What to do Saturday night….. aaahh…. let’s see…. how about starting our evening at a Korean Market?
Doesn’t come up? lol
Well, you might be surprised at how exciting, how stimulating, how different that experience is. Almost like going overseas because you’re one of the only white people in that market. lol
I guess the first thing you have to do is: go in, in wonderment. Expect to be surprised. Expect to be WOW’d!
And as you walk up and down the isles, just ‘live’ in discovery mode.
And don’t be intimidated by the fact that everything is in a different language. You brought your smart phone, didn’t you? I just stood in the isle, taking pictures and googling, picking up all kinds of info about every product.
As someone who eats healthy ~ What do you think Chef Marian might have thought about a sign like this:
THAT YOU LIKE BBQ, CHEF?
No, my fellow readers and eaters. Marinated Daily with our secret sauce. Would that be Red Dye number 3? And MSG? Would you eat something called Mystery Meat? lol
As we read the labels and saw the amounts of sugar and salt in many of the products, we scratched our heads and said: Really? Really?
And yet, this same store had quinoa flakes, to make hot cereal for breakfast and many organic and healthy choices as well. But traditionally, if you are getting something pre-marinated, pullease! Look at the label! It’s not that I’m a ‘stickler’…. it’s just that your body gets inflamed by sugar, and cannot process chemicals or things that are genetically modified. You know that. So live it!
WE KNOW CHEF. YOU’RE RIGHT.
Why thank you. And thank yourself for wanting to live longer without aches and pains!
Getting back to the Korean Market, I was pretty amazed at the level of choice they had. I mean, look at the isles… almost half an isle of soy sauces, half an isle of oils….
Speaking of oils…. ever heard of Perilla Oil? Well you have now!
As I was standing using my smart phone on the web, reading about how they’re doing testing that show even small amounts can prevent colon cancer I said “Give me that”! And threw it into the basket! lol
I also want to mention that their Apples are the size of this onion (above). See the onion in the background? That’s a normal sized onion. Can you see how big that onion really is? I will say, that I do like the concept. You can really feed a family and add a ton of onion to your dishes with just one peel. But I wonder…. How is it that big? Is it a natural thing? Or did someone monkey around with it?
Speaking of big, I grabbed an apple on my way out the door of the store, to sustain both myself and my friend on our way home. And I want to tell you…. the apple ~ again, was the size of that onion ~ and was delicious but enough for 3 people! Not two!
Same thing with Pears. It’s amazing. But here’s more info on that, in case you’re waiting for a Korean Pear to ripen up…..
I tried to find out if they are somehow genetically modified…. but found no info about that on the web. More research required!
On to Kimchee…. or cabbage with other veggies like cucumbers and chili flakes. And yes!
There’s an entire case filled with all the kinds of Kimchee there is. And the thing you really have to watch out for? Our old favorite……MSG. Maddingly Saddingly not GOOD for you.
Off topic for a moment: You know I make up my own words, right?
My favorite? Stupidicus. It’s something you scream out when another driver cuts you off. Then you laugh because that word is hysterical!
Getting back to chemicals in your food, that’s not all I found in the Korean Market.
Now I like cabbage so I liked Kimchee.
But try eating a bowl of it, like you would coleslaw?
Forget it. That’s in my next life.
But what I did do instead is: Took some leftover Chinese Food and added a very small amount to it.
What did that do? It DID NOT just add heat. It added a lovely scent and layer of flavor that really made the leftovers way better than just leftovers.
So that’s my advice. Bump your leftovers up a notch, with Kimchee.
I mean, you’re just adding vegetable, right?
Happy Eating,
Chef Marian
mm@chefmarian.com