Tamago kake gohan

"Egg Rice"

As previously mentioned, I'm working to expand my knowledge of Asian cuisine- namely Japanese food. I had seen tamago kake gohan on various animes, read countless articles, and decided to finally try it.

It starts with a hot bowl of rice, crack a raw egg in and throw in a dash of soy sauce, then you can add the optional furikake, mirin, additional egg yolk, bonito flakes, nori- you name it. I made mine below with only soy sauce and furikake- I think next time I'll use more rice. I think the ratio of cold egg to hot rice wasn't large enough and my food cooled down too much for my liking (I like to eat my food so hot it burns my mouth). I'm also excited to try it with additional bonito flakes and maybe even kewpie (Japanese mayonnaise).

As soon as you throw the egg in, you whisk it all together with your chopsticks. The whisking will separate the egg into thin layers among the hot rice grains, which will cook the egg, and the whisking lets air bubbles into the granules and the egg, making the dish a semi whipped egg and rice dish. It sounds a little off putting, but the taste is worth it.

Before

After

This author penned a great chapter/blog on TKG, on the history of it and its cultural importance. I highly recommend it for a little backstory before you chow down.

"Raw Egg on Rice is a Japanese Feast"- Mami Suzuki
=]

My RECS

I found a new show recently, and it's everything I've ever wanted in a romantic comedy!

a. super cute love interests
b. a relatable protagonist
c. everyone eating lots of food
d. an adorable dog
e. a story that involves a lot of books
f. really good men doing really nice things for people who need it/deserve it
g. a lawfully good protagonist

This show is called "Romance is a Bonus Book" and it's on netflix. I was so excited to start this binge, only to discover it's ACTIVELY SHOWING ON TV AND NEW EPISODES ARE ADDED TO NETFLIX EVERY SATURDAY. Seriously, what's the point of netflix if I can't binge an entire season in a weekend? I don't want to have to wait weekly like a normal person watching tv- what is this, 2006?

But it's so cute, and the most recent episode left such a large cliffhanger- although I'm still getting used to the strange cuts in episodes. It definitely did not end where I expected it to end, and the same goes for a lot of other foreign shows I've watched; perhaps i'm too accustomed to the american storytelling board of exposition, problem, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution.... the foreign shows, besides sometimes doing this per episode and not ending on cliffhangers, will do these all out of order OR they'll cut to a new episode in the middle of some mundane conversation and you're left going "... well that was unexpected."

So, my current recommendations, in order (most I've definitely already mentioned):
1. Romance is a Bonus Book (see above reasons)
2. Strong Girl Bong Soon: you have your murder mystery kidnapping thriller plot, and your romcom plot, plus they eat so much food!
3. Love 020: people meet through an online video game, some scenes are even done 'in game' with the actors/actresses dressed up as their character- the leading lady is lawfully good despite internet bullying, and there's a BFF who's quirky, adorable, and is a huge foodie. It does really bother me how skinny the lead actress is; she has come out confirming an eating disorder, I just wish there was less idealization of her character for her beauty when what's shown is so unhealthy, you know? They could have had a non-eating disorder actress there, still have everyone say she's so beautiful and whatever, and send a little better of a message, you know?
4. Oh My Ghost (Korean 2015): Virgin ghost looking to get laid turns into a murder mystery- plus it's set in a restaurant and they give out some cooking tips =]
5. Black: Grim reaper gets stuck in a human body while looking for his old partner, teams up with a human psychic that can see death to solve crimes/murders before they happen.

And did I mention, all of the leading ladies and men in these are so pretty and so cute?! Lemme show you...

Lee Jong-Suk and Wi Ha-Joon in the netflix original series "Romance is a Bonus Book"

Park Hyung-Sik in "Strong Girl Bong-Soon"

Yang Yang from "Love 020"

Song Seung-Heon in the netflix original series "Black"

*Grabby hands*

Food: Gogi Korean BBQ

Get ready for a whole lot of stream of consciousness:

A few weeks ago, Dana and I wanted to check out a new restaurant for part of Columbus's Restaurant week where a plethora of restaurants were offering 3 course meals for a great price. We ended up going to Gogi Korean BBQ because of all the Korean shows I had been binging and I reaaaaally wanted to have some sort of Asian food besides Japanese curry or ramen. 

I think it was $25 or $30 for each of us: both of us choosing a grill your own meat option (different ones of course so we could maximize trying everything), Dana got japchae for an appetizer and I went with fried dumplings. I regretted my choice because as soon as I saw his japchae I recognized it as a dish a friend had before, and let me try some, that I LOVED. Japchae is at the top of my list of recipes to try at home. 

Japchae image courtesy of PBS

It's the perfect noodle consistency, and I love how it's just a tiny bit sweet, with so much room for experimentation with meats and veggies! 

Back to this grill your own BBQ: neither Dana or I have much experience with Korean food- I've been heavily researching and learning Japanese cuisine and etiquette, the only thing I knew about Korean dishes is what I've seen in my shows: how there's normally a bowl of rice and people will have their bowl of a more soupy thing, and they'll use these big long spoons to put a little of both in the same mouthful, how there's more a large communal eating bowl in the middle everyone takes from to put in their own personal bowl, everyone drinks soju, etc.

BUT THIS RESTAURANT HAD THE LONG BIG SPOONS AND I WAS SO EXCITED. I've watched so many people eating using these spoons, and they're always so big compared to the actors'/actresses' mouths that I've been wanting to have one of these spoons for WEEKS. 

Dana laughed at me when I was excited over the spoons, shared my story on watching everyone eat with them, and then again when I stole two spoons from the restaurant to use at home.... no regrets.

Cooking, cooking, cooking! Even here, not all the food on the table can fit in the picture!

We're still not too sure on all the sides that came with it, there definitely was: an egg thing, something that resembled a spicy vegetable soup, pickled vegetables, rice, kimchi, bean sprouts, corn salsa, seasoned jalapenos, fish cakes, macaroni salad- there will be pictures below for you to see and guess which is which (it's not that hard). I want to have more Korean foods in my diet, even though Dana and I ate SO. MUCH. FOOD. it was all mostly meat and vegetables, and we didn't feel overburdened with grease or fat like an american meal would have made us. Neither of us can wait to go there again!

Half-eaten grill your own bbq- not too soon after there's me going "I probably shouldn't be using wood chopsticks for this...."

Welcome!

I've been thinking of starting this blog for a few months now: an area dedicated to show synopsis, fun facts I find about it and the actors/actresses within, and then recipes I try shown in that episode!

Let's back up...

I'm not sure when it started, but I do know how- I've become obsessed with foreign drama/romance shows, mostly Chinese and Korean, with a few Japanese here and there. Now, I am the worst kind of person, and I will spoil plots and surprises for myself because I don't care about them- all I care about when watching a new show is how it will make me feel at the end. Which is why, for the longest time, I would rewatch and rewatch movies and shows I had already seen dozens of times, because I knew what feeling it would give me and THAT'S what I wanted to be feeling at that moment.

In the past few years I've gone on netflix christmas movie binges, wanting that feel good romance where everyone has their happy ending and the bad guys get their just reward; but then I ran out of the cheesy romance in english speaking movies and shows. BAM then I found foreign films and shows, and there are so many cheesy romances to go through! However, many of these are either new, old, or obscure, and no episode synopsis exists online for much of what I've been watching- which as I explained above- I hate! I don't want to invest these hours into the characters to see them making terrible decisions, I want to look up what's going to happen to know if I'll be upset or if it will end the way I want it to. If it is going to end not how I would like, I'll stop watching and find something else, happy that a. I have the closure I need with that show b. am able to maintain a head canon for my own ending c. save hours of my time only to be disappointed or heart broken. So I've decided to make episode synopsis for all the foreign shows (and movies!) I've been binging so this predicament doesn't happen to anyone else!

Now, I've already spent hours, and hours, and hours, watching an assortment of shows before finally doing this. But I think that watching it through once, to be able to immerse myself in it and not worry about taking notes or typing along, and then rewatching it again writing my synopsis is the perfect plan.

There are also shows that I've watched with a heavy focus on food, that has made me want to experiment with said food, I'll document those here too: how it was, whether it was worth it being home made, and overall thoughts.

So, shows/movies that I can remember that I need to rewatch and blog about (most of these I highly recommend):
Black
Oh My Ghost (Korean version)
Love 020
Meteor Garden (2018)<- do not recommend as much as the others, the main love story is so unhealthy and painful to watch
Strong Girl Bong-Soon
My Only Love Song
This is Not What I Expected
In Between
Love @ Seventeen
A Love So Beautiful
Refresh Man

I'm struggling through 'Just You' and 'Fall in Love with Me' I think because of them being a little older- plus the characters are being dumb (making childish decisions) and there's no synopsis for me to know if it will end well!

There are so many on my list to watch, so bear with me as I get this blog set up and shows watched before I can add more content!

Rachel