korea and tidbits of zen and video 12:00 am
I found this really cute movie on Youtube and it’s about a precocious boy and his food adventures in Korea. It’s poignant, cute, and touching. Check it out.
Here is something that I wrote just for fun about my childhood in Korea.
http://deconstructingkorea.blogspot.com/2008/11/national-novel-writing-month-799-words.html
tidbits of zen 7:23 am
I know. This has nothing to do with food, but Facebook needs to stop tweaking stuff. The new layout is annoying and it’s hard to find stuff that I was able to easily find before. For example, I tried to post in their marketplace but it is not possible in Korea anymore. They asked for feedback on their new marketplace and this is what I wrote:
You can’t list in South Korea and it’s not easy to figure out how to list stuff. I mean you click on list something and then you get a pop up to fill in the real information. It doesn’t seem easy to browse either. Facebook needs to stop tweaking stuff because it’s becoming a major turnoff. It’ll make people want to jump ship as soon as a new social networking site becomes available. I mean, I use it a lot less then I used to because it’s too hard to figure out.
Dan
Facebook needs to listen!
Is there any new social networking sites out there that are better? I mean myspace is dead, Friendster don’t got no friends anymore, Orkut? Huhh?, Geez… I’m going to start a new social networking site. It’s going to be called Unplugged. It’ll encourage people to unplug from the net and go out and do stuff. Oh, and everyone will wear a mask so it’s like being on the Internet. And Unplugged will have socials over nachos and salsa because it brings people together.
Anyone want to join my new social?
Dan
cooking and hamburgers and Seoul Eats and tidbits of zen 5:58 am
What makes a perfect burger? It should have a bit of pork, but mostly beef. Beef should be a bit marbled. I mean it doesn’t make sense to get a very expensive filet mignon or a sirloin to make a burger because it’s too lean. You need fat and marbling for flavor. The meat can be a bit grisly. You don’t want to have something too soft because then there is no body and it’s just like eating baby food.
Seasoning. You should use salt and pepper. Onion and Garlic add savory accents to the meat.
If you want to get fancy, you can add some other herbs. I like a bit of rosemary at times, if I am feeling exotic. It is a strong herb and it can mask the flavor of the meat that you spent so most of your money on. I recommend using rosemary if you are making a lamb burger. Lamb is a bit musky in flavor so rosemary pairs well with it.
Ground lamb and beef works well together especially with a yogurt, cucumber dressing.
Now back to burgers. You will probably need a binder- something to stick everything together. For this I recommend you use bread crumbs or crustless white bread. You need something to hold the meat together or you’ll just have a sloppy joe. And that’s probably how it was invented- some guy just messed up.
You need more of a binder if you are grilling over flame then pan or griddle cooked burgers. The heat will start to pull the beef apart.
Then the bun. I think the perfect burger buns are butter milk buns. They are light and with a bit of sponginess to sop up the juicy goodness of the burger. Sesame buns are good also, but make sure that they are fresh. You don’t want to have an amazing burger served on a cardboard bun.
Wheat buns work well as well.
Toppings. They are endless, but I think the best topping is sautéed mushrooms and swiss cheese. Thin sliced mushrooms with a bit of garlic is perfect. If not, the classic pickle, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, and tomato. No, I did not say onion because it makes burger too slippery to eat.
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The best burgers.
See this is a difference in preference. I like charcoal grilled burger. I’m not a huge fan of something that is cooked on a griddle, I think it’s too greasy, but I think this is because those are the burgers I grew up on.
The best burger I’ve had in Korea was a burger that had at a rooftop party. It was a burger that had barley added to the meat as a binder. I really liked the nutty, sweet accent it added to the meat.
drinks and school and tidbits of zen 12:22 am
In my writing class the students were supposed to brainstorm about disturbing trends in Korea and I said that Black Bean Tea was a disturbing trend. Then I went on to expound on the ghastliness of corn tea (it tastes like soggy popcorn!) and that this will lead Korea to make teas from everything: from flower teas, bundaeggi tea, water tea, book-tea, and even pen-tea. The last one was a mistake. My class exploded with laughter and I was left red faced.
Dan
tidbits of zen 4:05 pm
Alrighty, here is the deal. I’m going to do National Novel Writing Month this year. I am determined to write 50,000 words in a month. I’m up to about 2500 so far. I know it’s a long way from the goal, but I only really started like two days ago. Plus I’ve changed my strategy: Instead of handwriting it and then typing it on the computer, I’m just going to type on my computer. Also, I changed from typing on my Alphasmart 3000 to my iBook G4.
Oh, and I’ve got Leechblock – an extension for Firefox to work so I can’t get distracted.
So what this means is that I might not be able to blog as much. Don’t worry. The novel that I’m writing is about food^^ You can see it on my other site: Deconstructing Korea.
Wish me luck^^
And I need food bloggers and photographers to help me keep Seouleats going! If you would like to write or contribute, please e-mail me at seouleats@gmail.com
Dan
gourmet and tidbits of zen 10:03 am
Cheri of www.seoulberry.blogspot.com is going to be leaving soon to return to the US. Over the last couple of months, I have been mesmerized by her food posts and Korean life posts on her blog and I want to thank her for posting her posts on Seouleats.com
Thank you Cheri! You are the greatest!
Cheri is a total foodie and I am impressed by her capacity to eat and her ability to write. I hope she will continue to do so in the future- either in Korea or in the USA.
Food blogging takes guts. Often a blogger will get odd stares and contemptuous looks from other diners and the staff at restaurants. We do it for the love of the food. We do it for the readers and we do it for ourselves.
Like Cheri says on her blog, “IF I DON’T WRITE IT DOWN, I’LL FORGET!” It is true. We want to cherish the moments we spend with friends in the restaurant. We want to cherish the flavors that appear before us. We want to swallow the care and technical experience that the chefs use in their dishes. We want to store the pictures of the plate presentations for future comparisons and analysis.
Are we gluttons? Possibly. But I think we just want to store it all in our hypothalamus cupboard- to snack on when time allows.
Dan
mexican food and random web and tidbits of zen and video 4:22 pm
mexican food and random web and tidbits of zen and video 4:22 pm
cuteoverload and tidbits of zen 11:55 am
Seouleats’ Lily is on Cuteoverload.com
I’m so proud and I just found my new favorite site. It’s totally an overload of cuteness.
Dan
cuteoverload and tidbits of zen 11:55 am
Seouleats’ Lily is on Cuteoverload.com
I’m so proud and I just found my new favorite site. It’s totally an overload of cuteness.
Dan
