Another public figure gets the ‘netizen’ treatment

Who would have guessed there would come a time when even chefs have to stay away from the Internet if they want to live their lives in peace?
I am talking about “netizens.”
Korea’s netizens are menacing creatures. In my dad’s opinion, they are ruining the country. To make an American comparison, they are more frightening than Shannon Doherty. Their only job is to hang around in PC bangs, attacking celebrities, politicians and anyone who makes more money than they do.
I deeply empathize with the victims of these ruthless attacks and rumor-mongerings launched on random Internet sites by low, brainless whiners. We’ve all seen too many of them, and we are sick it.
Yet once in a blue moon, I must admit, there are a few netizens who really try hard to get their point across.
Recently I came across such a person while surfing through the Web site of a young, trendy chef who hosts a cooking show on a local cable channel. We’ll call the chef “Ms. Kitty” in this column, in fairness to the people who are involved in producing the program.
The netizen, who used a female Internet ID name, left this message on Ms. Kitty’s bulletin board: “As an admirer of your company, I decided to write an open letter to Ms. Kitty, as I have found there are a few unique characteristics to her behavior during the program,” the letter said.
Then it went on.
“Ms. Kitty always grabs her pepper grinder after rubbing and fumbling with her chicken,” the writer said. “She imitates Jamie Oliver, tasting her ingredients way too often during the show, though strangely, she looks much more unsanitary on screen than other chefs who do the same thing.”
After elaborating on that point for a while, the writer arrived at her next complaint: “Ms. Kitty often sticks her kitchen towel in her armpit when she cooks.”
From the tone of this missive, it’s almost certain that the writer was a woman. For one thing, none of the men I know have felt the need to say such things, no matter how badly Ms. Kitty cooks on the air, simply because she is hot. Half the time, she wears a satin top that subtly reveals her chest. Watching the program, a person can almost imagine the male producers drooling all over her kitchen table.
The writer ended the message with a punch: “She dices her vegetables the way kids sharpen their pencils with an X-Acto knife. If the program continues for another day, I will come back and finish the rest of what I couldn't say here.”
Unfortunately for Ms. Hostility, or whatever her name might be, the show still goes on.

How to Cook

Boiled chicken with bean sprouts

Ingredients: 1 young chicken, 150g of bean sprouts, eight minari (dropwort), 1/2 green onion, 2 red chili peppers, 2 green chili peppers, 3 cups of starch. For sauce: 3 teaspoons of chili powder, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of chili paste, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of crushed ginger, 1 teaspoon of cooking wine, 1/2 teaspoon of seasame seeds, 1/2 teaspoons of sesame oil, 2 cups of water.
1. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and wash under running water.
2. Cut the minari into 4-centimeter pieces. Remove the tails from the bean sprouts.
3. Seed the chili peppers and chop them, along with the green onion. Mix the sauce ingredients.
4. Put the chicken and the bean sprouts in a pot, and add the sauce and the water. Boil until the bean sprouts are cooked.
5. Add the minari, chili peppers and green onion. Boil for another half-hour.
6. Add starch, stir and boil for a few more minutes. Serve with sesame seeds sprinkled on top.
From miz.naver.com, Delicook

by Park Soo-mee