A Korean dinner

   So yesterday we got a dinner invitation from our Korean friends. I have so little knowledge on the Korean culture and cuisine and I was very exited to try some traditional food. On the other hand I felt so bad as I could not cook anything traditional on my side. I mean...what was I supposed to do - I suck at cooking, I've never made a Bulgarian dish in my life and... seriously, was I supposed to cook "bob" or something to foreigners knowingly that our food is very heavy and full of fat. I still remember that Korean guy in Veliko Tarnovo who said he hates everything about our country especially the food XD. He was hilarious, poor thing, I still can't figure out why his company would send him to Bulgaria without asking him if he's interested in the culture or even the trip (actually it's a whole adventure to live in Bulgaria :D ).
    So it took me almost one hour to figure out what to bring to the dinner. I decided to go for my classical chicken with vegetables and soy souse (instead of teriyaki) and...whoa.... "rice with milk and cinnamon". "Мляко с ориз" that is. Not that this is a traditional Bulgarian dish but it's something we all eat and it's simple to make. So I tried making it. For the first time in my life. If you are wondering what happened, well, I somehow managed to make it taste like the traditional rice with milk though I got a little help.

     But I could never reach the level of preparation our hostess had. Damn, I have no idea what they teach them in Korea but I can swear the apartment was almost sparkling when we came in.  Apart from this she managed to cook for 5 people and prepare two dishes. And she was out with me shopping the whole afternoon so she had only an hour to prepare all this O_O. Wish I could be so good at managing the household.

copyrights - someone on the internet

     Now I can't remember the names of the dishes but the main dish was chicken with Korean chili paste and potatoes. It was so tasty and yet so...spicy :D I do remember someone once warned me that Koreans eat very spicy food and I also remember how I didn't believe him. How young and foolish I was -____-''' Never ever underestimate Asian food. On top of it before going to dinner she especially asked me if spicy would be okay. I said yes but she was so very considerate to make it as less spicy as possible :) And the other dish was something I consider now to be one of the tastiest things I've ever tried. So I googled it and I think it is called pajeon. If not it's a pancake-likish~ dish with spring onion and shrimp that definitely looks like the pajeon picture. If you ever have the chance to try Korean food, you have to try this one :} (it's not spicy).
    It was indeed a good night of cultural exchange. We learned so many things about Korea and we told them many things about Bulgaria. At the end of the night we reached to conclusion that we need to switch our lives XD It's really amazing to lean the Korean point of view on Europe and Korea itself. Because we never appreciate what we have. To see what we really have we must see through the eyes of somebody else.
    Though my myth of the beautiful Korean girl was shattered. I still cannot believe how a plastic surgery can be a graduation gift there. I always thought Korean girls were naturally beautiful. I mean...all Korean girls I know are real beauties but I was told that my point of view is distorted by my love for Asia XD. On the other hand the most shocking moment of the whole night was when our hostess stated she was considered chubby by her culture. If she's chubby I am a little elephant and I can't even imagine what some other girls are o_O.
   Yes...cultural exchange at its best :}