after i arrived back in korea on the night of monday, january 15th, i spent almost a week trying to get acclimated back to a normal sleeping schedule. i found myself getting dead tired around 1:00p and then thinking i'd take a nap, only to wake up around 9:00p fully rested and subsequently staying up all night and repeating the process. it was nice that i didn't have to go back to work until february 1st, although had i started back sooner it probably would have helped me get back on a regular time schedule.

another thing happened to me when i got back to korea, for some reason i was struck with a strong desire to cook some korean food. i've never cooked much before, usually the kinds of food i make at home are only as complex as instant curry, tuna from a can, or meats that are either hot dogs or spam. but for some reason i felt a desire to learn to make �장찌개 (doenjang jjigae), a really delicious soup/stew made with fresh vegetables that uses korean bean paste (that's the �장 or doenjang part) for the broth. i did a little online searching and found a few sites with good recipes. the one i used can be found from the site korean kitchen, follow these three clicks: Recipe => Soups & Stews => Dwen jang jji ge (Korean bean paste stew with beef and vegetables).

tagged: cooking doenjang jjigae korean food �장찌개