Jogja on my mind

Yogyakarta, or Jogja as it's widely known, is a city in central Java.  A few days after I made it to Bali (which I'll get to in another post soon!), I jumped over to Yogyakarta for a friend's wedding.
Much different than Bali, the major religion here is Islam and there's fewer foreigners - tourism isn't their bread and butter so to speak. It's a much bigger city than my little town in Bali; things move faster, the traffic is heavier, it's urban in a uniquely Indonesian way.  This is evident through everything from style, food, clothes, prices (it's delightfully cheaper here) and even sounds as you can hear the call to prayer from the mosques drifting through the equatorial heat and buzz of motorbikes.

Jogja is also home to most of Indonesia's art universities and the energy here reflects that. Street art abounds with the smells of delicious street food making for a colorful, sensory experience.

Here are some snaps from my trip so far:

Well hello there!

Soto Sapi - Lamb soup with rice
Es Jeruk - Iced orange drink

Driver on a break

Irises on the street

Show your colors

Picked up this jumpsuit for $8US

Street food

Waiting for the green light

Gelato cappuccino shake 

Motorbike passenger selfie

Java Sawa - Rice Fields

Pedicabs

Ibu is always watching

All the fruits

Sate Ayam - Grilled Chicken
This man grills skewers of chicken on an open charcoal flame 

Change the ordinary

Busting their Chops

Pyeongtaek Restaurants

Where to Go: Braii Republic Anjeong-ri 

We never really thought anything like this would come to our area, but here it is, our South African BBQ dreams come true. Not only that, maybe the best lamb pie of my life.  These guys don't pretend and they don't compromise.  You will be blown away.  Don't wait. Go eat this... every week.

Where: Near Camp Humphrys.  You can take the 20 bus from Pyeongtaek. Find the on Facebook at Braii Republic Pyeongtaek for a more detailed map. 

Comfort Sandwiches

Pyeongtaek Restaurants

That we love

Where to Go: Philadelphia Hoagies in Songtan 

No weirdness, just real Philly Hoagies on homemade bread. We loved the beef pastrami, cheese steak, and the roast beef.  Fries also delicious.

Pro Tip: Order the cheesesteak with hot peppers.

Address: Just off the strip, turn at the ugly ass gargoyles.

Reservations

Two years have brought many changes.

My interests are more focused,

More and more time is spent at home,

and I find myself wanting to become 

a part the world around me

and not just an observer.

No, I'm not "signing" off blogging.

I've just decided to branch out and turn

 The Expat Table 

into it's own thing.

My local community 

loves the food,

loves the recipes,

and loves the idea of sharing a table.

It's time the project stood on its own two feet. 

 In fact, since I have a private tutor right now,

I'm using the opportunity to become proficient

at explaining the culinary arts in Korean.

Last week I spent two hours explaining

the ins-and-outs of Spanish Korean Fusion food.

Funny how I can't explain the weather, 

but can easily discuss the details of curing fish.

So, in summery I'm NOT 

giving up blogging on Chasing Tales.

I'm just refining the conversation.

If you are interested in following my food adventure,

or reserving A Chair At The Table

just join me at the

The Expat Table

we always have room for one more.

A Game of Sardines

Salt Sit

During my search for the perfect fusion tapas 

made with Korean ingredients,

I realized I needed Spanish cured sardines.

Pear Vinegar Bath

I used this recipe from The Spanish Hipster:

http://www.spanishhipster.com/2011/04/cured-sardines-recipe/

but made a few changes.

I let them cure for 6 hours

(because I needed to go to work)

Experimented with lime juice 

(because I was out of lemon)

Used Korean Pear Vinegar

(because I don't like imports)

Oil Bed

The result was just delightful

and perfect for my toasts.

Perfection with fresh cheese.

 

NOTE: You might not want to let them sit in the salt for six hours if you are planning to eat them on their own.  I like the longer salt bed because they last longer and are great with other plane ingredients.

Tapas The Morning To Ya

So begins the big adventure.

Melding together

Spanish Tapas

and

Korean Side Dishes

The first thing I needed to do 

was pick three flavors  that worked together

from each country.

These make the pallet 

for painting the recipes.

This required making lots of little toasts.

The first try.  Tastes great, but not even close to what I'm going for.

 

Total bust.  Too much soy.  Too much olive.  Too Soggy.

FLAVORS

The first toasts, 

although delicious,

were not well balanced flavor wise.

They were too "Korean".

After a few more tires I found the perfect balance.

From Spain I chose:

Lemon

Olive

Paprika

From Korea I chose:

Soy Sauce

Spicy Peppers

Fermentation

This was ugly as heck, but a lot more delicious and sent me down the right path.

TEXTURE

After that I needed to refine my textures.

"What?" you ask "Textures?"

Yes, believe it or not texture

is as a key part of fusion cuisine.

I consider it equally important to taste.

Spanish food has a lovely 

balance of crunch and smoothness 

that's critical for it to "taste" Spanish.

At first my toasts just didn't have it.

 

The perfect crunch was found in:

Toasting the bread

Making goat and soy cheese.

Using lotus root

This was where I started really picking up speed.

INGREDIENTS

Finally, I had to decided what was going in things.

The two cuisines have a great deal in common,

but I still needed to narrow it down.

So this is what 

I'll be making the tapas out of.

CROSSOVER INGREDIENTS

Chicken eggs

Quail eggs

Sardines

Eggplant

Peppers

Potato

Squid

Shrimp

Mushrooms

UNIQUE INGREDIENTS

Lotus Root

Olives

Olive Oil

Kimchi

Korean fruit wines

In the end I knew just what I needed to take it to the next level.

 WHAT'S NEXT?

After this I need to work on 

marinating my own lotus root.  

The stuff from the market is just too strong.  

It needs to be less intense.

It needs to float inside the recipe, 

not stand out on top.

Cheesed Off

Goat Cheese

So, we have two traditionally made cheeses 

ready for their close-up.

Both cheeses were made 

in the same traditional Korean pot 

using the same lemon, herb and salt.

One is made with soy milk.

One is made with goat's milk.

Which will be preferred?

Well, it's hard to say.

Once they were on the tapas

It was impossible to tell which was which.

My Research Here:
http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/02/quick-homemade-cheese.html 

In the end, all I use of my cheese is:
Milk
Lemon
Herbs
Salt 
What you need to know is that the more lemon and vinegar you use the more tart or tangy it gets.  You can easily adjust the acidity to your taste.  Don't be afraid to change and modify things. 

In fact, I shortcut just about everything.  There is very little you have to do other than not boil the crap out of your milk.
Now get your butt in the kitchen and have an adventure.  

Soy Cheese

Taste The Rainbow

Pyeongtaek Restaurants
We love

For over a decade 

beauty danced so close to me, 

but my heart was broken

turning everything 

to cool colors of grey.

Now, that I can see again

I want to taste every color.

Lick up each hue.

I salivate 

at the blues, reds and yellows

of my life 

and drink in each one.

What was grey is now saturated 

with all the flavors of the rainbow.

 GETTING HERE:

NOTE THIS RESTAURANT 

IS DIRECTLY ACROSS THE LAKE 

FROM PRADA and SOHO.

You will have to go around.

DRIVING:

Prada Hotel

(Soho Cafe Is Across The Street)

389-25 Chilgok-ri, 

Wongok-myeon,  

Anseong,  

Gyeonggi-do,  

Korea

BUS:

From Pyeongtaek.

The 8 will take you directly there.

It's located across from the 

Prada Hotel which is easy to see.

Japan-easy Lunches

Pyeongtaek Restaurants
We Love

My family is something I have built,

not something I was born with.

The hardest part of living in Korea

 is missing this homemade family.

So, as you may have noticed, 

the way I handle all these missing

parts of me is with food.

It all ties together in my drama.

Which is why I end up in Pyeongtaek 

eating Japanese comfort food more often than naught.

Seeing, as missing Paula and Aimee

can be considered one of my hobbies.

(UPDATE: CLOSED ㅠㅠ RIP)
The place I drown my sorrows

in udon is near Del Vino,

near the bus stop.

Even if you aren't desperately missing

your Japanese family.  

The food there is what you need

for chasing away the winter cold,

and of far better quality than most lunch spots.

Come on.

Who doesn't love a lunch that's

 quick and Japan-easy.

ps They don't speak English here 
and nothing is really in English  
BUT
There are lots of pictures to point at,
so you should be just fine.

If you want to get your Del Vino and Japanese,

Do this:

Step 1

Look out from AK Plaza.  

Take the road that goes to the right of This phone shop.

Step 2

Turn right on the street before

system G.

Step 3

Take the soft left at Mr. Pizza.

It's at the intersection on the right.

Now, to get to the Japanese lunch,

just turn around and go the other way, 

it will be on your left just past the bus stop