Flavors around the world #2: Korea
Ever noticed how our country is fast becoming an
extended province of Korea? It’s like, everywhere you go in the
Philippines, there’s a small community of Koreans settling in that
place–here in Metro Manila, in Baguio City, in Subic. And because of
them, it’s not hard to find Korean grocery shops and restaurants
anymore. Heck, even local primetime television has a slew of Koreanovelas that, at one time, were all the rage in this forsaken land. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that I’ve not watched a single Koreanovela that Korean food ranks at the bottom of my list of favorite Asian cuisines.
For one thing, I could never eat the quintessential kimchi. I tried, I really did, but it was not a pleasant taste. We ate at this unpretentious place in the Subic Freeport simply named Korean Restaurant, a busy, bustling, almost chaotic eating house that serves honest-to-goodness Korean food. We were given 4 kinds of appetizers, free of charge (because that’s the mark of authentic Korean restaurants), but all of them were spicy in slightly different degrees. So we ordered kimbab for starters–Korean sushi with carrots, radish, cucumber and ham, in lieu of raw fish. It was okay and had my little Bea asking for more.
Then came the doegigogi barbecue or barbecued pork rib cutlets served on a sizzling plate. Boy, it was hot! And I mean it both ways. The pieces of pork are very tender and tasty, they must’ve been soaked in a special marinade overnight. After a few bites, though, I was already perspiring–my tongue in a fiery furnace. I was told that the dish was only mildly spicy. My brother-in-law, Jomar, had this tofu soup awashed with chili powder and I just knew I would’ve choked to death if I tried that. I was thinking, are all Korean dishes really this spicy?
Fortunately, there was galbi jjim (or kalbi chim, depends probably on the dialect), which is beef rib stew with carrot and radish. Now this was our saving grace. The meat was so tender, it was almost falling off the bones. The stew was full-flavored–sweet and salty, but just right. I tried this dish before at the Subic International Hotel but it was too sweet for me. I tried it also at the Chocolate Kiss Cafe in U.P. Diliman but it was way too salty (and to think I like salty food). This one was delicious. But it may take a long time before I eat Korean food again. Maybe I should check out Jewel in the Palace first. Or not.
