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I opened the wine and poured Ji a glass then poured some scotch for me. I take it neat, no ice, water, or mixer. We sat in the living room as I said, "It smells wonderful, Ji."
"Thank you. I prepared the mandu earlier - they just need to be steamed and pan fried. The Gyeran Jjim has to be made when we are ready to eat as it doesn't keep well. Are you getting hungry?"
"I usually eat between 6:30 and 7, but any time you want is fine with me."
"Okay, I'll finish cooking everything. You can relax here or watch me in the kitchen, whichever you prefer," she said.
I followed Ji into the kitchen where she took the mandu dumplings out of the refrigerator as she grabbed six eggs. She set an earthenware pot on one burner, a steamer on another, and a wok on a third. After beating the eggs she poured them through a fine strainer, using a plastic ladle to force the few still clumped bits. Satisfied, she added anchovy broth to the eggs and set them aside.
Once the steamer came to temperature she put half the mandu into it and steamed them until done. At that point she placed them in the oiled wok and put the remaining ones into the steamer. She poured the eggs into the earthenware pot and covered it with a matching lid. While it all cooked she pulled three sauces and a small dish with chopped scallions in it out of the refrigerator and placed them on the table, which was already set.
Seven minutes later everything was finished at the same time. She put the steamed dumplings in one covered serving dish and the pan fried pot stickers in another. She placed a trivet on the table and, using potholders, put the egg pot on it, leaving a potholder to use to remove the lid.
"Please sit, Tate. Take as much of the eggs as you wish. It is traditional to top them with the scallions. These sauces are for dipping the mandu in. This one is tamari with cornstarch and sesame oil, this one is ponzu, which has a citrusy flavor, and this one is hoisin sauce with ginger."
"It all smells delicious, Ji."
"Thank you. In Korea it is traditional to serve guests first so please help yourself."
"Okay," I said, as I took four of each type mandu. Ji served herself and used a spoon to ladle some of the dipping sauces onto the mandu she had on her plate. I followed her lead, putting one spoonful of each sauce on one each of the steamed and fried mandu, leaving one of each plain.
I took the lid off the egg dish and was surprised to see that they had risen while cooking. When she poured the beaten eggs into the pot they only filled it about half way. While they cooked they rose until they reached the domed lid, so when I removed it they looked like a giant, yellow muffin, dotted with air holes. I took a large helping and then passed the serving spoon to Ji, who took a smaller portion.
As we ate, Ji told me about her porcelain figurines. "My grandmother began collecting them many years ago She worked in a mill that made them, as a painter. She set aside a small amount of money each payday and when she had enough, she used her employee discount to buy one. She worked there for over forty years and managed to purchase several hundred. My mother added a few before bequeathing the entire collection to me. I have many more in boxes, stored in the extra bedroom. The ones you see here are my favorites, although once a year or so I will put some of them in storage and replace them with different ones."
"Each painter was required to put their initials on the bottom for quality control, in case they found a painter making a lot of mistakes. My grandmother always looked for her initials and bought the ones she had painted if she could. I have many of hers," Ji explained.
"That's fantastic!" I said. "My dad's mom passed when he was sixteen. His father, a traditional immigrant from Italy with a daughter and son, remarried. When he passed in retirement she stole everything and disappeared before telling my aunt her father had died three days earlier. So we have almost no family heirlooms from that side of the family."
