If we were lucky, he'd add cubes of fried Spam. Many Koreans (and Asians in general) are huge fans of this canned meat; they were given their first taste of this "luxury" foodstuff by American GI's during the Korean War. My mom would do absolutely wondrous things with Spam. She'd dip slices in egg, then pan-fry them until they were brown and crispy. Or she'd wrap them up with rice and seaweed, musubi-style. And for several memorable years, she'd incorporate it into our Thanksgiving dinner -- which was a hybrid of Korean and American dishes -- by making a Spam-cornbread stuffing for our turkey.

Another tasty dish my dad would make for us -- although admittedly, my maternal grandmother's version was the best -- was steamed egg casserole, or gyeran jjim. He'd crack some eggs in a bowl, beat them until smooth, toss in some chopped scallions and salt, then set the bowl inside a covered pot filled with water. Once the water was brought to boil, the steam would cook the eggs and transform them into a soft custard that we'd scoop onto our rice.

My dad's go-to 5-minute breakfast, which he'd slurp down before rushing out the door to work (or if he came home late and wanted a hot meal), was a bowl of instant ramen. He and my mom would eat spicy versions like jjampong ramen, which they'd make even spicier by adding big spoonfuls of gochujang. But as my brother and I weren't really fond of spicy food until our early twenties (I know, we were late bloomers), we'd gravitate towards Sapporo Ichiban ramen. While waiting for the water to boil, we'd nibble on the corner of the cracker-like cake of uncooked noodles. Then we'd throw the rest of the noodles into the pot and watch them slowly fan out into the water before adding the flavor packets filled with powdered spices. And if we were really hungry, we'd add a raw egg and let it simmer in the broth until it was cooked through.

Once we ate up the noodles, we'd finish off the soup with rice. For some odd reason, I'd love eating my ramen with a big glass of orange juice; it was a magical sweet-and-salty combination.

sapporo ichiban ramensapporo ichiban ramen

5 Comfort Foods From My Korean-American Childhood