The New Year dinner by my grandma, from the Korean diaspora in Kazakhstan. Other than the Soviet dishes like pancakes and meat jelly, how much of that is recognisable to you?
The New Year dinner by my grandma, from the Korean diaspora in Kazakhstan. Other than the Soviet dishes like pancakes and meat jelly, how much of that is recognisable to you?
by AnBriefklammern
11 Comments
BJGold
Not very recognizable, but still looks lovely all the same. I do see the carrot kimchi though! It’s a testament to the ingenuity of koryosaram even when they were far from their homeland and didn’t have access to familiar ingredients.
iris-my-case
So interesting! Thank you for sharing.
I see rice and some pickled veggies lol
orangerootbeer
I’ve been so curious about trying Korean-Uzbek food, so this looks very interesting! The carrots and cucumbers were tasty when we tried before. And her blintzes look great!
parkbelly
Korean American here was a peace corps volunteer in kaz 2008-2010. Started training in Almaty and was assigned to kyzylorda oblast. The only recognizable dish in name was gimbap. They don’t slice it though it’s more like a long skinny burrito and held in hand and eaten by chowing on it like that. The other common Korean noodle dish there “kooksee” is kinda like janchigooksoo but different – more vinegar flavor from memory. I believe the diaspora is from mostly North Korea. The cabbage kimchi or “chimchi” (if I remember correctly) is more similar to the type of kimchi you would get a Korean Chinese restaurants in America. More vinegar and light sprinkle of gochugaru.
Xolodetz/holodetz the Soviet meat aspic/jelly is delicious. As are pickles/preserves. The taste profile is much less spicy and no “jangs” – doenjang or gochujang. Native Kazakh and Russian populations are literally scared to eat anything with strong flavors. Black pepper was considered spicy let alone curry or anything pungent you would find commonly throughout Korea today. Korean restaurants in Almaty had more recognizable dishes in name but again very bland in comparison to actual Korean dishes. Just my experience.
Edit: I made Vermont or s&b curry for my host family and the children wouldn’t touch it because spicy. This is considered kid food in Korea. I think Korean vendors at zeloni bazaar (outdoor markets) mostly sell veggies and fish and kimbap. At least what I saw and remember. I lived with a Kazakh family. The Kazakh dishes I loved most other than beshbarmak was manti (dumplings filled with meat and potato and onion eaten with kattuk yogurt or mayonnaise), plof/plov (Uzbek rice dish with mutton, carrots, onion), stuffed peppers (mild “bell peppers” stuffed with mince meat and rice), kurdak (cow liver, lung, heart cooked in beef suet/fat and onions – usually eaten with fresh organs after slaughter), and borscht (Ukrainian beet soup eaten with a squeeze of mayo I think the mayo is Kazakhstani addition). Oh and samsa/camsa the street food pasty filled with cheese or meat/onions. My host mom went out of her way to get me familiar foods. The best was a pepper paste like Sambal olek used like hot sauce or chili oil today but much more mild, vinegary and only slightly spicy. The adults liked it but children stayed away.
Flimsy_Claim_8327
What a touching food! Your family still remembers the Korean thing. Happy New Year.
ip-man-25
Carrot kimchi – does it have some coriander? Because I found a restaurant that serves it and is made with coriander? I like the taste, but I am curious if it is a usual ingredient or not…
11 Comments
Not very recognizable, but still looks lovely all the same. I do see the carrot kimchi though! It’s a testament to the ingenuity of koryosaram even when they were far from their homeland and didn’t have access to familiar ingredients.
So interesting! Thank you for sharing.
I see rice and some pickled veggies lol
I’ve been so curious about trying Korean-Uzbek food, so this looks very interesting! The carrots and cucumbers were tasty when we tried before. And her blintzes look great!
Korean American here was a peace corps volunteer in kaz 2008-2010. Started training in Almaty and was assigned to kyzylorda oblast. The only recognizable dish in name was gimbap. They don’t slice it though it’s more like a long skinny burrito and held in hand and eaten by chowing on it like that. The other common Korean noodle dish there “kooksee” is kinda like janchigooksoo but different – more vinegar flavor from memory. I believe the diaspora is from mostly North Korea. The cabbage kimchi or “chimchi” (if I remember correctly) is more similar to the type of kimchi you would get a Korean Chinese restaurants in America. More vinegar and light sprinkle of gochugaru.
Xolodetz/holodetz the Soviet meat aspic/jelly is delicious. As are pickles/preserves. The taste profile is much less spicy and no “jangs” – doenjang or gochujang. Native Kazakh and Russian populations are literally scared to eat anything with strong flavors. Black pepper was considered spicy let alone curry or anything pungent you would find commonly throughout Korea today. Korean restaurants in Almaty had more recognizable dishes in name but again very bland in comparison to actual Korean dishes. Just my experience.
Edit: I made Vermont or s&b curry for my host family and the children wouldn’t touch it because spicy. This is considered kid food in Korea. I think Korean vendors at zeloni bazaar (outdoor markets) mostly sell veggies and fish and kimbap. At least what I saw and remember. I lived with a Kazakh family. The Kazakh dishes I loved most other than beshbarmak was manti (dumplings filled with meat and potato and onion eaten with kattuk yogurt or mayonnaise), plof/plov (Uzbek rice dish with mutton, carrots, onion), stuffed peppers (mild “bell peppers” stuffed with mince meat and rice), kurdak (cow liver, lung, heart cooked in beef suet/fat and onions – usually eaten with fresh organs after slaughter), and borscht (Ukrainian beet soup eaten with a squeeze of mayo I think the mayo is Kazakhstani addition). Oh and samsa/camsa the street food pasty filled with cheese or meat/onions. My host mom went out of her way to get me familiar foods. The best was a pepper paste like Sambal olek used like hot sauce or chili oil today but much more mild, vinegary and only slightly spicy. The adults liked it but children stayed away.
What a touching food! Your family still remembers the Korean thing. Happy New Year.
Carrot kimchi – does it have some coriander? Because I found a restaurant that serves it and is made with coriander? I like the taste, but I am curious if it is a usual ingredient or not…
How many ethnic Koreans live in Kanzastan ??
The meat soup gives me gomtang vibes (곰탕)
You had me at meat jelly. What the heck is that?
Beautiful!
What is meat jelly