Bulgogi and Reality

The other day I was listening to this southern Korean-American woman being interviewed and a couple of things struck me.

Backstory: She grew up in the South, the daughter of a Korean woman and blonde-haired blue-eyed service man. That sounds a bit familiar to me. She talked about growing up in the 70's and how she didn't think that she looked different than her Caucasian friends, except when some kid would call her "Chinese". Another familiarity to me.

Then the interviewer asked her something about how finally, in her middle age (she's 43) she yada, yada, yada..... I stopped listening because it made me think how I've never really thought of myself as "middle-aged". And I am 2 years older than the "Chinese lady". I wonder if the interviewer caught HER off guard with that question too.

Now, I don't really expect to make it to 90, but who knows? I am so busy getting through the day to day, expecting a tee shirt for every phase I get through that it didn't dawn on me that I am "middle-aged". Or past middle-aged. Egad!

She talked about how her mom related to her Korean roots through food and how she missed out on kimchi because her family didn't like kimchi growing up, so her mom enjoyed that solo. It made me think about my mom's story leaving the Philippines pregnant with my brother at 23 and moving to the south - South Carolina, Mississippi and finally settling down in Florida where I have my earliest childhood memories. I don't recall her cooking much Filipino food growing up, I got my early tastes at her friends' gatherings.

So, back to bulgogi!!! She mentioned Bulgogi as a Korean dish that she loved to make, thinly sliced beef marinated in sugar and soy sauce (we marinate our steaks in brown sugar and soy sauce too) and I was intrigued so her Bulgogi Soup is now in the queue.

It's not like I haven't been cooking though. I squeezed in another Oh She Glows recipe that was not exactly a hit with the fam. I liked it, but I didn't race to the fridge in the middle of the night for seconds. I did pack it for lunch for the next day though...

I know it doesn't look good but it was delicious. Only in that heated up Amy's meal way. The "cream" sauce was something else though.  I can think of other recipes to use that sauce in...

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas with Avocado-Cilantro Cream Sauce

And last night we had an amazing "burger" at The Garage, the Huevos Rancheros Burger. Just look at it!



Tonight I recreated it - taking some liberties of course - for the fam. And they approved.  I personally think that adding a fried egg to any sandwich is a bonus.



So, at whatever age you are (or think you are anyway), what are you cooking that's worthy enough for me to distract me from the list I've accumulated?