Korea

Wedding Invitation Samples from THE CARD

Check out this amazing sample pack we received in the mail. Kiuk and I decided to order invitations from Korea since they are generally less expensive than in Canada. I found this website where they sell wedding invitations (or 웨딩카드) called THE CARD.

I searched for some cards that I liked and a few days later this came in the mail!
They were really good quality… I’m not surprised 🙂

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Here are some of my favourites.

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And who doesn’t love these cute food coupons? I didn’t even know what these were for until I attended a wedding last weekend. After giving your monetary gift and signing your name, a friend of the bride or groom who sits at a desk and collects the money will hand you a food coupon. After the short ceremony, you’ll redeem it for a meal (usually buffet).

We will need these for our Korean traditional ceremony and I really love the ones of the bride and groom wearing their hanboks! There are so many things to do before the big day!!

Incoming Mail from Jun in Korea

Korean is difficult and it’s been many years since I began studying. Finally, I’ve found a pen pal who is interested in exchanging postcards that are written in Korean. I must say, this is an awesome way to study a new language. Although my Korean is far from fluent, it’s great  practice and I’m glad that I can write to someone who is willing to help out. She always sends such pretty cards that remind me of beautiful Korea.

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Thanks Jun!
A reply it on its way.

Incoming Mail

A gorgeous thank you card from Carol, Kara’s grandma.IMG_3519

 I didn’t expect this at all. A while back, Kara’s grandmother went in for surgery and (even though I don’t know her personally) I was on board with sending her a get well card. Such a lovely idea for Kara to organize this for her grandma. I am so happy that my card (and all of the other cards that were sent) reached her safely and made her day. Glad to hear that Carol is doing well.

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It was so sweet to receive her thankful words.
I also love how the card is laser cut. It is so delicate and classy!

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Maria sent this vintage ad card from Russia.
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Here is a card from J Kim, my new pen pal in Korea.
She got this card (below) while she was visiting Turkey.

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I’m really glad that we’re swapping because now it’ll give me more opportunity to read and write in Korean. Tonight I am taking part in a Korean-English language exchange.
Hopefully that goes well.
Looking forward to more sending and receiving this week 🙂

 

 

Kimchi Recipe

Last week, in preparation for Kiuk’s arrival, I made kimchi. Lots and lots of it!

When I was in Ottawa I lived with a Korean friend who had decided that, instead of buying super expensive kimchi from the supermarket, she’d rather make it herself. She taught me how and ever since then I’ve been making it on my own. This might look a little strange for those of you who have never tried this super food. There are so many different types of kimchi (fermented cabbage) and so no two taste exactly alike. It’s used as a side dish, in rice dishes, stews, dumplings, savoury fried pancakes… the list goes on. It’s a staple food so there are dozens of different Korean recipes that contain kimchi. As a result, people make a ton of it once a year. There aren’t too many ingredients but the procedure takes a while and doing it alone is hard work. Thankfully I had some friends join in!

This is the result:
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Quick (non-traditional but tastes traditional)
Kimchi Recipe:

You’ll need 3 napa cabbages, sea salt, 2 large daikon radishes, 3 bundles of green union, 3 garlic bulbs, one large piece of ginger, 2 cups of gochukaru (Korean red pepper flakes), 12 tablespoons of fish sauce and 3 tablespoons of sugar (you can use pear instead of sugar to add some sweetness).

First, wash the outside of the cabbage, picking off any old pieces. Then, cut the cabbages in halves, then in quarters. Do this vertically with the leaves facing away from you and the base toward you.

Take the quartered piece and turn it so it’s horizontal. Cut one and a half inch pieces and sprinkle them into a big empty bucket. Sprinkle a generous amount of sea salt on the layer of cut cabbage. Continue cutting the cabbage, sprinkling the pieces into the bucket, along with the sea salt layer by layer until you’ve used up all 3 cabbages. Don’t worry about the base of the cabbage… you can add that in, too!

Wait 6 hours (no more, no less).
While you’re waiting, cut the daikon radishes and green onions.
The radish should be cut diagonally into thin disks, turned over and cut again into thin strips. The green onion should be cut diagonally into thin pieces.

After 6 hours the cabbage will have absorbed the salt and your pile of cabbage will have decreased in size. Cabbage pieces should be salty. Rinse off the salt and strain.

Now make your sauce. Mash 3 bulbs of garlic with a mortar and pestle. Do the same with the large piece of ginger. Add 12 tablespoons of fish sauce and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Mix together with 2 cups of red pepper flakes. You can find these in a Korean supermarket. I find that chill is too big and paprika is too small. “Gochukaru” works just right.

Now for the fun part. After you’ve mixed the sauce together put on some plastic gloves and mix the sauce with the cabbage, radish and green onions. Make sure to get the sauce on each piece and not to leave any clumps. Leave at room temperature for one day and then refrigerate.

If you follow this recipe you’ll be eating kimchi for a while.
Here are some photos of another recipe. You can see what I mean about how to quarter/cut the cabbage. Also, here are some recipes for how you might want to use your kimchi in Korean cuisine.

Enjoy!