Like white on rice

I have a confession to make. I've been hiding this from family and friends for years. 

I can't make rice. 

I can make a five course meal for twenty. I can whip up a delicious meal from scratch by throwing the things in the pantry together. I can cook with dashes, dabs, smidgens, and sprinkles. I make sauces from taste memory. Put a recipe in front of me and I'll make it turn out tasty.

I've spent years giving cooking tips, e-mailing recipes, and giving encouragement to my not so kitchen-savvy friends. But my smugness has a limit, because I can't make rice.

In my life, I have attempted to make rice many times. ( Just to be clear, I'm referring to real rice, not instant rice. A monkey could make Minute Rice.) Every time I try to make rice I do one or more of the following:
1. Burn the pot
2. Burn the rice
3. Undercook  the rice
4. Overcook the rice
5. End up with disgustingly sticky rice

I've spent countless hours watching tutorials online and scouring cooking forums for a magical trick that will cure my rice handicap. It was time wasted.

The irony! I'm living in a country where bap, the Korean word for rice, is the foundation of most meals. I am tempted to just buy a tiny rice cooker to save myself from a year of eating bad rice but that feels too much like defeat. So instead, I'll wrap my rice in gim (seaweed) or smother it in sauce and pretend the texture is perfect.

Nom, nom, nom....sort of. 

A very Lotte Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my followers!  

This is what Christmas time in Korea looks like:

Tree hugging in the Subway Station.

On a tree outside a trendy shop in Seoul.

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A Christmas present from one of our student's  parents. 

Lina Bean!

This is the first Christmas I've spent away from my family. It's a sobering experience, having a holiday be so much like an ordinary day. 

Every year I fight to maintain our family's traditions, yet this year I've participated in none. I didn't send a single Christmas card, I don't have a tree, I didn't watch any Christmas movies, my Bing Crosby quota is not fulfilled, and my presents will all be sent in January.  I feel guilty for checking out but it's probably for the best. If I had been my usual Christmas-geek self the disappointment of a solo Christmas would have been far greater.

That said, I managed to have a rather productive day. I made a visit to Lotte Mart, a Walmart-like store, all on my own. I discovered that large stores in Korea a abrasive to the senses, the grocery section especially. It's really loud both because of the number of people shopping and because of the vendors shouting the specials out to every person who walks by. There are plenty of smells, delicious and ...interesting. Then of course there are the visuals. 

???

Those things are as big as my head.

Pig feet, I think.

I believe that is fresh brewed soy sauce, or maybe fish sauce. 

I couldn't get a good shot of the piles of unwrapped meat. Perhaps on my next shopping trip. 

The big purchase of the day was a toaster oven!

Pineapple cookies! Finding the ingredients was a challenge. The texture isn't right but they taste almost
like Mom made them. 

All in all, it was a good Christmas; those I love are safely tucked in in their respective beds and I made cookies in a foreign country. Next year will be a welcome return to the Christmas I know and love though. 

Taking a Taxi.

I apologize for my recent absence here on Korea, etc, etc, etc. I've been busy learning how to be a good teacher, through trial and error, as well as having a lot of budget friendly fun.

Last night my teacher friends and I went to a club in Gangnam, a district in Seoul. My friend has some friends in Korea who also happen to be club promoters, and she was kind enough to get us on the guest list to a club that otherwise charges a 30,000 won cover (about $26).

We took a taxi straight from work to be able to make it in time and, of course, rode in a taxi home. The taxi to the club was the priciest of the two at 50,000 won ($43) for ride that took a little over 30 minutes. Coming back it was only 26,000 won ($23). Split between four people that is pretty darn cheap. In comparison, I recently saw a taxi that advertised Schaumburg to the Loop, approximately the same distance one way, at $90. That means we paid less for double the distance. This price cut is in a country with a much smaller supply of fuel that is sold at a far greater price. Also, there is no tipping in Korea. I'm surprised that the drivers are able to make a living.

I've ridden in a taxi probably 10 times since I've been to Korea because it is so affordable. Sometimes it's even cheaper than taking the bus. Every time I take a taxi I feel a little bit fabulous and like I'm on Sex and the City. Prior to the past month, I'd only ridden in a taxi twice both on someone else's dime. In my mind the only people who take taxis are wealthy city-dwellers or those who's business is picking up the tab. In this small way, Korea has allowed me a convenience I could never afford at home.

A new definition for egg drop soup

I had the most amazing meal tonight.

The first bowl you get (after the side dishes in the middle of the table, of course.) is a piping hot stone bowl filled with rice, which you are to promptly scoop out into a little bowl to make way for broth. The rice that sticks to the stone bowl and the broth mix together to make a nutty, earthy, and slightly burned tasting soup. It's not something I would crave but it's mildly addictive once you start eating it.

The center bowl is the main event. It's a spicy stew filled with thin sliced beef, super silky tofu, and veggies. Here's where it gets interesting. Every table has a basket of eggs on it for you to break into your bubbling hot stew. The heat from the liquid cooks the egg in the bowl in a minute. On the right, you see my eggshell from the egg I dropped into my stew. If you look closly at the center of the stew you can see the yolk.

My co-workers thought I was silly/cute for being so blown away, but I've never broken an egg into my food at the table before. Have you?

This was possibly the most delicious meal I have eaten in Korea so far. I don't remember what the restaurant is called, but I do know how to get there and I will be going back. If you visit, this life-changing chow is a must.