I went to the market and found fresh zucchini and eggplant. To dry them, I put them on the sunny part of the home. I feel a little bit sad to say goodbye to Summer but also happy to meet Autumn. When the cold wind blows, I will get a handful of them to cook rice, or stir-fry, remembering this Summer.

Living outside Korea, I don't have Aehobak (애호박) anymore. It looks similar to zucchini. I use zucchini in France now, but when I cook zucchini just like I cooked Aehobak, it tastes quite different. While Aehobak tastes crunchy outside and soft inside, zucchini tastes chewy outside and mushy inside. So when I cook zucchini, I put extra care on it.

When I use it in a soup, I get rid of the seed part in the middle, marinate the rest in salt slightly, squeeze the water a little and use it. When I season it as Namul, I also get rid of the seed part, slice them, marinate them in salt and stir-fry them with seasoning. Or, I cut into slices and dry them for long-term storage. When I use them, I soak them in warm water and squeeze the water. After that, I either stir-fry or grill for extra dryness and season them. What kind of seasoning do I use? It depends on my mood or the side dishes which I will have it with. The better quality they have, the less seasoning I use to enjoy its own taste. Home-made soy sauce, perilla oil, a little bit of minced garlic are enough. When I grill them, I like its subtle sweetness and the crunchy texture around the skin.