Feeding My Passion

…is supposed to be in Joellanam-do, and I was really looking forward to going to the 17th annual Nando Food Culture Festival (site in Korean) at the Nando folk village in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do.

So Kelly picked me up from Osan Station at 6:25a, with her son (a student at You & I where she and I teach) sleeping in the van’s back seat, and we picked up Mr. X (name to come), his son (also a former student at You & I), and we headed for the festival.

Kelly and Mr. X took turns driving, and after a few hours, we stopped at  an unassuming little restaurant for breakfast. Most Korean restaurants are very short on decoration compared to restaurants in the west, but the lack of decor is no absolutely no indication of how good the kitchen is. This place is big, it was hopping, and it was difficult to find a table for the five of us. That’s a much better sign about how good the kitchen is.

Another thing about many restaurants here, they specialize in one thing or just a few. This place, as advertised on its sign out front, served kkongnamul gook bap, a variation on kkongnamul gook, soybean sprout soup, bap means that there’s rice in it as well.

It was awesome stuff, there were so many bean sprouts, they must buy them buy the ton, and they were so fresh, they must have gotten a delivery everyday.

Something interesting I hadn’t tried before, actually a couple things, but the first was that we all got a bowl with a raw egg, and a small package of gim (Korean seasoned and toasted seaweed). I watched Mr. X as he spooned some of the hot soup broth into the bowl and mixed it up, then crumbled the gim into the mixture, and began eating it. I followed suit, and it was delicious, definitely something I’ll try again, maybe even at home. So that’s why there was a huge stack of eggs in the dining room in front of the kitchen window, probably more than 2000 eggs total. (I haven’t seen refrigerated eggs anywhere since I’ve been here. I’ve bought a few dozen since July and haven’t suffered any problems. I do refrigerate mine once I get them home, just in case you’re wondering.)

So onto the soup! Delicious! A little spicy, light, clear. Believe it or not, the sprouts stay crunchy even though they’re cooked for about 20 minutes. It’s truly great breakfast food, a tie with my favorite breakfast food of all time, cold pizza (Hey, stop judging me!). Mr. X told me it was good after a night of too much soju (Korean wine, about 30-40 proof, made from rice and sweet potatoes) or maekju (beer – the “ju” part means alcohol, and although very similar to the Chinese word for alcohol, “jiu”, it has a different origin). I think the soup is just a great way to start the day, no matter how you’ve ended the previous one.

I saw that the waitresses were taking jugs of a milky brown liquid to some of the tables and asked Kelly what it was (her English is excellent, Mr. X’s is about as good as my Korean, which is to say, not very functional yet). She asked him, and then told me that it was a regional alcoholic drink called moju (there’s “ju” again) and he asked if I wanted to try some.

Drinking at 9:30a? Uh, sure, why not? I at least wanted to taste it, I haven’t even heard of it before, who knows when I’d a chance to try it again? So he ordered a bowl for me (the more rustic drinks, like moju and makkoli are are poured into bowls) and out it came, warm, brown, and cloudy. It smelled great, like cinnamon punch, and it tasted even better, thicker than water, sweet, and flavored with cinnamon and ginger. Fortunately the alcohol content was minimal. Kelly had never had it before (bear in mind she’s lived in Korea her entire life), and asked me for a taste. She quickly ordered a bowl for herself. Yes, it was that delicious. Which doesn’t mean I had another bowl, but if I have a chance to drink it again, I’ll jump.

Thoroughly fortified, we got back into the car and headed for out next destination, which wasn’t the food festival, but one of the most famous Son Buddhist (Zen in Japanese, Chan/Shaolin in Chinese, Mahayana in Sanskrit) temples in Korea.

It was still early, but I wondered if we’d ever get to the food festival with all these stops. But really, since I was with some new friends and eating so well, I wasn’t concerned. Let’s just keep eating our way across the province!

Tuesday night, about 11:45p, Byeongjeom, South, Korea, a restaurant poetically named General Pee’s (yes, that’s Pee as in pee-pee) – The place is hopping, totally packed. Adam P. (no relation to General Pee), and I are looking around and we have the same thought, why on earth is a restaurant so busy so late on a weeknight? I haven’t spent any time in Spain, but I’ve heard that it’s similar to this, that the Spaniards also start eating (and drinking, and I’m not talking about soda) quite late, at least compared to the US. But during the week?

Matthew, our best Korean friend and the guy who’s treating us to this table-top grill meat-fest, says many of the people in the restaurant (and I’m assuming at the many, many nearby joints as well), don’t have to work tomorrow. I’d have to hear it from them to truly believe it, but I’ll take his word for it. Still, it’s amazing, the amount of food being eaten and beer and soju being consumed for a Tuesday night. We’re leaving at 11:45p and we’re leaving early, nobody else seems to be really ready to go.

It’s Matt’s first payday at his new job, and he’s treating us. I pour his soju, he pours our beer. He shovels another dozen slices of super thinly-sliced lean beef onto the blazingly-hot table-top grill (too many hyphens? probably). The three of us eat lustily. The beef is incredibly thin, in long, bacon-like strips. It must have been literally shaved off with a meat planer from a big block while it was very cold, the curls of meat are quite lovely. Once cooked, it’s melts in our mouths. Matthew calls it paper beef, though this isn’t a translation, just his poetic interpretation. Dipping the caramelized strips in the toasted sesame oil, salt, and pepper mixture we each get makes it that much better, so much better. The side dishes are good and fresh: cooked cabbage kimchi, green onion salad, green lettuce salad, macaroni salad (not kidding, and not bad), raw garlic slices, raw hot chili pepper slices, plain tofu, spicy bean paste sauce…have I left anything out? Oh, the ubiquitous soybean sprout soup, some sort of egg dish that comes to the table so insanely hot that it bubbles away for a few minutes after the server brings it to the table. Matthew knows I like doenjang jigae (soybean paste stew), so he buys a bowl of it for me and some rice as well. Groan…hope I can make it home without popping.

I’m so happy Korean food is generally very healthy, all except for the fried foods, and there’s none of that here. Oh I forgot a couple more side dishes: a very thinly sliced raw cabbage salad with a Chinese hot mustard dressing, and of course, fresh green leaf lettuce, to which we add a little grilled garlic, or maybe some green onion salad, or kimchi, and the grilled meat, before creating a little leafy, green bundle, and dipping it in the spicy bean paste sauce and popping it into our mouths. Like Vietnamese food, it’s a wonderful combination of flavors, textures, and temperatures, which is why I like Vietnamese, and now Korean food, so much.

We waddle outside and open our umbrellas which give us very little protection against the heavy summer rain. We’re full and fully satisfied, our happy glow a result of sharing a great meal with friends, knowing we have fully tasted everything offered and made the most of it.

Time for bed and to dream sweetly of my ever-present love, Kamila. If I’m really lucky, maybe I’ll catch her on Skype before I drift off.

I made this photo from the kitchen in the Branding Iron, a restaurant that’s been in Merced for more than 52 years. When I was a kid growing up in Merced, it was the best place in town (probably still is) and when my grandfather gave me a choice of any place in town when I turned 9, I chose The Branding Iron.

Wow, that sounds really familiar!

So that was day 1 of my first 30-day series. This is day 30 of my second 30-day series. Besides having a much better camera this time (thanks to my brother-in-law) than than the one I started with, I’m also feeling much better about the photos I’m making under any circumstance, even in this dark environment. And it’s not just the higher ISO. Moments are better, expressions are better, rapport is better. I had A LOT of catching up to do with my classmates, but now I feel confident I only have a lot of catching up to do with my classmates.

My family has a fever, and the only prescription is more ice cream. Fortunately Gunther’s in Sacramento scratches our near-constant itch.

My dad had mocha almond fudge, my mom had baseball nut (vanilla ice cream with raspberry swirl and peanuts) and Swiss orange chip. I had baseball nut and peanut butter cup, on a sugar cone. My sisters weren’t there, but they sure wished they were.

I actually have a Friday off, which is very nice, but I have to run up to St. Joe to have lunch with my boss. He, Tom, Brandon, and I are going to eat at Ban Thai, the new (and only) Thai restaurant in the area. I had eaten there before by myself, and it was interesting. The place is tiny, which means the kitchen must be the size of a broom closet, and they’ve just opened in the last month and a half. They been very busy ever since they opened, so they’re learning all the things they need to work on, just as we did at the Buddha.

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Servers and cooks have difficult jobs. I’ve hosted at Brewster’s in New Buffalo, Mich., which is a very busy restaurant, so I’ve dealt with the public and the servers a lot. But I haven’t really ever been a server, so I won’t pretend to know and understand more than I do. I’ve spent much more time in the kitchen, and I know that one of the things that drives me and every other cook I know nuts is when hot food sits dying in the “window,” ready to be picked up but cooling off, or just sitting there under the lamp.

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I got back from my trip into Chicago exhausted and stuffed to the gills. The traffic was at times terrible both on the highway and in the city, which is to say, at least for Chicago, quite normal I guess. And it was very frustrating that the first place I wanted to go to, TAC Quick, was closed, despite the sign on the door indicating they were open Monday-Saturday. It was Tuesday and I was a bit miffed. Read more »

Tomorrow I start my new job working for John, so today I’m headed into Chicago to try a couple of places I’ve been hearing about for a while, but just haven’t had a chance to go yet. TAC Quick gets very high marks from foodies for their authentic Thai food. They have a “secret” Thai menu and yes, I’ll be asking for it. But I’m not a machochist heat-wise, so I’m going to keep it in the medium range.

The second place I’m going, and luckily it’s a short trip from TAC Quick, is Cho Sun Ok, a Korean joint with a menu that looks authentic and delicious. What sets them apart in Chicago is that at the end of the meal, they take the panchan (little side dishes that come standard with each Korean meal, like kimchi and pickled bean sprouts, spinach salad, etc.), and use them to make fried rice for you! Supposedly Korean places in LA do this as well. I’ve had Korean food before in Columbia, Missouri, where I when to school, and it was delicious. I put Korean fried chicken on the menu at the Buddha, and after the tasting for John and the others at Port 412 during  my demo, I have little doubt that it will be on Tulips’ menu as well.

I’ll tell you all about the food tonight. I have to be in bed fairly early since I’m meeting Chef Tom at Port 412 at 7:30a for breakfast, and then he, John, Brandon, and I are going to spend the day together talking business. Even talking business with these guys should make for a fun day.

I rode my bike to Union Pier (from Three Oaks where I live) to try and help Milda with her computer. It was the hottest day of the year so far, 92 and kinda humid, so perspiration was abundant, but it felt great. I couldn’t do anything for Milda, but since she owns and runs Milda’s Corner Market, which also has a great deli, she fed me the most delicious bacon buns. Now I know why people have been raving about them on her Facebook page. And then her gyro was an incredibly scrumptious and messy treat, weighing in at 3 pounds or something like that.

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