Sabs and Julie talk about "life fulfillment" meals which I get - I totally get it - but tonight it took it took on a whole new meaning when I made kal-guk-su: thick flour noodles in a clam-based sauce. You may remember that we had a life-altering experience eating this dish at a local spot in Gongju near marketman's parents' house. So, inspired by the soo-jae-bee that wasn't quite right, we picked up some frozen clams at Kukje and gave it a whirl:

The result? Not quite the same as sitting on floor eating out of a hot pot, but a life fulfillment meal all the same. I already have a few ideas on what I might do differently next time...

I have a few ideas on how I might re-engineer this the next time, one of which includes adding a piece of kelp along with the dried anchovies, but this was a good first try -- marketman ate two bowls.

Ingredients:

• 10 cups water
• 10 dried anchovies, heads and intestines removed
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. frozen cooked clams, rinsed well and picked through for tightly closed shells
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 2 green onions, sliced into 2" pieces
• 2 zucchini, cut in 1/2" pieces
• 3 tbsp. gotchujang
• 3 tbsp. soy sauce
• 4 tsp. anchovy dashima
• Guk-su noodles

Directions:

Bring water to a boil. Tie anchovies and garlic in a cheesecloth and drop into boiling water. Add clams and simmer 15 minutes. Add vegetables and simmer another 15-20 minutes until soft. Add gotchujang, soy sauce and dashima; stir well. Drop in noodles and cook 5-6 minutes until al dente.

Serves 4

At least that's what my parents believe whenever mieko14 and I come out to visit.  The good news is that we totally don't mind!  So today we were able to check off 2 of the myriad things we were looking forward to eating on this trip:  Hwae-neng-myun (cold spicy noodles) for marketman:

...and Kal-guk-soo (hand-pulled noodles) for mieko14:

We are so not gonna enjoy the Korean food in the Bay Area once we get back home...