Food for my family is really something more than a material to gain energy from. We place a significant amount importance in the process of making the food. The scene of my father, my mother, my brother and I making then eating “Kalgooksu” all together is somewhat a familiar scene to our family.
Kalgooksu – literally translated into “knife noodle” is one of the traditional noodles in Korea and is our family’s most beloved noodle. “Kal” in Korean means knife, while “Gooksu” means noodle. It is called the knife noodle because the noodle itself is created by cutting the flour dough with a big knife.
The process of Kalgooksu is rather simple and on the days in which we are all free, such as mornings on weekends, we would gather around to join the long but fun process of making the Kalgooksu. We would start off with the process of making the flour dough. We would mix flour with water and then knead dough. We would take turns as it requires a long duration of time and effort making the dough. My father, whom we believe has the most physical power among us, would be the last one to work the dough. Then we would roll out the dough and fold it few times to make it easier to cut it. Then my mother, very artistically-talented person, would cut the dough into equal pieces. When we unfold the dough, we then can see a long string of flour dough that will soon turn into strings of noodle in our Kalgooksu.
We then would prepare zucchini, carrots and shiitake mushrooms that we would put in the stock with the noodle. We would thinly slice them to increase their texture. Then we would boil the thinly cut flour dough first separated in boiling water to add a chewy texture. Then we would put pre-boiled noodles and other ingredients prepared into anchovy and kelp stock. All our family members like to eat soup for dinner, so we always have spare kelp stock in our refrigerator.
The whole process takes about an hour and a half – from making the dough to creating noodles to preparing ingredients then finally putting them into our stock. My family and I used to gather at least once every month to make Kalgooksu together until we got older. Now that I’m living abroad away from my family, and so is my younger brother, I genuinely miss those times where we had so much fun making and then finally eating Kalgooksu.
(https://www.timeout.com/seoul/restaurants/gurye-woori-mil-kalguksu)
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The piece that I chose to imitate was “Ping A Mien, a Chinese Family Noodle Story.” I decided to use this short piece of story because of the way it was written. I chose this piece because I too would sympathize with having a “family food” and a kind of food that I feel special attachment to.
Also, I could very relate to the part where the mother giving instructions to the writer about the process of making the food as my mother and father both like cooking and she would always want me near them so they can teach me their own special ways of cooking. I, too, often call my mother when I’m in Atlanta to ask her for her recipes when making Korean food.
One thing I learned about Chinese culture through her style is that there is always a traditional way of making food. It could be as known as nationally traditional method or it could also be a unique traditional way for one specific family. For example, the writer’s mother called for a specific type of cooking wine among many when making ping an mien. This part also was very relatable as my mother also calls for a specific type of soy sauce when making adding flavor to the broth. I thought Korean culture, also, is very similar to Chinese culture as we also have a family food that we feel special attachment to. I feel the idea of having a special attachment to could be a cultural DNA. Also having one family’s special recipes for traditional food could also be a cultural DNA in China and Korea.