Oh My Dog...

I went to the Market a few days ago and had an interesting experience. I tagged along with the German Ladies Club of Seoul (I don't belong to the group yet....) They would allow me to join the group even though I'm not German or a Lady - Nice ladies [a little decadent but a little decadence is nice], who like me have plenty of time on their hands...

Anyway, as we were going through the Market, we stumbled upon a stand which sold cooked dog meat, whole and chopped, with and without head. In front of the Butchers table and scale was a tiny cage with about 7 dogs inside, alive. The breed they use is called "Nureongee", although they do use other breeds as well. Now as a dog owner I was appalled but on the other hand I have to say that we as westerners, eat pig, snails, frogs, cows, baby cows.... etc etc etc... so even though I wanted to open the cage and let all the dogs out, I was able to understand that it's not bad that they eat dog. It's simply their culture and I have to respect that. Still, I came home and had to give Brady the dog a hug. I still freak out when some people look at him with a hungry look about them..

How to make Kimchi

Kimchi, Korea's #1 dish consists of fermented cabbage with chili and spices. It is served with everything you eat. As one of many side dishes that come with every meal or as the main ingredient in soups and many traditional dishes.

Fusion has also invaded Korea.. you can find Kimchi on Pizza, Spaghetti and most other international cuisines.
Mostly it tastes tangy and very very spicy. You either love it or hate it. I love it. But too much of it will, you know... upset your stomach.

Here's a quick way how to prepare your own Kimchi.

You'll need:

2 Chinese cabbages
5-10 spring onions
100 g Sea salt
4 heaped tablespoons (about 20 g) Korean chili powder
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoonfuls sugar
Tablespoonful kimchi sauce (if available)
5 g Small piece of ginger, crushed, or teaspoonful powdered ginger
Half an onion (optional) Not used everywhere.


Rinse the cabbages, then quarter them lengthwise, discard the stems, and then chop the cabbages laterally, which should leave you with the largest pieces measuring perhaps 5 cm on a side. Don’t get too carried away while doing this. Place the cabbage in a clean plastic bag or equivalent (with no holes) and sprinkle salt over each layer. The best kind of salt is sea salt, although non-iodized table salt will do. This will create a brine solution with the cabbage juice. Press the leaves in your hand to squeeze as much water out of them as possible. Once finished, tie up the bag and set it aside for 5-6 hours. Take the cabbage out of the salt solution and rinse it if necessary. It should be a lot softer than it was. Again, remove surplus water. Place cabbage in a sealable plastic box. Add the spring onions, chopped into small pieces. Crush the garlic and ginger in a press and mix in. If you do find Kimchi sauce add about 15 ml. If you don't, then you can do without. You can add a tablespoon of Chinese Fish sauce but this is only optional. Add the chili powder. Mix well. The colour you're looking for should be a dark red but not to dark, you wanna be able to eat the stuff.

Serve with a typical Korean dish. Bimbibap is good or shop around.

The picture above I took was from 2 old ladies who have a tiny, little Restaurant on a quiet street. They are precisely making Kimchi, hence the inspiration for this post. I asked if I could take a picture and they said yes although 2 of them ran into the restaurant and out of the picture... Sweet.

Besos

I miss you Wonderwoman. You and your Beautiful plane!

Und Voila.... J'ai terminé mes chères

1.) Wo ist Dein Handy: Neben mir
2.) Dein Partner: Arbeitet aber ist immer neben mir - ahhhhhhhh
3.) Deine Haare: Werden demnächst geschnitten - Danke Jung Ji Hye 정 대표 지영준
4.) Deine Mama: In Chile
5.) Dein Papa: auch
6.) Lieblingsgegenstand: mein chupa chups
7.) Dein Traum von letzter Nacht: vergessen - Folge kommt heute Abend
8.) Dein Lieblingsgetränk: Kaffee
9.) Dein Traumauto: einer der fliegen kann aber eigentlich der Flugzeug von Wonderwoman
10.) Der Raum in dem Du dich befindest: arbeitseck
11.) Dein Ex: ist lieb
12.) Deine Angst: zu sagen, "I wish I could have done that when I was younger"
13.) Was möchtest Du in 10 Jahren sein: noch ich
14.) Mit wem verbrachtest Du den gestrigen Abend: mit Darling Mann und Brady the dog
15.) Was bist Du nicht: Hundeesser und/oder Katzenesser
16.) Das letzte was Du getan hast: spazieren gehen
17.) Was trägst Du: Beige Hose, weisses t shirt und blau kariertes Hemd [kurzarmig]
18.) Dein Lieblingsbuch: A short History about nearly everything
19.) Das letzte was Du gegessen hast: Vietnamesisch
20.) Dein Leben: Glücklich
21.) Deine Stimmung: Glücklich
22.) Deine Freunde: immer ganz nah
23.) Woran denkst Du gerade: Mein Deutschkurs
24.) Was machst Du gerade: Überlegen was ich für Spannenden Hausaufgabe habe
25.) Dein Sommer: kommt noch, Frühling ist aber schon da!!! YUPPI!!!!!
26.) Was läuft in Deinem TV: TV ist aus - Radio ist an - Amerikanisches Gehirnwaschung Radiosendung - GOD BLESS AMERIKA
27.) Wann hast Du das letzte Mal gelacht: heute
28.) Das letzte Mal geweint: 30 März 2008
29.) Schule: vorbei - Werde aber Chocolatière in Deutschland Studieren - Der Traum geht weiter!
30.) Was hörst Du gerade: GOD BLESS AMERIKA - We bring you the Music while you save the World... NO JOKE!
31.) Liebste Wochenendbeschäftigung: Für meine kleine Familie Kochen zu können
32.) Traumjob: Chocolatière extraordinaire
33.) Dein Computer: Apple
34.) Außerhalb Deines Fensters: The Ivy House und Itaewon
35.) Bier: Asahi Danke Japan!
36.) Mexikanisches Essen: mmmm - Fajitas... Pollo con Mole!!
37.) Winter: liebe, aber nicht so lang bitte
38.) Religion: An apple a day keeps the devil away
39.) Urlaub: Demnächst... Vancouver - British Colombia
40.) Auf Deinem Bett: eine von Brady's Spielzeuge
41.) Liebe: ist das wichtigste


You always win Rich Rubin!!!

Quintessential Tokyo

Work in Progress

Your dog like my Louis Vuitton

Today as I was in the park with Brady the dog a Korean lady approaches me and points out to the fact that my dog looks like her Louis Vuitton [probably a fake] handbag. She then started starring - I'm like, "dude, take a picture" I didn't know if she was thinking how fabulous he would look next to her and her LV purse or how fabulous he would look accompanied by a side order of fries and Kimchi for lunch. [unfortunately no joke here]

I'm thinking Brady would look so fabulous with an LV scarf... Louis V here I come!

Brady update