School Lunch

I've decided it's time to write a blog on Korean school lunch. I may have mentioned it before, but I think it deserves its own blog entry. Korean School Lunch is unique. Okay, maybe it's the same as other parts in Asia, I don't know, but to me it is unique. When I think of school lunch, images of soggy pineapple pizza, frozen iceberg lettuce drenched in ranch dressing, and fruit cocktail come to mind. Mmmm, not only appetizing but also so nutritious! Well Korean school lunch is in a whole other league.

I know it doesn't look that good, but I swear it is!

Students - all students that is, no "bringing or buying" questions here - line up to take their metal chopsticks, spoons, and trays before mothers serve the portioned Korean food. This always begins with white rice, usually fortified with a grain or legume. Next comes a vegetable dish or two. This week we've had spinach, seaweed, bean sprouts, green salad (today it was bok choy, sesame leaves, onions and pepper paste), and always kimchi for the kids. The third lunch lady dishes the meat portion, pork, chicken, fish or beef which goes in a SMALL portion of the tray, and often comes with a sauce like denjang paste (similar to miso), mustard sauce, or sweet&sour. And serving last is the soup lady, sometimes kimchi jigae, sometimes tofu/pork soup, sometimes denjang/beansprout soup, sometimes shellfish delight. After that is the teachers' tray with a big container of dish-yourself kimchi and another vegetable like mushrooms or sesame leaves. This is the normal Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday affair.

But what about Wednesday? Well Wednesday is special "one-dish" day as I call it. Wednesday we get our meal in 1 bowl and we also get a special treat! Today's 1 bowl meal was "curry rice" a Korean adaptation of the Indian classic with yellow curry, potatoes, beef chunks, corn, zucchini, and rice. Sometimes we get bibimbap, sometimes guk-su, sometimes jopjae with rice. And for our special treat, Jeju mandarin juice is quite popular, but today was got tomato juice, which is sweetened in Korea, and last week we had drinkable yogurt. Yesterday, as an extra special treat, we got fresh watermelon and tempura mushrooms. Wednesday treats can also be cookies, donuts, or yellow cake.

And for all this luxury I pay...2,000 won a day. If you ask me, it's well worth it. Unfortunately I have yet to take pictures of my school lunch but its on my to-do list. Expect a lot of pictures...soon.

bibimbap (courtesy of the internet)

guk-su - noodle soup with dried seaweed