It's the peak of summer, complete with the searing heat and the blinding sunlight. In order to escape from the heat coupled with humidity, we found ourselves retreating indoors (to the world of AC), and spending time on buses getting to places. A LOT. There is this indescribable exhaustion of being outdoors for a significant amount of time in summer. By significant, I meant a duration that is less than an hour. In conclusion, summer makes me terribly fatigued and crabby. Of course, there are perks of staying indoors - and lazing around trying to beat the mid-day heat. In this photolog, I will share with you my food(ventures) in Korea. Odeng, Korean fish cake soup, is a savoury broth prepared by simmering the skewered fish cakes. At this stall, we dipped our fish cakes into a metal container of spicy bean paste and helped ourselves to the broth right in front of us. Unfortunately for us though, the spicy rice cakes (tteokbokki) were sold out by the time we got there. An extremely nutritious dish, samgyetang is prepared by stuffing a whole young chicken with garlic, glutinous rice, jujube (Chinese dates) and ginseng roots before simmering it over medium high heat. We ate it in the afternoon, perspiring in the midst of doing so, and thought how much nicer it would be if it was winter time. Maybe it is laziness on my part at home, but I love eating noodles directly from the pot! When it came cooked, piping hot in a metal pot like this, I could not help but squeal with delight. (On a completely random note, can you spot a tiny heart-shaped, chopped spring onion winking back at you?) I enjoy the wholesomeness of eating dumplings, whether they are fried or steamed. In Japan, there are gyozas. In Nepal, there are momos. In Hong Kong, dumplings come in many forms and they are collectively known as dimsum (in Cantonese, dianxin in Mandarin). In Korea, there are mandoos. I used to think that soy bean paste stews are an acquired taste. The initial thought of eating them gives rise to an inexplicable kind of anxiety. What if it tastes weird? What am I going to do? How nice can fermented beans taste? It may be probably because I am not very adventurous with food. I am afraid of the idea of throwing up upon eating something that I cannot stomach. My mind conjures up a slew of negative and discomforting scenes whenever I face a new and unfamiliar dish that I have never tried before. I have tried natto, sticky fermented beans that is a common breakfast staple in Japan, but I don't think I will ever grow a liking towards it no matter how they are mixed. Be it with a generous amount of mustard or dashi to quell the intensity on my tastebuds. I just cannot bring myself to have a second spoon of it, despite knowing that natto is a healthy 'superfood'. It's the same with sashimi, raw fish though. But I love soy bean paste stews, period. This was my favourite string of banchan we had at a family restaurant somewhere in Ewha. Starting from the front, there is odeng, pan-fried luncheon meat patties coated with egg, kimchi, and stir-fried potato strips (gamja bokkeum). That's all to my food(ventures)! From a not-very-adventurous foodie.
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