Korean Food

Since I came to Canada, I visited different sites of Korean food. In fact, the very first restaurant I visited since I came to this country was a Korean restaurant, where some friends invited me. Although I became a fan of Korean food, since I started to blog, I could not decide to post about which place.

The answer to my question came through a good friend, Anna. She is also a fan of Korean food, but fortunately, much more determined than me. She asked me to go with her to Huhgane, a place of Korean food in Finch ave, just west of Yonge st. Anna not only guided me to the menu, but she also prepared the pictures I am sharing with you now.

Every Korean meal in a restaurant starts a group of collective small side dishes that include Kimchi, vegetables and sometimes cold noodles. A later research leads me to the name of this: a Banchan (반찬), this is a group of dishes that traditionally are served with cooked rice. They do not include meat and the number of dishes can be 3, 5, 7 or 9 (We were served 7 as we can see in the picture).

Our first election was Deok Man Du (뚝만두). Where the word Mandu (만두) is the Korean word for dumplings (curiously a similar word for dumplings is used by Turkish and Uyghurs).  Deok ManDu is a soup of dumplings, rice cake, and vegetables. The dumplings were filled with meat. There were pieces of brisket also. This soup is special for those who do not want spicy or very salty food. I recommend it for cold weather.

Another dish that we had was the iconic Bibimbap (비빔밥) hot steamed rice with beef, a fried egg, vegetables, and a Korean sauce. It is served in a heated stone bowl. This is one of the best known Korean dishes in the world.

Bibimbap

We had also a Chicken Gaseu (I found this name in Korean “치킨가스”) which is actually a name of English origin. This is a deep pan-fried chicken with a spicy sauce. This dish is a signature dish of this restaurant where the sauce is made by the restaurant. I recommend this dish for lovers of spicy fried chicken. The chicken was very juicy.

Anna and I eating our Deuk Mandu. at the center, we have our Banchan, then at the right corner we can see some friend dumplings.at the extreme left, we can see the Chicken Gaseu.

As a side dish, we had Korean purple rice. In Korean, you can find this dish with the name “Heukmi Bap” (흑미밥), which is scarlet glutinous rice. It can be found in many Asian grocery stores. It is served with grains (like beans, corn) and pork. It has a special flavor. During my research, I found articles where they talk about the health benefits of this rice.

Deuk Mandu at the left and Heukmi Bap at right. We can see another view of our Banchan.

Thanks, Anna!

I finish this article with a picture of one of my favorite Korean dishes, the Ori-tang (오리탕) which is a Duck soup with chili. You can find this same dish in this restaurant, but my picture was taken in a different restaurant. Lim Ga Ne restaurant in Bloor st (Koreatown)     

Canadian Dishes

To celebrate my citizenship, I decided to taste some dishes from Canada. Here is what I had.

If we ask about a typical Canadian Dish, very often the answer will be “Poutine”. This is a dish that includes French fries and cheese curds topped with brown gravy. This dish originated in the province of Québec. I include an old picture of poutine that I ate in Montreal in the famous restaurant La Banquise just for information to my readers who do not live in Canada.

A variation of Poutine

This weekend, I visited a restaurant called Le Papillon on Front Street. This the restaurant specializes in French food and the cuisine from Québec.

The main dish I ate was Tourtière, a meat pie originated from the province of Québec. The meat is usually a mix of minced veal, beef, and pork with potatoes. This dish is exclusive French Canadian and there are variations that exist among other French Canadian groups. We can find also the tourtière du Lac-Saint-Jean and the pâte à la viande.  

I had Escargots as an hors d’oeuvre (starter). These are edible land snails. This restaurant serves it in garlic parsley butter. This is not really a Canadian dish but a popular French dish. 

   

My dessert was Pouding Chômeur, a popular dish from Québec.  This is a cake batter with hot caramel syrup that is poured before baking. It is served with a vanilla ice cream. The name of the dish, Pouding Chômeur is translated as “unemployed man pudding”. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia this dish was created by female factory workers during the Great depression in Québec, with the idea of having a simple dessert with few ingredients in a time of economic hard times.

Later on, when I went to the CNE, I had to opportunity to see and taste bannock. This is a variety of flatbread baked from grain. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, the name Bannock is from Old English bannuc and this from Gaelic bannach.  The version that we know came from Scotland. Different indigenous groups in Canada adapted to their own cuisine and they use it in gatherings and festivals. It is deep-fried or baked. The kind of bannock that I tasted was the indigenous one from northern Ontario.

There are other famous foods that are Canadian. We have the Montreal style bagels, the California roll (Created in Vancouver), beaver´s tails, maple syrup, and Nanaimo bars. Here is an old picture of fried cod tongues, a popular dish from Newfoundland.