Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Duejjang Chiggae




Ingredients:
• 1 medium size potato
• a zucchini or a squash
• 1 medium size onion
• garlic
• 1 green chili pepper
• 7 dried anchovies
• 1 green onion
• 100-150 grams of tofu
• soy bean paste (doen jang)
• 4 shrimp
Almost all Koreans love this food, and I think you will, too!
1. Prepare a ceramic pot to put all the ingredients in.
2. Peel the potato, cut it into 2 cups worth of cubes, and put them into the pot .
3. Cut zucchini into 2 cups worth of cubes, and put them into the pot.
4. Cut your onion into chunks, and put them into the pot.
5. Slice your green chili pepper, and put it into the pot.
6. Prepare 7 large dried anchovies by removing their heads and intestines, chop them up, and put them into the pot.
7. Chop up 4 shrimp and put them into the pot.
8. Mince 5 cloves of garlic and put it into the pot.
9. Your pot will now be 2/3 full with your ingredients.
10. Submerge everything in water and cook it over high heat.
*tip: Don’t put too much water, just enough to cover everything
11. When it starts boiling, add 4-6 tbs of bean paste, stir the stew, and keep cooking
12. When the stew is sizzling and all ingredients are cooked, cut your tofu into cubes, chop up 1 green onion, and add them to the stew.
13. Occasionally stir the boiling stew with a spoon.
14. Serve it with a bowl of rice and other side dishes.
*tip: to check whether or not the ingredients are cooked, taste the potato.

Kimchi Chiggae




Ingredients:
• 200 grams of Pork belly (about 1/2 pound)
• 4 or 5 cups of chopped kimchi

• 1 tbs sugar, 1 tsp of hot pepper flakes, 1 tbs hot pepper paste

• onion, green onions
• half a package of tofu

• sesame oil and water
Ok, let’s start!
1. In a shallow pot, put some chopped kimchi and juice.
2. Add sliced onion, hot pepper paste, and hot pepper flakes, sugar, and green onions.
3. Pour water until all ingredients are submerged.
4. Close the lid of the pot and boil it 25 or 30 minutes. (first 10 minutes will be high heat and then turn down the heat over medium heat)
5. Add some tofu and boil it 5 minutes more and put some sesame oil right before serving.
Soybean sprouts side dish (kongnamul muchim):
Check out my more detailed soybean sprout side dish recipe here
Ingredients:
• a package of soybean sprouts (500 grams), soy sauce,
• salt, sugar, hot pepper flakes
• sesame oil, sesame seeds, green onions, garlic
1. Rinse and drain a package of soybean sprouts a few times over. Pick out any rotten sprouts.
2. Put the soybean sprouts into a pot.
3. Add 2 ts of salt and 1 cup of water. Close the lid.
4. Bring to a boil over high heat, and boil for 15 minutes.
5. Drain the cooked soybean sprouts and let them cool down.
6. Put the soybean sprouts in a large bowl with 2 cloves of minced garlic, 2 chopped green onions,1 tbs of soy sauce, 1 ts of salt, ½ ts of sugar, 1 tbs of sesame oil, and ½ -1 ts of hot pepper flakes (optional). Mix it by hand.
7. Transfer it onto a plate and sprinkle some roasted sesame seeds over top.
Enjoy

Sunday, December 09, 2007

BATANES












A night of being a fan again…

It was December 4, 2007. A very exciting day for me to meet friends, old and new. Batanes is a movie that stars Iza Calzado and Ken Chu of the phenomenal F4 that rocked my world four years ago. Since I can call myself a certified F4 fanatic that was always present in every f4 concert that landed in my country I know I will like this. This movie is such a delight since a F4 member stars in it.

Since it was a movie premiere it will be indeed be a night of fans. With the addition of the presence of the Taiwanese superstar who cares watching this movie with screaming girls. Ken Chu graced the theater with a few words from him we couldn't stop screaming since he was so gorgeous even with sunglasses on. I think he really wears his sunglasses at night. He left and went to the other theater where his co-stars await him for the movie premiere.
Before reading the next paragraph...please view this full movie trailer.
(Kim and Feliss..it has english subs on it.)

The movie started with Iza the female lead of the movie Pam is talking on her cell phone. Problem with her work and all, but I felt it was kind a off for me on how the cell phone snatching was being shown in the movie. I guess foreign viewers will freak out watching that scene. Pam rushed through the snatcher and bumps into Rico played by a new comer Joen Bascon who I swear looks like Piolo Pascual and Yul Servo combined. Pam then pushed the idea that Rico was with the snatcher. When she was about to call for security Rico had an attack and it turns out he has epilepsy. When Pam couldn't find anything to help the guy for first aid she decided to put her palms and got bitten.

Just like how Pam narrated the movie that bite was not the last. She went to Batanes Island and got a proposal. Married Rico and then a tragedy came she lost Rico.
When he went out fishing and fell down the sea and had a sudden epileptic attack. No body was retrieved and Pam was still in denial. Days came and now Rico was believed to be dead, Pam decided to go back to Manila but something was holding her back, her love for Rico.

A year passed and Pam got adjusted with the life in the Island. Electrical power cuts at twelve midnight. A simple life in the island is her life now. But she can't seem to get over with her lost. She prepares meals for two, pretends she brings food for her husband and all. These scenes were really heartbreaking and I want to get over with those scenes already. I think her pain was already been well justified so I thought get over with the next scene!

Now the much awaited first scene from the Taiwanese superstar Ken Chu. Pam went to a certain island and with the strong winds and rains, she discovered a human body right in the shore of that island. She tried warming up the body with some cloths. Creepy thing since it was raining so hard and when Pam fell asleep and then Ken was standing near her staring. When she woke up she was terrified. I think because she was with a stranger in an island alone. But for me because of how Ken look...I will be terrified horror movie style.

They weren't getting along so well. She tried feeding him but he refused but of course he will be a little annoyed since he wanted to kill himself and here's someone who saved him. After a few persuasions finally Pam gets this Chinese speaking guy to eat.

After the storm, Pam went back to their place with a stranger with him. He was brought to the health center. Pam's in-laws were upset with the stranger but still Pam told them what if Rico was in the same situation and nobody was willing to help him. The stranger was treated though an issue arises. Is he an illegal fisherman? Things like that.

Pam was determined to take care of take care with this guy. When a middle aged woman was trying to feed Ken he was a little hesitant since he just woke up. Pam asked the lady to stand up and took over. Ken's smile was so intoxicating. He had this smile so bright and warm. He was really handsome! Tension was gone and they understood each other through sign language. And we now discovered Ken's character name is Kao.

Pam was still mending her broken heart and Kao helped her through now the love story began. With what the ending was… try watching the movie it will be worth your money if you're a F4 fan if not, the breath taking views of the island is still worth it.

Some technical things with movie, I think the directors should have taken some good angles. There are some times that the actor in the movie appears to be headless because of the camera angles. The Pam back shots when she was apparently looking far away were not appealing since I always see Iza's butt sticking out. I know she has a good body but I feel distracted with her ass which I can say is cute but I can't sometimes feel the pain cause I was distracted. No offense meant she has great ass! And the scene when Pam was waiting for Kao to be rescued by her in-laws during a date by the sea, I can't stop laughing when I saw Ken by the shore calling Pam. He was like a mermaid! And I can't stop laughing with that scene.

Rating the movie as 5 stars as the highest 5 because Ken was in it! but in general i'll give it a 3!

hi guys

Hi guys ive been away for half a decade (joke!). Missed you guys! Anyway i opened the blog since i wanted to do a Ken Chu movie Batanes review. I already finished it but silly me! I forgot the file in the other memory card. Bad bad!

Hope to see you soon guys! Missed updating this blog!