What About Korean?

Lets be honest. When it's time to make dinner or go out, you think tacos, pasta, burgers or maybe even Thai or Indian. But nobody ever thinks Korean. Except for us, of course. If you like garlic and spice, which anyone with taste buds on their tongue should, it's perfect.
So, the next time you're at the grocery store, pick up a couple of ingredients ubiquitous to all Korean dishes:

Garlic
Green Onion
Ginger (powder or fresh (which keeps perfectly in the freezer)
Sesame Oil
Sesame Seeds
Soy Sauce
Rice Vinegar
Rice Wine (if you dare)
And you already own rice (and it better not be Uncle Ben's), preferably short grain Asian, or we like Jasmin.

If you end up liking Korean, go on and buy: Korean chili powder, firm tofu, and kochujang.

One of my best presents to Brian was a Korean cookbook (wow, it's cheap on amazon) which we literally whip out every week. We have many favorites which I will share, the first being a seasonally appropriate.

Soy-Glazed Pumpkin (Yachaejorim)

8 oz. Pumpkin, peeled and cut in 1-inch cubes
1/2 C. Sugar (we find 1/4 C. to be enough)
2-inch piece of fresh Ginger, grated
6 TBSP Soy Sauce
Freshly ground Black Pepper
Toasted Sesame Seeds and Chives for garnish

Boil pumpkin for 2 minutes (we steam for a bit longer, should still be firm). Drain well, then put into a skillet. Add sauce and pepper. Heat slowly, stirring carefully, until the sugar dissolves. Then partially cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pumpkin is tender and glazed with soy syrup.
Garnish with sesame seeds and garlic chives.

Easy, huh? We often do this with acorn squash instead, but peeling it is the devil. Hopefully some of you will try these Korean recipes and love them as much as we do. If not, you'll just think we're crazy.