Monday, January 23, 2012

Anniversary Noms: Book Chang Dong Soon Tofu

Ah, it's great to be back! So many things to eat, so little time. One brief thing, my two sense about the recent Paula Deen "scandal," if you can call it that. 

I wasn't surprised by the news in the least, diabetes is a huge problem in America, and it's because of what we eat, how we eat, and how little we burn off what we eat. I don't think she should be a scapegoat, or blamed for her condition, it's unfair and overly simplistic. 

Does she push ridiculously bad for your food? Yes. Does she use more butter than the French? Yes. Does she tell us to eat this all the time? No. Does she hold us all at gunpoint demanding we scarf down one her various Gooey Butter Cakes? No. 

Look, it's time we all be grownups, and take responsibility for our actions. Eat the stuff Paula Deen makes on a regular basis, and what do you expect? Don't exercise,inhale your take out meal while on the run from the subway or in the car, and do you think that's really good for you to do all the time? 

Granted, she is now promoting the meds she uses for her diabetes, which I find a bit distasteful, but if I were her, I'd probably do the same thing. That's the name of the game, all the big celebrity chefs do it, not that it's right. 

So, in sum, I feel I have to say that I don't eat all the fun stuff I'd like all the time, and neither should you. It's not good for you, and it's not worth your health. Have the good stuff once in awhile, but try to be reasonable the rest of the time. I'm attempting yet another way to be more mindful of what I eat, hoping to "be good" during the work week, and enjoying myself during the weekends. We shall see how that goes. 

Okay enough preaching and ranting and onto something more pleasant, love and tofu!

During my hiatus, one thing I forgot to mention in my last post was The Fisherman and I had our one year anniversary. To celebrate, we went back to the place we went on our first date (not the lame ass local cafe in our neighborhood where we first went).

Anyway, onto the food: Book Chang Dong Soon Tofu, located in Flushing, has really awesome tofu and pork bone soups. Trust me, it's good.


Here's one page of the menu, the important part, the one with the Soon Du Bu, or tofu stew. This place makes their own tofu, which is pretty impressive in my book. It's like making cheese, but with soy. Anyway, The Fisherman got the So Go Li Soon Du Bu, or oxtail (the man loves his oxtails), whereas I got the Kimchi Soon Du Bu, because I am all about the kimchi. 


Before our stews come, our banchan, or Korean sides, arrive. All sorts of goodies await, such as (from left) sprouts (mung bean maybe?), some incredible tofu, cabbage kimchi, cucumber kimchi, some braised pork, and sweet potatoes, I think. Sometimes it's fun to eat and ask questions later, especially if it's tasty. This is awesome because you change change things up as you eat, good stuff, this here banchan!

Now, the stew. It usually comes with a raw egg, which you crack into it, and either leave alone to cook in the stew (which I believe is just a tad hotter than the surface of the sun, so you have to be careful), or I stir up up egg drop soup style. A good rule of thumb at this place, according to The Fisherman, is not to get the really spicy, because it's more like super salty. So we both got spicy, because that's how we roll. You have the egg, the wonderfully eggy feeling tofu, the amazing broth, and if it wasn't just a tad hotter than the surface of the sun I would have been able to eat it faster than a geriatric turtle. 
The Fisherman, however, has an ovenproof mouth, and was able to eat his in a timely manner.


And, because the people next to us got it, we had to as well, the bulgogi short ribs. Delicious! 


Bulgogi is a type of marinated and grilled meat. I don't care what they put in it, it's delicious. I believe it's soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and garlic, but it could be unicorn tears and I'd still eat. I felt like a beast eating it but it was so tasty!


And what better thing to be propping up this magnificent meat than onions? Bathed in the beefy bulgogi love juice, those were an amazing bonus side. And look at that, a vegetable too!


I'm pretty sure this is The Fisherman's  Soon Du Bu, but really they both look very similar. On our first date I tried the oxtail, and I see why so many cultures love the tail of the cow (other's tend to be squeamish so they call it oxtail instead of cow tail, I don't get it). Oxtail is full of yumminess, and makes great soup. This time, my heart was calling for kimchi, and I could not resist the call for kimchi.

Speaking of my heart, I want to take a moment to be sappy and write a little something to 
The Fisherman: I'm sorry our other anniversary plans didn't work out the way they should have. To me, the important thing is letting you know, again, how much you mean to me, and how happy I've been in the year since we've been together. The new things you've taught me, about life, about myself, I couldn't have done without you. I hope I do the same for you.  I hope I make your heart sing like you do for me, and I'm so glad we found each other. I love you, and I hope we have another great year of adventures together. 

><>*<>< (Fishie Kisses), The Pisces

 

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