Weekly home-cooked meal plan for the 4th week, Sep.
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It’s Chuseok week in Korea.
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When I was a child, I felt both excited and a little tired whenever Chuseok approached.
The thought of taking a long car ride to visit family made me look forward to the holiday, but I also knew the journey could be exhausting.
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During the holidays, we always traveled a long way to visit my grandmother in the countryside.
We would hold ancestral memorial ceremonies, spend time with our relatives, and enjoy the entire holiday break in the countryside.
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I helped my mom prepare the food.
After the memorial ceremony was over, I would spend time playing excitedly with my relatives.
Those were some of my favorite childhood holiday memories.
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Back then, almost every shop was closed during the holidays.
There wasn’t much to do outside, and eating out wasn’t really an option either.
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Now, two or three decades have passed since my childhood, and so much has changed.
We no longer travel to my grandmother’s house for ancestral memorial ceremonies, and we don’t prepare as many traditional holiday dishes as we used to.
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The relatives I used to play with without a care in the world have all gone their separate ways.
The holiday memories I carry from my childhood feel so different from the way we spend Chuseok today.
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These days, we spend the holiday with just our own little family.
We have even made a reservation at a restaurant where the whole family can enjoy a meal together on Chuseok.
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I’m making plans for how to spend the holiday with my husband and child.
We’re thinking about what games to play and which parks or family attractions we might visit during the holiday break, whether it’s short or long.
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We no longer have to spend hours in the car, and the noise and bustle of large family gatherings have become less frequent.
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Life has become more comfortable in some ways.
But at the same time, I sometimes feel a little sad about what has changed.
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It’s that bittersweet feeling.
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For this week’s meal plan, which includes the Chuseok holiday, I decided to focus entirely on Korean-style home cooking.
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Normally, I like to alternate between Korean and Western-style dishes, exploring a variety of ingredients and flavors.
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But this time, I found myself missing the meals I used to enjoy at my grandmother’s home in the countryside.
So I planned our dinner menus around Korean soups and a variety of vegetable side dishes, inspired by those comforting family meals.
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I hope you all have a healthy and wonderful Chuseok holiday with your loved ones. 🙂
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▶︎ Seasonal Ingredients
: Mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and Korean chives
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September Week 4 Weekly Korean Home Meal Plan
| Table | Morning | Dinner | ||
| Main | Side 1 | Side 2 | ||
| 9/21 (월) | Chickpea & Egg Salad | Mixed Mushroom & Fish Cake Japchae | Spicy Chicken Soup (Dakgaejang) | Seasoned Carrot & Fish Cake Salad |
| 9/22 (화) | Beef & Radish Doenjang Rice | Korean Sausage & Ham Stew | Korean-Style Pollock Roe Omelet | Seasoned Oyster Mushroom Salad |
| 9/23 (수) | Hummus & Roasted Carrots | Tofu & Egg Rice Bowl | Sweet Potato & Vegetable Fritters | Korean Scallion Salad |
| 9/24 (목) | Beef & Enoki Mushroom Rice | Rice Cake & Dumpling Soup | Crispy Seaweed Snacks | Pickled Green Chili Peppers |
| 9/25 (금) | Panzanella Bread Salad | Colorful Skewered Jeon | Beef, Shiitake & Radish Soup | Stir-Fried Dried Pumpkin Greens |
| 9/26 (토) | Beef & Enoki Mushroom Rice | Rice Cake & Dumpling Soup | Crispy Seaweed Snacks | Spicy Pickled Radish Salad |
| 9/27 (일) | Potato Sujebi with Dried Shrimp | Spicy Fish Cake & Chive Gimbap | Sweet Potato & Raisin Salad | Kelp & Anchovy Broth with Enoki Mushrooms |
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Detailed Meal Plan & Ingredients
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9/21 (Mon)
| Meal | Menu | Ingredients | |
| Breakfast | Chickpea & Egg Salad | Chickpeas, eggs, salad greens, sweet potato, cherry tomatoes | |
| Dinner | A Meal | Mixed Mushroom & Fish Cake Japchae | Enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, Korean fish cake, glass noodles, onion |
| Side Dish 1 | Spicy Chicken Soup (Dakgaejang) | Chicken breast, fernbrake, mung bean sprouts, green onions | |
| Side Dish 2 | Seasoned Carrot & Fish Cake Salad | Carrot, Korean fish cake | |
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9/22 (Tue)
| Meal | Menu | Ingredients | |
| Breakfast | Beef & Radish Doenjang Rice | Ground beef, Korean radish, doenjang | |
| Dinner | A Meal | Korean Sausage & Ham Stew | Bockwurst, mild ham, kimchi, onion |
| Side Dish 1 | Pollock Roe Omelet | Pollock roe, eggs | |
| Side Dish 2 | Seasoned Oyster Mushroom Salad | Oyster mushrooms | |
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9/23 (Wed)
| Meal | Menu | Ingredients | |
| Breakfast | Hummus & Roasted Carrots | Chickpeas, carrots | |
| Dinner | A Meal | Tofu & Egg Rice Bowl | Tofu, eggs, onion |
| Side Dish 1 | Sweet Potato & Vegetable Fritters | Sweet potato, carrot, onion | |
| Side Dish 2 | Korean Scallion Salad | Green onions | |
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9/24 (Thu)
| Meal | Menu | Ingredients | |
| Breakfast | Beef & Enoki Mushroom Rice | Enoki mushrooms, ground beef | |
| Dinner | A Meal | Rice Cake & Dumpling Soup | Korean rice cake slices, dumplings, Korean radish |
| Side Dish 1 | Crispy Seaweed Snacks | Crispy roasted seaweed | |
| Side Dish 2 | Korean Scallion Salad | Chili peppers | |
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9/25 (Fri)
| Meal | Menu | Ingredients | |
| Breakfast | Panzanella Bread Salad | Sourdough bread, cherry tomatoes, lemon juice, honey, salad greens | |
| Dinner | A Meal | Colorful Skewered Jeon | Imitation crab, ham, king oyster mushrooms, burdock root, scallions, eggs |
| Side Dish 1 | Beef, Shiitake & Radish Soup | Shiitake mushrooms, beef for soup, Korean radish | |
| Side Dish 2 | Stir-Fried Dried Pumpkin Greens | Dried pumpkin strips, perilla seeds | |
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9/26 (Sat)
| Meal | Menu | Ingredients | |
| Breakfast | Soy Sauce Egg Rice | Eggs | |
| Dinner | A Meal | Korean Chicken Noodle Soup | Dakgaejang + Korean knife-cut noodles |
| Side Dish 1 | Steamed Dumplings | Dumplings | |
| Side Dish 2 | Spicy Pickled Radish Salad | Korean pickled radish (danmuji), Korean chili powder | |
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9/27 (sun)
| Meal | Menu | Ingredients | |
| Breakfast | Potato Sujebi with Dried Shrimp | Dried baby shrimp, potatoes, sujebi dough | |
| Dinner | A Meal | Spicy Fish Cake & Chive Gimbap | Korean fish cake, Korean chives, dried seaweed for gimbap |
| Side Dish 1 | Sweet Potato & Raisin Salad | Raisins, sweet potato, mayonnaise, milk | |
| Side Dish 2 | Kelp & Anchovy Broth with Enoki Mushrooms | Kelp, dried anchovies, enoki mushrooms | |
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▶︎ [September Week 3 Weekly Meal Plan]
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▶︎ [Reference: Detailed Naver Blog Post]
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