My Kimchi Soup Essay

I looked at my small, outdated phone when I had smelled something. I thought it was out Korean neighbors next door since I could definitely pick up a distinct Kimchi smell. Sour, spicy, good ol’ Korean kimchi. I opened the door to the living room and saw a huge, old silver pot. My dad caught sight of me and looked back to the tv screen. Back then we weren't as close, since we just moved in with him due to my parents splitting apart.

   I waalked over to the pot and lifted the heavy top. The steam poured out of the pot like a mini cloud and bits of water flowed from the top of the cover back into the pot. Then it hit me. That addicting spicy smell again. An hour later my dad had called us outside when i asked him:

   

    "What's so special about kimchi soup? You never did this before." I questioned. 

    "Kimchi soup is a basic korean staple dish and you should be able to cook it since it is supposed to be the girl cooking in the house. It isn't that hard to do." He explained to me as I carried the bowls to the table. 

    We never ate this at home before nor has my dad ever cooked it. Ever. I stared skeptically at the concoction and pondered about it for a minute swirling my spoon around in the mix. Tofu, kimchi, meat and what looked to me as… Mushrooms? What’s the worst that could happen? I grabbed my special spoon with the deer on it and scooped up a huge chunk of rice with soup into my mouth. Sighing I picked up my chopsticks and plucked out all of the meat, tofu and kimchi out onto my plate of rice to cool off. The meat was a bit tough and the kimchi had tasted really spicy, but the tofu was a good firmness and soon there was no more soup or rice.

    I sighed in content and went to the bathroom to wash my face from all of the perspiration dripping from my temples. That was one of the first times my family talked so much in so long. The smiling faces after a hard days work with bulging tummies from the food. In reality it was actually 2 years ago that I had that blissful experience.

    “Dad, why did you decide to even make kimchi soup in the beginning? You didn’t even know how to make it right?” I wondered aloud as he made his way to the couch after another successful dinner.

    “I missed your grandmother and her coking so I decided to make it again. We’re Korean and it’s like a traditional staple dish so I just made it. Since you didn’t help me I asked your aunty and used the internet.” He casually replied as he grabbed a ps3 controller and switched on his ps3. 

    My dad told me I should learn to make it since I’m probably going to crave it later. I could probably make this dish right? Pshhh of course I can. Making Korean food was in my blood. The soup always brought back happy memories because that was the first time my dad made us something so. Different. He always made something light and could never cook back then, but he did it for my brother and I as a single parent. Whenever I eat his cooking now I can't help but feel proud of the dad that couldn't cook to save his life. His cooking is nice now and makes my taste buds soar with every family dinner we have.