Well tonight's was a million times better. One of the students in first grade's parents own a seafood restaurant. Tonight they treated all of the teachers to an enormous seafood feast. This ain't no second rate sushi dinner. The spread tonight was a 5 course seafood extravaganza. First course, sashimi appetizers. There was sea squirt (sliced up but not quite dead yet), octopus, conch, sea snail, sea urchin, scallop, and 3 or 4 other types of fish all sliced up and RAW. Out front of the restaurant there was a wall of fish tanks where minutes before I ate it, my dinner was swimming around. As fresh as can be.
Second course was a huge plate of the main course sashimi. I think it was flounder but I'm not 100% sure. All of the meat on the plate definitely came from the same fish, but it was interesting to feel the differences in texture between the cuts. Some were silky smooth, some were more toothsome, and at one end of the plate there were the "most delicious parts" as according to my teachers. I'm willing to guess that they were from the cheek of the fish. Alongside the sashimi was a basket of cabbage leaves. You were supposed to dip the fish in your soy/wasabi mixture, put some red bean paste in there, maybe a slice of raw garlic if you're feeling adventurous, roll it up, make a toast, swig some soju, and stuff it in your mouth. That little bite of seafood goodness had so many textures and tastes. Crunchy cabage, silky fish, creamy, sweet, and spicy red bean paste, spicy wasabi, salty soy, and sour lemon from the platter. It was a symphony for my mouth.
Third course was some cooked shrimp, a roasted fish, cooked conch, sliced pork, and a soup with broad noodles, seaweed, and these little clam type things. The hosts were extremely generous and at every chance would pick the tastiest morsels for me to try. Even though we they didn't speak English, the smile, head nod, and thumbs up screamed "this is very good, please try some".
Up next was crab tempura, squid tempura and fried shrimp, and deok. Deok are traditional Korean rice cakes. Not the round puffy rice cakes we're used to in America, but chewy, gummy, sticky logs or balls. The ones we had were stuffed with sweet red beans, fried, and coated in sesame seeds. I can't even describe how good they were.
Lastly came the soup and rice. Koreans eat rice like Americans eat dessert. The soup was a savory fish soup that you spooned into your rice bowl. I can still taste it almost an hour and a half later. The hosts were so gracious, and every time they went to fill my drink, they supported their right hand with their left, a sign of respect. I'm not used to being shown respect by Korean adults. In Confucian society teachers are held in the highest regard. But I always thought my being a foreigner trumped the teacher thing and put me last in line for respect.
Tonight was also another glimpse into the complicated web of social hierarchy. Each teacher knew exactly where they stood in comparison to one another. I just assumed (correctly because I was the youngest) that I was at the bottom and was always on the lookout for empty soju glasses to refill. On the converse, since it is impolite to fill your own cup, everyone is on the lookout for your glass. It was kind of fun to fill other people's drinks and in turn have mine refilled. I even taught the Koreans the Mexican "arriba, abajo, al centro, y dentro" toast. It was great.
As stressful as I thought this dinner was going to be (remember the samgyeopsal episode), it turned out great. Even thought I didn't know what everyone was saying, you can still understand that everyone is having a good time. And that in itself is one of the most comforting, reassuring things in the world.
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