Family of Killer Cooks: Korean Night! Yukkaejang, pajeon (street-food pancake) and sidedishes, including pickled herring for the Minnesota clan

Mike and I finally took down a few recipes from the cookbooks Jim sent us as a housewarming gift. The pressure was on - it's been at least two months since we got them and Jim expects results, people. Four Korean cookbooks - we had to pick just two dishes because let's face it, a cuisine based on red pepper, garlic, and fermentation can be a bit tough on milquetoast-American bellies. The hardest part was following the recipes exactly as written - where's the fun in that? However, I have never had any of these dishes before and I wanted them to taste Korean - like the food Mike ate in Korea carefully prepared by elderly mamacitas, who Koreans call "ajummas" because they aren't Mexican. Anyway, the yukkaejang recipe was pretty much by the book, but the pajeon (pancake-thingy) I messed around with a little bit. Who buys 2 oysters, 5 clams, 3 scallops and then shucks them all and carefully arranges them on a glorified pancake? Me, in five years when I'm not a perpetually broke student. Maybe then I'll also have a better camera. Until then, you're stuck with iPhone pics and maybe if Mike and I can get the lighting right good ones from his SLR with a broken flash. Love, Angel