nanoomi

After making tofu and soy milk at home, my experiments to utilize an inordinate amount of soy pulp (비지; bi ji or okara) began.  In addition to biji jjigae (비지 찌개; stew made with soy pulp, kimchi and pork as main ingredients), I found a way to put soy pulp in mini zucchini cupcakes, where it adds a soft crunch and subtle nutty flavor.

This time, soy pulp finds its way into butter cookies.

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By Kathy Fidler

Juinun Beantown, Goyang

On the northwestern edge of the city, about halfway to Ilsan on subway line three, there is a suburb called Goyang that is home to a wonderful little cluster of farms and specialty restaurants. There’s an herb farm, a mushroom farm, the tipsily entertaining Baedari Tradtional Wine Museum and makgeolli brewery, and outdoor grill restaurants specializing in just about any kind of meat you can imagine.

Up the road from all of these locations is a complex with the English name Beantown, housing a bean farm, a coffee house, a shop selling an impressive variety of homemade soybean pastes (doenjang) and chili paste (gochujang), as well as the only live turkey I’ve ever seen in the Seoul metropolitan area. Front and center in this delightful complex is a restaurant serving foods produced on the farm.

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