Soup and Rook

My latest Korean food adventure began on Friday, when we had a small dinner pary at Mrs. Stumbler sister's home. After dinner, The Stumbling Grandparents took all the children to see the Christmas park (the place I wrote about previously, Santa's Village). When they were gone, the four of us played the card game Rook until midnight. (The Stumbler, Mrs. Stumbler, her sister, Stumbling Sister-In-Law #3, and her husband, Stumbling Brother-In-Law #3). It was men against women, and the men won almost every game (except the last game, when we let the women win to make them feel good).

Rook Game 

SBIL#3 expressed an interest in getting some kimchi, and I needed some, too. So, the next day we went to the local Korean grocery store. He bought some kimchi, and the round flat puffed rice cakes (I don't know the korean name for this). I bought kimchi, and also some ingredients for making a new soup, ddok mandu guk (떡만두국). SBIL#3 and I agreed to prepare some korean food and share it that night (Saturday was Christmas Eve, and we had another small party at their house). So, Saturday aftenoon I began cooking my soup.

Making Ddok Mandu Guk 

The shop keeper at the store had told me some instructions, and I remember watching SY make it back in Korea. The one thing I always remembered was telling SY, "put more garlic in the soup" as she was cooking it. So, perhaps I added a little bit extra garlic in this dish. As the soup came to a boil, I noticed none of my family was nearby. Mrs. Stumbler went upstairs to our bedroom, closed the door and opened the windows. Apparently, everyone was being gassed out by the strong garlic smell.

Anyway, the soup was finished, and we went to Christmas Eve church service then on to SBIL#3 house. Everyone else ate some snacks, while he and I ate some of this delicious soup. Also, he had made a soup using his kimchi, rice, and sausage that afternoon. It was delicious, too. That evening when we arrived back home, YS#1 complained that her eyes were burning from the remaining garlic smell in the house!

The soup appeared once more at our family gathering on Christmas Day and the Stumbling Grandparent's house. I re-heated the soup, and fried the remaining dumplings (군만두). Grandpa Stumbler, Stumbling Sister-In-Law #2, and Mrs. Stumbler tried some of it, and proclained it good (although Mrs. Stumbler was still tasting garlic in her mouth for the next 2 horus).

I think my ddok mandu guk cooking experience was successful, although I believe next time I will be told to cook it outside.