Wednesday, May 24, 2006

6 WEEKS LATER


Well where do I start. Things are moving ridiculous quickly out here. I'm 2 months away from the completion of my year contract. I cannot believe that I've been gone that long. Stop. I always seem to talk about how much time I have left and I feel it may give the wrong impression to those of you who still take a gander at this neglected blog. It's not that I don't like it out here. I actually really love it. I love many aspects and one happens to be the food. Although the final culinary products are different from what I'm used to many of the ingredients are very familiar. The food is awesome. Let me give you a rudimentary description of most BBQ restaurants out here. You walk into one of these places and the first thing your senses intake is the aroma of sizzling pork, kimchi, onion, and mushrooms. You take off your shoes and proceed to sit down at a table. In most establishments sitting down does not involve a seat. Usually there'll be a 2x2 cushion that'll delay the on coming unfortableness that undoubtably all foreigners will experience. I make it about 5 minutes sitting American Indian style and then swing my legs out to the side. So you sit down and theres a BBQ pit set into the table. If nativeless, you order the food in survival Korean. I prefer Kalbi. It's pork ribs marinated in a teriyakish sauce. Before the meat comes the waitress (they're almost always women) brings side dishes. You're always guaranteed to get kimchi(the pickled cabbage in a red pepper sauce. It's what every, single Korean eats, they have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, no joke. I love it but there's NO WAY I'M EATING IT BEFORE NOON.) shredded green onion/shallot type things, a basket of lettuce, hot green peppers and a few dipping sauces, usually a bean paste sauce and seasame oil with salt. Almost all places serve more side dishes but they generally vary. My favorite side dish is chop-chay. It's a noodle made from sweet potatoes. The noodles aren't sweet though. Typically they are cooked with spinach, onion, and pork. These flavors are infused into the stringy goodness. I love 'em. So you munch on these dishes for a bit and while you intake these uninherited tastes you start to grill up the meat right there in the pit on your table. Some place have gas other coals. On the meat dish there are also mushies and onions. The mushroom selection out here is fantastic by the way. The abundence has sparked an intrigue of the funghi and I'm thinking about delving into some literature that may help supplant my curiousity. The meat comes in big slabs so after cooking for a bit, the initiator grabs the meet with tongs and cuts it up with scissors. That's right good-old-fashioned-in-the-kitchen-drawer-used-mainly-to-cut-up-construction-paper-for-a-class-project-when-you-were-in-5th-grade scissors. For another few minutes you let the meat molecules transform and you premediate your plan of attack. You have to prepare because when you eat the meat you generally put it in a leaf of lettuce and add other ingredients. Garlic, shredded onion, sauces, kimchi, etc. You must make sure that the ingredients are replenished from the pre-game warm-up. The last piece of meat is flipped and it's go time. Grab a piece of lettuce put it in you left hand. With your right hand(strong hand) use chop sticks to pick up a piece of pork that is usually equal in volume to a 50 cent piece. Dip the pork in one of the sauces and place it on the lettuce. Pick up some of the onion and/or the mushroom grilling, add some kimchi, shredded onion, and any other ingredient at your disposal. But never, ever add the chop-chay to the lettuce, chop-chay is meant to be ate solely by itself and itself alone. Once all ingrediants are on your purpleish leaf of romain lettuce fold it like you would a burrito and stuff it all into your mouth. Unlike Koreans chew with you mouth closed and wash it down with water...unless you're with a Korean and then it's Soju. Harsh. I felt the burn just writing that word...