For the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony my family and I decided to put together an authentic Korean meal. It took time and handwork, but it was SO worth it. We made Kalbi, Jap Chae, Tofu, Sigumchi Namul, Oi Muchim, a variety of veggies, and bought Kimchi.

Earlier in the week we made a trip to Lucky Oriental Mart to get the ingredients we needed. I have never been to an oriental market and boy was I in for a pleasant surprise! We found everything we needed and then some…

We began the preparation of the meal by marinating the short ribs. We left them to marinate for about 9 hours. The marinade consisted of an Asian pear, a small onion, chopped garlic, chopped ginger, brown sugar, sesame seeds, honey, green onions, sesame oil, black pepper, and soy sauce.

 

Here are the recipes we used:

• Kalbi (Korean Marinated Short Ribs) 

• Korean Glass Noodles (Jap Chae)

• Korean Seasoned Spinach (Sigumchi Namul)

• Oi Muchim (Spicy Cucumber Salad)

 

For the tofu, I soaked it in soy sauce and sesame seeds and then baked it in the oven, so it could get nice and toasty.

I chopped/sliced up some mushrooms, onions, carrots and cooked them in the oven, along with the green beans.

For the Kimchi, here is the brand we bought from the Oriental market:

 

As you can see, we also incorporated bean sprouts and an avocado with the meal. Feel free to add in whatever makes you happy.

 

This year, I do not have the time to make food from several different countries, like I did with the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games (My Olympics International Cuisine Project) – feel free to reference my international cuisine project if you are feeling adventurous during these games.

I urge you to try new things and learn more about different cultures. How about you make your own Korean meal in honor of the 2018 Winter Olympics?