A few weeks ago at cooking class we learned how to make an amazing rib dish. I’ve never really been a big fan of ribs, but this completely changed my mind. They were tender and full of flavor. I can honestly say that it’s my favorite thing we have made at cooking class.
Here’s the recipe so you can all try cooking them at home! Continue reading
It’s watermelon season! Watermelons in Korea are small and expensive. They cost about $15 each!
Garlic must be in season because I’ve been seeing a lot of it lately. I’ve been told that Korea is the largest consumer of garlic (based on population). Usually when you buy it it’s pre peeled, but my local grocery store was selling it freshly picked, stalks still attached.
Dave and I had lunch at a new restaurant in Ulsan called O’TACO. It’s really close to Dave’s work. You can actually see Hyundai’s paint shops from the patio.
I had a strawberry margarita and nachos. Dave had a burrito. The food was about average for Korean style Mexican food, but we enjoyed the location. We will definitely be back.
May 15th is Teacher’s Day in Korea and it’s also my birthday. Double yay!
My day was truly amazing. The students were really sweet. I got lots of letters from students and at lunch time, this group of girls surprised me in my office with a poster and they sang happy birthday to me. My heart was so full all day.
After school, Dave picked me up from school. We had dinner near the beach. Dinner was fantastic. I am one lucky girl.
Monday night was my birthday dinner with the girls. The first restaurant we went to didn’t have room for 7 of us so we ended up going to a restaurant that I’ve been meaning to try. We all really loved it. It’s called 찜닭 (jjimdalk), which means steamed chicken in English. It’s really really good! It’s really tender chicken served in a platter of spicy sauce and vegetables like onion, potatoes and carrots.
After dinner, we went to Baskin Robins and had an ice cream cake.
It was a great night.
I spent the weekend in Seoul with Dave and his parents. We all had a really good time.
In Insadong, I saw a food stand selling these and they made me laugh. They are called 똥빵 which translates to poop (ddong) bread (bbang). They are basically just sweet bread full of red bean paste in the shape of… poo.
It’s just another quirky thing about Korea…
Grand Openings in Korea are really interesting. A lot of times there will be these large flower arrangements out front (that look like funeral flowers to me), the air powered blow up guys that flail around or girls in short skirts dancing. This BBQ restaurant in Seomyeon (Busan) had all 3! It also had a very disapproving ajumma monk that had decided to sit down next to the scantily clad girls.
Something I REALLY miss are blueberries. I only started liking them about a year before I left for Korea and now that I’m here, they are hard to find.
Last year I found them in my local grocery store for about 9,000 won, I think. Thats about $8. I finally broke down and bought some and they were majorly disappointing.
Today, Dave and I were at Hyundai Department Store in Ulsan and I was so excited to see blueberries again. Only this time they were 18,500 won ($16.50 for about half a pint)! That’s an insane price to pay for a few blueberries.
Yesterday was field trip day. All of the students were gone so the kitchen was closed. The school ordered kimbap for everyone (super cheap sushi roll looking things). I don’t eat kimbap so I was really disappointed. JuHye offered to order some delivery for me.
Food delivery in Korea is so fascinating. It’s a big business. The meal comes to you on real plates and they bring you actual cutlery (none of that disposable stuff). They wrap it in plastic wrap, put it in a thermal box, strap it to their scooter and off they go. When you’re done with your meal, you put the dishes outside of the door and they come back later and pick it up.
That meal cost me 6,000 won (about $5.25 US). At the top are my side dishes — radish kimchi and pickled radishes, rice, miso soup, fried pork cutlet (돈까스)/salad/fruit, gravy.
Life Outside of Texas 