Domestic Goddess

I am so excited about this blog. I had a chance to fly to Beijing once but throught some stupidity by my travel agent, I ended up in Xiamen instead. That is so cool about korean home delivery there. I love it! Here in our tiny town, I love ordering our meals and just setting out the dirty plates, bowls, cutlery and even condiments that come with the food delivery. *Peter - you're not off the hook yet with your travelogue. Git yer butt back in there and post some more foodie pics/prose.

The eating continues... The craving started with garlicky Filipino Longganisa (sausages) with cherry tomatoes soaked in fish sauce. Then followed by a palate cleanser - strawberries eaten with one's fingers (no fancy fruit forks please). Then followed by another palate cleanser - Kitkat Dark Noir (ooooh... ahhhhh... dark chocolate). It was so chocolatey so I thought I needed another cleanser... Nacho Chips in Jalapeno flavor. Now, I need to get that jalapeno flavor off my tongue.... When will the madness end? (rummaging through the freezer and fridge to find the next thing to demolish).

K8mephis, first of all the rice must be thoroughly plump with water/broth for it to stop sucking. That's why my method of cooking is to cook the rice (and chicken parts) with water that has been salted a little bit. When I see that the rice grains have cooked and have burst slightly open a little - I add my chicken broth and continue cooking until the rice grains have opened up and has been fluffed up. I store it normally, in a Lokc& Lock container - no need to drain and seperate. I find that if I have added sufficient broth during the last cooking stages, my stored rice soup will be watery/soupy enough. If it wasn't I just add more water to the cold soup and reheat. Then I fix the taste with fish sauce (my preference) or iodized salt (hubby's preference).

Peter - what's a tanuki?

Thank you John and count me as one of those who really enjoy your posts.

K8Memphis, you need to cook your rice with a LOT of broth. At first when you simmer it, you will see the broth disappearing, add a bowlful of broth and stir thoroughly. Then simmer some more, when you see the rice becoming dry add another bowlful and stir. Keep doing so until all your rice is fully cooked and all the ingredients are done. How do I do it? When I cook rice soup (congee, porridge, lugaw, jook, etc.) I start cooking with water and salt. I let the rice absorb this first and then I start adding my bowlful of broth midway through cooking. The key is to keep adding broth/water when the water has evaporated. And when you put your soup in the fridge and see that the broth has disappeared (again) just add another bowlful of broth/water and stir thoroughly before heating or microwaving. It is that simple.

My favorite sandwich... Oyster Po' Boy

Peter, Scud watches Neon Genesis Evangelion, too? I got hooked on the series when I was stationed in Hong Kong. Of course, I was thankful for the subtitles. That looks like a good serving of takoyaki. There seems to be a myriad ways to top takoyaki balls. In the Philippines, it is teriyaki sauce and some kind of cuttlefish powder. Here in Korea, you get a choice of teriyaki sauce & Mayonaise, or teriyaki sauce & mayo & mustard. I have sampled the latter in LotteWorld (Korea's answer to Disneyland) when Billy and I was there last month. Here are the takoyaki girls doing their thing. You can see on your left the different sauces that they would top the takoyaki balls. Universally, almost all takoyaki balls are finished with a topping of those thinly sliced fish flakes (called dancing flakes, right?). So, more food, more eating and more pictures! I know, I know, we're a demanding crowd.

Today was the start. I grilled a whole platter of pork slices with fat and skin on over hot coconut coals. When everything was nicely brown and cooked, I made garlic fried rice and oyster cerviche. I was in hog heaven (there's half a platter of grilled pork left.) Let the eating begin....

Tontatsu! Tempura! Sukiyaki! Lots and lots of sushi! Um, you can tell I am excited.

Lock & Lock are so prevalent here in Korea. I have found a lot in the recycle bin that just needed a good washing with soapy water and bleach. Of course I have also purchased a dozen or so of different sizes. I love that way I can organize my freezer and see what's what inside each container. And they are so sturdy and virtually locked tight, s you don't worry when one falls from the counter or from the freezer.

Peter, You mentioned that having a tattoo is one sure way to get ostracized in japan. Might one inquire if you are speaking from experience? And why is it so? The Yakuza gangsta connection? The You-have-AIDS-because-of-dirty-needles-in-tattoo-shops? Just curious...

...never leave a pot of mung beans simmering on the stove while reading eGullet. I had to rescue my beans but throw away my pot because the bottom was ruined. My mung bean soup has a nice smoky flavor now.

In the Philippines, we grill chicken feet and it is a popular street snack fondly called "Adidas". In Korea, the feet is cooked with the fiery gochujang paste and is sold as an accompaniment to beer and soju.

Johnny, now I know what my last meal on earth would be, any one of the Deathmatch dinners (but Im leaning towards this Japanese one).

Oooh, that looks so good LaCookrasha! Can you share the recipe? I've got 2 pounds of pork waiting in the fridge.

Ok, now I would need to know to to "beautify" (bleach and clean) the black tripe here. Off to google the procedure.

Does anyone know why the tripe I see in the local street market black? I have never seen white honeycomb tripe here. Even the ones that look like a fuzzy towel. It seems to me almost all tripe here are black. Why is it so?

Peter, Serena would be the first girl on the left with the long black hair. Tell her Billy says hi and to be careful of great white sharks. LOL D

I would like to add my thanks for such a wonderful blog and a great glimpse in a life of an expat in Japan. Maraming salamat!

Nakji, here is a recipe for Pajeon batter from my friend. For batter: 1 cup water (3-4 tbsp more) 1 cup flour 1 egg 2 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp dwen jang (Korean bean paste) My apologies to gus_tatory for forgetting to make pajeon. I'll try to make some this week.

Chicken congee soup with lotsa ginger. That'll get your sinuses running and cleared out in no time.

We do this all the time in the Philippines. No kitchen, no running water. When we're at the beach (especially on a remote island), we grill. Portable grills are easy enough to tote and so are the stuff to barbeque (steak, fish, kebabs, etc.). Just make sure that the plates are sturdy enough to handle the food.

MizBaggins (another cousin) has been on tour again lately. And she has returned to her homestate - Texas! Here she is enjoying a bowl of chili with cheese and nachos in the home of a Nintendo game programer (hubby was part of the team that came up with Metroid Prime). After Georgetown, Texas, Mis Baggins II will be winging her way to a sunny and tropical part of the US.

Here's a dinner from a couple of nights ago, Filet Mignon with Baked Potato (tope with sauteed bell peppers and onion). My little one wanted to make Filipino Empanadas. Since I had leftover meat filling from the empanadas I baked before, I thawed them out and made dough. Here's Billy rolling out the dough. Spooning the filling on the dough. Crimping the edges with a fork to seal everything tight. Brushing the milk on for that nice glazed look. And lastly, poking holes into the pies to let the steam out when it bakes. Finally, I bake them in our tiny oven. And here's Billy with his Empanadas. Can you say proud mommy?