Korean food and etiquette questions

[Joaz Banbeck]

About six months ago, some new tenants moved in to the house across the street; they were Korean, and they mostly kept to themselves. We would wave as we passed if they happened to be out, and they would wave back, but that was it.

Two days ago, an ancient little Korean lady hobbled over to our place with a paper plate of goodies. We thanked her, of course. As best we could tell, she spoke no English. We speak no Korean. She made successive visits to several of the other neighbors with similar plates.

The food was balls of something that may have been rice paste, sort of gooey and stretchy, about an inch in diameter, and of varying colors. They had fillings with hard to describe flavors. Some were tasty to my western palate, some were not. Now, after two days in the fridge, the remainders are hard and taste terrible.

So, I have two general questions:

What is the proper way to respond? Are they expecting something? Is there a holiday and/or tradition involved here?

and

What was the food? Has it gone bad? Is is even safe to feed it to the dog?

Thanks,
JB

[jts]

Do you know what bean paste tastes like?

[Joaz Banbeck]

Not a clue.

[shyin]

They're trying to fatten you, soon you will wake up in a cooking pot.
Be careful.

[jts]

If the inside was a smooth, mildly sweet paste with a slightly granular texture, it was probably bean paste. Red beans give a black, brown, or red paste, green beans give a white to (very) light green paste. It probably got hard because you stored it on a plate and the gluey rice on the outside dehydrated.

[Kirby]

Was it something like this:


It sounds like some sort of 떡 (Tteok).

There are tons of different types of 떡, which are eaten as snacks in Korea. They have varied flavors... Maybe hundreds.

A particular type of 떡 is eaten around the new year, but it's common to have the type shown in the image above, for example, as a treat.

Regarding how to respond, I think she probably just wanted to give you a treat for visiting, and you're not necessarily required to do anything. You might think of it like she were bringing over a tray of cookies to give you. Gift giving is kind of a part of the culture, though. Maybe if you ever visit her place, you could bring a small gift, for example.

I would personally skip out on saying that you didn't like some of them. It depends on her personality hether she would get offended if you mentioned it.

Regarding eating them now... You mentioned that they taste bad now, so why eat them? I'd throw them out, myself.

[Ellyster]

I'm not sure about korean traditions... but in Japan when you move to a new neighborhood was usual to give a present to the neighbor so you can introduce yourself, and both countries share a lot of cultural traditions.

Japanese people used to give 'soba' a kind of japanese noodles called 'hikkoshi soba' or 'moving noodles', but nowadays they give other useful things as toilet paper or what ever, anyway this habit is not longer sustain among youngsters. But you said that it was an old lady, so she maight be keeping the tradition (becouse their sons wasn't going to do it).


There is no follow up needed. But I agree with Kirby, if you ever visit her place, you should bring a small gift... and avoid mention that you didn't like some of them.



And, how knows, maybe that they are also baduk fans

[Kirby]

So I asked my wife to get a Korean perspective. She said that it's actually common for someone new to the neighborhood to give out 떡 like that, but usually it is red bean 떡, which would not likely be multicolored.

She thinks that it's possible that, since the lady is in America, she figured e neighbors wouldn't like that flavor as much, so she may have opted for a different type of 떡 to have a better chance of meeting your tastes.

My wife said it's common for the newcomer to give you the 떡 on a non-disposable plate in hopes that you will stop by to visit them in awhile. When you do, you can bring a small gift, or bring nothing and just chat to get to know them - that's really the point, I guess (though it may be difficult due to language in this case).

My wife suggested you let them know you play go. They may not like the game, but they might at least be interested.

Her opinion on the 떡: If it's getting hard, you can try microwaving it. However, she doubts your dog would like it since it's so chewy.

[daal]

If it's getting hard, you can try microwaving it.

I'd steam it - and have a go stone in your pocket when you go to thank them!

[Ellyster]

I completely forgot the "non-disposable plate" thing... that's the common asian sutile way to 'force' a second meeting.

Good luck with the language, and don't worry to much about screwing it, you are not expected to know their customs, they will be glad that you care enought to ask around... and I agree with Kirby, they will be surprised if you mention Go.


Just one little thing, real Korean food could be very spicy if you are not used to (or don't like it)... at least the first few times.

[Joaz Banbeck]

Thanks everyone. Kirby, it matched your photo almost exactly.

I think that I will slice them in half, dehydrate them a little more, and I'll have a new set of stones!

[Zombie]

Go beans?

[cyclops]

You might give them the url of this thread and my sympathies!