I don’t think Mandu Guk is something you can buy in a can - at least I hope they never go there! It’s home-made, or in a restaurant. (I worked one summer at Gallaudet University - though I think it was a College back then - and it’s right near the Florida Ave. market, in D.C. It was a rough time in my life - the most important person in my life had died, and I was ‘neither here nor there’. I found a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant at the Market, run by a little old Korean lady who made the most wonderful Mandu Guk - probably the best I’ve ever had. It was absolutely soul-warming :-)
Try the kimchi with some plain white rice, first. (Good fermented kimchi is one of those healthy probiotic foods, like sauerkraut.)
My first Korean meal was home-made bulgogi, chap chae, kimchi and rice. My friends had to tell me to slow down on the kimchi, or I might get sick; but that has Never happened!
(When you go to a good Korean restaurant, they put lots of little bowls of different kinds of salads, including several types of Kimchi, on the table - these side-dishes are all called ‘Banchan’. It’s wonderfulness!)
-JT
The kimchi they sell at H-Mart comes in these huge containers - it looks pretty gross, actually, no matter how good is tastes. I think it’s all that red pepper paste that makes it look like worms soaked in blood! I happen to live in a very diverse part of the northeast. Since I’m crazy for Indian food, I use all of our huge cash ‘n carry Indian markets for my inexpensive spices, rice and British chocolate and cookies. I’ve just found out we have a Japanese and Chinese market near by.