Foot and Fire

         Disclaimer:  I am a self-confessed Park Bo-gum fan. I mean, he can be a believable Olympian boxer here, and also a silly pet puppy at the same time.  But that does not mean I watched the series solely on that ground. I watched his latest TV series Good Boy for another icing on top of the cake: a good story line. The central story of Good Boy is pursuing good to defeat the evil that is corruption. The former athletes, who were at one moment in time hailed heroes when they got their Olympic medals, joined the police force only to be discriminated against as "privileged," "no guts," "poster girl," "no good" and so on. And since, we are on this, let me say that the story line has some potential to be a classic but the comedy in an action K-series ruined that potential. But well, I'm not surprised. Disappointed? Yes, a bit because I love the reference to the poem of Yun Dongju.           The character of Pa...

I was looking for a movie to watch on Netflix when I stumbled on this Korean thriller. I was surprised that I liked the film for many reasons. I have not read the webtoon to which the movie was based and I couldn't tell if the movie is a faithful rendition or has some special addition to it.  First, I was pleased that there's no unnecessary comedy the K dramas are known for.  Second, I was surprised that the director was from the movie Train to Busan, a highly successful zombie film which I think just a so-so when you assess it visually and when it comes to character exposures in the story. (To digress, I now recalled that I also liked the Peninsula as the standalone sequel to the Train to Busan). The actors are well-chosen for their roles. The Pastor, the detective and the ex-convict, the triad of the movie are all fit for their roles. The visual cues are all necessary and useful given the 2 hours limitation of a film. The film has tied the loose ends so that the ...

Why fishcake? Well, I was asked by everyone who partook the popular Korean foodfare called fishcake. Well I told tgem that it's not in ball form but flat so it's fishcake like pancake, and not like our fishball. In addition, our usual fishball  may shape like a ball but I doubt if there's fish in it but this fishcake tastes like fish. Do you think I got away with this clever explanation? Hahaha So, on the left side of the picture above, I had fishcakes in a soup base I made from mushroom granules, bellpepper and chili garlic sauce.  On the right side is a sweet spicy saucy version. I added hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, and some liquid to let cook the fishcake from the soup on the left. It was a hit. There we go with our fishcake adventure. 

8 heads of Chinese cabbage, halved and washed rock salt brown sugar chili powder or whatever preserved chili available ginger, chopped garlic, chopped bottled vinegared onion (optional) bottled vinegared cucumber (optional) Dry the washed halved cabbage head.  Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl starting from chili powder. Rub layer after layers of leaves with salt and brown sugar and then mixture until done. Arrange in a plastic container and let stand for 24 hours in a dry cool place. The next day, transfer in glass container and discard remaining water. Let stand again for another day or two.  The Kimchi is done when the cabbage and the spices are already fermented. Refrigerate to lengthen shelf life. Enjoy as appetizer. (When I made my first kimchi out of native pechay, I first rubbed the salt and let the pechay spurt its water within  24 hours before adding spices. I suggest same thing with this kind too but at any rate, this shortcut method is a success. Dont ...

This instant Korean noodles is highly recommended to anyone who loves hot and spicy taste. The chiliness is indeed piping hot! This instant noodles can serve four. For this one, I added carrots and cabbage. Egg may also be added as egg drop or beaten. While sharing this with my nephew, he wondered out loud after sipping the soup why I chose this so hot and so spicy noodles... And I reminded him of that jampong commercial with a couple hanging their tongues out! The tongue out culprit! A generous serving of a hot and spicy noodle soup!

Kimbap (also Gimbap) which the Little Man declared as his own! He gulped it all the way... *** The sizzling plate of beef (Bulgogi), tofu, and veges.  *** Spicy hot noodles (Ramyeon) and some jelly-like sticky slices with egg. Tita Ann love it! *** The noodles may be searing red but actually it  has a tempered spicy taste. Guksu jeongol (Noodle Casserole) *** Trying out my chopsticks after the Little Man exclaimed  while deshelving his hair, "Ha? Chopsticks?" *** The appetizer was a hit. The Little Man grabbed the Okra. *** The jelly-like not-so-sticky stuff... actually likeable. Must be Dotorimuk (Acorn jelly) *** Egg roll. It is admirable layers of eggs wrapping some veges inside. *** The Red Tea. We loved it. *** Owning a plate of Kimbap!  Sneaky Little Guy. ***

Shabu shabu is the hotpot where everything can be placed inside a boiling pot and then eaten as soup. Yakiniku is the grilling of dofferent meats and seafoods. I love wrapping the grilled meat with lettuce.. It was a happy lunch despite sans the rice... Lol Yakiniku Nice rich soup... Love the fact that they used squash and gabi to give some flavor and texture boost to the soup. Boiling soup.. Of course, kimchi is my favorite... The preparation..

By GERLIE M. UY My first attempt to a Miso Soup is a success!  Our japanese soup server was initiated with this Veges and Miso Soup! Sans the flash, this is how it looks. Super Soupy soup... My soup today! It was a luck that Robinson's Bacolod has this stock of Korean Miso Paste! Here's another photo of the Korean Miso Paste I bought... 3 stalks celery, coarsely chopp 3 stalks Baguio leeks, coarsely chopped 1 medium potato, coarsely chopped 750 ml to 1L water rock salt ground pepper 2 T butter 100 gms Soy Bean Paste (Miso) In a soup pot, place water and add celery and leeks. Season with salt and pepper. In a high fire, bring to boil. Continuously boil for 5 minutes and remove from fire. Let cool a bit Separate the stock and the vegetables. Blender the vegetables. In a soup pot, place butter. Add the blended vegetables. Simmer for 2 minutes in medium fire. Add the stock. Dissolve the Miso paste with a little stock and add to the mixture. Bring to boil. Serve hot.

By GERLIE M. UY Actually, I was so hesitant to post this "kimchi attempt." Searching in the net on how to make kimchi is a big task. First, I have to find one which is not too chili-ful, not too complicated, and most of all easy-to-find-ingredients so I can make a version which is familiar-yet-not to Filipino palate. I made this a month ago and it's a surprise that the longer the fermentation, the better taste it gets.  What i love about using this native pechay is the crunchiness of the stalk and there is no after-taste or after-smell in its green leaves. This is indeed an accidental kitchen creation when I was confronted with many native pechay. Here's my kimchi attempt: Ing: 1/2 kilo native pechay 1/2 cup rock salt 4 liters water 2 tablespoon Cayenne pepper 6 chopped onions 2 chopped garlic 1/8 cup grated ginger 5 tablespoon brown sugar 1/4 cup fish sauce    Cut the end of the bunch of pechay and separate each stalk with leaves.    In a large container, diss...