This is the third in a series on how to get by as a vegan or vegetarian in rural Korea. ― Ed.
Making non-Korean food requires ingredients that, unsurprisingly, are not available in the traditional markets. So grab a couple of bags and support the giant empires.
There are two things you might not even know you’re missing.
First, “hongcho,” drinking vinegar. Yes, drinking vinegar. No it doesn’t taste like vinegar. It’s sweetened and flavored and supposedly healthy. If it’s too syrupy you can dilute it.
Over ice it’s good in summer. If you’re looking to drown the flavor of soju it’s good for that too, but is more expensive than most juices.
It’s also an ingredient to the easiest and quickest dressing I know of. Mix about half a cup each of hongcho and a light oil. And because hongcho is so mild, add 2-3 tablespoons of another vinegar for zip. If you want, a pinch of salt and pepper or dried herbs. Sprinkle over a cucumber, eggplant, carrot and apple mix.
If you’re so lazy you can’t clean two dishes, put the salad in a container, add the dressing ingredients, and shake thoroughly. As a variation, you can mix with yogurt instead of oil for a creamy dressing.
The second staple I recommend is veggie bouillon.
Most bouillon contains meat or fish flavoring (clearly pictured on some labels), but if you get the green package that says “오색자연 All Green & Natural Spice Mix,” you can quickly add flavor to anything.
It is a bit salty, so I recommend having other spices on hand (to reduce the overall salt-to-flavor ratio). Still, it’s worth having in the kitchen, particularly if you’re sick and want comfort soup.
Boil water, add bullion, with some ginger, garlic and green onion (pre-chopped and frozen in your freezer) with red pepper to taste. If you use the jujeonja (water boiler for tea) and shake in a thermos, you can make this seconds.
Other staples: Bread is cheapest here, but if you leave it out for a month ... nothing happens. No mold grows. Draw your own conclusions, or buy the more expensive artisan breads.
You can get flour in the market, but you will need to get baking soda, baking powder, and yeast here.
I’ve seen tortillas and tortilla chips here if you’re going to cook Mexican. Curry? You can get coconut milk here. “Lazy lime” and “lazy lemon” are staples of my kitchen, as I have never been able to use either fruit up quickly enough except when having a tequila party.
Dried herbs can usually be found. You can get basic spices at the market, but I usually get them here for convenience. Dried fruit and nuts are cheapest here, but still expensive.
For more exotic items you will need to go online, or head to a bigger city. Those items likely include: atypical legumes (chick peas, lentils, and uncommon beans), Indian spices and cilantro.
By Darren Bean!
Darren Bean! is a former prosecutor and lecturer in the department of Criminology at Chosun University. He can be reached at themagicbean@hotmail.com. The exclamation mark is part of his legal name. ― Ed.
