Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Another Post about the Food

Sorry, but I have to rhapsodize some more. Mealtimes have become my favorite part of each day. Each one brings new gustatory delights that I have never come across before in my life.

Yesterday night my director took me to a restaurant for pork. I like pork sometimes in the States, but this pork had my mouth watering. It was cooked over hot coals in the middle of our table, then dipped in the yummiest sweet and sour sauce ever. Not the nasty sugary thick red glop in cheap Chinese buffets in the USA, either. This sauce was thin, brown, and had a much more vivid flavor, with just a touch of vinegar to it. There was also a rice soup and a spicy soup made from soybeans, tofu, and veggies. Everything was to my liking.

For breakfast today I tried a rice porridge and roasted seaweed. Still not sure I'm a big fan of seaweed, but I think I may be able to get used to it.

For lunch today I had the best thing yet: dumplings. These were the fattest, fullest ones I have ever seen, jam-packed with flavorful fillings. Mmmmm....so good! With that I had a seaweed and noodle soup, which was okay, and my first taste of gimchi. The gimchi was...interesting. I didn't hate it, as I had expected to, but I'm not really sure if I liked it either. It was very spicy, and the texture was a bit odd. I think I'll have to eat it a few more times before I can make up my mind about it.

On of the classes got a snack party today as a reward for doing well on their test, so I had the opportunity to sample some more Korean snacks. The spicy rice cakes were pretty good, as were some odd chip-like thingies. The candy was splendid. There was one thing that I ate though, that is still making me cringe. My mother will probably never believe that I let people talk me into trying it. It was (drumroll please)...pork blood and rice. Uhhh. It was congealed, I guess, so there was nothing liquid about it. It was rubbery, and very hard for me to swallow. It was even harder to keep down. My stomach is still not terribly thrilled over it. So yes, not all Korean food is awesome. But the vast majority is.

No comments:

"Passage—immediate passage! the blood burns in my veins! Away, O soul! hoist instantly the anchor!
Cut the hawsers—haul out—shake out every sail!
Have we not stood here like trees in the ground long enough?
Have we not grovell’d here long enough, eating and drinking like mere brutes?
Have we not darken’d and dazed ourselves with books long enough?

Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go, And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

O my brave soul!
O farther, farther sail!
O daring joy, but safe! Are they not all the seas of God?
O farther, farther, farther sail!"

~Walt Whitman, "Passage to India"