One of my favourite times of the day is when I get to go for lunch, or as they say it in Korean, lunchy. See? All you doubters that thought I wasn't going to make an effort to learn the language. I'm already able to say specifc words such as lunch in Korean. It was a hard translation.
It's not because I get to stop teaching but more because I know the food is going to be good. I know that I'm going to get a home cooked meal by an authentic Korean woman who uses fresh ingredients to feed the minds of the future.
Back home, cafeteria food is, well, nothing usually to write home about. Maybe the Koreans feel the same way about the lunch they get at school. For me, it's like the best food I get to eat.
The soups are always good - in Belfast I was a soup lover and had it every day for lunch. With some oat cakes and cheese. So I suppose it's kinda the same here in Korea, except instead of oat cakes it's rice and instead of cheese it's kimchi and many other things to fill my cafeteria-style tray, with it's 5 different compartments for food. A picture would probably be good in this instance but only just thought of that now so use your imagination.
The many other things range from octopus-seafood-hot-sauce mix to breaded fish to the local vegetable which can or cannot be hot, depending on the day. You kinda take your chances, like Russian roulette when you take a bite and considering my track record in Korea for 'most obscure ordering choices that are always hot' I usually tend to load up on the supremo spicy stuff.
The rice-soup concept makes so much sense now and yet I never would have thought to put the two together. A spoonful of rice, dip in the soup, you have a yummy combo. No need for extra sauces, although considering soya sauce is cheaper than dirt here, it's not a problem to splash a bit on it every once in awhile.
At home our cooking habits have become a little more exotic, ever since the purchase of the toaster oven.
As a rule I tend to know things get done if they 'become' D's idea so instead of pressing for this when we first arrived, I decided to wait it out, knowing Mr. Anal Kitchen would break down and realise $60 is not that much of an expenditure to have our food stop drying out in the frying pan and our arteries stop clogging from the worst type of cooking you can do.
(okay, deep frying is worse but who VOLUNTARILY goes out to buy a deep fryer? I have seen these things and it blows my mind. Like hello? A heart attack waiting to happen)
Who knew you could love a toaster over? The chicken tasted soft and juicy and well, perhaps a bit too lemony (note to self: 3/4 of a lemon's juice is TOO MUCH for 5 pieces of chicken. still learning this whole cooking thing)
We can also now cook pizza! I stopped liking pizza in about the 12th grade after I had worked at a pizza joint for too long and just got sick of it. Now, I seem to eat it at least once a week. Must be the comfort food-ness of it.
But the absolute best? The piece de resistance? The most satisfying thing about getting this toaster over? We can cook whole chickens in it. Yes, you heard me A WHOLE CHICKEN. (okay well it was pre-made at the store and we just warmed it up but i'm telling you, the microwave would have made it all rubbery and this was like taking a chicken out of the oven.)
Do you know what it means to me to have a whole chicken? Back to Belfast Sundays, with our roast chicken, potatoes (okay, french fries now) , carrots, cauliflower, broccollis (D hates them but they're good for him!) and of course to top it off, some good old gravy. Swiss Chalet gravy from the Mother Ship to be exact.
Sunday night dinner is back.
Since I'll probably run out of gravy soon, anyone interested in sending me some chicken Bisto, I'd be much obliged. I know that Swiss Chalet is like gold so will settle for second best.
It's not because I get to stop teaching but more because I know the food is going to be good. I know that I'm going to get a home cooked meal by an authentic Korean woman who uses fresh ingredients to feed the minds of the future.
Back home, cafeteria food is, well, nothing usually to write home about. Maybe the Koreans feel the same way about the lunch they get at school. For me, it's like the best food I get to eat.
The soups are always good - in Belfast I was a soup lover and had it every day for lunch. With some oat cakes and cheese. So I suppose it's kinda the same here in Korea, except instead of oat cakes it's rice and instead of cheese it's kimchi and many other things to fill my cafeteria-style tray, with it's 5 different compartments for food. A picture would probably be good in this instance but only just thought of that now so use your imagination.
The many other things range from octopus-seafood-hot-sauce mix to breaded fish to the local vegetable which can or cannot be hot, depending on the day. You kinda take your chances, like Russian roulette when you take a bite and considering my track record in Korea for 'most obscure ordering choices that are always hot' I usually tend to load up on the supremo spicy stuff.
The rice-soup concept makes so much sense now and yet I never would have thought to put the two together. A spoonful of rice, dip in the soup, you have a yummy combo. No need for extra sauces, although considering soya sauce is cheaper than dirt here, it's not a problem to splash a bit on it every once in awhile.
At home our cooking habits have become a little more exotic, ever since the purchase of the toaster oven.
As a rule I tend to know things get done if they 'become' D's idea so instead of pressing for this when we first arrived, I decided to wait it out, knowing Mr. Anal Kitchen would break down and realise $60 is not that much of an expenditure to have our food stop drying out in the frying pan and our arteries stop clogging from the worst type of cooking you can do.
(okay, deep frying is worse but who VOLUNTARILY goes out to buy a deep fryer? I have seen these things and it blows my mind. Like hello? A heart attack waiting to happen)
Who knew you could love a toaster over? The chicken tasted soft and juicy and well, perhaps a bit too lemony (note to self: 3/4 of a lemon's juice is TOO MUCH for 5 pieces of chicken. still learning this whole cooking thing)
We can also now cook pizza! I stopped liking pizza in about the 12th grade after I had worked at a pizza joint for too long and just got sick of it. Now, I seem to eat it at least once a week. Must be the comfort food-ness of it.
But the absolute best? The piece de resistance? The most satisfying thing about getting this toaster over? We can cook whole chickens in it. Yes, you heard me A WHOLE CHICKEN. (okay well it was pre-made at the store and we just warmed it up but i'm telling you, the microwave would have made it all rubbery and this was like taking a chicken out of the oven.)
Do you know what it means to me to have a whole chicken? Back to Belfast Sundays, with our roast chicken, potatoes (okay, french fries now) , carrots, cauliflower, broccollis (D hates them but they're good for him!) and of course to top it off, some good old gravy. Swiss Chalet gravy from the Mother Ship to be exact.
Sunday night dinner is back.
Since I'll probably run out of gravy soon, anyone interested in sending me some chicken Bisto, I'd be much obliged. I know that Swiss Chalet is like gold so will settle for second best.
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