Rememebr last year, when my Vice Principal invited me over to his home for my very 1st Chuseok experience with his family?! If not, here's a reminder for ya!
It's imperative to have the following things on the table when we celebrate Chuseok here in Korea: Rice (of course!) Bulgolgi (beef grilled with onions and carrots), a grilled (or baked in our case) fish with the head still attached, sliced melons, a sliced pear, kimchi, and songpyeon (rice cake filled with a red bean mixture)!
So, this year, Aaron and I decided to have our own little Chuseok dinner at my place! We learned how to cook everything and had ourselves a proper korean Chuseok meal! We even handmade our own songpyeon with my neighbors late last night!
The last picture doesn't do our little fishie justice, so I'll give you this picture too! We bought it from a nearby market yesterday and asked them to scale and clean it, but to PLEASE KEEP THE HEAD AND TAIL ON! Aaron baked it in my easy bake oven with lemon slices, butter, pepper, salt, and garlic! It turned out delicious!
Last but not least, Chuseok in Korea is all about honoring deceased family members... but instead of bowing and imaginerally (sp?) offering them food and wine, Aaron and I told special stories about each person in our family who has passed away, so each other could get to know the people who we loved and are no longer with us. It was really special.
To top off the night, Jessica and Carlos made a last minute trip over to Busan to stay at my place for a couple days! It was such a great surprise and made for a very memorable Chuseok!
***