I’ve got an identity crisis. But it’s not so much that I don’t know who I am, but others don’t. Because apparently, everybody here in USC thinks I’m anything but Korean.
Now, I wouldn’t really be so bothered if the above said people were non-Asians. Not to offend anybody, but non-Asians have the tendency to lump every “almond-shaped eyes, yellow-skinned and exotic-looking Orientals” into one undistinguished group. Korean? Chinese? Vietnamese? Japanese? Why, don’t they all derive from China anyway? (I know you guys are sophisticated enough not to think that, but trust me, I’ve had ignorant fools say that to me one too many times)
No, it’s the Asians themselves who actually double over in shock—yes, shock— when I reveal that yes, indeed, I am 100% pure-blood Korean.
“No EFFING way!” One girl even screamed out, clasping her chest and causing a whole bunch of kids to turn around. I thought she was going to hyperventilate. Um, wow. I did not know my being Korean is that incredibly outrageous.
After the gasps and cries of astonishment, they continue: “So. But you’re like, half Chinese, right?”
I struggle to keep my cool. “Well, my dad is Korean. My mom is Korean. My grandparents and great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents were all Korean. I was born in Korea. You could say I am a purely-bred Korean.”
They still look suspicious. They don’t relent: “But you don’t look Korean. And you’re kind of skinny.”
Oh. Em. Gi!!!! What the freaking hell?
I can’t go on anymore. I might burst a blood vessel.
Anyway, perhaps it’s the abdominal questioning of my mother country that has spurred me to go crazy with the Korean influence on my food. But I’ve been having mad cravings for the quintessential Korean ingredient, gochujang, for the past few days.
I hope by now you already know what gochujang is… 
It’s this red fellow here. The Korean red pepper paste that is ubiquitous in pretty much any Korean dish. It’s really versatile, and all you need is a pinch of creativity. Let me prove my point…
I actually have pretty much been using this same marinade/sauce to spice up my dishes:
Gochujang-PB sauce
- 1 tablespoon gochujang
- 1-2 tablespoon soy sauce (to taste)
- 1-2 tablespoon peanut butter
- enough chicken broth to thin it out to your desired consistency
Mix. Pretty straight-forward and easy.
Here are the dishes I created with this incredible sauce:
Dish #1: Spiced-Up Frittata
- garlic, minced
- onions, diced
- shitake mushrooms, diced
- chicken, diced
- gochujang-PB sauce
- 2 eggs, beaten together with a bit of milk
- goat cheese
- green onion, chopped
Stir-fry the first three ingredients until slightly soft, then add in the chicken and the gochujang-PB sauce and stir-fry until cooked through.
Pour in the egg mixture, cook for a bit over low heat until the bottom is slightly set. Sprinlle on the goat cheese and green onion.
Cook in a 350 degree oven until the top is set. DIG IN! 
Pretty simple, basic frittata. But over the top with the gochujang-PB sauce! 
I pretty much just cut into it and dug in like pizza. I forgot the carbohydrate part, though, and got kinda gassy later…Thank god I was done with classes for the day! (Ok, TMI…but case in point: Do NOT forget the starch! Very very important if you wanna have a social life!)
Dish #2: Grilled Vegetable Salad
I had to resort to my trusty George Foreman for this. It took a long time to grill every vegetable though…Mr. GF was small! So basically, just grill every vegetable, even the pickle (trust me, it’s freaking good). Then toss them into a bowl, drizzle as much of the gochujang-PB sauce over, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and green onions. Add a dollop of avocado cream. And you’re done! Dish #3: Summer Stir-Fry with Runny Egg You didn’t think I’d end this without a runny egg, did you? That might just be my trademark! This was basically the same recipe as the fabulous concoction I told you about here…The one that got me totally addicted. What are they then? I don’t know…but they tasted mighty good! A total mumble jumble of different cuisines and styles, but I suppose that’s what I really am. I don’t have a single ethnicity. I may be born in Korea and be a Korean citizen, but I’ve been exposed to so many different cultures as a missionary kid. I blend in perfectly with the Chinese people, but also feel incredibly comfortable with Koreans. I don’t feel the least bit out of place with Caucasians or African-Americans or Latin-Americans, either. So you know what? I embrace my multi-cultural self. So there. I don’t look Korean? Fine. As long as I can blend in with any group of people and be myself and be comfortable, who cares? Question of the day: Ever had the same issue in which people tell you that you don’t look like who you are? (Be it race, age, or god forbid, sex)
Let’s see. The cool, creamy avocado cream… 
Lovely grilled summer squash (I like it al dente)… 
Juicy, plump and meaty shitake mushroom… 
Crunchy, sweet bell pepper that took forever to grill… 
Kabocha that just about brightens any dish… 
Pickle that may seem random but adds a burst of sweet-sour flavor in your mouth… 
One perfect lovely bite! 
Have I convinced you to try my gochujang-PB sauce yet? No? Okay, here’s another one…
Instead of the balsamic vinegar I used the gochujang-PB sauce and a squeeze of fresh lime juice to cook the vegetables. I didn’t have andouille sausage, so I just used plain regular hotdogs…don’t judge, I’m a poor college student and the big pack was 50% off! >.< 
I forgot to buy vinegar so I couldn’t make poached eggs, but a runny fried egg worked just as well! As long as the yolk flows, anything goes! (Eep. That was corny…) 
Hmm…You know what? Those kids who couldn’t believe I’m Korean might just have a point…Notice that though I used the authentic Korean ingredient, none of my dishes were really truly Korean….
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As a blonde white girl I shouldn’t be able to sympathize with you on this, but I can! My hair was dyed black for like a year and I found out very quickly that if people do not know what you are, they are not very subtle about making that known.
For some reason black hair makes my skin kind of sallow and for the 6 months at that job that I had my hair dyed almost every single day I got these types of questions from customers: “Where are you from? Were you even born in America?” At first I thought they were joking…but they weren’t. I was mistaken for a Native American, half-chinese, russian, middle eastern, arab, half-spanish and I think that’s it. And everyone was extremely surprised when they were wrong. lol. It was frustrating to say the least.
I also though, just lump all asians as asians unless they tell me otherwise. Although it doesn’t surprise me if anyone is ever anything other then what I think they are. Although I think I’ve been getting better actually at telling different asian ethnicities apart.
Bah! Screw the idiots girlfriend! lol. You know what you are atleast! :-p
When going West, people speak Japanese with me. When visiting Japan, I was asked if I were from mainland China. In China, however, my Chinese counterparts count me as Hongkonger.
Never mind, I’m a human being if I were to answer ‘some one’ from the Mars.
Cheers and thanks for the interesting post.
Oh my goodness, girl, I am SO sorry those people are being so weird! Completely inappropriate!! Clearly, their parents didn’t teach them a thing about manners…
I’m so sorry you’re having to put up with that nonsense!
My Dad is from Israel, and is quite dark-complected, and I’m, um, really pale, even despite regular hours gardening in the southern sun without sunscreen (naughty, I know
, so I couple of times I’ve had people squint at me and then turn to my Dad and say “no no, she can’t be your daughter, she’s so pale…” Ya know, as though I wasn’t standing right there… :-p People can be very strange sometimes!
some are crazy! don’t mind! those runny eggs sound delish!
people somehow think I’m Japanese here…I love gochujang, I always eat it with ham and cheese toasties. I’ve never tried it with PB though, sounds good!
The pictures are GORGEOUS.
When I was younger, many many people would ask me if I was Chinese, Japanese, even Laotian. It drove me insane, and once I was heard from the far end of the pool, “I ain’t no Chinese.” (not that there is anything wrong with Chinese, I just didn’t consider myself one)
In college, I kind of shunned the whole Asian thing, after meeting a Korean (“right off the boat”) who did not consider me Korean, simply because my English was “too good” as she said. It was kind of heartbreaking for me, but I eventually got over it.
It’s quite interesting, I have a step-sibling who is also Korean and adopted, but we look very different and have vastly different personalities. She could easily pass for Japanese or Chinese since her structure is “lighter” in a sense, and she is helluva big into anime, even learning Japanese but no Korean. I lover her anyway though!
Btw, have you tried the Vietnamese hot sauce? I can’t remember the name, but it has a rooster on it. That stuff last for years since sucha tiny bit if used.
Lastly, wonderful pictures!
Oh yeah, and the comment about being Korean and skinny is interesting. I’ve actually heard stories of girls going back to Korea and feeling “fat,”because everyone there was so skinny and the comments made by their native relatives.
Nope never had any issues, and again your food is yummy looking!
(runny egg notwithstanding) -_-;;
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