1.078
24 (Wed) March 2010
Set B: Hai Rice
1.5
at Suninje (Ajou University School of Medicine)
-Woncheon, Yeongtong, Suwon, Gyeonggi, Korea-
solo
In addition to Set A, which is a Korean spread, Suninje also offers Set B, which is supposed to be foreign but typically ends up being something vaguely Japaneseish with Korean side dishes.
Hai rice is a Japaneseish dish. Steamed rice topped in a brown sauce containing chunks of potato, carrot, and onions, very similar to a Japanese-style curry, darker in color yet lighter in taste with less spices, almost like a soft steak sauce. In stores, Korean-made packages of the instant sauce base are labeled in English as “hash rice.” I suspect that it may originally be Japanese, partly because “hai” sounds Japanese, perhaps some derivation of “hash” (?), but mainly because the products are always found next to the Japanese-style curries. It’s one of those quick-fix items that Korean moms make for young kids or Korean cafeterias serve to the student masses.
Of the 5 side dishes in the set, 3 of them are forms of kimchi – ugh.
