Meanwhile in Korea

[Jaebius]

I’ve made tacos with all kinds of ground meat, once you add spices it’s not that noticeable, I still prefer beef but wouldn’t say no to other options.

Yes... but I want to give the students the authentic taste. That requires beef.

 

[Carolla]

Also, I don't think it's possible to make them at home without an oven.

Buying them online is a good idea, though, thanks.

They're cooked in a frying pan, not in the oven, and only very briefly. We make them sometimes.

 

[Tabitha]

Perhaps a butcher would grind some beef for you. Growing up my mother had a hand grinder- I am sure they have grinders where meat is sold.

 

[Mendalla]

Perhaps a butcher would grind some beef for you. Growing up my mother had a hand grinder- I am sure they have grinders where meat is sold.

My mother had one, too, but rarely used it. If the Koreans are like the Chinese, butchers are likely still commonplace so that's probably the best route. Even here, every Asian grocery has a full butcher counter, not just a cooler of packaged meat.

 

[Jaebius]

My mother had one, too, but rarely used it. If the Koreans are like the Chinese, butchers are likely still commonplace so that's probably the best route. Even here, every Asian grocery has a full butcher counter, not just a cooler of packaged meat.

My local market has just a cooler but there are butchers in town

 

[Luce NDs]

Kohl r's are best ... like fermented corn!

 

[Jaebius]

 

[Jaebius]

Happiness is a gift package from Canada

 

[Mrs.Anteater]

I understand the happyness of getting food from your home country- happens to me when I get marzipan, nougat, chocolate from Germany. Usually not the healthiest of food.
Am I right thinking that Koreans eating habits are mostly plant based and therefore in general healthier than Canadians?

 

[Mendalla]

Am I right thinking that Koreans eating habits are mostly plant based and therefore in general healthier than Canadians?

If they are like the Chinese, "mostly plant-based" is a stretch. It is more that they are better balanced in term of meat vs. veggies. There will always be a meat dish on the table, but the meat may be cut up and mixed with some vegetables or there may be a vegetable dish or two alongside a meat dish. Vegetables are not a "side dish" in other words, but as much a part of the meal as the meat and starch.

 

[Jaebius]

I understand the happyness of getting food from your home country- happens to me when I get marzipan, nougat, chocolate from Germany. Usually not the healthiest of food.

Mmm... chocolate.

Am I right thinking that Koreans eating habits are mostly plant based and therefore in general healthier than Canadians?

That's traditionally been the case Mrs. A. There sure is a lot of Korean junk food available now though. Many big American chains have arrived - such as KFC, Dunkin Donuts, Domino's, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Krispy Kreme and Burger King. South Korea also has a popular hamburger chain of its own, Lotteria. You can find gum, candy, soda, etc. at convenience stores and markets here.

There sure are a lot of cafe chains here too - Starbucks, Paik's' Harmony, Angel-in-us, Happy, etc.

 

[Jaebius]

If they are like the Chinese, "mostly plant-based" is a stretch. It is more that they are better balanced in term of meat vs. veggies. There will always be a meat dish on the table, but the meat may be cut up and mixed with some vegetables or there may be a vegetable dish or two alongside a meat dish. Vegetables are not a "side dish" in other words, but as much a part of the meal as the meat and starch.

Yes, meals here that aren't junk food tend to be well-balanced. Korean cuisine is famous for its sides - and if you finish those you get more of them. Vegetables are often served as sides as is rice, kimchi, seafood products and soups.

 

[Jaebius]

Yes, meals here that aren't junk food tend to be well-balanced. Korean cuisine is famous for its sides - and if you finish those you get more of them. Vegetables are often served as sides as is rice, kimchi, seafood products and soups.

According to some Koreans I've chatted with, Korean cuisine is superior to Chinese cuisine. The Chinese, they've told me, will eat anything.

 

[Mendalla]

According to some Koreans I've chatted with, Korean cuisine is superior to Chinese cuisine. The Chinese, they've told me, will eat anything.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

They have a very diverse diet depending on where in China you are. That's a product of a people living with a large population packed into a country relatively lacking in arable land and resources. IOW, it's a product of necessity, not taste. That said, it has resulted in some pretty amazing food in my experience.

Personally, I hate food snobbery, though. I eat food from a variety of cultures, including Korean, and I am almost at the level of comparing individual dishes, rather than cultures, now.

 

[KayTheCurler]

Seems to me that would be a great idea if we all ate 'anything'. Struggling settlers didn't waste food like most modern Canadians do. When they killed a pig there was very little waste - think blood pudding, headcheese etc. Some used to boast that the only part of the pig that wasn't used was the squeal.

My grandparents regularly ate foods that their descendants don't even consider edible. Lots of dishes made with offal of various types. Lots of dried vegetables - beans, peas, lentils etc. - though these are coming back into use again.

 

[Luce NDs]

Seems to me that would be a great idea if we all ate 'anything'. Struggling settlers didn't waste food like most modern Canadians do. When they killed a pig there was very little waste - think blood pudding, headcheese etc. Some used to boast that the only part of the pig that wasn't used was the squeal.

My grandparents regularly ate foods that their descendants don't even consider edible. Lots of dishes made with offal of various types. Lots of dried vegetables - beans, peas, lentils etc. - though these are coming back into use again.

The squeal is allotted to the big wheels under the rule that common folks should be silent and act like they know nothing ... an aberration in virtue ... causing holes and bumps ...

 

[Jaebius]

Seems to me that would be a great idea if we all ate 'anything'. Struggling settlers didn't waste food like most modern Canadians do. When they killed a pig there was very little waste - think blood pudding, headcheese etc. Some used to boast that the only part of the pig that wasn't used was the squeal.

My grandparents regularly ate foods that their descendants don't even consider edible. Lots of dishes made with offal of various types. Lots of dried vegetables - beans, peas, lentils etc. - though these are coming back into use again.

Yeah... what's been suggested to me goes beyond pigs and vegetables.

 

[Luce NDs]

Yeah... what's been suggested to me goes beyond pigs and vegetables.

In parts of Europe this was called ragu ... sometimes spiced with hogwart ...

 

[KayTheCurler]

Chicken feet - gizzards - tripe - stinging nettles...……………..

 

[BetteTheRed]

Tripe is awful, in any incarnation. I don't like chicken gizzards much, but I like hearts, so when my Jamaican lover used to make curried chicken hearts and gizzards, we'd sit across the dinner table from each other, him flinging his hearts at me, me flinging my gizzards at his plate.

Stinging nettles are the BEST spring greens ever. I look for those little shoots every spring in great anticipation.