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SPICY PORK BONE SOUP 감자탕

WHAT'S IN IT?

3.5 lbs pork neck bones 돼지 목뼈 (you can get it from Korean or Chinese market)
6 potatoes 감자 (peeled, cut in quarters)
2 onions 양파 (sliced)
3 tablespoons of garlic 다진 마늘 (chopped)
3 tablespoons of ginger 다진 생강 (chopped)
1 tablespoon of soy bean paste (korean style) 된장
6 tablespoons of red chili pepper flakes 고추가루 (korean style)
1 bunch of green onions 파 (chopped)
1-2 table spoon of salt 소금 (if you are using sea salt 굵은 소금, the amount will be different)
11 cups of water
black pepper 후추

OPTIONAL: kimchi or Korean baby cabbage (blanch before using it) (애배추)

HOW DO I MAKE IT?

1. Soak pork bones in cold water for 1 hour.
2. Rinse quickly and boil the bones in fresh water.
3. Once it's come to a boil, throw out all the water and wash the bones thoroughly.
4. Boil the bones with 11 cups of fresh water and boil
5. when it comes to a boil, add garlic, ginger chili pepper flakes, soy bean paste, onions, 1 tablespoon of salt (add kimchi or blanced korean baby cabbage if you prefer) and keep boiling for another 10 minutes on HIGH heat.
6. Peel and cut potatoes in quarters.
7. On a separate pot, boil potatoes in water. (add some salt) When potatoes are fully cooked, pour water out and put them on the side.
8. Now, check your pork bone soup (after 10 min on high). Reduce the heat to MEDIUM and boil for another 10 minutes. Then, reduce again to low heat and cook for another 20 minutes.
9. Taste your soup and season (if it needs more salt add more salt (gradually remember to taste it) it it's too salty add some water)
* I can't tell you exactly how much salt because the soup will reduce at different rates depending on your heat source, pot, ingredients etc. Always taste your food when seasoning.

10. Add potatoes in your soup. Don't stir it too much. Potatoes will break.
11. Boil for 5 minutes.
12. Serve in a bowl. Top with chopped green onions and black pepper.
13. Enjoy!

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In Laos

We crossed into Laos today, and are now in the town of Luang Na Thang. The computer connection is beyond glacial, but such is the pace of things in these here parts. Tomorrow we'll do some motorbiking, and then make our way south after a day or two of exploring.

Despite a similiarity of countryside, the difference between China and here is stark. It's as if the 45 is now playing at 33.

Ahhhh...

I Am a Fat Expat. Hear Me Chew.

Location: 

Where a torn hoodie, faded jeans, massive white tennis shoes, and barely brushed hair still manages to elicit compliments, why bother?

I did my hair last week for a birthday party. This was boring; I don't intend on making a habit of it. One of my coworkers, who I have known for about a year and a half, remarked that when he knew me last year, I always looked nice like this. What happened? "Oh, I just stopped trying", I responded. He was perplexed, not quite understanding what I meant by that. Further explanation was required.

There is stereotype about female expats in Korea that you seen floating around the Internet and uttered in corners of drinking holes, by people that I couldn't possibly want to have less sex with. If it is to be believed, it follows that female expats tend to be fat, loud, opinionated, ugly, bitches who are completely unmarriable. Obviously this last bit is the most damning of all insults, since the entire raison d'etre for any woman is to find a handsome man to marry and produce babies with. The richer the better. Working is for ugly chicks! Oh, fucknuts.

"You stopped trying what?", my perplexed coworker wanted to know. Wasn't it obvious? "You see", I explained, "today, I decided to brush my hair and wear blush. Last year, I did this every day. At the moment, I can't be fucking bothered. I'll brush my hair again when I go home".

There was a point sometime during my first contract where I realized that, within reason, it didn't really matter what I did. I could wake up half an hour earlier to straighten my hair and put on my best outfit, or I could pin my hair back messily and wear an unflattering sweater with slacks. As long as I showed up to class on time and brought the correct book, nobody cared.

"What about meeting guys?" my now less slightly less perplexed coworker wanted to know. I laughed at this for what I considered an appropriate period of time and started up again: "Well, Brad, I've done the expat 'dating' scene thing. Been there, done that, got bored. And I'm so negative about Korea lately that I have little interest in learning the language any more than I have to at this point; a failing attitude for breaking into the Korean dating pool, if there ever was one".

My coworker was going to break into a tirade about how the problem with female expats is that they don't get enough sex, but them he remembered that he is intelligent and doesn't actually have thoughts like this. The conversation moved to food soon after. This was excellent, since we were at a buffet and there was a lot of food to talk about.

FACEBOOK

This is a for anyone who's tried to contact me via facebook. It's blocked in China so I haven't been able to access it or respond to any messages. I'll be in Laos later tonight so I should be able to access it there.

SHOTS FROM HILL TRIBE TREK

As part of my general Yunnan travel craziness, I, along with my group of scumbag compatriots, went on a three-day jungle/hill tribe trek into the hinterlands of Xishuangbanna. We hiked, swam, drank, and ate steamed bees. I'll do a detailed travelogue of this trip in the near future, but for now you can check out these pics:

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Lock up your daughters and your livestock.

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It was muthafuckin' GREEN out there.

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Angry Steve angrily crossing a stream.

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Big-ass bite-you-looking caterpillery insect thing.

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Idyllic countryside.

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Hill people preparing tobacco.

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Me looking all jungle hike-y.

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Mushrooms were everywhere.

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The first village we stayed in.

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Lice-ridden children.

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Our hosts cooking breakfast.

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This is where we crashed the second night. Underneath was a very nasty dog with a clatch of puppies. She nearly gnawed my balls off during a middle of the night pee run. The urinal was the whole underpart of the house.

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Lake. We swam in it. It was nice but I lost my watch.

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One of many babies. The "one child" policy doesn't apply to China's minority groups.

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Rice farmers spreading fertilizer, I think.

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Typical hillside abode.

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Another village at the end of the trek.

SHOT FROM THE MENGHAI MARKET

I recently went on a three-day trek into the hills of the Xishaungbanna region of Yunnan. Our first stop was a crazy market in the town of Menghai. I've been in Asia for five years now and have seen A LOT of markets, but this one may be the most impressive, in terms of variety, color, and the exotic.

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Minority hill tribe woman with disturbing overbite, 17 years old. They age quickly in the hills.

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Orange clad girls.



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Dog. It's what's for dinner.

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Ducks!

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Old boys.

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This is literally the ass of a pig, complete with intact pigshit tube. Is it for food, or "recreation?"

SHOTS FROM JINHONG

I'm currently in Jinhong, China, a town on the Mekong River. It's located in the Xishuangbanna region of Yunnan province, near the border with Laos and Burma. The town has a proper Southeast Asian feel, with palm tree-lined streets and heavy, hot air. Today is my last day here, so I humbly offer you these photos for your perusal.

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A thunderstorm in the making. Or is it a picture of God, like on those Christian posters from the 80's?

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A boil of Koi.

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A bridge over the Mekong, or Lang Can Jiang, as it's called on this side of the border.



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The palm trees offer much needed shade from the afternoon sun.

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Buildings of Jinhong.

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Even China has crazy homeless people. Communist utopia has yet to be realized.

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The Mighty Reds' reach makes it to the banks of the Mekong (for Scouser Stu).

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Big river. The rainy season in full effect.

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This is the preferred mode of local transporation.

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I love chicken, even when splayed out in a filthy market.

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Our little hotel is convenient located next to the "Drug Park." That's my kind of joint.

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Sam and me, tired, hot, and covered with man-sweat, after bicycling up a mountain on the other side of the river.

SHOTS FROM KUNMING

I recently spent a couple of days in Kunming, China. It's a cool city - pleasant and surprisingly clean, for Chinese standards. Cities in this country can get beyond grim. If I was to live in China, Kunming would be one of my first choices. Here are some pics:

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Bicycles on Kunming sidestreet

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Lady in Red



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Our Merry Band of Degenerates

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Beautiful Chinese architecture

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This must have been a bitch to pedal around.

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Kids!

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Man and baby.

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On Xi Shian, just out of town

chinky chinky

Apparently super chinky racist mascots are okay in China. It's kind of like how only Jews can do Jew jokes.

Shanghai None?






It's hard to spend time in Shanghai without getting the feeling of motion. Everything about the city seems to be in a constant state of change and evolution. Just walking down the street you get a sense of the people and money that have swept through the place. This is apparent in the neo-classical and art deco edifices that pepper the city, and the plethora of supertalls that are moulding the city's skyline in the Pudong area. It is also the driving force behind the frenzied construction ahead of the 2010 World Expo, which for all intents and purposes, looks set to be Shanghai's Olympic Games.
Yet for all the shape shifting and tourist baiting one key aspect of the city appears to be lacking. The street food. Bizarrely, for a city founded on foreign trade, Shanghai doesn't seem to have any central markets (with the exception of the Friday Muslim Market - which we missed) Neither did any local street specialities readily present themselves. Instead, the street food I witnessed in Shanghai tended to lean towards the lower end of the scale - temporary set-ups outside construction sites, or grubby grills set amongst piles of rubbish at the side of the road. As such most of what I came across didn't really appeal.


That's not to say there weren't notable exceptions however. I found these hard-boiled eggs close to our hostel. The eggs had been lightly cracked and simmered in what looked (and tasted) like soy sauce and water. The result was that they were tangy and marbled on the outside, soft and crumbly in the centre.
I also happened across some truly excellent lamb skewers. These things seem to be getting better and cheaper the more I travel through China. The ones I had in Shanghai boasted substantial chunks of meat cooked to order then coated with generous amounts of cumin and chilli powder. What I love most about these skewers is how hot, dry and immediate the spices are in your mouth, closely followed by the fatty goodness of the lamb.
Whether Shanghai's great leap forward will help or hinder its street food culture remains to be seen. Street food or no, however, it's an infinitely interesting city and one to which I've vowed to return.


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