So a few posts ago I talked about one of the harder things to get used to here in South Korea, putting our trash on the street. This time, I want to talk about one of the more fun things to see happen. I guess first I should explain a little about Korean food.
Koreans are famous for their side dishes. No meal is complete without them. It's not just one or two but bowls and bowls of side dishes. At the last meal that we had a t a Korean restaurant I think we had 6 side dishes plus 3 sauces along with the main dish of pork and rice with lettuce for wrapping it in. Koreans eat like this for almost every meal. There is not a lot of each side dish but there is definitely a variety of choices. I guess I will get back to my point.
The other day we went to Costco for the first time and while we left empty-handed because of money issues, we were told by the friends that took us that the next time we went to Costco we should look at the plates of the Koreans in the food court. So we did. The food in the food court is very similar to that served within the States. They have different toppings for pizzas but that's about it. It turns out though that the Koreans simply must have a side dish. They will take plates and FILL them with chopped onion that Costco puts out for the hotdogs and then cover the onions in mustard. This is their side dish.
It is so funny to watch them stand there at the onion dispenser turning and turning that handle! I feel so bad for the person who has to refill the dispenser. "Oh, it's been ten minutes. I should go fill that again!" Personally I would rather go without a side dish than eat onions covered in mustard but it seems to be really important to them!
