From the WTF files...

Living in a foreign country, any foreign country, presents one with the opportunity to experience new takes on language and culture. Without much of an intro, I present the image to the left, that of an ibuprofen brand called "FULLOPAIN". I don't know about you but merely opening the box made me nervous as I imagined a giant boxing glove on a thick coil spring flattening my nose and launching a few drops of blood. Maybe someone could have asked a native English speaker about this before taking it to market? Or not.

Dining in Korea

Lard have mercy! There is no one thing that seems to connect a culture, country, family, or others than food, that culinary binder that makes us miss home like nothing else. Suzanne and I have done pretty well in South Korea considering its distance from home. We have also done well despite being so far from places one might consider "culinary epicenters" such as New York, San Francisco, or Arnold, Missouri. However, there are certainly things that baffle us when we eat as the locals do. The point of this post is not to demean Korean food in any way but to point out differences. So don't get all bent out of shape.

• Even upper mid-level Italian restaurants provide sweet pickles at the beginning of your meal. They're not to be confused with antipasta, they are sugary sweet pickles. Don't be surprised if you also see them on your Subway sandwich too. Heck, the sweet pickles on a Subway sandwich were part of the motivation for Stanwiches International.
• Asia is home to Avian flu. Oh boy! So why is it OK to serve raw eggs on dishes like bibimbap and others? More people have died from avian flu than BSE (Mad cow disease). Several dishes are served in VERY hot ceramic bowl which is great for winter meals AND frying the egg against the side. They give me the "WTF?" look when you cook the egg against the bowl.
• Because I am a "Lazy American" I cannot yet comprehend all Korean writing. I can read some but have no idea what most of it means. Korean menus sometimes have pictures or bits of English, and this is a good thing. By no means is the the rule though, even in a town like ours which was built for the sole purpose of attracting foreign investors. Maybe they just want the investment and not the people?
• If you have an allergy to crustaceans (shellfish) it can be a tough place. I am allergic and often carry my epi-pen. However, there are stories of the careless server who has no interest in your well being. Call it carelessness or complacency, it's still a risk. Many non-seafood dishes have noodles that were boiled in the same water as the clams or shrimp.
• Vegetarian may not...DOES NOT mean there is no meat/poultry/fish in the dish. We've found bits of beef in lots of things and, like the noodles, you may get exposed to meats/shelf fish in the most unexpected places. To be fair, some restaurants are known to be vegetarian by their customers yet it's not claimed anywhere.
• Food prep is fairly extensive here since many small dishes are offered with each meal even when you don't want it. Food prep need not take up precious kitchen space since it can be done out in the public hallway on the floor. In other news, I spent the first 4-6 months in Korea having a new morning constitution experience every day.
• Chopsticks have their own history in Korea. A former leader of Korea had been on the receiving end of an assassination attempt. The vehicle for the poison was a set of wooden chopsticks. Silver chopsticks became very popular after that as they tarnish in the presence of some toxins. Today most chopsticks are stainless steel. Chopsticks have their place however and are not intended for use on rice where a spoon is the tool for the job.
• Speaking of rice, Korean rice is a short grained, glutenous white style of grain. It's shape is very much like a football with blunted ends. This rice works well when added to very wet dishes or with meat when wrapped in greens such as lettuce or sesame leaf. The markets offer many different brands, prices and package sizes but I must admit I see little difference in the actual product. When speaking strictly of a white rice there is very little in the way of options outside of this style. Basmati and jasmine rice are not to be found but in specialty stores for foreigners and the cost can run run about $10/pound. We eat very little rice so this treat is acceptable for our budget.
• There are things missing from the normal markets that I have to really hunt for or do not get at all. Limes and lime products are a no-go. You may think this is not an issue until you try to make Asian meals from other countries. Thai food depends heavily on limes and it may be our favorite food. Thai food also uses a great deal of cilantro (gosu in Korean) but the Koreans claim they dislike gosu and it gives them a headache. Hey, there may be a conspiracy here. I'll go sit on my grassy knoll and figure this one out.
• What is my favorite meal? It has to be samgeytang. Not just for flavor but for the experience that surrounds our meals that our cooked by a little old Korean woman with a gold grill (gold plated teeth). Suzanne and I like to hike at Munhak mountain near our house. We generally hike there for 2-3 hours then grab a flimsy plastic table at "Grandma's". Grandma's is a metal piped structure with canvas walls and dirt floors but features a full kitchen. Sounds questionable and it likely is outside the law but the samgyetang is amazing and downing a few crappy beers along with it makes life a little better. Samgyetang is simply a whole young chicken cooked in a pressure cooker then the juices and broth are put in a large shallow metal bowl, placed on a portable flame and then centered on the table. The bird is stuffed with Korean sticky rice, Jujubes, garlic, gensing, and ginger. The chicken sits in the juices and is surrounded by misc. veggies. The table is provided a set of scissors and tongs to take the little beast apart. There is enough for about 3 hungry people and, as ALWAYS, comes with kimchi and other goodies. Although I am careful about kimchi since it usually contains shrimp sauce, I do enjoy this one. There's never a spec of food left...EVER. if you come to Korea, you will be taken to Grandma's.

There is so much more to eating in Korea and what I wrote does not do it justice. I will do my best to write more, especially the more positive experiences.