Tag Archives: Culture

Under the sea in Korea

Last weekend officially marked the opening to a new dive season here in Korea. Brrr… yes dry suits were absolutely involved, but they were troopers and still geared up and dove in.

The dive shop that Mr. B frequents has become like a second home to the both of us. We look forward to the ocean breeze on our faces and in our hair. The escape of letting the crowded city and everyday stress behind. Catching up with friends that have become like family to the both of us. It’s deeply cherished and has absolutely become a big part of our lives.

It was a special weekend as we were invited back to the opening of the shop for another year of diving. The shop’s opening ceremony kicked off with paying respects to their ancestors, Korean rice wine flowing, and a big ol’ BBQ with copious amounts of food being served (Thank’s again for grilling Jeff). It was surreal to look around that night under the big tent and realize that we didn’t all speak the same language, we didn’t come from the same countries, but everyone there all held the same passion for diving and that made everyone one in the same in that moment.

Backpackbees

What Is A Wedding Like In Korea?

Ahhhh weddings….The Beatles said it best “All You Need is Love” and I couldn’t agree more. A few weeks ago we were part of being witness to that kind of love that the beetles sang about, yes, in my book the most wonderful feeling a human can experience, LOVE! It’s just as good sitting in the wedding hall on the sideline in the crowd and getting to take it all in at its most optimistic and perfect form. Swoon!

The day was filled with smiles all around, loving glances shared, and laughter! This was the first time we had been to a Korean wedding and friends told us we were in for a treat. We wanted to share our experiences in the event you too find yourself in Korea invited to a friend’s wedding.

Are you ready? Lets just jump right into it…

There were many differences when comparing a Korean wedding to a western wedding. The first thing that comes to mind is the location. Most Korean wedding and ceremonies are held in a wedding hall where many other couples are also having theirs. This wedding hall was located in downtown Seoul. Let’s just say that there was a close call with a traffic cop so from one friend to another… give yourself ample time to find the location beforehand. The entire day (couple of hours) is every prompt and efficient with everything being timed down to the last second. There are no casual drinks, toast being given by the best man and no reception dance party afterwards. Sorry folks, no getting down with the chicken dance on this side of the world.

Before you enter the area of the hall that your friends will be getting married in, there is typically a table set up where they are taking money. Forget the gift cards, coffee pots, or toaster you might so graciously gift the happy couple, instead you need to take an envelope and give the gift of cash. Guidance given on gifting cash is centered around your closeness to the couple. If you are family or close friends they say 100,000 or more, acquaintance or co-worker 30,000 – 50,000 won is well received. Once you give the money you will be immediately handed tickets. These tickets are your meal card. Basically the money you just gifted purchased your meals for the wedding buffet (spoiler alert more on that in a few). Pretty clever when you think about it.

Next you will quickly notice that guest are dressed in whatever they want. The whole philosophy of being overdressed rather than under dressed absolutely isn’t applying here. The attire ranged from jeans a tee and sneakers to a more formal style of dress pants and tie… I think I might have even seen hiking gear?? The ceremony is very informal when doing the comparison. There were people walking in and out during the service, talking or playing games on their cellphones, chit chatting, laughing, etc. I was stunned coming from a culture where you can probably hear a pin drop during our ceremonies.

Getting to witnessing a wedding in another culture is just so interesting to me! This wedding the bride and groom wore western style wedding attire, both rented. The dress was beautiful and the bride looked stunning! After the ceremony, the couple do a quick ensemble change into a traditional hanbok to show respect to their past generations and go to greet their family and friends at the dinner buffet.

After the ceremony you are ushered into the elevators to head to the hall’s gigantic dining area and large buffet. You will quickly see now that there are a lot more people here and that is because you are now dining with all of the other wedding hall’s guest. Just seek out an empty spot because there are no assigned seats, or table numbers.

Our friend that teaches in Korea told us that the children in her class say that the best thing about Korean weddings are the buffet. Some even just show up to eat and leave. LOL! Honestly, the children had it right! The spread is incredible! Tons of dishes and tons of Korean desserts to choose from …BUT… no sweet icing laced traditional wedding cake to be found. (Hands down my other favorite part of a wedding).

Another feather to add to our culture caps! The day was a lot of fun and we really appreciated the opportunity to be apart of our friends special day and learn more about the Korean culture and also have the opportunity to share it with all of you.
Have you ever attended a wedding within a culture unlike your own? What was it like? We’d love to hear!

Backpackbees

South Korea: Lunar New Year!

새해 복 많이 받으세요, Happy Lunar New Year all!

It’s crazy to sit here and realize that this is our 4th and 5th Lunar New Year in Korea. Honestly, WHOA! Anywho I’m sure if you’ve been following along with our blog from the beginnings you know what Lunar New Year is all about. FOOD! Kidding… well kinda, sorta. It’s about family and being together, much like our own special holidays in the US. And FOOD.

So to celebrate Lunar New Year, why not get festive and gather up your friends and teach them how to easily make dumplings? Just remember two magic words, fill and fold and the rest will come into place for you. The great thing about dumplings is that you can be as basic, or crazy creative with the filling ingredients as you’d like and they will still be delicious. This time around we kept ours fairly simple, easy to follow and vegetarian.

Remember…Confucius say, “Man with one chopstick go hungry.”

Enjoy!

^If you are in Korea these bamboo steamers and steamer liners are EASY to get a hold of. If you can’t find any liners, use some cabbage leaves and call it a day.

Easy Steamed Dumplings

Ingredients:
About 15 shiitake mushrooms, or your favorite kind, sliced
1/2 of a small onion, sliced
EVOO- Extra virgin olive oil, used to drizzle
1 Cup shredded carrot
1 Cup shredded cabbage
3 Inch slices of fresh ginger, diced
3 Cloves garlic, diced
1/2 Cup of mixed yellow, red and green bell pepper, diced
1/2 Of a block of tofu, diced into small squares
1/4 Cup chopped scallions
4 Tsp soy sauce
4 Tsp hoisin sauce
2 packs of wonton wrappers
Salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Combine the mushrooms and onions onto a baking sheet and drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Roast in oven for approximately 10-15 minutes, checking for a nice golden brown coloring. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.

After the mushrooms and onions have cooled, combine all of the dry ingredients and add in a pinch of salt. Add in the sauces and toss together.

You want to fill the wrapper with about a tablespoon scoop of the mixture. You will know if it is to full by the way it’s folding together for you. Take your finger, wet the outside edges of the wrapper with a bit of water and begin to pinch and fold edges completely closed, as shown on the wrapper instructions.

Place the dumplings inside and steamer for approximately 9-10 minutes, or until the wonton skins are soft.

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Click, Ship & treat yourself!

Bangkok: Cooking With Poo

The next few days were a whirlwind. I booked and crammed every single Bangkok minute full of fun things to do and see while we were there. Thankfully Mr. B didn’t grumble to much and was a pretty willing participant accompanying me. Thank you for everything Mr. B.

Each morning we were up before the sun getting ourselves together and ready for the day. First on the list was the cooking class we booked. We easily found the mass transit system and purchased all day passes. If I recall correctly the cost was like $8 or $9 US. Here were just some views along the way.

We, like many, love to travel around the world and experience a different culture with its culinary delights and then be able to take that skill and recreate it to share with our families and friends later on. Thanks to Kelsey’s recommendation on the class, we cooked with Poo. No typo, we cooked with Poo and we really liked it too! LOL! Let me explain more about that.

Khun Saiyuud Diwong, known as Poo (it’s short for “Chompoo”, or rose apple). Poo is a resident of Klong Toey, one of the largest slum communities in the city of Bangkok. She has been running a cooking school for tourists as well as local residents for over 5 years. Poo continues to be gaining media coverage from around the world, most notably cooking with Jamie Oliver in his home (WHOA!), but that’s not the most important thing to her, she has changed the lives of her family and the lives of many neighbors in her community. Poo is able to provide employment and support her neighbors in starting their own viable home business. Please read more about Helping Hands, also mentioned in my prior post when I was in Cambodia.

The day begins with a tour of Klong Toei market. Not only do you get to learn about the ingredients you will be using later in your class, but you get a real in your face overview of Thai market culture, products and produce (smells, sights and all). We were surprised that even after all the markets we’ve been to around Asia, this one was rather different.

*The orange is just egg yolks

*These are eel

*These are REALLY big water bugs… that they eat….and no not just on some Bangkok version of Fear Factor

*Remember me trying this in Malaysia?

*The scent of these were beautiful! So much so, a mum had to purchase some for her young son because of the various pungent market smells

*The pink eggs are just pickled like our central Pennsylvania red beets and picked eggs

*I sort of kind of know how to tell the difference between the deep red or white inside dragon fruit from the outside… kind of

*Mini eggplant I thought were really awesome

Poo only takes on 10 people at a time with her cooking groups and I must agree, looking back no more than 10 is the perfect size when trying to get through the market and also cook together.

After the market we went to the Klong Toei neighborhood. This is where Poo’s kitchen is located. unfortunately Poo’s original kitchen burnt and was destroyed in a fire, but fortunately with all of the wonderful continued business she and her staff were quickly able to re-establish another site again.

We were dropped off and took a short guided walk through one of Bangkok’s poorer areas. This was an experience in itself because most coming to Bangkok on holiday will never experience or even see these areas. The children and locals are genuinely friendly wanting to say hello. I really felt welcomed and very safe the entire time.

The class is impressively organized and very thorough. We learned to prepare a 3-course meal in only two hours! Of course let’s not forget the best part…. eating your delicious creations. If you cannot finish the dish you prepared, no worries, as they will bag and let you to take home.

We were introduce you to basic Thai cooking techniques along with family stories to accompany them. We cooked Yum Ta Krai (Lemon Grass Salad), Gaeng Massaman Gai (Massaman Curry with Chicken), Pad Thai (Thai Noodles with Prawns), and had a Thai Dessert Tasting. Poo and her staff purchased various types of fruits that they explained and showed as at the market and allowed us to taste and eat them, along with our mango and coconut rice. YUM-O! EVERYTHING was amazing! Plus we met some really great new friends too! (Thanks again for taking some of our photos).

*Pumpkin filled with custard

The overall experience of cooking with Poo was inspirational and I walked away with a much deeper connection to Thailand, because the proceeds go to the local community. Poo and her staff were incredibly welcoming, accommodating, hilarious, very patient, took the time to explain and answer anything asked, and warm spirited. Each of them served as outstanding representation of their culture. It’s such an amazing feeling to know that incredible individuals like Poo and her staff are trying to make a difference not only for themselves, but their own community. Thank you ladies!

Backpackbees

Culturally Aware

We woke up this morning to snow. I had to wipe my eyes and do a second take as a pulled the curtains open across the big living room windows. No mistake. The white stuff was definitely back again. Luckily it really didn’t stick around, and was gone by mid afternoon. We lucked out here. From what I gather the states are not in the same shape as of late.

I usually don’t talk about my work life on the blog. However, I thought this would be fun to share with you all on this Friday eve.

Culturally we are all very different. We all come from such diverse backgrounds. Today at work we broke bread together — each of my co-workers bringing in dishes that represent ‘their culture’ to them: bulgogi, water kimchi, white chicken chili, garden salad, lasagna, garlic bread, mandu, enchiladas, with rice, japchae, pasta salad, mustard eggs, and cupcakes for a special birthday celebration. We all had a blast getting to taste a bit of everyone’s background. I enjoyed explaining a bit about America and how America is a melting pot, much like our team.

On a side note, I now know what true torture is…Yes! It’s giving up sweets for lent and baking your favorite yellow cupcakes with vanilla frosting. The cupcakes continue to get frosting on your fingers as you frost them, and you cannot lick them off.

T-O-R-T-U-R-E! HA HA!

Backpackbees