The Joy of Cooking

Small Packed Fridge Too Close to the Floor
Everything I Need to Cook Western Food

Living in Korea has been really good to me. I absolutely love the food. To be honest, I hadn't had one thing of kimchee before I got here. In fact, the only Korean food I ever ate was on the day of my graduation. My cousin in New York City knew I was going to teach in Korea after the Summer and decided I should try some Korean barbecue. It was absolutely amazing, but it was nothing compared to the other non-westernized delights of Korean cuisine. After living here for more than a year now, sadly, I can't stomach Korean food at every meal. Thankfully, I have been blessed with my mother's cooking touch. I am nowhere comparable, but I can hold my own over a stove and attempt to re-create my favorite foods. Inspired by my trip around South East Asia and Mom's home-cooking, I have re-created some of my favorites.

Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp & Sauteed Bokchoy
Phuket, Thailand & Boracay, Philippines

In Phuket, Thailand, I encountered many beach side seafood restaurants. As I walked past these restaurants, young boys would stop me in my tracks shoving a menu in my face, then pointing to the fresh seafood display. If I hesitated, he would bust out his calculator insisting a "good price". I was hooked. Perhaps it was his cunning skills or the idea that I got a "bargain". In the end, I'd like to remember this experience because of the food. I had the best calamari, mussels, and shrimp. One highlight was the lemon butter garlic shrimp. Each bite was infused with each that flushed through my mouth keeping my taste buds dancing. I also had this particular dish in Boracay, Philippines. Despite its very touristy nature, I somehow found a fresh produce market. There I would point at a particular seafood and again make deals with the Casio calculators. They were very impressed when I busted out my own. After, I would take my purchase around the corner to a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant where they would take my plastic bag of seafood and make anything I wanted to order. The sauteed bokchoy comes from my mother's cooking. I wasn't big on eating vegetables when I was young. However, I loved anything with garlic and onions. This was the perfect combination with rice because the rice just soaked up that oyster sauce/garlic/onion flavor making it a delicious plate of food.

Grilled Lemon Chicken + Garlic Mashed Potatoes + Sauteed Zucchini
Outback Steakhouse: My First Job (Hostess)

When I turned 16 years old, I desperately wanted a cell phone. My mother refused stating that it would just be another expense and distraction. So to prove her wrong, I got a job. She was very against me getting a job because she thought it would interfere with my school work. I, on the other hand, thought if I could juggle school, soccer, and work, then I would become a much better person. Plus, I really wanted a cell phone. My friend Catherine was going in for an interview at Outback Steakhouse, the best and newest restaurant at the time in Lufkin. Going in for moral support, I too interviewed. I found that my amiable and charismatic personality fit perfectly for the role of hostess. This was the best job ever because all I had to do was open the door, greet people, and sit them. Other perks was that I got to flirt with the college servers and get 50% off food. One thing I used to sneak was their garlic mashed potatoes. They have a very creamy mashed potatoes made chunky with the peel and garlic. They also had the best steamed veggies and grilled chicken.

Mie Goreng
Sumatra, Indonesia

Indonesia was a very difficult country to travel in. Hardly anyone speaks English and their choice of foods seemed to be all fried. Throughout my travels in Sumatra, I stuck to either Nasi Goreng (stir-fried rice with veggies and meat) or Mie Goreng (stir-fried noodles with veggies and meat). The mie goreng reminded me of my mother's pancit. It is a Filipino noodle with veggies and meat dish. This dish can be found at any restaurant or street stall in Indonesia and costs less than $3. Luckily, Korea is full of ramyeon or ramen noodles. I stir-fried tofu, sausage and chicken with carrots, peppers and mushrooms. Blended these ingredients with garlic, onion, oil, sesame oil, and soy sauce, created the nearly perfect replica of my Indonesian favorite.

Stir-Fried Tofu with Vegetables
Vang Vieng, Laos

Thailand is well known for its sour spicy cuisine. After Thailand, I went to Laos only to find it had very non-descript food. It seemed like Laos, the land-locked country in between culinary powerhouses of Thailand and Vietnam, decided to make boring food. Don't get me wrong. The food was good, but nothing to write home about. I changed my mind when I fell in love with Vang Vieng, Laos. This small town is completely dedicated to foreigners. In fact, the only reason foreigners go here is because of its tubing culture on the Mekong River. The town set up "Cancun" on the river complete with tubes for rent, bars on the banks that reel people in, and Tarzan swings. All of the restaurants in town play Friends or Family Guy 24/7. They boast having the "best burger". Every restaurant has Italian, pizza, burgers, and even fish and chips. Every street corner has 5 sandwich stalls of women competing for your business even though they all serve either baguettes or crepes. Although I had my "best burger" the first day and enough bacon-egg-cheese baguettes, I was in dire need of Asian food. I chose a small restaurant overlooking the river with "Pier 1 Imports" like seating areas. Of course these were very shaggy sun dried mats on bamboo with bamboo tables. Picking the first non-meat item on the menu, I found my favorite food of all of the trip; Stir-Fried Tofu with Vegetables. The tofu was so soft and not burned like I usually make it. The veggies were cooked but not soggy. The best part was the sauce. It took me a while to think of this particular taste in the sauce. It finally occurred to me that it was oyster sauce, the kind my mother would use to give vegetables a face-lift when sauteed. I have to say that if I were to have a signature dish, this would be it. I cook it almost twice a week because not only is it healthy, but it is absolutely delicious.

Bisquick Pancakes & Canadian Maple Syrup
Sunday Morning & Canada

Every Sunday morning my mom makes waffles. She grew up in the Philippines so there is no secret that she cannot make batter from scratch. However, she found an alternative with Bisquick mix. Either my mom had a fascination with the waffle shape or she was too lazy to make pancakes, we always had waffles on Sunday morning with syrup. Once she and I were on a health kick and bought nothing but sugar free items. P.S. sugar free syrup is awful! Anyhow, I missed this waffles. Thankfully, there is a Costco in Seoul. Only 8 subway stops away, I go about once a month and spend about $150. The one must have available at Costco is cheese. Unfortunately, every time I buy it, it goes bad because there is so much and I can't eat it fast enough. Other frequented items are bagels, bacon and olives. Luckily, I overheard my two co-workers Ben and Byron often have pancakes together on the weekend. "What! There's Bisquick in Korea?!" I immediately bought some ($8/box) and it was just like home. I have become quite the pancake flipper. Lately, I've been obsessed with making short stacks of small sized pancakes. Dave, a hardcore maple syrup lover, spent $15 on maple syrup at Lotte Department Store. Although expensive, pancakes with maple syrup have become a weekend favorite...even in Korea.