Growing up in a pretty Korean family household, with tiger mom as the matriarch of my family, I would say that love wasn't expressed verbally very often. However, I look back now and I see how food was a way that my mother showed us how much she loved us. Food is such an integral part of how a family interacts with one another and I now see how my mother really expressed her love for us with the food that she cooked. Korean eating is a bit complicated...you have the banchan (side dishes) and a main dish and rice etc....dinner was never just a simple meal. I assumed this was how it was for most Korean households for my entire life until later on when I learned...we are not all the same. I took it all for granted when I was younger. My tiger mom may not have necessarily shown her love verbally all the time, but I know she loved me then and now because she takes the extra step in making sure that I am fed well and have a balanced diet for every meal that she prepares...something that is not so easy when you start living on your own.
It's also very interesting to see how food is consistently displayed throughout the bible with all the analogies and fables etc. How Jesus fed the five thousand; how Daniel refused to eat the same way the rest of the chosen Jews were required to eat; how Jesus used bread and wine to symbolize his body and the sacrifice he was about to make...all important and significant. Jesus fed the five thousand as a reflection of faith from Andrew and other followers who knew Jesus would perform a miracle but also to show how great Jesus' love was for the people that had gathered to follow him. Daniel refused to defile himself with the royal food despite the fact that it was probably really delicious but also because he loved his God whom had dictated what should and shouldn't be eaten. Our modern communion is also based off an analogy where bread and wine is personified as Jesus so that we will remember his sacrifice for us and continue his good works. That we should be so deserving....
Anyways, a delicacy that I would say is native to Hong-Kong, and possibly my favorite fowl in the whole wide world; pigeon. Yes, the same rodent with wings that people from New York City refer to as winged rats. However, the pigeon we eat here is very clean and are bred just for eating. I would say the meat is a cross between chicken and duck. Much tastier than the both though and doesn't have a gamey taste to it. I tried dove once....it was definitely gamey. Pigeon would definitely be my choice of fowl. For anyone who visits Hong-Kong, I would say this is one of the hidden edible treasures we have to offer. It's not that weird considering there are a lot of stranger things that could be listed here...Guinea Pig is a delicacy in Peru I hear...
I didn't get a shot of the pigeon on the dish....but this is a picture of the pigeon head....being held by my friend.
I have no more pictures of pigeon....but my friend sort of looks like the pigeon head...
Gookman~
