Spicy November

Nature is ever wondrous and magnificent. If you look closely you can see a herd of "ajummas" or as some may call them, the unmateable. Here you can see the "ajummas" doing their mating ritual, also known as kimchi making, but alas these females are past their prime, as is every woman over 30, and find their hard work has gone to waste leaving them tired, cranky, and with sharp elbows.

In all seriousness.....
Koreans call the eleventh month of the year "Spicy November" because it's kimchi making season. It's when napa cabbage is at its peak and the time has come.

Usually, a family gets together to begin the long process of making kimchi, but let's be realistic, when I say family I mean the females int he family because Korea is still traditionally conservative when it comes to male and female roles. Meaning, they like to keep the women in the kitchen, pregnant, and without a job. (Hey, I don't like it either, but it's starting to slowly change.)

They gather, they pink glove it up, they slather and pack it away. Then, they will have kimchi for every meal of every day for the next year, until it is "Spicy November" once again. That's when the process will repeat itself until they all die. ;)

If you'd like an actual recipe, please go to another entry How to Make Kimchi.

How to Make Kimchi

Please note: This process is long, tiresome, and pretty crazy! I mean, who needs six pounds of kimchi?! But, I digress. Also note, that during this process even though you have a Korean husband, you will be alone, because he has done his part in seeking you out and winning your attention. Now that he has married you, he is free to laze about not helping in the house, kitchen, and in child rearing. It is also a fact that he will cheat on you if you believe in statistics. However, you are ever the good wife and will prepare your six pounds of kimchi to serve to your family for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until the day they die or leave your household. Fight on into your "ajummahood"!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 heads of napa cabbage
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tbs. glutinous rice flour
• 2 Tbs. brown sugar
• 2 cups daikon radish cut into matchsticks
• 1 cup carrot matchsticks
• 7 to 8 green onions chopped
• 1 cup chives chopped
• 1 cup minari (optional)
• 1/2 cup garlic cloves (24)
• 2 tsp. ginger
• 1 medium onion
• 1/2 cup fish sauce
• 2 cups course red pepper powder

Directions:

1. Cut the cabbage in quarters and soak in cold water.
2. Sprinkle each cabbage leaves with some kosher salt. Making sure to turn them over after 30 minutes, for about 2 hours.
3. In a small pot, add 2 cups of water and the glutinous rice flour and mix over heat until it boils. Then, add the brown sugar and mix, and is still thin and soupy. Let it cool down.
4. In a large bowl, add your radish, carrots, green onions or chives, minari (if available), 
5. Puree your garlic, ginger, and onion.
6. Mix your contents from the pot, garlic puree, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl and mix.
7. Wash your cabbage leaves a couple times to make sure to get off all the salt and then let it drain well.
8. Mix your vegetables into the red pepper paste.
9. Using your hands, spread the red pepper paste with vegetables on each leaf of your cabbage.

*It's best to wear plastic gloves when putting the paste onto each leaf.

For a video go to Maangchi ! 

She's great and has all sorts of recipes!

What to Expect in Korean Hospitals

When you check into the Korean hospital you'll need all of your basic information. You'll need your ID card as well as your insurance card, National Health Insurance is tied to your ID card so you don't need to bring it in. Also, unless you are at a very large international hospital you will probably need someone who can speak Korean and help you translate.

There are three options for hospital rooms in this country. You can book a single, which at a big hospital will run you close to $500/night, a semi-private with two beds, and that was about $200/night even with insurance, and the dorm style that has 6 beds, which cost me about $12/night. You also have options for meals. You can choose the Korean style food, where it is $3/meal and you can choose juk or rice, or you can choose western style food, which costs over $36/meal. I suggest the cheaper Korean food because it's not bad and the western style food wasn't very good.

Now, there are some major differences between hospitals here and the ones back home. Since Korea is such a family oriented place, it is expected that your family will be there to take care of you. The nursing staff is only there to push pills and take vitals. It's your family's job to help with the food trays, adjust the beds, help go to the bathroom, help shower, change your scrubs and sheets, and basically do everything for you. There is always a cot provided for a member of your family to sleep on. In Korea there are no visiting hours, so there will always be a ton of people in your room at all times. The Koreans were very helpful to my mom and offered her a lot of fruit and snacks. But, they were also very curious and loved to come and stare at me. If you are alone in the hospital and had surgery, I would recommend convincing a friend of yours to be there at all times to help you. However, if you're not so ill and can do things for yourself then it's not really necessary.

Now, it's not uncommon to see Koreans wheel in a small suitcase while they're staying in the hospital for a while. I recommend you do the same. What you really need are the following:

• NEED:
• ID
• Insurance card
• Slippers
• Toiletries
• Towel
• Something to do (dorms don't have TV)
• Water bottle
• Tissues
• SUGGESTED:
• Some mat or blanket to put on your bed because they're hard as rocks.
• Pillow and blanket for the person staying with you.
• Snacks and drinks
• More things to do!
• Food from the outside world
• A neck pillow

You won't need extra blankets for yourself, since my room was kept at a balmy 90 degrees. I had to roll up my scrub pants and roll up my shirt sleeves just to prevent myself from sweating through the bed. Also, don't be scared to tell the nurse to use hand sanitizer or double check what they're doing. My nurses never washed their hands and made so many mistakes. They even tried to give me an IV they had just taken out of another patient. Be vigilant and aware of what's happening. Also, ask tons of questions. 

No one likes to stay in the hospital but in Korea it's fairly normal to stay in. That's because insurance covers more if they're an in-patient and their work will excuse them. So, some of them don't mind spending time there. That means, if you feel that you are well enough to go home then ask your doctor if you can be released. This worked for me. It never hurts to try.

Surgery Away from Home

WARNING!

Korean Hospital Stays are Horrendous!

I guess my story started out on a hot summer day. I was completely stressed out after teaching my students, who are 5 years old, all day. I just happened to lean back and rub the front of my neck and that's when I felt a weird lump. I thought I was being a hypochondriac since my cousin had just been diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) earlier this year and he's the same age as me. So, being the worry-wort that I am, I had my friend feel my neck to see if they could feel the same thing as me......and she did. (sigh) Off to the doctor I went.

Clinic

I went to the doctor that same day, because in Korea you don't need to make an appointment to go to the clinic to see a doctor. Also, in order to go to an actual hospital you need a letter from the clinic recommending you to the larger hospital. But anyways, I walked across the street and basically right into the exam room. He didn't speak much English but he could feel the lump and we decided to get an ultrasound to check it out.

We found that I had a large nodule on the left lobe of my thyroid that should be looked at further. The doctor there wrote a sort of recommendation letter that allowed me to go to a large hospital and be covered by insurance for further testing.

Asan Medical Center

Asan Medical Center

I went to Asan Medical Center, which is located in the Jamsil area of Seoul, South Korea. My doctor's name was Dr. Nam and he could speak fluent English. Since this is one of the biggest hospitals they have a wide variety of English speaking doctors and and International Center that helps people like me, who don't speak Korean. 

The first visit he just looked inside my throat at my vocal chords, I guess having one side paralyzed is a sign of cancer, and felt my lump. He decided to give me antacids to help my vocal nodes, which were discovered that day, and some voice therapy, that I declined. He seemed more worried about my voice than my neck and that frustrated the heck out of me. But, he still scheduled me for a fine needle aspiration (FNA), which is a biopsy.

Biopsy

When I went in for the biopsy it was just a normal day and the International Center volunteer helped take me around the hospital, talked to the nurses for me, and translated the instructions. I went in for the biopsy and they did it by ultrasound visualization. They stabbed me with the needle three times from different angles and they all hurt but the third one made the tears run. He had to punch the needle through one of my muscles in my neck and I don't have the smallest muscles. He had to shove that needle really hard and then wiggle it around in the node. I know that some people say that it's not so bad, well it can hurt like all hell too!

It took a long time for me to get my results back and he didn't seem worried at all about it. He thought that I should just keep an eye on it and see what happens in the future. However, I went back later because it was pressing on my larynx and esophagus and was being a big pain in the neck! Hahahaha! Get it?! This is also where I threw a hissy-fit because the doctor still hadn't checked my thyroid hormone levels. So, I forced him to give me a blood test, where everything turned out fairly normal. 

Admission & Thyroidectomy

After talking with the doctor, we decided that I should get a hemithyroidectomy. That's where they remove half of your thyroid. We decided on this because the chances of cancer were low and if it wasn't cancer, I would have to be on hormones for the rest of my life if I got a complete thyroidectomy. This whole time he was confident that everything would turn out just fine. That day, even though the surgery was scheduled for months later, I did my EKG, blood work, urine tests, etc. for hospital check-in. Isn't that weird?!

Listening to the TV in my semi-private room.

Then it came time for my surgery. I had to be there a day ahead of time just to sit in the hospital and take up space. I had to check in at 1:00 and hope that there would be room in the 6 person room, because that's the room that insurance pays for. But of course, there was no room in the inn. So, I had to stay in a semi-private room, meaning I had to share with one other patient and her entire family. I just had to stick around all day and wait for the doctor to come to my room to tell me when the surgery would be the next day and to explain the surgery.

It wasn't until I was asleep and it was around midnight that the doctor came to my room to explain the surgery to me. I had to go and talk about the risks, get markings on my neck, and instructions for the morning. I was also taken in a room so he could look at my vocal chords one more time. The worst part was that he didn't have all the equipment necessary for this procedure. So, I went back to bed and was woken up later when he had found all the necessary items. Finally, I got to bed around 1 am. 

At 5 am I was woken by the nurse and told I couldn't wear any underwear, bras, or socks for the operation. I also washed all my makeup off and had to take my toenail polish off as well. Then I was given my IV, where they screwed it up and I passed out. At 7 am we were awoken so that my neighbor could have her breakfast while I just sat there starving because I wasn't allowed to eat or drink. I was also messaging my mom, who was back in my apartment, to hurry up and come so that she could see me off before surgery. Then at 8:20 I was wheeled out on the surgical bed to go down to surgery, and my mom still hadn't arrived. 

It was very nerve racking as I was being wheeled through the corridors going into surgery. It was just like one of those hospital movies where all you see are the lights passing you by tunnel style. I was brought into a room where I was prepped for surgery. They did the usual, they put a hat on my head, a blanket on my body, and gave me IV antibiotics. Then I was wheeled into the OR. 

I couldn't believe my eyes when I was going into the room, the nurses/doctors were all in there just sitting on there phones messaging/kakaoing people. I thought that it was supposed to be clean in there and that they should have had their hands washed and gloves on. That's where I started to feel uncomfortable. I had to change beds in there and my IV was almost ripped out by a nurse who was rushing and didn't give a damn. I was strapped and tied down on the table and asked if I had any last words, like I was being sentenced to death. If I was going to my death, my last words would have been "Don't screw it up!"

When I first came to, just for a moment, I was asked to say the sound ee. I guess that shows if any nerves had been damaged in the surgery. I was expecting to sound raspy and horse but my voice sounded clear and good. I was so surprised that I said, "Oh, my voice sounds GOOD!" and then I quickly passed out again. 

When in the recovery room, not one of the nurses came to check on me except the initial check to put the blood pressure cuff on me. After that, they stood around, checked their phones, and attended to the Korean patients. Racist much?!

During my 2 hour mophine high.

After I got wheeled upstairs, I was greeted by my mom, who I could tell had been crying since she missed my send-off. Her and a nurse helped move me onto my new bed, which was in the 6 person dorm style room. They also had to change my shirt because there was iodine everywhere! It was even in my hair! Then I started to cry because the pain became too much to bear. Finally I was given some, what I am assuming to be, morphine and I felt good for a full two hours. I even got up to walk and talk to my mom. However, I soon slipped back into pain and the only other medicine I was given was like a liquid Tylenol. I had to wait 8 hours to get morphine again. 

For that whole first day, I was only able to lay in bed in pain and whisper to my mom. At the end of that day, a trainee doctor came around to check on my wound. Instead of gently feeling around the incision, he grabbed a fist full of my neck and squeezed. I though I was going to die! That's when the nurses rushed into my area and gave me some more morphine and I drifted off to sleep for two hours, the last sleep I would have for a while. I had to stay in the hospital for a total of 3 nights and I thought my ass was going to fall off from how hard those beds were! I forced myself out of bed just to walk around so I could feel my fanny!

While I was in the hospital I saw some of the worst practicing nurses of all time. There were no gloves, no religious washing of the hands, and none of them even used the hand sanatizer that was provided at the end of each patient's bed! I was also told that sheets were only changed every 3 days and so were the hospital scrubs. Not exactly the germ free environment that you want after surgery. I was also told I wasn't allowed to shower there either. However, the worst practice was by a nurse who gave my IV pain medicine to the lady directly across from me. When she realized this, she took  those pain meds out from her IV, put her pain meds in and then tried to give me the used and contaminated IV meds!!!! OMFG!

Discharge

The real nurse who actually worked.

Eventually, my drain was removed, my wound was redressed, after two days, and I was able to pay and leave. It was about $2700 for everything but we had to pay it all upfront. Then we had to go back upstairs to get my meds and pick up our stuff from my room. They wanted us out so badly that they had thrown some of our stuff away, including the flowers my mom had just bought me. But, I didn't care as long as I was able to get out of that 90 degree hell hole they call a hospital. 

I spent the next few days sleeping and doing nothing at home while my mom watched me sleep or cleaned my house. I was on meds and in too much pain to do much. Just walking outside for a short period of time tired me out. But, I had to return to work just 5 days after the surgery.

Going back to work was HELL!! I was so tired and I still didn't have a strong voice. Try controlling 12 5year olds with no voice while you're not able to bend down or move your neck. Luckily, I was able to leave work early that entire week. And then my mom went home.

Follow-up

The next Tuesday, about 13 days after my surgery, I had to go in for my follow-up and to get my pathology results. When I went into the room the doctor wouldn't make eye contact with me and would just try calling on his phone or messaging. This went on for a long time. Eventually, I looked at the computer screen to my left of find out my results by myself. There it was, after all the reassurance I had gotten from the doctor that everything was going to be okay, after I had told my mom not to worry and to go back to the States, and after I had convinced myself that everything was fine, it was staring me in the face. I had cancer.

I couldn't believe my eyes. There I was by myself, just after my 30th birthday, finding out that I had cancer. I felt like I had been hit by a train. That means more surgery and more treatment. The doctor still didn't know what to say. It was that day that I had found out that I had follicular neoplasm going into the surgery and every doctor knows that you can't tell if it's benign or cancerous from a biopsy and that surgery is always recommended. This doctor had told me to wait and that it wasn't cancer. He reassured me countless times that "it was not cancer" not that the odds were low. So, needless to say, I was quite surprised. Then, being as freaked out as I was, I forgot to ask all my questions and just walked out to call my mom and tell her the news.

I cried and cried. What was I supposed to do? I hadn't re-signed my contract with my school because he was waiting for my results to come back. Would he hire me now that I have cancer? I can't go home because it would be too expensive in the States and no new school would hire me because I would fail my physical. My mind was spinning and spinning. 

Luckily, my boss has re-signed my contract so that I can be covered by National Health Insurance here in Korea. I also filled out paperwork for cancer patients and I will get additional insurance benefits because of this. But, I'm still waiting to see the doctor to see what my next step in treatment will be.

But, I guess if I had to get cancer, getting thyroid cancer is the best one!

HOLIC

Over the last 6 months or so a bar called Holic has opened in downtown Gwangju. This is another bar that caters to the foreigner style. It's an actual bar, not those sit down at tables Korean bars. However, there are a few tables located at either end of the bar for those who have a small group or want to buy a bottle and have a place to sit down.

Hana DJing

One of the best parts about the bar is the owner Hana. He's a great guy and loves to become friends with his customers. You can almost always find him behind the bar as the DJ. He plays a wide variety of music and takes all requests, which is rare in Gwangju bars. Just write it down or ask and he'll be sure to play it. He also has a nice size dancing area where you can cut loose and dance like crazy.

Another nice thing is that the staff is fabulous! The Korean staff are all males but they all speak good English so you don't have to worry about things getting lost in translation. They all like to have a good time and will maybe have a drink with you at the end of the night.

They have a wide variety of drinks and shots and everything is reasonably priced. You can also purchase a bottle that comes with tonic, your choice of juice, and a little snack. Personally, I find this a better deal and if you don't finish it you can leave it there for the next time you go back.

They're open 7 days a week. And on not so busy nights he's been known to turn it into karaoke and let people sing a few songs. Those are always the best nights.

So, if you want to have fun, dance, drink, and meet some great people I recommend Holic for all.

LOCATION: From the YMCA you walk past the bus stop and past the North Face store, keep going past Loteria and it will be on the right, right after the intersection.

From the Grand Hotel you will cross the street so you're on the opposite side of the mini stop and on the same side as Bubble Bar. You will walk past Bubble Bar and past S Bar and it will be on your left.

**Update**

Holic is now closed. However, the owner has opened a new bar in the area called Vanilla Sky Lounge. It's not as foreign frequented, but it's another alternative.

Eastern English

Eastern English Academy, Hwajeong-dong Gwangju, South Korea

I worked at this Eastern English Academy for 2 years. It's a small school with only 3 other Korean teachers and about 150 students, +/- 25 students, and the director and his wife.

Location: It's located on the 3rd floor of a small building that's about a 20 minute walk from the World Cup Stadium and a 7 minute walk to Milaero21 Hospital. It's also located about 2 minute walk from the apartment building that they rent out for their foreign English teacher. The school has an office with a small kitchen used for the director and the dinner that the teachers eat together every night. There are 4 used classrooms with desks, chairs, and white boards. The foreign teacher's room doesn't have desks. The chairs are arranged in a half cicrcle around the room to make for easier conversation. It also has a projector that you can hook your laptop up to to show visuals. There is also an emty classroom that's used for studying and for the English parties. And there are 2 computer rooms. All the children use the computer programs at least once a day.

Curriculum: The foreign English teacher teaches from books called Say and Say 1,2,3 and Hello Iris 1,2,3,4,5. Those are for only Elementary school students. The middle school students don't really have a curriculum. That's for you to decide. They are also allowed occational English games and when they finish their book they're allowed a snack party, where an English movie is allowed. The children also do some presentations every once in a while where they need to learn some songs and dances as well as a story presentation. It's easy and straightforward.

Pay: They pay 2.2 million won, free plane tickets there and back, an apartment, pension, end of contract bonus and insurance. They were never once late for a paycheck. They also gave an extra week of vacation at the end of the contract along with a roundtrip plane ticket for resigning with them. They were very helpful if you have any problems and they're very reliable.

Apartment: The downer of working in Korea is the apartment size. It's a standard one room apartment big enough for a queen size bed, dressor, book case, desk, tv, and a chair. The kitchen has a double gas range with a broiler in it and a small college sized refridgerator. But there was no oven or microwave. The apatment was furnished with pots and pans, silverware, dishes, rice cooker, washing machine, sheets, blankets, pillows, and tv. The bathrooms are where things get weird. The shower head is hung right over the toilet. So, when you shower you'd have to either sit on the toilet or hold the shower head. However, most bathrooms come with some shelves on the wall so if you take a metal hanger and bend it and hook it around the shelves you can create your own shower holder. The bad thing about the bathroom is that everything gets wet, but the good thing is that everything gets wet so it's easy to clean!!

Garbage: In Korea you don't pay for garbage, you pay for the garbage bags. You need to go to your local mart to buy area-specific garbage bags. You're not supposed to put recyclables or food in your garbage. The food is to be put in a blue lidded bucket and the recyclables can be put in any bag. When you take the garbage out you just put it by the road, usually at a black and yellow striped location. They pick up the trash weekdays but not on the weekends. **Warning: Fruitflies get bad in Korea so be sure to keep up with your dishes and take out your trash often, especially in the summer.

Bills: The landlady comes about once every 2-3 months to check the water meter. When she comes she charges for water, sewer, cable, etc. Then you can pay her in cash or she has a laminated sheet that she writes the water meter for the month that has a bank account number at the top that you can just transfer the money to. The other bills, gas and electric, will be put into your mail box once a month. You then take that to the bank and use a special machine that you can the bills into and just swipe your bankbook that automatically pays them for you. You'll have to have an attendant teach you how the first time, but then it's really easy. By the way, the bank is about a 2 minute walk from the school and the apartment. You'll also have to pay for your cellphone and internet. However, it usually goes through the director so he just takes it out of your paycheck so that you don't need to worry about it. He'll show you the bill for the month and then tell you that he'll deduct it. So, the bills are very easy to take care of.

Local Amenities: So, as you've read earlier that it's about an 7-8 minute walk to a large hospital and a 20 minute walk to the World Cup as well as Lotte Outlet. It's also near a Mart & Mart, which is a grocery store that will have almost everything that you'll need. The bank is about a 2 minute walk and their are 2 bus stops near. There is also a gym located less than a block from the apartment with very friendly staff and cheap prices. The nice thing about this area is that their are a lot of places to eat and drink! The people are also very friendly around there. Kimbap Nara is good in that area and they'll deliver your food to you no problem, just show them your alien card with yhour address once and they'll have it on file to send it to you. It's also about a 5-10 minute taxi/bus ride to the bus terminal that has BK, TGI Fridays, CGV, and many other things. This is also next to E-Mart and Kumho World. It's also about 15-30 minute taxi/bus ride to downtown. A taxi costs about 5000 won to go downtown.

Downside: There aren't many foreigners in this area. So, you will most likely not bump into one in this area. There is one foreign teacher that lives on the 3rd or 4th floor of the Hwajeong Villa, that's about a block away from your apartment. This teacher is the public school teacher at the Juweol Elementary School. So, if you want to find foreigners you'll want to head downtown by bus or taxi.

Busses: Up the hill and to the left from the apartment bus stop: Downtown 59, 61 (59 will drop you off at Milleorae or the YMCA); Bus Terminal 26; World Cup 26; Pungam-dong 26, 59; McDonalds 59;
Straight out from the apartment across the street bus stop: Bus Terminal 30 or 32?

Taxi: Going downtown: Shee-nay Grlanduh Hotael or Shee-nay Y M She A.
Going back home: Hwajeong-dong Ssin-dong-ah apaht (신동아). or Hwajeong-dong Maht tay Mahtuh (Mart & Mart)

Korean Side Dishes

Spinach (Sigumchi Namul)

• Ingredients:
• 1/2 lb. of spinach
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 Tbsp sesame salt*
• 1/2 Tbsp chopped green onion
• 1 clove finely chopped garlic
• 1 tsp sugar
• Directions:
• Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds. (If you're using baby spinach leaves from the bag, blanch for a shorter time.) Then remove quickly and rinse in cold water. Then gently squeeze the remaining water from the spinach. Mix the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl then pour over the spinach and mix. **Note: If you don't have sesame salt you can add 1tsp of salt and 2 more tsp of soy sauce.

Chop Chae ("mixed and stirred" "vegetables")

It's name came from the fact that it was made from thinly slices vegetables. However now, the dish is mostly comprised of noodles with added vegetables.

• Ingredients:

• 8 oz. glass noodles
• 1 sweet onion, sliced into thin strips
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 pound baby spinach, blanched for 30 seconds
• 2 carrots, julienned
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped Napa cabbage
• 5 shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated if dried and then sliced
• 2 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• Sesame seeds (optional)
• 6 oz. beef or pork (optional)*
• Directions:
• Boil the noodles according to the package directions. Then, in a large pan heat the vegetable or olive oil and 1Tbsp sesame oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic for about 1 minute. Add the rest of the vegetables and cook for about 5 minutes until they're about half-cooked. So they're still a little crispy. Turn the heat to low and add the cooked noodles, the cooked meat, soy sauce, sugar, and the remaining sesame oil. Cook it for another 2 minutes and add salt or more soy sauce if needed. Lastly top it with the sesame seeds if you'd like them.
• There are many different variations to this delicious side dish.
• Gochu japchae (고추잡채), made with shredded fresh green chili pepper and vegetables
• Buchu japchae (부추잡채), made with Korean chives
• Kongnamul japchae (콩나물잡채), made with kongnamul (soybean sprouts)
• Haemul japchae (해물잡채), made with seafood and vegetables
• Beoseot japchae (버섯잡채), made with mushrooms

Beansprouts (Kongnamul Muchim)

• Ingredients:

• 1 package of soybean sprouts (500 grams)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 3 tsp salt
• 1 tsp hot pepper flakes or Korean chili powder
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• sesame seeds
• 2 chopped green onions
• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• Directions:
• Boil the bean sprouts with 2 tsp salt and 1 cup water with the lid on for 15 minutes. When they're finished, drain them and rinse them with cold water. In a large bowl mix the bean sprouts with the garlic, green onions, soy sauce, 1 tsp salt, sugar, sesame oil, and hot pepper flakes. Then sprinkle some sesame seeds on top. **Note: For a non spicy recipe just don't add the hot pepper flakes.