Cycle 4 – Item 211

4 (Sun) August 2013

AHQFGT Sorta

3.0

by me

at home

-Oksu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with W and DJ

A few variations on the AHQFGT theme.

First, BACON SPAM.  It’s just standard Spam with imbedded bacon bits, so it felt like Spam while tasting like bacon.  Kinda disorienting but not that bad once my mind was able to process the mixed signals.  Nevertheless, I prefer SPAM to taste like SPAM (and bacon to feel like bacon), so I’ll be sticking with the standard.

Second, I spooned out rough wedges of the SPAM directly from the can into the pan, rather than slicing the block into smaller blocks on a cutting board.  Aside from convenience, I liked the uneven texture, which provided a sense of naturalness, if only superficially, to such an ostensibly processed/formed food product.  Henceforth, this is the way.

Third, kimchi jjigae instead of “fresh” kimchi (is that an oxymoron?).  Back in college, I had what seemed to be a bottomless pot of kimchi jjigae in my fridge.  Living on my own, I could never get through half the smallest jar before the remaining kimchi had gone too ripe, necessitating yet another batch of jjigae.  To this day, I can’t help but associate the dish with leftovers, even when it’s at a restaurant.  Indeed, the jjigae here had been made at the cabin three days earlier with the leftover kimchi there, eaten every day since, and then brought home because it just refused to end.

Fourth, a guest side dish oiji muchim.  In lieu of kimchi, the pickles added a welcome crunch and tang to an otherwise soft and salty assortment.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)