My father grew up in the seaside village of Namhae in South Korea, and when I was a kid I used to spend some of my summer and winter vacations there when school was out. My father passed away many years ago but when I visited Namhae in 2015 a lot of people there still remembered him, and me, and my mom, too. I offered to cook them a meal in the local community center, where they all gather regularly to socialize. I made spicy pork and served it ssam-style with fresh local lettuce, which is very fast and flexible to make for a large group of people. Thankfully my friend Ms. Im was still in town, so she was incredibly helpful with both preparation and cooking. She worked hard and was a real lifesaver!

This video is part of my Real Korean Cooking series filmed in 2015 just after I published my first cookbook. You can see the rest of the series here.

Below are the recipe notes for the dishes made in this video. Why don’t you make some new memories and have your own spicy pork party?

Recipe notes

Stir-fried spicy pork and kimchi (Dwaeji-kimchi duruchigi: 돼지김치 두루치기)

Seasoned acorn jelly (Dotorimuk-muchim: 도토리묵무침)

After visiting Yeosu, the city where I grew up, I headed to Namhae, my father’s hometown and where I had spent a lot of time when I was young. Since the road to the small village of Namhae winds through mountain paths, I had to rent a car to get there. The journey past Namhae Bridge led me to the seaside and places I used to visit often during school vacations and though many years had passed, it didn’t feel unfamiliar; instead, memories came back clearly. It’s a very beautiful part of Korea and even years later it’s still pretty.

I chose a lodging on the shore surrounded by pine trees, with a refreshing breeze coming in from the ocean. It turned out that the owner knew my father! He visited in the evening with his mother and brought warm sweet potatoes as well as some of the famous spinach grown in Namhae’s fields. His mother knew both my father and mother well.

I couldn’t help thinking about my father, who not only grew up here but is buried in the nearby mountains. I cooked meals he would have loved, which was easy because I had already bought all the local ingredients in the Namhae county market on the way in.

I was visited by my good friend Ms. Im. I met her in Toronto in the early 2000s, but now she lived just a few hours drive away and came to see me for lunch. Seeing her again in Korea in 2015 was a wonderful gift, and her smile and passion for fresh fish rejuvenated me! This video is part of my Real Korean Cooking series, filmed in Korea in 2015 after I completed my first cookbook, Real Korean Cooking.

Recipe Notes

Here are the recipes seen in this video:

This video is part two in my Real Korean Cooking Stories, a series of videos I filmed after finishing my first cookbook in 2015 when I traveled to Korea. This episode shows my visit to my friend Ji-hyun’s home, where we made a Hanwoo beef lunch together and enjoyed a wonderful time with her mom.

Has anyone here ever tried Hanwoo beef?
Hanwoo cows are unique to Korea, raised with care and compassion by passionate farmers. Hanwoo beef melts in your mouth with a delicate flavor. Its soft, evenly marbled texture and aroma are beyond imagination! It also has none of the gaminess you can find in some other meats.

Supply is limited and it’s not exported internationally, so I always enjoy it whenever I’m back in Korea. Hanwoo restaurants are so expensive and the portions are usually too small for me, so it’s hard to fully enjoy the experience. I prefer to buy raw Hanwoo beef at a high-quality grocery store where it’s sold with a serial number for the exact cow it came from, and even the individual farmer’s contact details on the label, showing their pride in the beef they raise. That way, I know I’m getting the best quality. Then I cook it at home, the way I like it! My habits are unlikely to change, even if I were a millionaire. : )

The experience made me realize that a true friend feels close even after years apart, like you saw them only yesterday! Cooking and sharing a delicious meal gave us the chance to reconnect and strengthen our friendship.

Recipe notes

All the dishes in this episode are easy to follow. If you can’t get Hanwoo, you can use premium cuts of beef as a substitute. Why don’t you recreate this meal with a long-lost friend or family member? It might bring back the same warmth and connection.

I made these recipes in this episode:

And here are the side dishes on the table my friend set: