Cooking Attempt #47: 불고기

불 - fire (bul)
고기 - meat (gogi)

It's beef stirfry! You can order this already cooked, but if the restaurant has those tabletop grills, you can cook it yourself.

I had a huge chunk of frozen sliced beef in the freezer. It must have been over 1kg of meat. I let it thaw completely and patted it with paper towel to soak up the excess blood. I sliced up some zucchini, carrots and onion. The marinade was made with soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, honey and diced apples. The honey and diced apple are for keeping the meat soft during cooking. I would have used apple juice, if I had some. I mixed everything together and left it to marinate overnight.

That's a lot of meat.

The next day, I heated up a pan with a tiny tiny bit of oil and cooked it in sections. There was just too much to cook all at once.

Now, how to eat bulgogi, or any other type of Korean BBQ you order. You could always eat it with rice, but you'll get sick of it. I should know. At a restaurant, it should always come with some lettuce leaves, maybe raw cloves of garlic and a dish of miso-chili paste. What do you do with those?

Take a piece of lettuce. You should really hold it in your hand, but I couldn't do that and take pictures at the same time. I'm only one person.

You put a decent amount of your food on the lettuce. This is actually a bit much. You'll see why. Think about your mouth size and how much you can fit in there. I could also have had a bit of rice on the lettuce, but didn't have any cooked just then.

Then you have other stuff you can put on top. I personally like a little dollop of miso paste. Other people put the raw garlic or a mixture of green onions soaked in soy sauce. Figure out what you like. There aren't any rules.

Wrap it all up into a tidy ball and shove it into your mouth gracefully. If you've done it right, it should all go at once in your mouth. If it's too big, then things will spill out after your bite it in half. Cover your mouth with the other hand. Believe me when I tell you that you'll look even messier than when you're eating those gigantic rolls of sushi. But that's part of the fun. There are no crazy rules of meal etiquette here. Just keep yourself relatively clean. That's all!

시

읽을수록 머리 안이 하얘지네.
이주동안 까맣게 탄 나의 가슴
어디 누가 주스로 달랠텐가.

The more I read, the whiter my inner mind becomes
My heart has turned into black ash in a fortnight,
Who will soothe it with a glass of juice?

I'm not yet in my late 20s!

Birthdays are not a big deal with my family. I mean, look at my parents. They left for Panama early this morning for two weeks. Yes, they called last night to wish me a happy birthday and then they were off to warmer climes! Lucky lucky bums.

My 26th birthday began with the alarm ringing at 7 in the morning to wake me up for my first day at the Montreal Neurological Institute. Awesome. I must say that I'm feeling very lucky in all of my clinical placements so far (well, except for Maimonides). They're always easy to access (again, except for Maimonides) and they're very pleasant places to work once you become familiar with the environment. The MNI is about a 15-minute walk from my apartment, which is SO nice. It's a bit uphill, but it means I can sleep in a bit more on these cold cold mornings.

Do you remember the Heritage Minute commercials on TV? I don't think they play them on TV much anymore, but I loved watching them. Especially the one about the first female doctors in Canada. Mrs. Trout (what a name!) ripping the piece of paper from the anatomical drawing of naked male and throwing it to the ground.
Anyway, I mention them, because Dr. Penfield, who built the MNI, has his own Heritage Minute.

I was able to watch a brain surgery for 45 minutes in the very same operating room theatre where Dr. Penfield did his seizure surgeries. Hundreds of doctors from all over the world watched him work in that theatre! It was great. We arrived in the OR theatre just as they were pulling off the scalp after a bifrontal incision (from ear to ear above the forehead). We could see the skull! The surgeon started drilling two holes down to the dura layer. Bits of bone started flying everywhere and the surgeon started putting something called bone wax into the holes using his fingers. This is when I started to clutch my face in awe. I'm not very squeamish and then only time I ever felt faint was when I cut my finger with a serrated knife. Then the surgeon started using a punch to chip away at the hole to make it bigger. Hooah.

I'll be starting my clinical course on the surgical floor on Wednesday and I'll get a chance later in the term to see a surgery from start to finish in the OR. I'm very excited.

The nursing girls in my group kept asking what I was going to do for my birthday, which was kind of embarrassing, considering that I don't like to make a big deal out of it. It's not because I am no longer 22 (what I have randomly decided to be the best age in young adulthood) and slowly feel the grip of adult responsibilities on my shoulder. It's just a day! I have also just remembered that Koreans turn a year older automatically on New Year's. So when Koreans ask each other how old they are, the age they give is usually one more than their real age. Then they also give their real age ("mahn"). So right now, my New Year age and my real age match up. But my brother is 22 and mahn 21. Get it? That was a bit of digression.

So what did I do on my birthday?

I came home, took a nap, had some lovely mangoes to celebrate and got nice phone calls from friends and Facebook congratulations. ^_^

Also, happy 26th birthday to my Birthday Buddy, Brenda!

Cooking Attempts #26~28: Spicy fried chicken (양념통닭), Seaweed salad (미역조림), Spicy rice cake (떡볶이)

I made these dishes back in June, but didn't post them for one reason or another. They're simple recipes, so I just combined them all into one post. Mmm~
6월에 만든 요리인데, 시간이 없어서 못 올렸습니다. 간단한 음식들이니까 한꺼번에 쓰기로 했어요!

Edit: I'm adding a Korean version at Dasol's request. I'm an awesome pants sister, that's what.
다솔이를 위해서 한글로 썼습니다. 저같은 누나가 어디 있나요?

Cooking Attempt #26: Spicy fried chicken (양념통닭)
You can have this delivered in Korea. Actually, you can order anything in Korea to be delivered. I've heard stories of people going fishing on the tiniest islands and getting bowls of black bean noodles delivered to them by boat. Sometimes, the boats can't even dock on the islands, so they have to throw their packages to the customer. Really, it's insane over there. But good food service. Anyhoo, where was I?

한국에서 배달많이 하는 음식이죠. 여름에 어디서 들었는데 한국에선 모든게 배달된데요. 어떤 한적한 섬에서 낚시를 하는 사람들도 먹고 싶으면 짜장면을 배로 갖다준데요. 정말 놀랐어요. 서비스는 한국사람들이 최고라네요.

Yes, spicy fried chicken. Now there's a chain of sorts in Toronto doing pickups and deliveries, but it feels so expensive when you're used to Korean prices. Plus, I'm here in Montreal, where the food just isn't quite up to Toronto standards, so I must make my own. Plus, I'm really starting to love this cooking from scratch thing.

아~ 양념통닭. 토론토에서 체인점이 있긴 한데, 한국에 비하면 너무 비싸지 않아요? 그리고 여기 몬트리얼은 식당들이 별로에요. (아~ 토론토 스시 먹고 싶어라~) 계다가 요즘 요리에 재미가 붙어서... ㅎㅎ

I bought some chicken drumsticks, coated them in flour and whipped egg and stuck them in the oven for about 20 minutes. You could fry it, but this is healthier, I think.

닭다리를 달걀과 밀가루를 묻혀서 오븐에 20분동안 넣습니다. 튀길 수도 있지만, 이게 더 건강하죠.

While that was cooking, I made the spicy sauce in a skillet:
3 cloves of smushed garlic
1 tbsp of butter
4 tbsp of ketchup
2 tbsp of raspberry jam
1 tbsp of honey
2 tbsp of chili paste
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of water
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped



When the chicken was ready, I put it in the sauce and mixed it around and cooked it until the sauce was nice and thick and the chicken was done.

닭고기가 다 됐을때, 양념에 넣고 비벼요. 소스가 찐득찐득해집니다.



Then you sprinkle some sesame seeds and DEEEEELISH! In Korea, it usually comes with a small dish of sweet and sour radish (not really daikon), but I'm not sure how to make that and I don't really want to buy a whole radish just to make it. But it's really refreshing and crunchy next to the spicy chicken.

깨 좀 뿌리고 바로 드세요. 한국에선 무랑 같이 배달되죠? 무도 사기 싫고 어떻게 만드는 지도 몰라서 그건 생략했어요.

Cooking Attempt #27: Seaweed salad (미역조림)

I had some leftover seaweed when I made some seaweed soup. It's different from nori. It comes freeze dried, so you take a tiny bit and let it soak in some cold water. It expands quite a bit. Then you wash it and drain it. Then you mix it up with some chili paste, vinegar and sprinkle some sesame seeds on it. Chill it in the refrigerator and slorp it up!

미역국을 만들때, 좀 남아서 만들어봤어요. 그렇게 많이 부푸는지 몰랐어요. 고추장, 식초, 깨랑 비비고 나서 냉장고에 좀 나뒀다가 먹었어요.




Cooking Attempt #28: Spicy rice cake (떡볶이)
I found a Korean grocery store just minutes away from the Montreal Children's hospital where I have my clinical course. They had fresh plain rice cakes. Proper rice cakes, not those crispy rice thingies that Westerners call rice cakes. And I thought, "Hmmm...I've got fish cakes at home!"

제가 다니는 병원근처에 한국식품이 있더라구요. 한번 가봤는데 떡이 있어서 사봤어요. 집에 있는 어묵이랑 같이 떡볶이!

Spicy rice cakes are a favourite snack food in Korea. It's cheap, so kids usually go to snack bars and buy big platefuls of the stuff and gobble it down after school. They don't have to be spicy (without chili paste), but I'm used to the spicy version (from the south, baby!).

떡볶이는 모두 좋아하는 간식이죠. 인터넷을 검색해보니까 안 매운 떡볶이도 있다는데 (고추장 없이 간장만), 남쪽 사람이 그러면 되겠어요?

Cut the rice cake into 5cm long pieces and fish cake into bite-size pieces. Fish cake should be dipped in hot water and then drained. Cook these in a skillet with a bit of sesame oil and then set aside. It doesn't take a long time.

떡과 어묵을 한입 크기로 자르세요. 어묵은 먼저 뜨거운 물에 담궜다가 잘 빼구요. 참기름에 잠깐 볶았다가 옆에 놔둡니다.

The sauce is kinda like the one used for the spicy chicken:
3 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of chili paste
1 tbsp of ketchup
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of mushed garlic
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, chopped

Make the sauce, add the rice cake and fish cake and mix mix mix! Eat and reminisce about childhood! Ahhhhhhhhh~

양념은 양념치킨이랑 비슷해요. 만들고 나서 떡과 어묵을 넣고 비벼요! 먹으면서 어린시절을 생각합니다~

Cooking Attempt #20: 부대찌개 (Army squad stew)

I suddenly had a craving for Budae jjigae yesterday, so I made a grocery list and found myself a recipe. It's called Army squad stew, because it was invented after the Korean War when meat was scarce and people traded with American soldiers for Spam, ham and sausages. Wikipedia tells me that it was also called Johnson soup after President Lyndon B. Johnson.

I was going to add cauliflower, but I forgot to get it at the store. Kimchi was also omitted, because I've run out of lettuce kimchi, so I had to improvise on the seasoning of the broth. Instead, I added the juice from the radish kimchi I had. It's much lighter than lettuce kimchi juice and more refreshing. I was originally going to add ramen noodles (without the powder), but then I realized that there was going to be just too much food. Some recipes call for cheese, but I am a purist and those fusion heathens that use cheese in Asian food can go to the devil!

This is the first time I've ever cooked with watercress. It was a lucky thing that I managed to buy some, because I don't know EXACTLY what they look like and all the signs in the grocery store were in French (give me a break, I'm like 1/20th of the way through the A section in my dictionary), so I took a guess and it was right! Des cressons, baby!

Ingredients:
Bean sprouts - 2 cups
Watercress - 1 cup
Shitake mushrooms - 1 cup chopped
Potato - 1 chopped into large chunks
Onion - 1 chopped into thin slices
Pork belly - how big is my fist?
Sausage - 1 cut into chunks

Seasoning:
Mashed garlic - 2 tbsp
Green onion - 2 tbsp chopped
Korean chili powder - 3 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Radish kimchi juice - I added as much as I had, because I like it spicy.

First arrange the ingredients in a big flat skillet. You can add plain water or make some seaweed water like I did and pour it over the ingredients. Bring it up to a boil and then reduce the heat so that it simmers.



Mix the seasoning separately and slowly dissolve into the stew.



Cook it very slowly until the meat is cooked thoroughly.



Eat with rice! I have some leftover stew. I'll probably add more sprouts and watercress tomorrow to finish it up. Mmmm~

I just got a craving for some spicy chicken, so I might be trying that soon. ^_^

Cooking Attempt #18: Miso soup (된장국)

I haven't written an entry in French for awhile, I know. Isn't it ironic that as soon as I finally learn how to use certain conjugations properly, I can't muster up the energy to do it in real life? Blame it on the French composition homework. That will drain anybody. I like writing, just not for school. Unless I can make up really wild stuff (like a kid named Gerald Purplefork who starts having shortness of breath because his cleaning lady got fired for stealing and his house is now full of dust bunnies, hiYAH!), that is.

Anyhoo, here's the miso soup recipe I've been procrastinating on. I have to put it up, so that I can show my mom that the anchovies and soybean paste she gave me have not been wasted.

This is a Korean recipe, which uses dried anchovies and a special kind of dried seaweed which is thicker than nori (the stuff used to make sushi) to make the broth. You can use anything for the broth. Beef broth, chicken broth, vegetable broth, whatever. You can also add whatever you want in the soup. I'm starting to think that Koreans aren't very particular at all about their recipes. Anyway, here's what I used.

Water - 8 cups
Dried anchovies - 10 (more if you're using teeny ones)
Dried seaweed - a piece maybe 5cmx5cm big
Tofu - 1 package (usually 250g)
Potato - 1, chopped
Onion - 1, chopped
Soybean paste - 3~4 tbsp

This is probably the simplest recipe for miso soup. You can add spinach, long strips of cabbage, seaweed (the still-wet kind), meat, fish, etc etc. I'm thinking of adding kimchi pieces in it next time, to give it an extra kick.

Where was I?

Oh yeah.

So I added the anchovies and seaweed when the water started boiling and let it boil for 15~20 minutes. Then I fished them out, using chopsticks. You CAN leave the anchovies in, but you don't eat them and they start to slowly disintegrate, which is a turn off. The seaweed must be taken out or the soup will smell fishy.

Then you add the onion and potatoes and keep boiling.

When the potatoes are almost done cooking, you add the soybean paste and tofu. My mom likes to get really firm tofu and cut it up before adding it in. I like using softer tofu and let it break up on its own while I'm stirring the soup around. Add the soybean paste slowly so that it dissolves into the soup. But if the water's boiling anyway, it should do that without a problem.

Koreans always have a bowl of rice as their main meal and soup is never eaten on its own. Add portions of rice into the soup, mix it thoroughly and eat! Nyum.



Tomorrow, I make chicken teriyaki with noodles, based on Josh's stir fry recipe!

생각해 보니까 불어로 써본지 오래됐네요. 요즘 불어숙제가 많아서 쓰려고 해도 머리가 아파서 못 하겠어요. 여름에 불어 실력도 좀 더 낳아지면 그때 다시 시작할께요.

된장국은 몇주 전에 만든 건데, 바빠서 오늘 생각난 거에요. 멸치와 다시마로 국물을 냈는데, 다른 걸로도 할 수 있죠? 쇠고기나 닭고기도. 제 친구는 vegan인데, 야채로도 국물을 낼 수 있다고 하네요.

제가 만든 조리법은 아주 간단해요.

물 - 8컵
멸치 - 10개
다시마 - 1조각
두부 - 250g
감자 - 1개
양파 - 1개
된장 - 3~4숫갈

다음에 만들 때는 시금치나 김치를 넣어볼까 해요. 미역도 있으면 좋겠는데 어디서 구해야 할지 모르겠네요.

물이 끓기 시작할 때, 멸치와 다시마를 넣었어요. 15~20분 후에 건져냈어요. 엄마가 다시마는 비린내 난다고 하시네요. 멸치는 그냥 둬도 괜찮은데, 먹을 때 불편하니까 꺼냈어요. 감자와 양파를 넣고 계속 팔팔 끓이다가 거의 다 익었다 싶을때 된장을 천천히 풀었어요. 엄마는 찌개용 두부를 좋아하시는데, 저는 좀 더 말랑말랑한 두부를 썼어요. (세일을 해서... ㅋㅋ)

이틀쯤 계속 먹은 거 같아요. 역시 한국요리처럼 시원한 건 없더라구요.

내일은 치킨 테리야키 국수를 만들어 봅니다!

Cooking Attempt #10: 오무라이스 - Japanese fried rice with egg blanket

I made omu-raisu (omelet-rice, get it?)! It's a Japanese recipe. Basically fried rice with an egg blanket.

1 small carrot
1 small potato
1 small onion
1 celery stalk
1/2 yellow pepper
10 small peeled shrimps (Instead of shrimps, you can use chopped up ham, Spam, tofu or beef.)
2 servings of rice
salt and pepper
2 eggs
ketchup

오무라이스 만들어봤어요!

조그만 당근 1
조그만 감자 1
조그만 양파 1
샐러리 줄기 1
노랑색 피망 반개
새우 10개 (새우 대신 잘게 썬 햄, 스팸, 두부나 쇠고기를 써도 됩니다.)
밥 2인분
소금, 후추
달걀 2개
케첩

J'ai fait omu-raisu! C'est une recette japonaise. Au fond, c'est du riz frit avec une couverture d'oeufs.

1 petite carotte
1 petite pomme de terre
1 petite oignon
1 trognon de céléri
1/2 poivron jaune
10 crevettes (Au lieu de crevettes, tu peux utiliser du jambon, du Spam, du tofu ou du boeuf.)
2 portions du riz
le sel, la poivre
2 oeufs
ketchup

While the rice is cooking, chop up the vegetables into small pieces. Put some oil into a frying pan and cook the vegetables and shrimps at medium heat.
밥을 하는 동안 채소를 잘게 다지세요. 후라이팬에 기름을 두르고 중간 불에 채소와 새우를 볶으세요.
Pendant vous faites du riz, coupez les légumes en morceaux. Mettez un peu d'huile dans la poêle et faites frire les légumes et les crevettes au chaleur moyen.



When they're almost cooked, put in the cooked rice and stir very well. Put in salt and pepper. I had some donkatsu sauce left over, so I put that in as well.
거의 다 익으면, 밥을 넣고 잘 저으세요. 여기에 소금과 후추를 넣습니다.
돈까스 소스가 남아서 그것도 조금 넣어 봤어요.
Quand la mixture est presque toute cuite, mettez le riz frit et tournez bien. Mettez du sel et de la poivre. J'ai la sauce pour donkatsu qui reste, alors j'ai mis ça aussi.


When the fried rice is ready, set it aside in another dish. Put some more oil in the frying pan. Whisk the eggs and cook slowly on the frying pan without stirring.
When it's cooked, put a serving of fried rice on half of the circle and fold the other half on top of the rice.
볶음밥이 다 되면, 그릇에 따로 놓고 후라이팬에 기름을 두르세요.
달걀을 휘저은 다음에 후라이팬에 천천히 익혀요.
다 익으면, 볶음밥을 동그라미 반쪽에 얹고 나머지 달걀으로 덮으세요.
Quand le riz frit est tout prêt, mettez-le dans un autre plat. Mettez plus d'huile dans la poêle. Battez les oeufs et cuisinez dans la poêle sans tourner.
Quand c'est cuit, mettez une portion de riz frit sur une moitié du cercle et pliez l'autre moitié sur le riz.



When my mom used to make omu-raisu, she wrote our names in ketchup. I tried it too, but I was a bit clumsy. I blame it on the big nozzle on the ketchup bottle. But it was still super yummy!
엄마는 이걸 만드실 때 케첩으로 이름을 쓰셨거든요. 저도 한번 해봤는데, 너무 서툴렀어요.
그래도 엄청 맛있었어요.
Quand ma mère faisait omu-raisu, elle a écrit notre noms avec du ketchup. J'ai essayé de faire le même, mais j'étais un peu gauche. Je rejète la responsabilité sur la bouteille de ketchup. C'était délicieux en tout cas!

Cooking Attempt #9: Mashed potatoes and Donkatsu (Japanese breaded pork cutlet)

I've been learning new recipes since I started living alone in September. I tried before, but I think I was too ambitious and it ended up being a dismal failure. (If I think about the vegetable cream soup I made then...urgh.)

I've been craving mashed potatoes since last night, so I made it with donkatsu when I came home after my exam. My parents brought me the frozen donkatsu from a Korean market. I ate it with salad and black rice. Yum~

Mashed potatoes
2 medium size potatoes
Margarine 1.5tbsp
Milk 1/2 cup
Salt 1/2tbsp
Pepper to taste

Peel and cut the potatoes into largish chunks. Put them into boiling water with salt. They should be fully cooked after about 15 minutes. Turn off the stove and drain the water. If you put the pot back on the stove with the potatoes, the remaining moisture will evaporate even without the heat on. Put the rest of the ingredients and use a fork or a whisk to mash the potatoes.
If you want it to be creamier, put more margarine or milk.

For donkatsu, heat up some oil in a frying pan at medium heat and cook the cutlets slowly. If it's too hot, the breadcrumbs might burn before the meat cooks fully.




9월에 혼자 살기 시작했을 때부터 열심히 요리공부를 하고 있어요.
전에 한번 시도해 봤는데요, 손이 너무 많이 가는 음식을 해서 실패한 것 같아요.
(그때 만든 야채크림수프를 생각하면, 욱~)

어제부터 mashed potatoes가 생각나더라구요. 그래서 오늘 시험끝나고 집에 와서 돈까스랑 한번 만들어봤어요. 돈까스는 부모님이 한국식품에서 사다주신 거에요. 샐러드와 흑쌀과 함께 먹었습니다.
음냐~

Mashed potatoes
중간 사이즈 감자 2개
마가린 1.5tbsp
우유 반컵
소금 1/2tbsp
후추 간맞춤

감자는 껍질 벗기고 큼직한 네모로 잘라서 끓는 물에 넣으세요.
거기에 소금도 넣구요.
15분쯤 끓이면 다 익었겠죠?
불을 끄고 물을 따라주세요. 감자가 들은 냄비를 다시 스토브에 얹으면 불을 다시 안 켜도 남아있는 수분이 날아갑니다.
나머지 재료를 넣고 포크나 달걀 휘스크 같은 도구로 잘 으깨주세요.
더 부드러운 걸 좋아하시면 마가린이나 우유를 좀 더 넣으세요.

돈까스는 후라이팬에 식용유를 두르고 중간 불에 서서히 익혀주세요.
너무 뜨겁게 하면 고기가 익기 전에 빵가루가 타거든요.


J'avais appris des nouvelles recettes depuis septembre quand j'ai commencé à habiter toute seule. J'ai essayé avant, mais je pense que j'étais trop ambitieuse et c'était un échec lamentable. (Quand je pense à la soupe crème de légumes que j'ai fait à ce moment-là...pouah!)

J'avais terriblement envie d'avoir la purée de pommes de terre depuis la nuit passée, alors je l'ai cuisiné avec donkatsu quand je suis rentrée chez moi après mon examen. mes parents m'ont apporté le donkatsu gelé d'un marché coréen. Je l'ai mangé avec une salade et du riz noir. Miam miam~

La purée de pommes de terre
2 pommes de terres moyens
Margarine 1.5 grand cuillerée (GC?)
Lait 1/2 tasse
Sel 1/2 grand cuillerée
Poivre

Pelez et coupez les pommes de terres en gros morceaux. Mettez-les dans l'eau brouillant avec du sel. Ils seront complètement cuits après environs 15 minutes. Éteindez la cuisinière et égouttez l'eau. Si vous mettez la casserole sur la cuisinière avec les pommes de terre, la humidité qui reste s'évaporera. Mettez les autres ingrédients dans la casserole et utilisez une fourchette ou un fouet pour faire une purée.

Si vous la voulez un peu plus crèmeuse, mettez plus de la margarine ou du lait.

Pour le donkatsu, réchauffez un peu d'huile dans une poêle au chaleur moyen et cuisinez les côtelettes lentement. Si c'est trop chaud, la panure peut brûler avant la viande est cuite.

A new challenge! - 새로운 도전! - Une nouvelle challenge!

When I was just 9 years old and just starting to get a grasp of English in Toronto, my mother decreed that I should write my diary in three different languages. It didn't matter, she said, if they weren't grammatically perfect as long as I tried. (Can you tell she's a teacher?) Well, she expected my Korean at least to be spotless. My Korean is still awesome (and I'm damn proud of it too), but I'm starting to lose some words, so I'm going to be bringing back the trilingual diary entries in this blog. The entries will not be exact translations of each other, because that is impossible, as I've stressed many times before. However, I will do my best to not slack off in the translation. Oh and hey, you can always put the translations into Babelfish for a good laugh!

내가 토론토에서 처음으로 영어가 귀에 들어오기 시작한 꽃다운 아홉살이었을 때, 엄마가 일기를 세가지 언어로 쓰길 바라셨다. 엄마는 문법이 틀려도 괜찮으니 그냥 열심히 쓰면 된다고 하셨다. (선생님이셨다는 게 짐작가지 않는가?) 그래도 한글만은 완벽하길 강요하셨다. 내 한글은 아직도 거의 완벽하지만 (엄청 자랑스럽게 생각하고 있다) 단어들이 서서히 지워지는 것 같아서 다시 삼개 국어 일기를 시작한다. 내가 전에 몋번이나 강조했듯이, 완벽한 번역은 무가능하지만 할 수 있는만큼 뜻이 맞게 써보겠다. 바벨피쉬에 넣어보면 재미있지 않을까?

Quand j'avais 9 ans et commençais à comprendre l'anglais à Toronto, ma mère a décrété que je devrais écrire mon journal en trois langues. Ça ne fait rien, elle a dit, si la grammaire n'est pas parfaite pourvu que j'essayais. (C'est evident qu'elle étais une professeur, n'est-ce pas?) Eh bien, elle a demandé que mon coréen au moins d'être parfait. Mon coréen est encore impressionant (et je suis très fière), mais je commence à perdre les mots, alors je vais restaurer les notations trilingues dans ce blog. Les notations ne seront pas de translations exactes, parce que c'est impossible, comme j'avais dit plusieurs fois. Toutefois, je vais essayer de ne pas relâcher dans les translations. Hé, vous pouvez les mettre dans Babelfish pour rigoler!

A Juicy Lesson in Korean: #4 - Untranslatable Insults

First, I have to rant a little.

On Tuesday, I had my second French class for students in health sciences and I just have to point this out. Once you have a general understanding of a language, you have to give up trying to translate you thoughts word-for-word for the following reasons:

1) Every language has it quirks and phrases that just cannot be translated literally.
2) Trying to tranlsate everything takes up time and energy.
3) Native speakers will understand you even if your grammar isn't perfect.
4) It's fucking annoying for the other students in the class.

I am one of the annoyed students in the class. Good god, man, you may think English and French are very similar, but they don't even have the same origins. English is a West Germanic language and French is Latin based. They don't have the same conjugations and tenses, so for heaven's sake, don't try to find an exact equivalent. And if you don't know a word, then get yourself a bloody dictionary. You can even have mine.

This week's lesson is on insults. Don't get it confused with swearing. I reuse to teach swear words in Korean, because it's inappropriate and also, it just doesn't have the same flavour if you don't say it just right.

A) _____ is/are disrespectful. - _______ 싸가지 없어.

Ssa-ga-ji up-suh.

Ssa = Say "sa" with an exhaled breath behind it.

You can add a name/pronoun to the blank or omit it altogether if the listener already knows who you're talking about. (This rule applies for all Korean sentences.) The translation is very inadequate. If I read "Tony 싸가지 없어", in a novel and had to translate it, it would be "Tony is a disrespectful asshole who thinks he's all that." All that is implied in one phrase. This is one of the phrases I miss the most.


B) You're making a spectacle of yourself. - 쌩쇼를 해라.

Sseng-sho-rul heh-rah.

Literally, it translates to "Do a live show." As you can see, it's an imperative and if the person is already doing something inappropriate, then why encourage them even more? Perhaps a better way to put it is, "You're being ridiculous. Why don't you do a live show while you're at it, you spaz?"


C) Mind your own business. - 너나 잘 하세요.

Nuh-nah jal hah-se-yo.

jal = almost a soft "chal"

This is meant to be very insulting to the listener. First, there's the meaning, "Mind your own business" which is disconcerting for anyone to hear. For the second layer of insult, we must examine the literal meaning. "너나" is "you" in the most informal speech level with an emphasis as if to say, "Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself." "잘 하세요" is "Please do well" in the imperative on the formal speech level that you would use in polite everyday conversation. They're innocuous enough on their own, but together, it implies that the speaker should show respect for the listener but is deliberately choosing not to. It's even more insulting than if the whole phrase had been in the informal speech level. All this is in 6 syllables.

You can hear this where there are 34 seconds left.



Bonus: You can hear "Good-bye" (안녕히 가세요) when there are 30 seconds left.

There are many more. Even phrases that aren't insults. There are still moments when I wish there was an English version equal in eloquence to its Korean counterpart. I tell these to Brenda and we laugh together and wish that there was someone else to share in our amusement.

A Juicy Lesson in Korean: #3 - Talk Like a Pirate Day

Debbie said I should teach something that pirates would say in Korean for Talk Like a Pirate Day. The thing is, I don't know what Korean pirates sound like. Of course, there are Korean pirates. There have been for centuries, but I don't know if they had a special pirate slang and if they did, what it sounded like. (The Asian pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean 3 are obviously from Singapore/China.)


So I will use this opportunity to teach imperatives in Korean. And since this is pirates we're talking about, we will presume that they did not use the formal speech level. Instead, they would treat you like dirt. AND STOMP ON YOUR FACE!

Ahem.


A) Give me _____! - _____ 줘! [followed by utterance of very bad words probably]

_____ Jwo! = "j" almost sounds like "ch" + wo ("Whoa!")

In the blank, you can use whatever you like: food, items of clothing, anything at all. Remember that this is very informal and urgent-sounding.


B) Do _____! - _____ 해!

_____ Heh!

In the blank, you can use a gerund (an action noun). For instance, I could say to my brother, "Cleaning해!" (while shaking my fist). When you learn the Korean forms of the gerunds, you can just slip them into the formula.

Example: Cleaning = 청소 (chung-so) -----> "청소해!"
Driving = 운전 (oon-jun) -----> "운전해!"


C) Aren't you going to give me ______? - ______ 안 줘?

______ Ahn-jwo?

This is more rhetorical. It would be more accurate to translate it as, "You're not going to give this to me? How dare you?" followed by a beating (it's a pirate after all). Basically one can use this interchangeably with A). This one is slightly more threatening, because it implies consequences to a refusal.


D) Aren't you going to _____ ? - ______ 안 해?

______ Ahn-heh?

Just like B), you use a gerund in the blanks. This follows the sentence structure of C) and basic meaning.


E) Please do ______. - ______ 해줘.

______Heh-jwo.

As obvious from the "please", it is not something a pirate would say. It's an informal (almost childish) way of asking someone (who is very close like a friend or family member) to do something for you. Again, the blanks are filled by gerunds.



BONUS LESSON: "I know I am a foreigner. Sure. You can keep staring at me. Don't touch me though." as requested by Tara.

네, 저 외국인이에요. 쳐다보시는 건 괜찮은데, 만지지는 마세요.

Neh, juh weh-gook-in-ee-eh-yo.
Chuh-da-bo-see-neun gun gwen-chan-eun-deh, man-ji-ji-neun mah-seh-yo.

(Literally, "Yes, I know I'm a foreigner. You can stare at me, but please don't touch.")


Hahah! I think you're going to need a sound file or something. I'll try and figure it out.

A Juicy Lesson in Korean: #2 - Thank you.

I thought about doing more advanced sort of greeting, but Josh suggested that it might be better to cover the basics first.

All Korean textbooks will say that Koreans do not use intonation, which is true. Our syllables mean exactly what they mean no matter how you say it. However, we do have a set way of using tones in common phrases, even if we don't think about it. This is why Koreans might need you to repeat sentences a couple of times to understand what you're saying. Sadly, I'm a bit lazy at the moment to put up sound clips. -_-;; We'll see how that goes.

A) Thank you - 감사합니다 or 고마워요

i) 감사합니다.

Kahm-sah-hab-nee-da.

Most Koreans pronounce this in such a way that the third syllable "hab" blurs into "ham". This slides into the next syllable, "nee". The last syllable, "da" should sound almost like a soft "t".


ii) 고마워요.

Ko-mah-wo-yo.

wo = "Whoa~", but short. (I trust that you won't need to imitate Keanu Reeves.)


"감사합니다" is a more formal thank-you, to be used in situations with strangers. It might be used in business transactions, for instance. "고마워요" is more familiar. It's a heartfelt thank-you for the other person helping you. Between good friends, you may shorten this to "고마워" (Ko-mah-wo), which is informal.


B) You're welcome - 천만에요.

Chun-mahn-eh-yo

People may not use "천만에요" all the time, just like we all have different ways of saying "You're welcome" ("No problem", "Don't mention it", etc).


Random note: "Please" is implied by the formal speech level when you ask for something in Korean. There is a word in the dictionary for "please" - 제발 (Jeh-bahl), but the tone is more desperate and pleading. It is therefore not used in everyday conversation, unless you want to stress its importance.

A Juicy Lesson in Korean: #1 - Greetings

I will be writing posts focusing on certain Korean phrases that might come in handy. I'll start off with what I believe are basics, but if there's something specific you want to know, then feel free to leave comments and ask! There won't be much vocabulary, because you can look those up in any dictionary. I'll be focusing on the everyday phrases and how to use them. There are many (at least seven) speech levels (honorifics) in Korean. I'll be teaching at a level that is appropriate for strangers and colleagues. Oh, and I use the Judy romanization, because I don't know how to make all the squiggles on top of letters.

Lesson #1 - Greetings

A) Hello - 안녕하세요.

Ahn-nyoung-hah-se-yo.

Ahn = ah+n
nyoung = say "young" with "n" in front

"안녕하세요" is appropriate for any time of day. You should accompany this with a bow. The higher the person's social position in relation to your own, the lower the bow.

Note: You cannot use "안녕하세요" like you would use "Hello" to start a phone conversation.


B) Good-bye - 안녕히 가세요 or 안녕히 계세요.

i) 안녕히 가세요.

Ahn-nyoung-hee-ka-se-yo.

"안녕히 가세요" is when the person you're speaking to is leaving, regardless of whether you're leaving or staying. This is accompanied by a bow, like all greetings.

ii) 안녕히 계세요.

Ahn-nyoung-hee-kye-se-yo.

kye = say "yea" and add "k" to the front

"안녕히 계세요" is when the person you're speaking to is staying. This is accompanied by a bow, like all greetings.

Note: You can use "안녕히 계세요" to end phone conversations.


C) Casual Greeting - Hi and Bye - 안녕

Ahn-nyoung

This is a casual greeting and should only be used for close friends and people of a lower social position. As a result, you don't need to bow to the person you're speaking to.


What's the next lesson? We'll see!