Hotteok in Winter. Here is Hazell dressed for winter on her kickboard. To keep her warm, I bought her a hotteok: A Korean Sweet Cinnamon, Nut Caramel Donut. She didn't care so much for the donut but she does look good in her winter clothes. You can find them in the traditional markets. This one is at Gwangmyeong Sagaree Station. If you wanted some more information on this iconic dish read further below.  One dish that I believe is universally adored in Korea is hotteok. Hotteok is a leavened dough cake that is stuffed with cinnamon, sugar and nuts. Them the dough is flattened and fried. Through the frying process the sugar melts to create a delicious caramel filling. According to some accounts from food historians, this snack was brought to Korea by Chinese immigrants who first landed in Incheon's international port. And even though the snack and the name resembles western "hot cake," hotteok's etymology is Chinese/Korean. "Ho" comes from the Chin...

Did you eat your tteokguk, Korean New Year's Rice Cake Soup? If you did, you became a year older. Happy 2019 everyone. So rice cake is made from Garaetteok and in case you wanted some more information, here is an excerpt from a food radio show I wrote.  The long white rice cake called garaetteok are examples of the steamed and beaten rice cakes. These garaetteok are usually sliced into disks and used in the lunar new year dish tteokguk. The white disks represent coins. The fried rice cakes usually have flowers on them or stuffed with red bean paste. The boiled rice cakes are called gyeongdan and you can usually find them colored with different powders such as sesame seeds, red bean or millet.

Hey World! It's been a wild couple of years. I haven't stopped eating or writing; it's just that I have this job, businesses, kids and family. Lol. I am not complaining. I love my wife and kids. I have been transitioning from a world-traveling, entrepreneur to a line cook/chauffeur/worker bee. It's all good. In 2019 I (hopefully...if my publisher gets it today) be putting out a book, the video productions and tv segments that I worked on in the last year should be aired and my littlest one will be starting daycare.  When I do go out with the kids, it's usually more work than play, since I have to keep the girls happy while not disturbing others. You don't want to risk the ire and judgement of others while parenting.  My cooking habits have changed since my daughters see food differently. They like colors and fun packaging. Black pepper is even too spicy at times so I tend to make a lot of Kimbap, dumplings, bread and grilled fish.  At night, aft...

Parenting is a full contact sport and there is never a break or a half time. They should put potential parents through a boot camp to see if they are able to handle the task, but I think this would halt human reproduction. You never get a break while parenting. Well, I guess there is one when they sleep, but that’s when you need a break. Your body and mind will just go into recharge mode. It’s not the physicality of it that is what is tiring, it’s the mental, philosophical and societal factor as well. You are responsible for your kids and others judge you if it looks like you are doing it wrong. And if you are really doing it wrong, you will end up in jail or worse. But at the end of the day nobody knows if they are doing it right or wrong. All we can do is try to keep them fed, well, and “happy.” And happiness is a relative term here, for me and for them. For example, I am happy when we are running around with them playing games, when they are eating a meal I cooked, or w...

Yesterday I went back to the fish market for the first time in a long time. The Noryangjin Fish Market is still there but the old market seems to be on its last legs and the new one just doesn't have much energy. At least the seafood is still fresh if you know how to look for it. The price has gone up. King Crab is 55K-70K a Kilogram. If you find a good one you can get a fried rice made with the innards. Cheers, Dan For more regular food info follow me on Instagram at @Seouleats

Shabu Shabu in Hongdae at Jayeon Shabu Shabu The best mushroom shabu shabu place is at Jayeon Shabu Shabu. Look, even if you think that you've had shabu shabu and that it is not real Korean food; Korean shabu shabu is different. You get many more sides and a ton of veggies. It feels very clean and healthy. Jayeon Shabu Shabu is one of the best. You get copious amounts of mushrooms, the broth is delicious, and it was all about their special sesame, peanutty, sauce. You many varieties of mushrooms - some of which I never knew could be eaten. Apparently they are all good for health (and none of them are of the magic variety). Oh, and for vegetarians, the broth is not meat based so it is one of my top vegetarian picks in Korea. After you eat all the veggies and meat, you finish off the meal with some buckwheat noodles. Yum! Jayeon Shabu Shabu Mapo-gu Donggyo-ro 197 대관령메밀막국수자연샤브샤브샤브샤브  서울특별시 마포구 동교로 197  NAVER MAP LINK

Cooking for kids is an exercise in camouflage, patience and restraint. Now that my daughter has started to go to preschool, she has started to have all the foods that I didn't really want her to have such as pizza, fried chicken, candy, pastries, cookies, sausages, sugary drinks, and much more. When she was at home, her mother and I would make everything fresh and she used to eat more vegetables. Now, if I had packed her lunch everyday, she would have been envious of the other kids anyway. I understand the lunch lady's position as well. They have limited resources and time to make food for many kids. They want to limit waste and they want the kids to be happy. The problem with this is that it develops the child's idea of what is "delicious" and "good." I think they also develop a taste for salt, sugar and, sadly, MSG. I don't really know what I can do except that I need to make the food at home better and tastier than what she has at school....