There’s a pretty big culinary event that I left out in October. That is, my very first hosting of Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving celebration. I tried my best to quickly come up with something comparable to the traditional menu, but of course it deviated to match my need, ability, and resources.
One of the biggest rituals for Chuseok is Charye. Of course, we’re not sprung from the same ancestors, so we decided instead, to pay respects to the luminous beings who we have recently lost, as they have profoundly touched our lives: MJ and Swayze. I wish that we had something nicer than Jim Beam to offer, but we had that, and Sagatiba cachaça. And would ever I expect to find Dalton sippin’ on a little glass of capirinha with a dainty lime wedge in Road House? I don’t think so. Although Bodhi, maybe.. and MJ, definitely. Anyway..
I documented some of our process, partially because I think that my mom would get a kick out of them. Fortunately, I think that now I am ready to take it to a more serious level next time. This month is the American Thanksgiving, which is a bit more simple than the Korean one, and I’m quite excited for it, not only for the food and an excuse to get together with everyone, but also because of the leftovers. Which is why I have decided to dedicate this entire week to talking about leftovers! (Something needs to happen with all the food portraits in the hard drive…)
And below is the recipe for my favorite dish of Chuseok.
Vegetarian Taro Soup
*이건 제 방식의 채식 토란국 이니 전통적인 토란국을 찾으신다면 구글이나 네이버를 참고해 주세요 ^^
300g medium sized toran/taro (@ Korean market, ask for ‘toran’. @ Japanese marker, ask for ‘araimo’ or ‘eddo’)
200g of a Korean/daikon radish (@ Korean market, ask for ‘mu’. @ Japanese marker, ask for ‘daikon’)
1 yellow onion
3 large sheets of dashima/kombu (@ Korean market, ask for ‘dashima’. @ Japanese marker, ask for ‘kombu’)
5 large shiitake mushrooms
1 or more medium size scallions
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 or more cloves of garlic, 1 sliced, and 1 chopped
a pinch or ground sesame seeds
sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
Peel the skin of taro using a knife or a potato peeler, and wash thoroughly. Taro skin can make your hands itchy, so wear plastic gloves if your hands are sensitive. (My hands were fine w/o gloves.) Bigger taro should be cut in half, so that all taro pieces are the similar size. If desired, cut each pieces in to round ball shapes.
Like all Korean soups, taro soup will be eaten with rice, which should be cooking in the cooker before starting the soup. Save the water that was used to wash the rice before going to the cooker, and use this water to boil the taro. This will get rid of the sliminess of the taro. When the taro is soft but still on the firm side (not mushy) discard the water and wash taro in cold water. Set aside.
Wash the radish, cut into quarters length wise, and slice in to 1/3 inch slices.
Put dashima/kombu, half of the scallions, onion, mushrooms, garlic, and radish slices in about 8 cups of water and bring to boil and then bring to simmer. When the radishes are as soft as the taro, take out all solid ingredients using a strainer or a cheese cloth to filter, and keep the water simmering.
Discard the scallions and onions. Wash the radish slices, onions, dashima/kombu, and the mushrooms in cold water. Season the radishes with chopped garlic, ground sesame seeds, and 1 tbsp of soy sauce.
Cut the boiled dashima/kombu into 1.5 inch squares, and slice the mushrooms. Julienne the remaining 1/2 of an onion. Put all ingredients including the cooled taro back in the broth, and bring to boil one more time. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Serve with chopped scallions sprinkled on top.
Serves 4-6.
