FOOD Glorious FOOD!

I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the biggest bonus of being in a relationship with someone of another culture.
THE FOOD!

When I moved in, J only had one thing in his utensil drawer that was nice.  Chopsticks.  We have the nicest darn chopsticks.  I'd like to think that my use of them has become better with time, but J disagrees.  I can eat a whole meal, rice and all, with them, but J still makes fun of me.  Did you know they made training chopsticks?  They do.  He threatens to buy them for me.


Who knew Thomas was so into Asian food?

I had only had Korean food once before I met J.  I liked it, but I didn't develop my current addiction until I had a MIL who could make the shit old school.  The woman is nuts... thank God.  She climbs a freakin mountain in California to get just the right mushrooms.  She will actually fly here, 2500 miles away, with a carry-on full of vegetables and pre-made yummies.  She will attempt to teach me how to make it, and when seeing how pathetic I am at the whole thing, she will fill our freezer with a crap-ton of goodies so her son doesn't starve.  For this, I am grateful.  Here's what I've taken home from my MIL on Korean cooking... "more salt."  She repeats that a lot.  Since I suck at cooking it, we thankfully have a nearby restaurant that we frequent.


Banchan

In Korean dining, they bring you a bunch of little dishes called banchan at the beginning of the meal.  They are a bunch of side dishes that the whole table can share.  Whenever we go out, we get a variety of things to try and the only one I haven't liked was octopus.  Yucko.



Kimchi Jeon

My favorite Korean food is kimchi jeon, aka "those pancake thingies."  It's a light pancake made of mung beans and kimchi.  If you don't know what kimchi is, it's fermented cabbage.  Totally yummy and spicy.  My MIL makes us little personal ones, but when we go out, we get a giant one that we slice up like a pizza and fight over who gets the last slice.   
J loves bulgogi.  It's a marinated meat that's usually grilled.  Sometimes you can get it at Korean BBQ restaurants.  The tables will have a grill in the middle and you cook it right there.  I don't eat red meat, so all I can tell you is that it smells delicious.

Bibimbap

Another yummy that my BIL and I like is bibimbap.  I get the dolsot version, which is a steaming hot stone bowl filled with rice, veggies, and a meat of some sort, with a fried egg on top.  I like to let the rice get all crystallized to the side of the bowl and then I pour on the sriracha sauce and stir it all up.  Mmmm.  There are so many more delicious dishes... jjigae, chapchae, mandoo. 

I'm totally about to drool all over my keyboard.

Sadly, Korean food is lacking in the dessert department.  They're all healthy and stuff.  Fruit for dessert?  Pshaw!  Thankfully, as an Italian, I can make up for that in spades.  See how great interracial marriage is!