutes.
I have about 10 extra mandu in the freezer so it will hardly take 5 or 10 minutes for my mandu -kuk next time! I also made some vinaigrette to add to my mandu soup and it enhanced the taste manifold.

Last but not the least, I'd highly recommend you to read this very comprehensive article at Visit Seoul HERE. BTW. unless otherwise mentioned, every mandu has pork in it even if it is called "Yachae (야채 만두) mandu" - at small takeout restaurants, hence be watchful.

If you are new to Korea then you can learn a few important phrases in case you eat halal or you are a vegetarian, ask a friend to write it for you, just in case. Here are the basic questions that you might help you:

Is there pork in this? or 여기서 돼지고기들어가요?

Yogi seo thae-ji gogi duro-gayo?

You can simply ask somebody to write for you this:

 I don't eat pork or 나는 돼지고기 를 안먹어요!
Na -nun thae-ji gogi rul um-mo-go-yo.

Go through this blog: Korean Class 101 and probably you will find a lot of basic, survival phrases.

Best of luck!

National Foods Mart (Itaewon):Another Halal Meat and Groceries Store

We have now another store (actually two stores) - called National Foods Mart - a one-stop store selling halal meat, Indian- Pakistani masalas or spices, dals (lentils), teas, curry pastes and even vegetables such as ocra (lady finger) and karay-lay (bitter cucumber) plus rarely found tempeh etc.

 National Foods  is one of the oldest and top quality brands in Pakistan specializing in spices since 1970 and now it covers almost everything one would need in a South Asian kitchen. Every kitchen in a Pakistani household has one or the other product of National Foods.  Their website is very elaborate and even provides wonderful recipes on how to use their products in making delicious dishes.

Inside and outside of NFS is loaded with food stuff of all sort

 National Foods have been brought to Seoul solely with the effort of a Pakistani businessmen. National Foods do NOT run any store anywhere  but sold products to retailers. In the US, National Foods products are easily available in all South Asian grocery stores.

This National Foods Mart (NFM) which is across from Foreign Food Mart (FFM) has another branch, across from the mosque too, both the stores have a good selection of nuts, cheese, ghee, meat, sea food  and frozen vegetables n fruits. They also have a wide variety of food stuff from other areas such as Russia, Middle East, Central Asia and the US.

They have a huge selection of cheese as you can see above.

Lentils of all types and achars (pickles) are found there and so is the halal meat of various kinds.

Dry powered milk is also sold there if you wanna make gulab jamuns and other desi sweets!

All sort of ready- to-use curry pastes can be found in this store aside from ready-to- eat- 2 persons servings in  masala dals, qorma, biryani and koftay etc.

You can see National Achar and chutneys with red lids besides custards and jelly packs!

They even had these leather socks (I forgot their name) - pretty unique thing... and  I also found avocado

This store has everything one would need. They have a huge selection of products from other Asian countries and below you can see Thai, Indonesian and Vietnamese stuff.

Thai green, yellow and red curry!

Thai 'Healthy-Boy' brand from Thailand: oyster and fish sauce plus the Thai soya sauce - students from Thailand like this sauce and I've seen them using it in almost everything.

Sambal Sauce and some Singapore paste for Laksa!

Rice Noodles.

All of these stores have a big selection of stuff from Costco, hence, if you do NOT have a membership  card or if a store is far away from your place then just drop by National Foods Mart or Foreign Food Mart in Itaewon. You might not need to go anywhere else for foreign stuff even pastry dough and baking related stuff is there.

Some of the products at NFM are 500 won (50cents) to 1000 won (1USD) higher in price than Foreign Food Mart (FFM) however, the meat bags are cheaper in National Foods Mart than FFM. I think that FFM has more things and very typical stuff at their store, after all, they have been around for 10 years. NFM  is hardly a year old but still they have done a good job.

If you are new to Seoul then stop by Itaewon and look for these store. They are located on your way to Islamic center and the Central Mosque of Seoul. I'm sure you will find a thing or two of your use!

Here you see Uzbek breads and chapatis 

Tea selection

A bag of Fried Onion

    Fried onion is a product of Pakistan..;-) I was so happy to see this, I never saw it in Pakistan!

French beans and Bengali mirch...(red peppers, they are super hot).

Green peas (mutter) and mixed vegetables from the US and China grace the counters of the freezers.

Halal beef, mutton, chicken, ducks, bones to make juice

National Foods doesn't have much of the fish/sea food variety. Foreign Food Mart stands out in this - since they even have fish from India or Thailand and other countries . Rare types such as Rahu...etc. are sold at FFM.

By the way Foreign Food Mart is expanding in size on weekly basis....which is great. They have a section of old/used cellphones, card , pre-paid phones etc. Prices start from 20,000 won to 500,000, and National Foods don't deal with cell phones.

Malala Yousafzai Discharged from Hospital

 
Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban, has been discharged from the Birmingham hospital where she was being treated.
The Queen Elizabeth hospital said she was well enough to be treated as an outpatient for the next few weeks. She was discharged on Thursday to continue her rehabilitation at her family's temporary home in the West Midlands.

For details read here.

Cartoon of the Day

Snow Leopard Cub Rescued in Northern Pakistan

In a daring act of kindness and care, people associated with the Khunjerav Villagers’ Organization (KVO) rescued a Snow Leopard cub during a routine patrol in the KVO Community Conservation Area, with the assistance of GB Wildlife Department officials.

The rescued cub inside a room

According to details shared with the press by Rehman Posh, KVO’s Chairman, the cub was trying to cross the Khunjerav (misspelled as Khunjerab in official documents) River following  its mother but got stranded and returned to the river bank, which is covered with snow and ice.

The patrolling team saw the female in the area and crossed the Khunjerav River to rescue the cub, which had gotten stranded, unable to follow its mother into the wild.

The cub can be seen gnawing at a piece of fresh meat provided by the local people

KVO officially informed Mr. Willayat Noor, Conservator Wildlife and Parks Gilgit-Baltistan about the rescue incident and he has promised to send a team of experts to Sost, 8 hours away from Gilgit.

KVO officials and local people with the cub

 KVO has arranged food and spared a room for the cub, leaving it under the watch of a Warden.

It is pertinent to note that this is legal trophy hunting season in Gilgit-Baltistan and the community representatives are fully involved in monitoring of wildlife in the community conservation area. The population of Snow Leopard in the KVO Community Conservation area has increased in few years which every year kill many livestock of poor people even in the villages.

KVO was established in 1989 in the upper Gojal valley by Avgarchicks after the inception of AKRSP in Gilgit-Baltistan and after realizing the importance of wildlife of the area. It is registered under the company act with the Government of Pakistan which works for the conservation of the wildlife and local community development. This is third time KVO community has rescued Snow Leopard cub, One Snow Leopard was released with help of WWF-Pakistan which was telecast on the CNN in 1998. The other, its name is Leo  is now in the Trans Zoo, USA.

KVO has completed many projects in community development with different national and multinational NGOs, i.e. WWF, IUCN, UNDP, AKRSP, MACP and  GoP.

Source: Pamir Times and BBC

사자성어 - Four Character [Hanja] Idoms/Phrases

승승장구 (乘勝長驅)
싸움에 이긴 형세를 타고 계속 몰아침.
 make a long drive taking advantage of victory, press hard on the heels of enemy, seize[avail oneself of] an opportunity

 새옹지마 (塞翁之馬)
인생의 길흉화복은 변화가 많아서 예측하기가 어렵다는 말. 옛날에 새옹이 기르던 말이 오랑캐 땅으로 달아나서 노인이 낙심하였는데, 그 후에 달아났던 말이 준마를 한 필 끌고 와서 그 덕분에 ...
 [예문] 인간 만사 새옹지마다 An evil may sometimes turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

대기만성 (大器晩成) 

[예문] 그는 긴 무명 시절을 보내고 유명 배우가 된 대기만성형이다  

He is a late bloomer who became a famous actor after many years as an unknown.

고진감래 (苦盡甘來) 

쓴 것이 다하면 단 것이 온다는 뜻으로, 고생 끝에 즐거움이 옴을 이르는 말. 

Sweet after bitter. or Pleasure follows pain. or Pain is gone, and pleasure is come. or No gains without pains. or No pains, no gains. 

 

사면초가 (四面楚歌)

아무에게도 도움을 받지 못하는, 외롭고 곤란한 지경에 빠진 형편을 이르는 말. 초나라 항우가 사면을 둘러싼 한나라 군사 쪽에서 들려오는 초나라의 노랫소리를 듣고 초나라 군사가 이미 항복한...  

[예문] 사면초가에 빠지다 be surrounded by enemies on all sides

 

삼고초려 (三顧草慮)

인재를 맞아들이기 위하여 참을성 있게 노력함. 중국 삼국 시대에, 촉한의 유비가 난양(南陽)에 은거하고 있던 제갈량의 초옥으로 세 번이나 찾아갔다는 데서 유래한다.  

[예문] 그 회사는 삼고초려 끝에 그를 신임 사장으로 모셨다 The company, after 

several attempts to recruit him, was finally able to have him as the new president. 

진퇴양난 (進退兩難)

이러지도 저러지도 못하는 어려운 처지.  

[예문] 진퇴양난이다 be in a dilemma[fix] 

 

삼고초려 (三顧草慮)

 인재를 맞아들이기 위하여 참을성 있게 노력함. 중국 삼국 시대에, 촉한의 유비가 난양(南陽)에 은거하고 있던 제갈량의 초옥으로 세 번이나 찾아갔다는 데서 유래한다.  

[예문] 그 회사는 삼고초려 끝에 그를 신임 사장으로 모셨다 The company, after several attempts to recruit him, was finally able to have him as the new president.

타산지석 (他山之石)

다른 산의 나쁜 돌이라도 자신의 산의 옥돌을 가는 데에 쓸 수 있다는 뜻으로, 본이 되지 않은 남의 말이나 행동도 자신의 지식과 인격을 수양하는 데에 도움이 될 수 있음을 비유적으로 이르는 ...  

[예문] 우리는 이 일을 타산지석으로 삼아야 한다 We should let this be a good lesson to ourselves.

외유내강 (外柔內剛)

겉으로는 부드럽고 순하게 보이나 속은 곧고 굳셈.  

being gentle in appearance, but sturdy[tough] in spirit, an iron hand in a velvet glove 

군계일학 (群鷄一鶴)

닭의 무리 가운데에서 한 마리의 학이란 뜻으로, 많은 사람 가운데서 뛰어난 인물을 이르는 말. ≪진서(晉書)≫의 에 나오는 말이다.  

[예문] 군계일학이다 be[stand] head and shoulders above the others

Firework in Seoul: 서울세계불꽃축제 at the Han River (October. 2013)

Seoul International Fireworks Festival is an annual celebration of incredible firework display by firework -experts both domestic and foreign. Visitors can enjoy a variety of performances and programs.

World-renowned, professional firework team with a range of one-of-a-kind set of fireworks, laser show, lighting display will create a memorable set of performances.

See this blog for some GREAT pictures of firework at the Hangang.

How to get there:
Subway:
Yeouinaru Station (Seoul Subway Line 5), Exit 4.
Yeouido Station (Seoul Subway Line 5, 9), Exit 5.
Be aware that in the case of heavy traffic, Subway Line 5 might not stop at Yeouinaru Station. Instead you’d have to get off at Yeouido, Mapo or Daebang Station which are close to the area.

or

Bus if any of these run through your area
Blue: 162, 261, 262, 360, 362, 461, 503, 753
Green: 5012, 5534, 5623, 5633, 5713, 6513, 6623, 6630, 7611.

Rain and Kim Tae-hee

Well, it is not about weather (though, it is snowing here right now) but about Rain, the actor/singer, who according to Yonhap, has been dating Kim, Tae-hee -  one of the most loved actresses and also a student at SNU studying dentistry.

This made headline and I wonder why?

Last Lunch/Dinner of 2012

The Grad school arranged a lunch to say goodbye to 2012 and welcome the year: 2013.

For dinner - student of various countries made their favorite dishes from home and we had dinner in the dorm kitchen.

Food was very delicious , everyone did a fantastic job and had great time. No wonder that kitchen and cooking warms up the heart and helps bonding.

For the last day of 2012, from Russia we had salads, mashed potatoes, sardines, sausages, butter and some very nice fried chicken stews of two kinds alongside the freshly baked Russian whole wheat breads of several kinds.

From Vietnam, we had Pho Saigon - it was a beef soup (beef was Halal and was bought from Foreign Food Mart), this soup has surprisingly the exact same ingredients that we put in the meat for making pulao broth. It was served with rice noodles topped with parsley, lemon, coriander, spring onion, fresh oregano and some sweet and sour sauces. It was also very, very delicious.

Then we had Mongolian dumplings made with lamb fillings just like pelmini - the dumplings originated from Siberia. I made quesadilla with cheese and vegetables as its main fillings coz quite a few people were vegetarian or Muslims. We had several types of cup cakes, cakes in general, muffins, juices, soft drinks and also had some wines for those who can drink, some Georgian food and dessert,  green teas were also there. Over all, it was a wonderful dinner and a get-together. These students are very talented - I have to say!

Students don't have many gadgets and so their  creativity was worth seeing, I saw a Kazakh girl mashing potatoes with a beer bottle of OB...and the result was: smooth, silky mashed potatoes, they added milk in them and then wrapped it with blankets and put it aside for 2 hours. It was the best mashed potatoes dish I have ever had!!!

Then I saw somebody crushing garlic with a handle of a cooking spoon...that was funny but again the result was great. A Mongol girl opened wine bottles with lipstick....that was quite a skill...:-)

My stupid camera died after a short while so I was really handicapped!

Food and company was great....and was indeed a memorable one!