Cycle 14 – Item 318

19 (Sun) November 2023

Ddoddo Gimbap

2.0

by MIL

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with the Family, MIL + FIL

Since he could speak, DJ has always called his maternal grandmother “ddoddo (또또),” which isn’t an actual Korean nickname for grandmother, like “nana” in English – he just started doing, for no apparent reason.  He still calls her that, as does IZ.

They call their maternal grandfather “ebbi (에삐),” same random origin.

They call their paternal grandparents “grandma” and “grandpa” (in English).

So, we have no “halmeoni (할머니) (grandmother)” or “halabeoji (할아버지) (grandfather)” in the family.

“Ddoddo Gimbap” is MIL’s quick-fix version.  It comprises egg omelet (which she makes), seasoned spinach (which she makes), pickled radish (from packaged gimbap kit), pickled burdock root (from packaged gimbap kit), raw kimchi (meaning that it’s not otherwise seasoned, as kimchi usually is when added to gimbap), and raw SPAM (SPAM is already cooked, but is usually pan-seared for gimbap).  Not a fan myself – I find the kimchi to be overpowering, and the SPAM to be flavorless – but the boys love it, so she sometimes comes over on the weekend to make it for them.

(See also HANSIK)