Comments Posted By Kevin Kim
Displaying 2,371 To 2,400 Of 4,403 Comments
Building a house right next to the only other house on the street is definitely weird.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 28/July/2021 @ 11:35 am
It’s like Californians who say 65 degrees Fahrenheit is “freezing.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 28/July/2021 @ 6:41 pm
Well, rainy season is what it is, I guess, and sometimes, ya just gotta get soaked. Hats off to all of you for braving the rain. At least it’s a summer rain. Cold rain, I’ve found, is the absolute worst (like in the fall), totally sapping courage and morale.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/July/2021 @ 5:02 pm
Interesting story about the dogs. Kinda makes me wish I could own a gun. Or at least a machete.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/July/2021 @ 12:24 pm
Breakfast looks really good. The onions on steak do not. Good move to scrape them off. And why is that photo so blue?
Good luck with today’s Hash.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 26/July/2021 @ 4:11 pm
Alta Vista: Crater Lake Avenue
The tour continues, and the neighborhood becomes yet more fleshed-out in our minds. As always, thank you.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 26/July/2021 @ 2:00 pm
Congrats on the perfectly-done steak. Yes, I’d like to see photos next time. I don’t do steak in my own apartment because I always fear the fire alarm. A steak done in a pan requires the pan to be “ripping hot,” as they say.
Sorry to hear about the continuing rain. May it end soon, although I don’t envy you the humidity as the rain dries up.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 25/July/2021 @ 5:09 pm
A tour of the neighborhood will be nice. Thanks.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/July/2021 @ 9:46 pm
You guys routinely walk through streams, so surely a little rain doesn’t necessitate umbrellas?! Then again, I use a poncho these days, although I wonder what the point is, given how much I sweat…
I assume nothing in your building got cracked by the earthquake. When the very ground beneath your feet starts shaking, it’s hard to trust anything.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/July/2021 @ 3:49 pm
Those onions are definitely a deal-breaker for me. But the rest of the food looks good.
Sorry to hear about all the dead and dying. Life can be depressing that way, but at the same time, it’s a reminder that every moment is fleeting and therefore precious.
Don seems like a good example of the quality people you can meet in bars. Why hang out in such places? I don’t get the appeal.
Gonna be super-hot this weekend here, and as you know, my buddy JW wants to go hike along the Hantan River. I’m not really looking forward to this, but hey, it’s a chance to make an effort and maybe drop a kilo or so. Whatever helps with the weight loss.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 23/July/2021 @ 8:10 pm
Two more steak videos on the basics of steak:
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/July/2021 @ 7:07 pm
I haven’t thought much about the topic. I don’t see many people marinating steaks in the videos I watch, but a lot of people these days are into dry-aging. To do that at home, though, you need to sacrifice a lot of fridge space, I think, and the meat requires constant checking. Talk about a pain in the ass! Joule, by contrast, is just fire-and-forget, like slow-cooking. The two methods have some things in common.
Meat that gets marinated (such as chicken or seafood) is usually bland when it starts out. Beef already has its own distinct flavor, high-quality beef even more so, so that’s probably what John Kim is reacting to. You can add flavor to a steak while it’s sizzling in the skillet: butter, thyme, garlic, etc. can be spooned over the meat as it’s cooking. Another type of beef that might get marinated would be some sort of tough cut (like beef eye round), but in my opinion, 9 times out of 10, you’re better off just slow-cooking tough meat to get it tender.
So John is probably right that you should hold off on marinating high-quality beef. Watch some Sam the Cooking Guy videos on how to deal with steaks, and you’ll learn how to gauge doneness and not ruin a good cut of beef. Here’s one on ribeye. Sam is often an off-the-cuff cook, but he has a really good eye for how to cook steaks, and he’s not an insufferable snob like Gordon Ramsay.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/July/2021 @ 6:29 pm
“Hash tradition requires drinking a beer from inside new shoes. Yuck!”
So it’s less yucky to drink from stinky, used shoes?
“Sous vide” literally means “under vacuum.” It’s an immersion method of cooking where you dunk your bagged proteins (meats) into a heated water bath for X amount of time. The meat comes out fully cooked, but looking gray and scary, so you finish it on your skillet or grill with a quick sear (skillet on gas range is arguably better than grill for this purpose). Perfectly cooked, and perfectly seared. It’s an excellent method for cooking your meat all the way through, but you have to start way in advance of when you plan to eat.
Buy yourself a Joule (I have yet to buy one, but I’m going to), preferably one set up for 220V or whatever they use in the Philippines, fill a deep tub or bucket with water, put the Joule in the water (usually clip the machine to the side of the tub), turn it on, let the water come up to temperature, then put your meat in for the recommended amount of time (Joule comes with a phone app that suggests times and temperatures for different types of meat).
Arguably more popular than Joule is the Anova sous-vide device. If you can’t find a Joule, get an Anova.
You might have to buy a vacuum-sealer machine and vacuum-seal bags to go with your sous-vide device, or you can just use Ziploc bags. To get a near-vacuum with a Ziploc bag, put your meat in the bag, then dunk the bag in the tub of water. The pressure from the water will close the bag until it hugs the meat pretty closely. Don’t let water from the tub get into the bag. Once the bag is almost fully dunked, close the zip-top. Voilà.
I’ve never done sous vide myself, but I’m impatient to try it. The Joule is probably something for my Christmas list. I think it’s close to $300. Is that worth it? I think that, if you’re a carnivore, it is. You already know the pleasure of slow-cooking meats and stews and chili, and sous vide is just as easy to use. The only extra thing is throwing away the used plastic bags. Recycle.
Look up “sous vide” on YouTube, and you’ll probably see plenty of ChefSteps videos featuring the Joule.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/July/2021 @ 4:46 pm
I should add that, since you like your crockpot so much, you can use that, too. Cook it tender enough, and you can shred it, slather it in BBQ sauce, and have yourself a mess of pulled-beef sandwiches.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/July/2021 @ 5:52 pm
My favorite cut of the cow is brisket. I hope John Kim will be selling that. You can make a perfectly decent brisket in your oven if you wish.
Yeah, the drainage project appears to have been a joke.
Happy Birthday to your mom, gone but never forgotten.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/July/2021 @ 4:15 pm
Yeah, I watch a lot of Ryan George. He’s pretty funny for a raging Canadian liberal.
Traction seems to be a constant problem on these trails, especially when it’s rainy. I never have to worry about traction on Korean bike paths: everything is laid out in a simple, straightforward, and usually well-manicured way. You have my sympathies, although you do seem to enjoy these trails despite their dangers.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 20/July/2021 @ 6:17 pm
Well, you’ve lost a couple pounds already, so that’s an excellent start. You don’t really have that much farther to go. The trick, for both of us, will be maintaining our goal weight after reaching it.
Love the cartoon, but I think the punchline telegraphed itself. Too much buildup.
Beautiful pics as always.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 19/July/2021 @ 5:01 pm
Didn’t realize that was a Joni Mitchell song. And I don’t think I’d ever seen the lyrics laid out before. Interesting.
Life is as meaningful as you make it. From where I sit, your life contains plenty of meaning, and I always appreciate the insights you have about the Philippines and its people. Keep doing what you’re doing!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/July/2021 @ 8:31 pm
Taking a stand before the falls
“Cleaning the river,” indeed.
Congrats on the win. By now, you doubtless have a reputation as the local darts badass.
I’d hate walking a trail with soaked feet. You never get any blisters?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 17/July/2021 @ 5:49 pm
I hope she’s not scamming you.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/July/2021 @ 6:53 pm
Good luck with your own weight-loss campaign. It’s just ten pounds, so I bet you can lose that in a couple weeks. Sorry you’ll be going without your beloved beer, ice cream, and carbs, but once you’re back down to your target weight, you can hop back on that wagon. Just do what you can to shed the weight and keep it off (I’m talking to myself as much as I’m talking to you).
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 15/July/2021 @ 7:41 pm
I simply can’t live the way you do, but hey, you do you, as long as no one’s getting hurt. Meantime, enjoy your lazy day!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 14/July/2021 @ 7:05 pm
Beautiful shots, as always. I guess doing the trail backward was a bit awkward (or not), but it looks to have been fun all the same. I hope that birthday cake being held by Fuck Buddy managed not to get smashed.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 13/July/2021 @ 3:34 pm
Mundane or not, just live deeply. You can find depth in the ordinary, and that’s just fine.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/July/2021 @ 3:58 pm
Enjoy the party, the BBQ, and the company! Thanks, as always, for the pictures.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 11/July/2021 @ 3:20 pm
Second place is better than losing entirely.
And that’s quite a healthy distance for a walk!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 10/July/2021 @ 10:58 pm
Sometimes, it’s good just to kick back.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 09/July/2021 @ 7:02 pm
When I did the 26K hike last weekend—in the rain and wind—my buddy JW insisted on resting several times. He’s experiencing foot pain that I don’t think he’s admitting to.* Were I hiking alone, yes, I’d go without a break for 26K. That’s really too short a distance to justify resting. And keep in mind the trails I walk are mostly level; I doubt I could hack what you guys do, especially in all the heat and humidity.
__________
*He was also wearing cotton socks on a rainy day. Idiot. Cotton is the worst for distance walking.» Posted By Kevin Kim On 09/July/2021 @ 6:59 pm
Those maps always make the hikes seem much longer than the distances you report. Then again, I imagine the inclines along the way also make the hikes seem longer!
Cute kids.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 08/July/2021 @ 4:58 pm
«« Back To Stats PageAnother victory! Good for you.
Enjoyed the pussy shot.
We grammarians are a catty bunch, it’s true.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 07/July/2021 @ 11:05 pm