Handmade - Pottery and Fusion Food

 I recently made a trip to the Korean supermarket in Greensboro and came home with some of our favorite things. We were long overdue for an Asian meal.

I decided it would be a Japanese/Korean fusion meal. In the afternoon I made onigiri (Japanese rice balls). At Jeff's suggestion, each had a little dab of Korean soybean paste (Korean version of miso) in the center. The sticky rice was cooked with diced carrot, lotus root, and bits of fried tofu. I substitute chicken broth for dashi. The liquid is also seasoned with soy sauce and sake. They are time consuming to assemble, but are worth the effort. Hopefully with practice, mine will get more attractive looking!

Our main course was bulgogi beef dish with sliced rice cake. I love Korean rice cake. It's like a dense and chewy pasta. It holds up well to spicy foods. We chose our handmade dishes carefully, selecting those made by potters from both Korea, and Japan.

More rice please!

I made another round of onigiri (Japanese rice balls). Jeff bought me a rice mold that creates little appetizer size triangles. They were so much fun to make!

Half the rice is packed in the mold. I poked a hole in the rice and added little bits of filling. For these I added finely chopped green onion kimchi. More rice is added to fill the cavity and cover the filling. The other half of the mold is place on top and squeezed down...

and VOILA! Perfect little triangles ready to wrap in nori and garnish.

I made some larger, more traditional size balls as well. Some filled with shrimp, others with chunks of cucumber kimchi. The pottery trays used in the photographs are all pieces that Jeff brought home from Korea. We use the wood fired tray in the first photograph a lot. I just love it.

I told Jeff that next on my "I Want" list is a nori punch...

clicking on the photo will take you to Amazon.com

 He rolled his eyes and said he draws the line at cute food.

Pottery, Food, Friends, Fun!

I am getting ready for a long overdue raku firing. My friend Bonnie came today and she worked on some beads and pendants for the firing, while I threw some new bead racks on the wheel, along with a plate to hold flat pendants during the firing. The best thing about having friends in the studio is taking a lunch break together!

 Bonnie brought a nice bottle of red wine and I whipped up some Korean pancakes served with a side of kimchi. What's a Korean meal without kimchi?

Aside from pottery lessons, Jeff also gives lessons on how to use chopsticks. We had lots of fun, and only one of us resorted to a fork. But I'm not telling who.

The holidays are over and the photo booth is back on the dining room table. I will be adding new pots to the Etsy shop over the next few days, be sure to check it out.