Celebrating the Lunar New Year

Our Seollal Spread

Last week we celebrated the Lunar New Year or Seollal.  Our son was born in Korea and joined our family through adoption just after his first birthday. This year, now that's he's 4, we felt like he could begin to understand and appreciate the meaning of this holiday so we were delighted when my friend, Elizabeth, invited us over for a traditional Korean meal.

Elizabeth did most of the hard work and prepared most of the fabulous food, including classic Korean dishes like Beef Bulgogi and Japchae (sweet potato noodles). She even made her own dipping sauces for the kimchi. It was an amazing treat.

I dove into unchartered terrain by trying a new recipe called Gaeran-Jjim (Korean-Style Egg Casserole). "Gaeran" means "egg" in Korean and this way of preparing eggs is, according to the recipe's author, "one of the most common ways of eating eggs in Korea."  I came across it in one of my Korean cookbooks called Discovering Korean Cuisine: Recipes from the Best Korean Restaurants in Los Angeles.  This recipe is from the restaurant Dae Sung Oak. It  is entirely free of gluten or dairy (except for eggs!).

It's sort of like an egg frittata that cooks in the same way a poached egg cooks (in water).  It's not the ingredients that are particularly different or "foreign," but rather the cooking method.  It's at once fascinating and intimidating, yet surprisingly simple.  Unlike many Korean dishes, Gaeran-Jjim contains no spice (except for whatever dipping sauces you use at the end) so it's kid-friendly, as well.

Gaeran-Jim (Korean-Style Egg Casserole)

Here's how to make it:

Ingredients (serves 2-4)
4 large eggs
2 cups water
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 medium zucchini, finely chopped
Small handful of red bell pepper slices
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of black pepper

Using a whisk, gently mix eggs and water in a bowl.  Pour into a thick-bottomed pot like a Dutch Oven (to prevent dish from burning).  Add all remaining ingredients and mix briefly.  Close the lid and cook on high heat for 6 minutes and for another 6 minutes on low heat.  If your eggs are still mushy/liquidy when you lift the lid, continuing cooking until firmer. (Cooking times may vary; I found that I had to add several more minutes than the recipe called for).  There will be excess water surrounding the eggs, which is normal.  Using a slotted spoon, serve warm with spicy or non-spicy dipping sauce. 

This year was Year of the Snake.  My son and his friend enjoyed making these awesome crafty snakes with ribbon tongues!  Happy new year! :)