A Visit To Asia Supermarket

My young friend and fellow blogger Hails loves Korean food and the last time we were in Belfast we visited Cafe Arirang on Botanic Avenue. Hails was more than pleased with it and I was glad of her advice as to what would be good to eat as she was familiar with all the dishes on offer. As she should be having spent quite a few years living in South Korea.

I asked her if she'd ever visited the Asia Supermarket on the Ormeau Road. She hadn't so we made a plan to go as soon as we could. Today was that day and as we neared it I said,

You're going to dance with joy when you see this place.

And her feet were jigging before we even got inside. She could smell the lovely spicy aroma as we approached the door.

Of course she knew what everything was. When we left Hails was loaded with ingredients and I'd got a few bits and pieces myself. I idly enquired what her plans for the evening were and she answered,

Cooking Korean food!

Of course. Silly question.

At Cafe Arirang I had 만두 and I didn't catch what Hails had but it came with 김치 and she polished it off with much enjoyment.

만두 - mandu or steamed dumplings

김치 - kimchi or fermented cabbage

When I got home Bert raided my shopping bag as usual and fell to the dried seaweed and kimchi with gusto. We had to decant the kimchi into a Kilner jar as we feared its pungency would affect everything else in the fridge. Apparently in Korea people have dedicated kimchi fridges but that is because they make a years supply at one go.

So what did Nellybert have for supper? We had bacon, spuds and peas although Bert did have a side of kimchi with his.

Kimchi & Pineapple

Busy. busy day so this will be another brief posting.

We tried the kimchi. I'm told it goes with everything so we ate it with everything. Tonight's supper - bacon, boiled potatoes, brussels sprouts and kimchi. I love it and will definitely make it again. And to wash all that down? Pineapple wine. It is only eleven months old but it is delicious and strong. Now there is one lucky friend of mine who is getting a big jar of kimchi and a bottle of pineapple wine for a Christmas gift. Beats socks and I hear he already has some socks.

Kimchi is a strange food. It tastes pretty good when you're eating but for some reason it still keeps tasting great after you've eaten it. After all, as Bert says, 50 million Koreans can't be wrong.

I Make Kimchi

 So Zoe has Chinese cabbage growing in the poly tunnel. Lots of it and she said I can have a go at making kimchi. I don't think it is exactly the right Chinese cabbage (Napa is the recommended variety) but it will do for a try. The most boring and difficult bit is washing it. Les comes in (with home made squash soup) and he helps me get all the slugs off the cabbage. Slugs are my most detested creatures in the world. They make me shiver with disgust. I am reassured when Les points out that their presence indicates that the cabbage is clean and organic. After the washing and chopping the rest is fun, I mix together chopped scallions, chilli paste, grated ginger, soy sauce, diced garlic, fish sauce, salt and sugar. I go hard on the garlic and ginger and light on the salt. There isn't a mixing bowl in the house big enough to mix everything together so I use one of my wine making buckets. I thought it would all fit in to three Kilner jars but it only took two. According to the recipe it is edible in 24 hours but better again in a week.

I hear Bert downstairs now. He was out buying calves and I'll bet he is right into those Kilner jars. I'll have to  go down and stop him.

There Is No Kimchi In Cullybackey

I notice that my old housemate Ganching set herself the task of blogging daily throughout the month of November. Inspired by her example I intend to blog daily throughout December. After all there should be plenty to blog about considering the stresses and strain of Christmas preparation, the extra gadding about I shall be doing thanks to my brand new SmartPass and the inspiration provided by Morrissey's autobiography. And so it shall begin.

On the 30th November I took my SmartPass on its first outing. Naturally I was concerned that the issuers might have sent me a pretend card just for a prank but it appears to be the genuine article. I got off the train at Botanic in order to distance myself from the LLP (Loyalist Peaceful Protesters) parade but hearing and seeing the police helicopter hovering got me all excited and I headed briskly for City Hall. I mingled with the crowd, took a few photographs, then retreated with some haste down a side street when a big parading lady in a pink scarf started giving me unpeaceful dirty looks. Apparently the parade was peacable enough at the start but trouble did break out later in the day.

But by that time I was browsing the second hand book shops on Botanic Avenue. It was time to eat so I headed for Cafe Arirang which is a fusion of Northern Ireland scones and sandwiches and Korean dishes. I had spicy noodle soup (delicious) and a side of kimchi. I've been dying to try kimchi for ages ever since my blogmate Hails fell in love with it while she was living and working in South Korea. I've got a recipe and some Chinese cabbage (thanks Zoe) and I'm going to try it myself.

So there you go. Day 1 of blogging every day straight to New Year's Eve. Wish me luck.