Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Our wedding has been featured...

I am so flattered and touched by the beautiful blog posts written about our wedding !!!

Thank you beautiful friends! :) 

M xx

From Julia @ squeezecuddles 

http://squeezecuddleshandmade.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/happily-ever-after.html

From Nikki@ 

http://nablaughren.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/martines-wedding.html?spref=fb


Pot planting


It is the perfect time for planting vegetables. So I decided to start a little pot garden.  Pot gardens are easy to grow. If you have the space I totally recommend a square foot garden. It is a nice way to grow salad vegetables and a good way to save a little bit of money.  Once you are set up it is quite easy to look after and you have the pots that you can reuse again and again. I decided to plant things that   I would use. Cherry tomatoes and garlic chives for summer salads and lettuce for Samgyeopsal ! 

Korean      상추

상추 is the Korean word for lettuce. I'm looking forward to a summer night BBQ with home grown lettuce !

M xx

Another reason not to use plastic bags......

So today may have been a shame moment.....It's spring time and that means gorgeous red ripe strawberries. So tonight when I was at Woolies I saw that there was strawberries on special. I had made some fresh yoghurt last night and I decided to gets some to add. I might have been slightly greedy and at the checkout I loaded up a plastic bag cause you guessed it my lovely cloth bag that my mums friend C made was sitting in the car and I was to lazy to go get it ( bad mistake). I think I feel more inclined to go back and get it when I have to pay for bags. In Korea you pay for bags similar to what they do at Target. In addition to that they also charge for garbage bags which encourages people to recycle more. After paying for my groceries I went to pick up my bag and yep you guessed it the bag broke and if that isn't enough the strawberries went everywhere. Shame. Not one packet but three. So I was scrambling round gathering up strawberries before anyone could step on them.
Have totally learnt my lesson cloth bags are the way to go! 

Take a cloth bag. It's saves you embarrassment and is better for the environment! 

M xx

Monday, September 9, 2013

Korean Culture Cooking Contest

So what better way to kick of my blog but by sharing about an awesome event in Sydney hosted by the Korean Culture Center. (http://koreanculture.org.au/). 

This year they hosted the first  Korean Cooking Contest 2013 in Sydney. The feature ingredient was 
Kimchi. 


Korean 김치




I decided to enter and make a video. I planned out my recipe Zucchini and Kimchi quiches. I had been really busy with work and hadn't had a chance to cook it. So the night before the entry was due I decided to cook my entry. Unfortunately it didn't work. The mix was so sloppy and it tasted all wrong. 
It was like 11 pm at night and I was like what should I do ???? Then I remembered something my mate MF had said..." Why don't you cook Kangaroo and Kimchi pies" at the time I laughed at him. But late at night when your desperate ideas form.

I got out some basic ingredients and looked in the fridge and freezer and came up with some key ingredients and then put it all together to make Chicken and Kimchi Puff Pastry Pies with Tomato and Kimchi Relish.


I finished my entry and sent it in!

My entry photo : Chicken and Kimchi Puff Pastry Pies with Tomato and Kimchi Relish.

 I was selected and I went to Sydney to compete with 15 other contestants. 


I was contestant number 3.


Some of the delicious ingredients on offer to cook with. 

I have to say the competition was great experience! I meet so many interesting and talented people. We had one hour to cook. It went by so quickly. 

These are some photographs from (http://feastingintheknow.com/ ) Wee Lynn Teo who runs 'Feasting in the Know' a unique company offering authentic and personalized food safari tours around Sydney focusing on delicious Asian cuisines. 





This is my entry. My dad made the wooden sign for me.


The entries were amazing !!!!!! So I was totally shocked when I got fourth place the Judge's Special Consolation Award. 


It was a great day and the KCC staff were fantastic! I totally encourage anyone who is interested in Korean Cooking to support this event next year and enter your best Recipe incorporating Korean food!

Here is my video entry ....don't laugh to hard! 

M xx


안녕하세요 - Hello


Who am I ?

I am a Brissie girl who lives in south east Queensland Australia. I am married to the love of my life Mr J. (We got married this year !) I have spend more then 6 years in Korea. I first went to live in Korea in 2002 and started a serious addiction to chili. I speak Korean and LOVE to cook.  I have spent a year in Jeon Ju (전주) surrounded by some of the best cooks in Korea( my next door neighbors).I decided to start this blog because I LOVE food and several of my friends have asked for recipes or how to cook Korean food. I would love to have my own Korean restaurant one day. I would like to share my interest in Korean food and in food generally. I want to make it easy and accessible to everyone.
In my day job I am educationist. 

What does Hanok mean ?

Korean 한옥


Hanok is a Korean word that refers to Korean traditional architecture and houses. While living in Korea I  was enchanted by the beautiful Hanok villages in Andong (안동) and Jeon Ju (전주). I wanted to use traditional Korean recipes that I think really represent Korean food that is cooked in the home. Though I also enjoy making fushion food. Hanok House is a name that  reminds me of the good experiences I had in Korea and the food that I like to cook at home. So I decided to call my blog Hanok House.

What makes me an expert ?

*Nothing. I just like to cook. ( I actually love to eat more!) 

* I won fourth prize in the Korean Culture Center in Sydney with my original Kimchi recipe
(http://www.koreansafari.com.au/content/korean-cooking-contest-sydney-showcases-variety-korean-fusion-cuisine)

* I have had one of my recipes published in LDS Living        (http://ldsliving.com/story/72828-jell-o-contest-recipe-jelly-lamingtons) 


* Living in Korea for more than 6 years I have learnt many authentic cooking techniques and enjoyed       Korean food from one end of the country to the other. 

Interests

* watching other people cook
* growing organic vegetables in pots
* baking 
* reading the Woolworth's and Coles cooking magazines 
* face booking
* watching tv dramas
* walking bare foot on the beach
* star gazing
* eating Thai & Korean food