Sometimes Eating Helps - For Crying in H Mart

She certainly did quite a bit of both.  Crying and eating in this memoir, which is our Cook the Books Club pick for October/November.  Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner, and hosted by Simona of Briciole, with lots of interesting, some deliciously so, Korean food.  I struggled at times getting through the story of her upbringing.  Some parents can be so overbearing even in their love, wanting to direct every aspect of their children's lives.  Of course, in my case, there were 7 of us, and a different nationality, so not too comparable to an only child in a Korean American home.

From the Publishers:  "#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the indie rock sensation known as Japanese Breakfast, an unforgettable memoir about family, food, grief, love, and growing up Korean American—“in losing her mother and cooking to bring her back to life, Zauner became herself” (NPR). • CELEBRATING OVER ONE YEAR ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST

In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.

As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her..."

So the inspirations for cooking were just too many to list.  All Korean food!  And I had only recently posted on that.  Getting Into Jang, by Mingoo Kong, A Whole New Cuisine.  Anyway, I fixed a traditional Korean favorite, and one of mine as well: Kimchi-jjgae.  Which is a stew in which you put some aged kimchi, pork, tofu, and various seasonings.

 Kimchi-jjigae

Yield: serves 4

Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter (1 oz.)
• 1 large garlic clove, coarsely chopped
• 1⁄2 lb. skinned pork belly, sliced into 1-inch chunks or ground pork (I used wild boar)
• 1⁄2 small white onion (3 oz.), coarsely chopped
• 3 teaspoons Korean red chili pepper flakes gochugaru - adjust to taste. 
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1/2 cup juice from kimchi if available and 3 cups of water
• 2 cups kimchi (16 oz.), coarsely chopped and juices reserved
• 1 cup firm tofu (8 oz.), cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tsp. fish sauce
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tab. soy sauce
• 2 medium scallions, coarsely chopped
• Thinly sliced toasted nori, for topping (optional)
• Steamed white rice, for serving

Instructions

1. In a medium pot set over medium heat, melt the butter. When the foam subsides, add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not yet browned, 30–45 seconds. Add the pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until some of the fat has rendered and the meat is beginning to crisp around the edges, 4–5 minutes. Add the onion, ginger, gochgaru and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened slightly, about 2 minutes. Add the kimchi and its juices and 2 cups cold water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a strong simmer. Cook until the pork is just tender and the onions are soft, 10–12 minutes. Add the tofu, fish sauce, sesame oil, and soy sauce, and simmer until the tofu is heated through, 3–5 minutes more.
2. Remove the pot from the heat. Divide the stew among 4 bowls, and top each with chopped scallions and a pinch of toasted nori. Serve with white rice on the side.

This review will be posted as my Cook the Books Club selection this round.  Also linking to November Foodies Read, hosted by Heather, and to Weekend Cooking, with hostess Marge, The Intrepid Reader and Baker.