I'm currently in Emeryville, California with my friend Matt Kim . He is an amazing photographer and about a month ago he was in Korea and he took pictures of the rice cake fair along with Robyn Lee of Serious Eats . Matt is a foodie, so he has taken me out to get some great California eats. He was also kind enough to give me a place to stay for a couple of days in California. Today we went to 900 Grayson for Chicken and Waffles. During the course of the meal, he gave me some pointers on how to take better photos. I'll post these photos very soon. I've been looking through the photos that he took for the rice cake fair and I must tell you that they are breathtaking. I wanted to share some of them with you. If you want to see all the photos, you can find them here.

The first rice cake orientation at the Institute for Korean Traditional Foods was a big hit. Sixty-five people came to the orientation and they all had a chance to tour the tteok museum, view a cooking demonstration, and then make their own rice cake. They learned how to make pressed flower rice cake and coffee tteok cake.  This event really showed how international Korea is. There were people from India, Saudi Arabia, Africa, China, Singapore, France, Germany, Russia, Mongolia, Japan, Spain, and America in attendance.  The teachers and assistants were all amazing and helpful and in the end, all the students were able to eat what they made. There will be one more rice cake class this Saturday, April 18th  at the Institute of Korean Traditional foods near Changdeok Palace (Jongno 3-ga exit 7). All are invited to come and experience making this Korean delicacy. The classes are free, but the spaces are limited so be sure to make a reservation by calling 741.5477 / 010 4272 1900 or by emai...

A Dosirak (도시락) in Korean is a lunch box and Dr. Yoon has invented her own version using tteok as the main component. To the top corner you have a crisp lettuce salad dressed with a gochujang (chili) and tengjang (fermented soybean) dressing. It's a tangy dressing with a slight hint of heat. In the center are tiny myeolchi (멸치). These are baby anchovies sauteed with a bit oil and flavored with crunchy peanuts and garnished with red peppers and green onions. To the bottom left are kimchi kimbap. The rice part of the roll is made out of ricecake. It's an unconventional approach to a timeless dish. The chewyness of the rice cake (떡) was bizarre and welcome at the same time. Above the rice cake are sweet potato rice cake snacks. These have mashed sweet potato in the middle. The potato is then are wrapped in rice cake and fried. Then they are glazed with a sweet candy coating. It is crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. It's like an M & M- just imagine sweet potato i...

Hey everyone, I am helping the Institute for Korean traditional foods organize this event and I would like to invite you all to participate. They will have a rice cake making competition at the aT (the Agro and Trade Center in Yangjae.) on Friday, May 8th. This will be an all day event and they will have a competition for Koreans and for Foreigners. The foreigners will have a separate competition that will be held from 5-6 that day. They will invite 40 participants and the 40 have to make the rice cake at the competition and then serve it. I know that many people have to work on Friday and I'm working on trying to get the day switched to Saturday. I'll let you know if that is possible or not. The rice cakes will be judged for: Sanitation: 10pts, Kitchen Technique: 20pts, Taste: 10pts, Color: 10 pts, Presentation: 10pts, Originality: 20pts, Potential for Global marketability 20pts Think of this as the Iron Chef for rice cake. The winner will not only get fame, they will also w...