rss feedKimchi tofu: A bean curd flashback
When I eat, I typically equate a hot food dish with heat. Likewise, I consider a cold dish to be more or less cool throughout.
That seems like basic logic. But in 1998, a simple but tasty Korean dish reminded me again of how my senses react when hot and cold meet and combine.
I was introduced to a plate of stir-fried kimchi with tofu and tuna.
My friend from Canada, Norm, was getting married in South Korea, his fiancee’s home country. He and I met in Guangzhou, China two years earlier. We studied at the same language school.
At the time of his wedding, I was working on Guam and flew in for the celebration. He and his fiancee planned on a large banquet in Canada later that year. So, I was his only friend for the Korean-style nuptials.
On the eve before his wedding, we didn’t really know where to go to mark this happy moment. We ended up heading to a neighborhood bar.
I forgot how it came to be that we ordered this dish. We are both ethnic Chinese from North America. We can’t speak Korean. But in a matter of minutes, there was a platter of hot kimchi, cool tofu and cold tuna.
Yes, our beers that night were the right complement to our international party.
And as we talked about his big step and our earlier travels, we used metal chopsticks to secure the tofu cubes. The kimchi was either pressed next to the soybean or wrapped around it. The tuna sat on top.
A smile quickly broke out on my face.
That hot-cold, spicy-soft sensation again reminded me of one great lesson: If you shy away from something that’s different, you’ll likely lose out.
I always like to equate life’s great moments with incredible food. If anything, it makes the experience easier to remember.
And more than a decade later, I’m happy to report that Norm and his wife are still one happy couple. They’re busy, though, because they have three great kids.
I haven’t eaten that dish in years. But I think I’ll do so very soon.
At the food blog, KoreanHomeCooking, writer Migi offers up photos and many tofu recipes – including one for tofu kimchi.
On a side note, kimchi apparently was sent into space. You can read about it here.
Brad – great post. I never imagined kimchi tofu could be described so elegantly as you have done here. Thanks for the memories.