Cycle 4 – Item 19

24 (Thu) January 2013

Cirsium Setidens Stone Pot Rice

3.0

at Gohyang Iyagi

-Hoenggye, Daegwanlyeong, Pyeongchang, Gangwon, Republic of Korea-

with W and DJ, K family, S family, Y family

Same people, same place, same purpose, 4th year running: informal holiday getaway with families of DJ’s former daycare (see most recently 3.049 Pan-Grilled Scallops and Smoked Duck).

Gohyang Iyagi is a Korean restaurant.  Specializes in dishes involving gondeure.

Gondeure (곤드레) is Korean thistle aka Cirsium setidens.  It’s a vegetable indigenous to the mountains of the region.

This year, in contrast to previous retreats, I declined to manage the meals for the trip.   I was tired of doing all the work, receiving inadequate appreciate, and dealing with complaints – about the budget, not the food.  Instead, each family is assigned one meal to prepare for everyone.   I will make breakfast prior to checkout on Saturday: 12 portions of instant udon noodles, that’s as much effort as I’m willing to put it.

The remaining meals will be at restaurants.

On our way to the resort, we stopped by Gohyang Iyagi for lunch.

None of us had ever had gondeure.  I’d never even heard of it.

The godeure was steamed, along with rice, in a dolsot.   The godeure was kinda bitter, not entirely unpleasant, but not much flavor beyond the bitterness.  Hot water was poured into the stone pot to make nurungji from the burnt rice.  Even with the various side dishes, the meal was something of a ripoff at 10,000 per bowl.  But it was fun to eat something called “Cirsium setidens.”

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)