[Kichen Talk]Jellied feet and dumplings
Russian Ambassador Gleb A. Ivashentsov and his wife Irina Yu Ivashentsova in front of a tapestry at the ambassador’s residence in Gugi-dong, central Seoul. By Jeong Chi-ho
On the eve of my visit to the Russian Ambassador’s residence in Gugi-dong, Jung District, I realized I knew relatively little about the country.
Images flooded through my mind of women called Natasha, iconic figures from history like Ivan the Terrible, Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” bottles of ice-cold vodka, Mikhail Baryshnikov leaping around in the 1980s movie “White Nights” and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin flexing his muscles in his judo strip.
That all changed when I got a real taste of Russia, literally, from the heart of a Russian kitchen. And I was surprised how familiar the dishes were to my Korean palate.
Pelmeni, meat dumplings from Siberia and the Ural Mountains.
“The farming season in Russia is very short when you compare it to the one in Korea. So in Russia, we paid attention to salting, marinating and pickling fruit and vegetables and making jams and preserves to provide our families with food supplies for the long, cold winter.”
Fittingly, I was given the opportunity to taste two very popular Russian dishes - pelmeni and studen - which are usually made during the winter. Pelmeni are meat dumplings that originated in Siberia and the Ural Mountains, then spread to Central Russia. The dish is easy to make and easy to store for later usage, perfect for families keen to stock up before the onset of the snow and the long nights of the cold season.
The other dish, studen, was a kind of jelly made out of calf’s foot, like a bouillon broth that is rich enough to solidify when cooled down. The jelly with the meat morsels was served with a traditional Russian mustard and a horseradish sauce.
Russian cake
“We have imitators but they are mostly from Eastern European states,” said Mrs. Ivashentsova. What a pity, I thought, indulging myself in the dumplings and jelly, because both the pelmeni and studen were excellent treats for my taste buds.
The ambassador and his wife are well accustomed to the spicy delights of hot food. They have previously served in India and Burma, culinary training that fully prepared them for sampling Korean dishes when they first arrived here in July 2005. They said their favorite Korean food experience so far has been bulgogi, marinated strips of sirloin, eaten with sesame leaves.
The ambassador’s spouse, who was a figure skater in her youth, said she liked to hike with her husband, an activity that is bound to work up an appetite. “We love to hike in the Namsan area and we enjoy strolling along the Hangang River Park,” she said.
The couple have been frequent visitors to Daegu, where the ambassador acts as a judge for the only Russian singing contest in the country. The competition is organized every year by Keimyung University, one of the few colleges that teaches the Russian language here.
Ambassador Ivashentsov is a towering person, built like a linebacker and sporting a crew cut. As we munched our way through food that they had prepared, I asked him about the prospects of the North Korean nuclear talks. Like a seasoned diplomat, he avoided giving any directly negative comments.
“Wisdom will prevail. Blame should not be placed solely on North Korea. I think all participants need to meet their obligations,” he explained carefully.
Studen, jelly made from a calf’s foot.
This sentiment echoes what officials involved in the North Korean nuclear talks have said privately about Japan needing to shoulder the burden of providing oil to North Korea in exchange for its denuclearization efforts.
Granted, people who read the news are more interested in head-turning scandals and celebrities these days, so President Lee Myung-bak’s recent trip to Russia to build up a strategic partnership may have passed without much notice.
Seoul has been desperate to diversify its importer base of natural resources following the dramatic hike in the price of oil earlier this year, and Russia has been earmarked to fill that role.
But there are also many other bilateral aspects. For instance, did you know that Russia is to provide 40,000 tons of pollack annually to Korea?
“In 2000, trade volume was $3 billion. This year we expect it to reach $20 billion. There will be continuous growth,” said the ambassador. Currently, Russia has only a few countries on its visa waiver program such as nearby European countries and Israel where many Jewish people of Russian descent reside. The Europe Union is in talks to join up and the ambassador said that if conditions were met, Korea could, too.
Ambassador Ivashentsov also explained how Russia is tackling its low birth rate by paying parents $10,000 for every second and third child.
Perhaps Korea, with a similar problem, could follow suit.
Russia reminds me of Jules Verne’s book “Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czars.” On a mission for the czar, a courier has to venture through the vast country on a voyage of discovery.
Russia is like a journey, one that will reveal a great deal to those curious enough to know.
By Brian Lee Staff Reporter [africanu@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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