What an adventure I had today!! I spent several hours at Lotte Mart, Seosan's biggest department store, where I had my first lesson in Korean grocery shopping. Fortunately, I had done a little homework before heading out, or I would have been in some serious hot water. Those of you who know me, know what a passion -- verging on obsession -- I have with all this ethnic, cultural, international. So it shouldn't come as any surprise to you that while I'm here in Korea, I fully intend to do a lot of things Korean-style. Bloom where you're planted, isn't that right? To my mind, a fully authentic experience, one that rings true to my reasons for coming here in the first place, does not revolve around dinners of pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken, or spaghetti. (Actually, all of the above are right here in town, for those times, which I'm sure will happen, when I'm craving something really Western).
For a while now, though, I've immersed myself in a love and fascination of Eastern cultures, philosophies, religions, medicines, and of course, cuisine. That love is one of the over-arching reasons I chose to come to Korea. I happen to believe that there is a lot of wisdom passed down from generation to generation in these cultures that have been in existence since ancient times. And I think it would be a terrible waste if I were not to really try to integrate and assimilate as much as I can, this knowledge. So with that rather philosophical opening, I give you ... My First Korean Shopping List!
I thought it might be interesting for some of you back home to take a look at what a typical trip to the market yields here in Korea. Also, the prices are listed in Won, as well as USD, which is also kind of interesting (or is that just the analyst in me coming out? Thanks, Dad, I've always attributed my number-crunching interest to you!!)₩8,780 $8.51 dried small anchovies, 900g (for using to flavor soups)
₩4,130 $4.00 rice vinegar
₩2,430 $2.36 apple vinegar
₩1,420 $1.38 buckwheat noodles (Japanese style)
₩1,030 $1.00 wheat noodles (Korean style)
₩1,580 $1.53 black bean paste chunjang
₩2,130 $2.06 roasted sesame seeds
₩3,860 $3.74 rice paper wrappers (Vietnamese style, for spring rolls)
₩1,868 $1.81 yellow miso paste (Korean style, made of soybeans)
₩2,740 $2.66 red pepper paste
₩3,866 $3.75 soy sauce (regular)
₩4,320 $4.19 soy sauce (Korean style, for making soups)
₩7,632 $7.40 sesame oil
₩7,930 $7.69 dried black beans (Korean style, for cooking with rice)
₩15,980 $15.49 ground soybean + grain health drink
₩1,300 $1.26 sea salt
₩3,800 $3.68 barley (dried, for cooking with rice)
₩1,630 $1.58 seaweed paper (for chopping into cooked rice)
₩1,920 $1.86 Nori sheets (seaweed for rolling rice/kimbap)
₩1,950 $1.91 oyster sauce (Chinese style)
₩2,740 $2.66 soy milk (1 quart)
₩1,050 $1.02 soybean curd (tofu)
₩3,680 $3.57 eggs (1 dozen)
₩1,160 $1.12 bananas (5 little bananas, ~$.022/ea)
₩4,333 $4.20 sweet potatoes (4 medium, $1.05/ea)
₩2,115 $2.05 carrots (4 HUGE!)
₩2,980 $2.89 fresh pineapple
₩1,760 $1.71 bean sprouts
₩2,123 $2.06 tomatoes (2 med, ~$1.03/ea)
₩830 $0.80 fresh garlic cloves (about 12)
₩980 $0.95 Korean chives (1 massive bunch)
₩860 $0.83 fresh ginger
₩650 $0.62 baking soda
Who knew, for instance, that there was a special kind of soy sauce just for making soup? Or that there were so many different varieties of sea plants / seaweed? I'm already missing the abundance of fresh fruit I enjoyed at home... prices for fruits here are steep, and with the exception of this week's pineapple sale and little bananas (which are very affordable), I had to pass them up :(Stay tuned for my next post, in which I'll be trying to turn some of these ingredients into the solution to my already-growling stomach!!
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