rice cakes, octopus balls, and the kills

This post is 90% about food (korean food) and 10% about findings to my great avail.

Behold the octopus balls...or ojingo ddang-kohng (direct translation: octopus peanuts...i just say balls...cuz well...

they are balls..
I usually really like these, but this time got the "meh-kohm-han-mat" aka spicey flavour. Its not spicey at all, but kind of bbq-y and all-dressed-y at the same...i like the plain ones better.

Also to my disappointment, I thought the balls would have faces on them cuz they have faces on the bag...they just had random lines on them.

The following is a rice cake that reminds me of old people:

pine nuts, black beans, squash, red beans, any other bean they had on hand, dates?? Unidentifyable dried red fruit...etc. The bites with big pieces of squash tasted best, I didn't finish the entire piece...I feared I would age.

I think this is dried red bean..powdery and stuff. I'm too lazy to go upstairs and ask my mom. She always buys it, and I always eat it. But I'm indifferent about it...it doesn't taste good or bad...as long as the texture is fine its 'good'. Also tastes like the old...;this rice cake and the one above make me think of ancient traditional korean times when people always said, "yeh, mama". GUFFAH.

MY FAVOURITE:

Paht (red bean) bahng (bun/bread)!

Thank the heavens for sending down this mind numbingly delicious red bean, which has been beautifully crafted into many different cuisines to suit every taste bud. Sweet child o' mine ye red bean is.

My Kitchen:
Today after doing nothing, I decided to try making rice cakes...Chapsal Ddukk to be exact. In japanese its called Mochi or Daifuku (if there is something in it). I made "ddalki paht chapsal dduk" (strawberry and red bean sweet rice cake in korean) or "ichiko" and "anko" daifuku (strawberry and red bean sweet rice cake in japanese)...

I wanted to fill my ricecakes with other stuff and red bean...so i dipped some fruit in chocolate o_O...it tasted okay.


Washed and cut strawberries at the ready...
I swear i've seen someone wear a table cloth like this as a fashion statement...probably marykate...shame.
A finished product from my first batch! All the first ones were ugly cuz the sticky dough is so hard to work with! I coated them in icing sugar and coconut...drool. Take a look at that formidable shadow...*tear*..
Tada! Doesn't it look delicious?? WELL IT WAS! ICHIKO DAIFUKU!

Ichiko Daifuku is a very popular japanese snack/dessert usually enjoyed in the spring! Circa 1980...way cool.

For the ahjuhma who owns the gageh I work at: woohoo (i'm always late for work +_+)...

AND P.S. i found my bus pass...what i did to deserve such luck...no idea...and I also found a THE KILLS cd at the CD Sales kiosk in the UCC!

Apologies for an unnecessarily long post, but I hope it whet your appetite.