Raised by Wolves by Jess Ho

Author:Jess Ho
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Affirm Press
Published: 2022-06-25T00:00:00+00:00

In less than twenty-four hours, I would be waiting at the station exit at Flushing for Hooni to pick me up in his car. We’d meet the host and cameraman at the first stop – a Korean barbecue restaurant specialising in aged kimchi and pork. The next venue specialised in beef, and the owner wouldn’t let any parts of the meat char, slapping Hooni’s hands away from the tongs and snipping at the edges of beef with scissors. ‘Koreans are very health conscious and think the Maillard reaction causes cancer,’ said Hooni, to the camera.

I experienced Korean-Chinese steamed buns, learned of the Chinese influence in jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) and jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup), and was educated about the difference between Japanese and Korean sushi.

Hooni pointed towards a tank and the chefs clubbing fish behind the counter. ‘Koreans literally beat the fish to death because the body responding in shock and stress makes the flesh sweeter and chewier, whereas Japanese people kill their fish ike-jime-style and age them for a softer mouthfeel.’ Even in describing live-action death, Hooni had such a warm demeanour about him. Later that year, he’d be cast as a judge on Korea’s MasterChef.

I saw how drunk people get while eating gamjatang (pork bone and potato soup); inhaled my first soondae (Korean blood sausage), which changed my life; had clams explode in my face over a grill at a joomak (pub); and drank litres of Cass beer and soju.

‘See how the waiters leave the empty bottles on your table? It’s because when Koreans get drunk and we get cut off, we like to argue. Now, the waiter can point at the table and say, ‘See how drunk you are! You’ve had twelve bottles. No more for you!’ As if on cue, a woman stumbled into the kitchen and was kicked out by the chef.

‘Oh no, she can’t find the bathroom,’ said Hooni, graciously translating the Korean drama unfolding in front of us. She walked straight out the front door, dropped her pants and pissed in the snow. Wow, this is the intersection between naivety, excitement and magic. I beamed.

She came back to her table and continued eating.

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