Part two of our five part series entitled “What I had for Lunch Today”
Tuesday was a bit of a mixed bag with (Clockwise from top left), mixed vegetables – Mushroom, Spinach, Carrot and Ferns with a light Sesame Oil dressing, Pork cooked with Kimchi (돼지고기김치찜), Pickled Sesame Leaves, A Fruit Cup, Miyokguk (미역국) and Steamed rice with Corn (옥수수밥).
The Pork, cooked almost to perfection melted in your mouth while the Kimchi was sweet, yet firm, not falling apart into stringy bits as it’s wont to do in this dish. It was definitely the highlight of lunch while the Miyokguk – not a personal favourite – was quite thin and tasteless. And why do Koreans insist on putting corn in things so often? The Pickled Sesame leaves were an interesting addition but were inadequate for wrapping around the rice like you would with Kim.
The vegies, mixed in with the rice for a poor man’s Bibimbap were good, and the addition of the fruit cup was a nice touch.
Bimbo rating: A middle of the road ★★1/2
29/10/2008 at 8:45 am Permalink
Yeah 미역국 is always kind of disapointing, I feel like it is the meatloaf of Korean food. You know not bad but nothing to get exited about. I’d be especially nonplused if I had to eat 미역국 on my birthday. The rest looks good though.
29/10/2008 at 2:09 pm Permalink
Ah, but really good 미역국 really is wonderful. Fatman would estimate a good 95% of the stuff dished up is bland, slimy, and pointless, and certainly no way to start a birthday . . . but oh! that 5% can be glorious: meaty, mouth-filling, satisfying and loaded with umami. Oh, if only the lousy cafeteria stuff didn’t ruin the name of 미역국!
29/10/2008 at 9:33 pm Permalink
I agree with FSM- good 미역국 is wonderful!
Homemade is best, and it’s not too difficult. Definitely a good birthday soup if made correctly.
I hope you find some good 미역국 soon!