Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Replies

On Kenny's blog : http://kennipark.blogspot.com/

On Niccolo's blog : http://widda40.blogspot.com/

On Vincent's blog : http://theadventuresinenglishclass.blogspot.com/

Dried Seaweed Roll

In Korea, people make Dried Seaweed Rolls as part of the cultural event. I remember eating those Dried Seaweed Rolls back in Korea. I’ve always asked my mom to make those rolls on days I go to a picnic from Elementary school. During my 6 years of Elementary school picnics, I’ve never had a single time that my mom made some other food besides the seaweed rolls. And this was almost common to other kids at school. Every kid brought their rolls that their moms made and compared to see which one is the best. Since the Dried Seaweed Roll lost its taste and decayed in very short time, all the moms in families had to make the rolls in very early morning before the kids go to school for picnic. Sometimes I’ve saw some other moms bringing their kid’s lunch box filled with the Dried Seaweed Rolls right before we leave.

The best thing I remember about the Seaweed roll was it is very simple to eat. Unlike any other Korean food which has all different side dishes, soup and rice, the seaweed roll was very simple to eat for a lunch. All I had to do was just open my lunch box and eat them piece by piece. The roll basically looks exactly same as the California roll; however the outer surface is covered with the dried seaweed. The seaweed are very healthy food, and the other things that goes in the roll, such as carrot, pickled radish, fried egg, spinach, and ham are also healthy nutrition as well. Another thing about the dried seaweed roll is that it brings all the people together as one. During our picnic, we sat in a circle and shared the roll with those who did not bring theirs. In those days, my friends and I learned about sharing and communicating with others. I definitely think the dried seaweed roll is something valuable than any other expensive food.

Kimchi

Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish. It is very common that Koreans serve kimchi in every meal. Kimchi has a history of 6000 years. It was first developed from China and 1300 years ago, it was passed down to Korea. The early Kimchi was made with cabbage and beef stocks only, but later Koreans developed a spicy Kimchi. But nowadays, there are many different types of kimchi such as ‘dongchimi,’ and ‘chonggak kimchi.’ The type of Kimchi varies on the regions in Korea. Different states have different types of popular Kimchi. The reason Koreans eat Kimchi is because it is healthy and tasteful. It also brings the family together because the process of making Kimchi requires a lot of work that a single person cannot accomplish.

It was well introduced to foreigners during the Seoul Olympics in Korea during 1988. It is told that many of the foreigners enjoyed eating Kimchi and later sought for Kimchi in their homeland. Kimchi is very nutritious that one serving of it contains 80% of the daily recommended amount of carotene and Vitamin C. Also, it is proven that Kimchi lowers the cholesterol rate and protects our body against cancer, diabetes, heart diseases, and obesity. In addition, it provides Vitamin A, B, and C, and as well as various other nutrition.

Despite the fact that nowadays most Koreans buy Kimchi from the markets, my family makes Kimchi at home in regular basis. It is very cheap, but it is definitely hard to make. During the times we make it, I eat it for couple times and fix the taste by either adding sugar or salt until it gets the real taste. Kimchi also strengthens the relationship between other families because after making Kimchi, many times we share it with other family. It is nearly a tradition that Koreans share Kimchi. When I was in Korea, I remember my mom and aunts meet up at grandmother’s house and make kimchi together. After the work is done, they shared them equally. And during that time, I sat right next to them and pleasing for Kimchi to appreciate the taste of it. Even today, when I eat Kimchi on my dinner table, I can feel and smell my Korean memories.

Teriyaki

Many people enjoy having Teriyaki in daily basis. It fascinates people with its’ own tasteful and sweet sauce. I consider Teriyaki as the best food that everyone enjoys eating. Back to history, Teriyaki is first made by Japanese. In Japanese, the word Teri-yaki means luster (Teri), and grill or broil (yaki) because in the process of making Teriyaki, the ingredients are either broiled or grilled after brushing the chicken or beef with the special sauce. These sauces can be made easily with soysauce, mirin, and sugar. But often people get confused Teriyaki sauce with Bulgogi sauce (Korean BBQ) because they nearly taste the same since they both have soysauce for the recipe. With its’ great flavor, Teriyaki spread throughout the world quickly. We can find Teriyaki in some Mexican or Western foods. And we have many restaurants such as Yoshinoya, Maki-yaki, etc. in America that serve Teriyaki bowls (most of the time, they serve the bowl with Teriyaki rather than the Teriyaki alone).

One thing that Teriyaki fascinates people is the way how Teriyaki bowl guarantees an outstanding performance to the customers. The place I visited last week with my friend was called, “Maki-Yaki.” They served nearly every kind of the Teriyaki bowls that I couldn’t have imagined. One of these Teriyaki bowl (8.95 dollars), contained teriyaki (you can either choose chicken or beef), rice bowl, California rolls, shrimp tempuras, salad bowl, and Miso soup. Imagine having 6 different foods at once and appreciating the taste of them. It is better than the heaven. For fact, those foods made me and also my friend, who had never tried Teriyaki before, to enjoy and to get in love with Teriyaki. I think it is power of Teriyaki that anyone who tries a bite of Teriyaki bowl, get to be a fan of it.

In addition, many of the Teriyaki restaurants offer great price on their food. Like I said previously, they offered me 8.95 dollars for Teriyaki bowl, including whole bunch of other dishes. Also many of those restaurants give free delivery if you order from close distances and purchase more than 25 dollars. All these things favor customers to easily get addicted by Teriyaki. But it is not just their marketing skills; it is the taste of Teriyaki that makes me to order another bowl.