Horseradish Ham Cubes

Easter. Brunch in Bellevue. Karen made ham. The standard.

The kimchi crock was bubbling Saturday morning when I checked. The bubbling is the right bubbling. The fermentation knew what it was doing.

The Capitol Hill apartment kitchen is small. We make it work.

Sunday farmers market on Wallingford Avenue. The kabocha at the Asian vendor's stall. The shishito peppers. The brokered conversation. We bought too much. We always do.

The shiso on the south fence is fragrant and unruly. I brushed past it taking the compost out and the smell stopped me. The smell is the country. The smell is Jisoo's apartment.

I sat at the kitchen counter at six AM with a notebook and a cup of green tea. Writing time before the house wakes. The pre-light hour is the only writing hour I trust.

Yoga Tuesday morning at the studio. The forward fold released something I had been carrying in the shoulder. The mat is the mat.

Jisoo sent a photo of the dol the kids did for our visit last summer. The photo went on the fridge.

David came over for Sunday dinner. He brought some tomatoes from the Bellevue garden.

Sprint review at Amazon Friday. Two hours. I could have been on a podcast.

I texted Jisoo a photo of the kimchi in the new onggi pot. She replied with the thumb-up emoji and a Korean-language critique. The duality is the gift.

Hana left a Lego on the kitchen floor. I stepped on it at two AM. Standard.

A blog reader wrote about her own adoptee experience. We exchanged three emails this week.

The newsletter went out Sunday morning. The opening sentence took an hour. The piece took five. The piece was what it needed to be.

James and I had date night Friday. Indian restaurant on 45th. We ate too much. We sat in the car after talking about nothing for an hour. The marriage is the marriage.

I made coffee at seven. Hana ate cereal at seven-fifteen. Min wandered down at seven-twenty-five. James left for work at eight. The morning was the morning. The standard.

Reading at night. A novel by a Korean-American writer about a family in 1990s LA. I underlined four sentences. The underlining is the marking-of-the-territory of the soul.

I read a thread on the Korean Adoptee subreddit Saturday. Some posts brought up old anger. Most are people figuring it out in real time. We are not unique. We are a community.

Rain on the porch all afternoon Saturday. The Wallingford rain is its own weather. I sat with a book and a tea and did not move for two hours.

Therapy Tuesday with Dr. Kim. We talked about the parents — the two sets, the one living, the one gone, the one who became real after thirty years and the one who was real my whole life and is now gone. The work is the layered work.

My Korean is improving. Slowly. Painfully. Conversationally adequate now. I can argue about kimchi proportions in two languages, which is a milestone in any marriage between mother and daughter.

Karen’s ham was, as always, exactly what it was supposed to be — and I came home from Bellevue with a foil-wrapped block of leftovers and a quiet need to make something from it that felt like mine. Doenjang jjigae was calling me, but the pantry had other ideas, and sometimes you follow what’s actually in front of you. These horseradish ham cubes came together fast on a weeknight when the house was finally still, and that sharp, clean bite of horseradish felt exactly right for where I was — present, a little fiery, grateful for the simple thing.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 lb cooked ham, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Toothpicks, for serving

Instructions

Make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the prepared horseradish, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic powder, black pepper, and smoked paprika until well combined. Set aside.
Sear the ham. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ham cubes in a single layer and cook for 3—4 minutes, turning occasionally, until the edges are lightly crisped and browned.
Glaze and cook. Pour the horseradish mixture over the ham cubes and stir to coat evenly. Reduce heat to medium and cook for another 4—5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the glaze thickens and clings to the ham.
Rest and garnish. Remove from heat. Let stand for 2 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with fresh parsley, and insert toothpicks for easy serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Horseradish Ham Cubes — Karen Made Ham. The Standard.