I want to try some of the Korean food that I see in Kdramas:  samgyupsal (삼겹살), tteokbokki (떡볶이), gimbap (김밥), but most of them look a little daunting to make.  Under the heading of things I never imagined I would do, I decided to start with a traditional Korean side dish – the Korean Rolled Omelet.   Korean Rolled Omelets show up in a lot of Kdramas.   I figure they are delicious because every time someone eats one on screen – they seem to love it!  After watching a few videos on how to make it, I give it a whirl.

I picked Maangchi’s recipe because her video makes it seem fairly easy and fun.  Not too many ingredients required:  4 eggs, half an onion, a couple of tablespoons of bell pepper and salt/pepper to taste.  I can handle that.

I start out well, chopping the onion and peppers, whisking my eggs.   My ingredients mix up nicely even though it doesn’t look exactly like the video.

Now the hard part – cooking the omelet.  I smear some olive oil into my cast iron skillet and turn on the burner.  Maangchi stresses using a low heat.  I’m fairly new to gas range cooking and still have a little trouble adjusting the temperature.   I can’t tell if the pan is too hot.  I also have a lot more runage than Maangchi’s version which worries me a little.  After some trial and effort, I get the omelet rolling, with a little left behind in the pan.   Note to self – don’t use cast iron next time.

Finally, I have the whole thing rolled and can now cook the sides.  Mine is fairly brown compared to Maangchi’s so I definitely had the heat too hot.

The finished product doesn’t look too bad – I say to myself.

Time for the taste test.

My Korean Rolled Omelet is . . . not bad.  It’s not great either.  Even my husband gives it a half-hearted thumb sideways.  I expect it have a smooth egg taste with a bit of crunch.  Instead, there is a lot of crunch and a little bit of egg.  I’m not a big fan of raw onion, so given that the onions were not cooked by themselves first, they are fairly crunchy.  Next time, I will cook the onions first or use shallots which are softer and generally have a sweeter flavor.  Also – less bell pepper.  And more salt.

Before I try my hand at making a Korean Rolled Omelet again, though, I think I need to try an original one so that I better understand what it should taste like.   Afterall – they must be yummy.  Right?

Oops- I forgot to have mine with rice.  Maybe that’s the secret.