We eat on tin trays that get sterilized everyday and we always grab a metal spoon and chopsticks for utensils. In the tray, there are 2 big, deep bowls (if you will) and 2 small ones along with one shallow, small bowl. One big bowl area is for soup, the other is for rice. The small shallow one is where I always put my kimchi, and the other 2 small areas I use for whatever meat/vegetable side options there are. Sometimes there's fruit or a yogurt drink, etc.
No one ever drinks with there meal. There is a water fountain area near the door where you can drink after you put your un-eaten food in the food trash and separate your chopsticks, spoon and tray in the bins provided.
Usually the food is pretty good. I've grown fond of Korean food and it's not bad for you. They think food should be like medicine and everything they eat, for the most part, they believe is good for our bodies. The soups are always delicious, except there's one spicy and sour cabbage soup that I don't like, but other than that, I can always count on the soup and rice. The kimchi they make at the school is not up to my standards, and that goes for most of the students as well. I've had some really good kimchi at restaurants and Sun Jung's mom makes some pretty spectacular kimchi as well. And the sides are usually pretty good as well. I always eat what ever vegetable or additional type of kimchi side that is made for lunch. This ranges from flavored bean sprouts to radishes or even fruit. The "meat" sides include chicken, duck, pork, beef, seafood, and other things that I'm not so sure of...
Which brings me to today's lunch:
된장찌게 - one of my favorite soups; basically a salty bean soup (almost like Japanese miso soup) with cubed tofu and chopped zucchini and cabbage and, today, potatoes.
밥 - rice, today it was a greenish color; this could be food coloring to make it look pretty or maybe some kind of her or sauce added for a little flavor.
김치 - always kimchi
Bean Sprout side dish - I don't know the Korean name, but I love this salty bean sprout salad dish.
순대볶음 - this side dish is the inspiration of my blog today. Soondae is pig intestines stuffed with clear noodles and this particular kind is mixed with cabbage, peppers, and a red pepper paste.
Usually, I don't ask what anything is. By lunchtime, I'm hungry, and fully prepared to eat whatever is ready and waiting for me. But today, I wasn't starving, and my stomach was a bit upset to begin with. I scooped a few pieces of Soondae onto my tray along with everything else and sat down without thinking as I do everyday. The students all say hi to me everyday at lunch so I'm usually distracted by them. I was excited about the soup and the sprouts that it took me awhile to contemplate the rest of my tray. After noticing, then examining the Soondae, I had a hunch that it was probably some part of an animal I'm not accustomed to eating. I decided to ask the school nurse what it was, thinking she knows body part in English and would tell me if it was that. She only replied with the Korean name and smiled and added that there were noodles in it. I decided to man up and just try it. And I didn't like it one bit. So I scooped the rest of it onto SunJung's tray while she wasn't paying attention and the school nurse saw and nodded approvingly and I excused myself. Don't worry. I didn't puke or anything. But I did call my Korean friend, Lee, and asked him about 순대. He laughed, of course, and told me that I just ate pig intestine and then said he was envious because he loves that dish.
So there you have it, my pig intestine tasting. I'm sure I've eaten other "weird" things, things that we might consider weird, that is, but I never wanted to ask about it before. Now I just figure, what the hell, might as well know what I'm eating so if ever asked, I can say, "yes, I've tried it." And to peak your curiosity, here's a pic I found on the internet of it:
![Pool Fish...Shark to Come](http://<a href="http://s680.photobucket.com/albums/vv162/southkorea/Atlanta/?action=view¤t=Beforeileave034.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv162/southkorea/Atlanta/Beforeileave034.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>)
I loved the pig intestine story! Mark was envious - he thought it looked really yummy. :) Actually, I thought it looked good too but like you, I probably wouldn't have liked the taste/texture. Good for you for trying it at least. Most of the people I work w/ won't eat anything that isn't strictly American. A Chinese buffet is the most exotic they'll do. :p I'm not big on eating organs and/or body parts either but I've tried bull testicles on a stick (pincho de testiculos de toro) in Honduras and chicken feet in Vancouver's China Town. :)
ReplyDeleteChicken feet huh? What's the texture of that like? I just got back from Thailand, where they sold bugs on a stick on the street, as well as chicken hearts on a stick. I like to see that some countries at least aren't wasteful. There is a bug dish here that I haven't tried yet, you can buy them in a can at the grocery store. I hear it's good protein, but can't bring myself to try them. They look crunchy. I can send you some if you'd like ;)
ReplyDeleteHmm, the texture of chicken feet... Well, from what I remember, the skin was kind of rubbery. It was literally like someone had cut the foot off a chicken, rolled it in some batter, and fried it! I thought maybe I could get some meat/skin off the bones or at least some flavor if I put it in my mouth and kind of chewed on it but nothing worked. I finally gave up b/c I was about to make myself sick!
ReplyDeleteWow, bugs in a can? Really? I think we used to feed those to our pet lizard... ;) Seriously though, if you want to send some, my husband and step-daughter would love you forever! :) I'll reimburse the shipping cost if you want to do that but, uh, overnight delivery will not be necessary! ;) I'd say you could wait until you're back in the states to mail it but I wonder if they'd take it away from you in customs. The food police at the international airports are so weird! :p Anyway, our address is:
201 Kendrick Rd.
Columbia, SC 29229
But no pressure if you're too busy or anything! :) I've really been enjoying your blog and can't believe you're almost about to come home! Any plans to do another teaching English abroad thing?
I'll send some! I want to send them to my parents too ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to go home, but I'll miss my job here. My students are so cool, I need to post pics of them. I want to do this again depending on what happens when I go back to the states. I don't know if I will teach there, I know it won't be the same. But I don't really know what else to do. I kinda want to go back to school for something more useful than an English degree...maybe I'll take some TESOL courses instead or something and just teach English to non-Americans. How's your job going?