Three and a half months have passed since we left our fair city of Manhattan, traveling half way around the world to settle in Seoul, Korea, at least for the time being. Culture shock is an understatement, but we continue to carry on with life, enjoying the extra square footage an expat package entails, and relative peace from our immediate surroundings.
My biggest surprise of late, has been an allergic reaction to msg and/or salt, resulting in a painful stomach rash which lasts for weeks. I've had this rash twice in the short time we've been here, so I've taken culinary matters into my own hands, and am learning to cook... from scratch, with as few additives as possible. Korea, has developed so quickly in the past few decades, that this once fledgling and poor country is the epitome of modernity and progress in the Asian world. With this mindset, comes a general distaste of "old" practices and habits, namely pertaining to infrastructure and lifestyle. For example, a Hanok, a traditional Korean house, is less favored than brand new high rise apartments, even though the former are so much more esthetically pleasing and showcase the beauty of Korean culture. Not only are these high rise monstrosities taking over the landscape, but mountains are being razed in order to supply flat land for their foundations. This is also the case with food and labor.
Whole grain rice and breads (versus white bread and rice), packaging in compostable material versus in plastic, walking instead of driving a car, are clearly out of fashion and reminiscent of Korea's so-called poor past. Velveeta is alive and well in Korea to my dismay. Sadly, the very things that are old are usually tried and true, and are fundamental to human growth and longevity. It's no wonder that body weight has changed in this country over the decade. There are more overweight children and adults due to Koreans' love for packaged, processed foods.
So after watching and being inspired again by last year's hit movie, Julie and Julia, I am cooking from scratch. Wednesday night I made Bruschetta. Last night's dinner was Sole Meurnier, which is sole in a butter, lemon sauce. I also made beef broth, with an arduous cooking time of 5 hours. I used the broth in today's Beef Carbonnade, which had the tenderest meat imaginable. I try to buy a baguette daily, since sticky, white rice gives me constipation. We're also very big pasta fans but the only pasta made with durum semolina, that is sold in Korea, is spaghetti.
My body feels better already eating fresh meats, baguettes, simple sauces, and fruits and vegetables. I would also like to tackle homemade desserts at some point. In New York, I was able to rely on Trader Joe's and Whole Foods for less processed meals, but it's a different matter in this country.
