Korean Influences

On the right: Portrait of a Beauty by Shin Yun-bok (born 1758), source

This was almost a month ago, back in March, so no fresh green leaves on the trees behind me, neither blue bells, nor dandelions by my feet just yet. Our two-week-long Summer which I was writing about a couple of times lately was not hot (even our real Summer is rarely hot, for which I am greatly appreciative), but we steadily had temperatures around 70 F (21 C) and glorious SUNSHINE, both of which make me insanely happy. It felt like having a mini vacation to restore both my physical and emotional health. But, we now have mild Spring temperatures again, clouds, sprinkles, in other words, all as usual, and while I am not having any new outfits to share from this week, I still have a few outfits and stories to share from the past month or so. Are you ready? Let's go.

It was a weekend when Justin and I went out for Korean food. Actually, we thought we were going out for Japanese food (mainly for sushi), but I got confused with two restaurants' names, both successfully established in the city of Federal Way with a large population of Koreans (our Little Seoul, as I call it), but new to us. We are no rookies when it comes to Korean food. Korean cuisine is one of my most favorite of all world cuisines, and I was a little familiar with some of it even when I lived in Siberia.

There are about 500,000 Koreans in Russia and ex-USSR countries (or Koryo-saram, as they refer to themselves), with the largest Korean population in Kazakhstan (100,000), Russia (153,000) and Uzbekistan (184,000). Their ancestors either lived or moved to the Russian Far East in the 1860s, settled down and had their own newspapers, colleges, theaters etc. Read more about the history of Koryo-saram here in English and here in Russian. These days, as it happens quite often, young generations do not speak the language of their ancestors, but as it is common in all Asian cultures, they are quite strong in keeping their ancient traditions when it comes to family life, relationships between women and men, between young and old, and of course their home cooking. One of the very common dishes known to every Russian is so-called Korean Carrots - shredded carrots, quickly prepared in a fragrant spicy marinade. 

Since I knew I was coming to an Asian place and I knew it would be quite casual, I wanted to look somewhat Asian, a little minimalistic, so I picked this Melissa McCarthy poncho sweater and an elaborate necklace from Chico's new series Collectibles - fantastic costume jewelry pieces, this one is inspired by Japanese culture. The sweater actually has a cowl-neck collar, but I modified (folded) it into a shawl collar to fit this beautiful necklace. If you look closely on the profile photo above, you'll see faux leather trim and buttons on my sweater.

Back to cuisine now. As I said earlier, we arrived not at the restaurant that I thought it would be. Akasaka is a Korean food and Korean style Japanese food restaurant, which I would rate highly for their very relaxed, inviting atmosphere. Authentic places can be a little intimidating, but here you'll most probably feel like home right away. It is praised for affordable sushi. I tried some of my most favorite sashimi - salmon and red caviar (ikura), and they were good.

Holding a Drinking Bout by Shin Yun-bok (source)

We ordered a few different dishes, to sort of test what their cooking was like. I would say, all in all it's pretty good, though some dishes, considering that we have plenty of Korean places around, I have had better. Justin was really happy with the salmon he ordered. As always, Koreans start their feast with a variety of kimchi - that's what they call fermented vegetables. Yes, not only Napa cabbage is called kimchi, but other types of vegetables prepared in that manner, just so you know. Cucumbers, radishes and eggplant are very common kimchi as well. Kimchi is praised for health benefits and was selected as one of the world's healthiest foods. It does not have to be super spicy, by the way. When I traveled in Tawian, I remember that kimchi was offered at street markets in the whole range of spiciness, from mild to extra spicy, and so is pretty much any dish at a Korean restaurant, so feel free to order your level of spicy. I used to love it so hot that I'd cry, but I noticed that lately I prefer it a little milder, while Justin is the opposite - he did not like spicy at all before he met me, and now he likes it sometimes even spicier than me!

After a few kimchi dishes, they brought us Spicy Beef and Noodle Soup which I love (photo above). If you want to eat it the Korean way, scoop a little steamed rice with your spoon (notice the adorable round Korean spoon with a long handle), and then dip it into your soup. The rice absorbs the flavors of the soup this way. Koreans always serve rice with soup, similar to the Western the tradition of serving bread with soup and dunking it. Rice is Asian bread.

The seafood pancake (photo above) is our daughter's favorite, it is marvelous when well prepared. It can be done with vegetables only, or a mix of veggies and seafood pieces. I love when they serve it with a special sauce, but not all places do it. At Akasaka, they serve it with Sesame seeds covered soy sauce. I ordered it for Anya and brought it home, knowing that it would make her happy. Justin had grilled salmon, a generous portion which he was grateful for. :)

On the left: Women at Fish Market by Shin Yun-bok (source)

Lovers under the Moon by Shin Yun-bok (source)

Here you have it, Korean cuisine, a little bit of history of the folk on two continents, and an Asian-inspired outfit - all in one post.

Find out another Korean influence on our life in this post. Hmm, I wonder what it could be? ;)

Are you familiar with Korean cuisine? Do you love it? 

What are your favorite world cuisines? Do tell!

Poncho sweater - Melissa McCarthy via Lane Bryant

Jeans, shirt - Lane Bryant (old)

Boots - Aquatalia via Nordstrom Rack

Necklace - Chico's Collectibles

Clutch - Cole Haan via TJ MAX (old)

Linking up with Throw Back Thursday

52 Pick-me-up: Grey

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