An International Diplomatic Row Over Mango Mousse

The world is waiting with baited breath to see the outcome of the inter-Korean Summit this Friday. Some are predicting an announcement that will end the 1950s Korean War, others are hoping for baby-steps towards peninsular reunification. Japan is angry about the dessert. Japan is angry about the dessert, because on top of a mango mousse decorated with fresh spring flowers sits a plaque depicting … Read more

Olympics, 이해, and More Delicious North Korean Food

Like Christmas Truce in World War I, the recent Olympics allowed for a temporary warming of relations between north and south Korea, between people still locked in a conflict that is decades old. To incorporate these events into the blog, I decided to cook up some more North Korean food, and headed off to the North Korean food website to peruse recipes. What the site … Read more

A Meal Fit for Kim Jong-Il

One of the difficulties in understanding history and historical works, is to imagine the world truly differently than it is today.  We are so confident that our senses provide us with the, “truth,” that many of us cannot really fathom that the world of the past was different from the present.  Modern audiences recoil at the anti-Semitism expressed in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and laugh when … Read more

Cool as Cucumber Kimchi

Kimchi in the West is usually spicy and hot and made from Napa cabbage. That version is delicious, but it means many of us don’t know what we’re missing. Although the Napa cabbage version is delicious, this fascinating fermented Korean dish can be made from any vegetable, and its flavors can be savory, mild and slightly sweet. There are more than 100 kimchi varieties, another … Read more

Communist Kimchi!

You may recall that in the Kimchi Chigae post I mentioned that I was developing a North Korean kimchi recipe. Well I worked the handwritten recipe with no ingredient amounts that you see here through three iterations – each less spicy than the last. And with some description and input from food and travel writer, Michael Y. Park, who brought the recipe out of North … Read more