Korea Herald 20080709

18

COMMUNITY

WEDNESDAY JULY 9, 2008

Make your own thermos yogurt ANYANG — Yogurt is popular in Korea. It’s everywhere. It fights for store space, slowly dominating the dairy section. Ladies in mustard colored uniforms sell it to children on the street. Overseas, Korean frozen yogurt has become a new food craze. Innovative yogurts come out frequently, touting new flavors, added magical nutrients or higher general quality. Yet one innovation has not entered the Korean yogurt market — unsweetened yogurt. Almost everywhere else in the world has unsweetened yogurt. It’s called plain yogurt, or just yogurt. You know it. It’s the most basic of basic yogurt. Plain yogurt in Korea is not plain. It’s sweetened. That’s fine if you like sweet yogurt. It’s not so great if you want to cook with it. What can you do? The solution is so easy you’ll laugh. You just need milk, a

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Chilean out in the summer It is something of a paradox that those of us from cooler northern climates associate summer drinking with white wines, while those from hotter regions go for the reds. With this in mind, this week we have three red wines for your consideration — all less than 20,000 won ($20) at EMart — and each a different grape variety from Chile. Chile is a region that can represent great value once you have sorted the wheat from the chaff. It is a particularly strong country for the Korean consumer due to the free trade agreement between the two countries. Let’s hope that the United States agreement and the proposed European talks can have a similar impact on the respective regions’ wine showings and prices. Starting with the cheapest, we have the Cono Sur Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from the Chilean Central Valley (12,800 won). Cono Sur

tunately, with bees wax and wet hay notes combining with a strong cherry brandy hit. It is a nose which suggests a very alcoholic wine. Unfortunately this alcoholic heat follows through to the palate and though it has a nice rounded mouth feel with good acidity and smooth tannins, the alcohol throws it all out of balance. The fruit is nice and sweet and there is a subtle vanilla oak integration but with the 14 percent alcohol it ends up tasting a little like a cough sweet. This is by no means a bad wine — it is just not to my tastes. The final wine is the Santa Rita Reserva Merlot 2005 (17,900 won) from the Maipo Province. In contrast to the Pinot this is a heavily extracted wine with a deep, intense garnet color. In con-

trast to the previous two simple, fruity wines there is a lot more complexity here. It has a prominent pencil shaving and coffee grinds nose backed up by good blackcurrant and plum fruit. Also coming through are green peppers and the presence of some well-integrated oak. Once again, this smells a little alcoholic but there is enough interest to prevent this from being a problem and it is a very appealing bouquet. You are certainly getting a mouth full of wine here with an intense blast of sharp black fruit. Plums and blackcurrant are to the fore, nicely backed up by a smooth vanilla finish. The finish also has the benefit of being long with good tannic grip, making this by far the most serious wine today. The oak is certainly making itself noticed as is the 14 percent alcohol, but it has enough fruit and structure to make this a well balanced wine. It is another triumph from E-Mart’s new world red range and represents great value. Dan can be reached through his website at wineinkorea.blogspot.com — Ed.

Expat Living on Facebook Expat Living is finally on Facebook. Starting in July, check out the Facebook group “Expat Living (Korea)” regularly for free restaurant and concert ticket giveaways. You have to be a member of the group to be eligible for the free stuff. — Ed.

Podcast “The International Hub of Podcasting” — SeoulPodcast, sponsored by Expat Living — Not your grandfather’s internet radio show. See SeoulPodcast.com

sauce tzatziki. Combine the yogurt with finely chopped cucumber, a little chopped garlic, and some salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Add some mint, dill or parsley if you wish. You can top a classic gyro with it or use the sauce with any meat or vegetable. Another basic yogurt sauce is the Indian raita. Some of the ingredients may require a trip to an international market. Combine a cup of yogurt with a cup of finely chopped cucumber. Add three tablespoons of chopped green onions, three table spoons of chopped fresh cilantro, half a teaspoon of ground cumin and half a teaspoon of ground coriander.

The solution is so easy you’ll laugh. You just need milk, a food safe thermometer, a thermos and a little bit of store-bought yogurt.

Dan Ellis on Wine

food safe thermometer, a thermos and a little bit of storebought yogurt. The premium Korean brands work well. Thoroughly wash the thermos first. Put boiling water in it for a while just to be safe. Have around a shot or two of yogurt sitting out, warming to room temperature. In a pot slowly heat enough milk to fit in the thermos. Let the milk warm to between 82 and 85 degrees Celsius. Don’t go over. Turn off the heat and let the milk cool between 41 and 46 degrees. Add the yogurt, close the thermos and let it sit for four to eight hours. When it sets, store it in the refrigerator. Now you have a batch of unsweetened yogurt. You can make more yogurt from this batch, but the active bacteria will weaken after a while. Just replenish with more storebought yogurt. You can eat it as is. What I like to do is put it in cheesecloth or coffee filters sitting on an open jar. This strains the liquid whey, making the yogurt thick and creamy, like a cheese. With this strained yogurt, you can make the classic Greek

Chile is a region that can represent great value once you have sorted the wheat from the chaff. is a winery that produces very modern single varietal wines that tend to express the fruit qualities of the grape well. This is a purple glass of wine with a very tight nose. It shows very little of the typical Cabernet character with a touch of cherry and blackcurrant, plus a hint of perfumed violets. It is a very soft fruity wine with a very real Cherry Lips (old English sweet) quality. The cherry/blackcurrant, rose/violet theme follows through from the nose, giving us a really pleasant, simple fruit and light vanilla drink. I have no qualms about recommending it at this price. Moving to the south of the country — and from the somewhat experimental Biobio Region — next up is the Augustus Winemakers Selection Pinot Noir 2007 (16,900 won). Pinot Noir is enjoying some success in this area of Chile thanks to the slightly lower sunshine hours and temperatures. Hot regions produce Pinots that taste like jam. This, as one would expect, is fairly light in the glass, Pinot is a delicate, thin skinned grape, so you get a pretty cherry colored drink. The nose is not the most appealing, unfor-

Joe McPherson’s Food Column

A traditionally dressed Korean guard participates in the changing of the guard ceremony last weekSimon Bond (369photography.co.uk) end at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul.

In focus: Shooting black and white By David Smeaton

I love black and white photos, so I’d like to learn how to improve my black and white photography. What can I do to make my photos look better? — Kwon Eun-sil, Daegu Black and white photography is beautiful when done well. However, it’s also one of the hardest effects to achieve. Many people make the mistake of thinking that an average photo can look much better in black and white, which is simply not true. The first mistake people make is using the black and white setting on their digital camera. Although cameras can shoot black and white, they do a terrible job of making the photo look good. Especially, photos lack contrast, which is crucial to good black and white photography. This is why I strongly recommend always shooting in color, then editing to black and white later. There are certain things that always look good in black and white. So it’s important to choose your topics carefully. Lines and repetition, faces and portraits, landscapes, cityscapes and dramatic skies make for great subjects. The important thing is that

there’s lots of variation in tone and contrast. If you’re serious about black and white, then it’s a good idea to invest in some filters. Color filters help improve the contrast, especially regarding complimentary colors (colors that look the same when converted to black and white). Red filters are good for clouds, as well as brightening reds and yellows. It’s very dramatic, but not suitable for low light photography, since red is a dark filter, reducing the available light by around 3 stops. Yellow filters are the most popular for black and white. Yellow darkens skies, creating good contrast between the sky and clouds, which looks great in landscapes. Orange filters achieve a similar, but darker, effect. Surprisingly, a polarizing filter is also handy, because it too creates useful contrasts. Many professional black and white photographers think that stacking a circular polarizer and a yellow filter is the perfect combination. However, you need to beware of vignetting, or blending the photo into the edges. Regarding camera settings, it’s always better to shoot in color and use RAW files if your camera has them. It’s also best to use lower ISO settings.

Some people argue that black and white photos look great with lots of grain (achieved through high ISO settings). While I agree, I also think that it’s easier to add grain later (during editing) than begin with it and try to remove it if the grain looks ugly. It’s the same reason why shooting in color is better, so that you can make the important decisions later. Finally, if you’re going to play with black and white, then don’t rule out other monotones. Sepia (brown) and blue, for example, can produce some wonderful photographic effects. So consider how you can make the most of other colors, not just shades of gray, when editing your photos. Train your eye to look for shapes, tones, textures, repetition, nice lines or good contrast. I think this is the key to black and white. It’s these features that become the subject of your photo. Happy shooting! Send David a message at [email protected] or visit his website at davidsmeaton.com. If you want to be a part of the weekly Photo Challenge, join the “Seoul Photo Club” group at flickr (flickr.com/groups/seoulphotoclub). — Ed.

It’s also a good marinade for chicken. Combine a cup of yogurt with a half cup of chopped fresh parsley, four chopped cloves of garlic, two teaspoons of Korean red chili powder (gochugaru), two teaspoons of salt, a quarter cup of fresh lemon juice and a quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil. Cover chicken parts with this yogurt mixture and marinate in the refrigerator for one hour. Take the chicken out of the yogurt marinade and grill, pan fry or bake it. Laze around a steamy summer afternoon with a cool mint lassi. Don’t have any mint? Korean flower shops tend to sell pots of mint for around 2,000 won each. Pick off a few leaves and rinse them. Combine them in a blender with a half cup of yogurt, a cup of ice cold water and a quarter teaspoon of salt. Add a touch of cumin if desired. Garnish with more mint leaves and relax. Your work is done. Joe can be reached through his website, the ZenKimchi Korean Food zenkimchi.com — Ed.

A sea cucumber to rescue the dinner By R.G. Watts

ULSAN — In Korean cuisine, you can see inventiveness and resourcefulness in action. There is a dynamism and playfulness to the Korean dining experience that I find irresistible. If you really want to get to know Koreans, the best way to do so is through their cuisine. As a New Yorker, I am familiar with many different and culinary styles, but living in Korea has added a new dimension to my outlook on dining — the expectation of surprise. In a foreign country, it is inevitable that you will be confronted with the dilemma of whether or not to ingest certain foods. If you choose to chomp, you may find that the food in question is not as bad as you thought and your understanding of the culture will have become that much richer. Case in point: the sea cucumber. Defeated and disheartened after a mediocre dinner one night, I was offered a quality meal by my preferred dining partner. The plan was a round of large roasted clams, but, again, that element of surprise barged in without knocking. I knew my friend was up to something by the way she spoke to the server — but I was not aware that she had enhanced our meal by adding half a portion of sea cucumber (“haesam”) to our order. With my back to the kitchen, I was alerted to the approaching plate by my friend’s mischievous smile, which seemed to be asking “Are you ready?” Served chopped and raw

with a ramekin of salted sesame oil, an assortment of leaves for wrapping, ssamjang — the salty/sweet red dipping sauce commonly served with leaf meals — and actual cucumbers, the sea cucumber was presented as a pile of mush atop cabbage leaves. It looked as though a ladle of peacock feather-iridescence had been plopped onto the plate in true cafeteria fashion. Though only mildly flavored, the sea cucumber was a nice addition to the meal. It added the color and virginal confusion to the experience that I seek. If you are curious about trying foods such as sea cucumber, but are not sure if you have the guts, I can offer this advice to assuage your reluctance: Use leaves to soften the blow. Rolling the food in a leaf — shiny side out for smooth entry — is a good way to hide the food and calm your nerves. I have earned a reputation as a taste-tester for the squeamish and also as a solo diner. It is difficult to find mouths willing to join me for meals such as sannakji, the squirming octopus dish that has expats in all parts of Korea asking themselves: Should I? Or, boshintang, the dog-meat soup that actually smells like dog. Food is the fastest and most effective way one can get in touch with a land and its people. Dining allows you to interact with people on a level that museums, landmarks and architecture do not. Granted, these things are vital pieces of cultural identity but, in the end, they are not edible. ([email protected])