It is the first day of January 2021. We are done with the partying and it’s going to be back to reality for us soon.
I miss December, like I always do, because it’s the month when everyone around me starts to slow down to take a break from work; when I can finally get my family out of the house for a holiday. This year, we had a very short staycation at the Sofitel Resort @ Sentosa for three days and two nights. It kept raining, but the trip was fulfilling and fun and happy nevertheless. We didn’t get to cycle, do the Luge/Skycar or the Hydrodash, but the boy got to do a lot of things that he enjoyed nevertheless – kick the ball at the beach, build sandcastles, take the cable car (twice – once in the day and once at night), and meet new friends and sit on the rollercoaster at the hotel’s Kids’ Club. The both of us also managed some time for ourselves as well, and I even got to do some laps at the hotel pool. We were initially worried that we would not be able to get any of our reservations through for the pool and the Kids’ Club, but the staff helped us to pull these through so it was a great break for all of us at the end of the day.
I can feel how tired everyone is with 2020 and how much we are all hoping to start afresh in 2021. This is how significant 2021 is going to be for all of us, all around the world. New year, new start, new life, better health, better economy, less restrictions… and the list goes on. It has indeed been a very tiring year and we hope social norms can go back to how they used to be – very soon.
I can’t predict how work is going to be like for myself and for him in 2021, but I really hope that we could occassionally take some time off for each other more often this year. I hope that our family can stay happy and healthy always, including the extended family. I wish for more patience when I teach my boy; I wish for only the simple things in life and for us all to remain contented always. And maybe one more thing – and that is to be able to finally step out of the house without any more masks hiding our true selves and to face the world unafraid and undaunted by any more of such deadly viruses.
So, coming back to this blog post and recipe. The guy and I, we usually take simple meals at home, whipping up quick lunches so that we could go back to work without too much of a fuss. One day, he actually suggested to make this dish for lunch for both of us, and even offered to pan-fry the beef cubes for it. I said okay – and so here it is. A very addictive dish of chapaguri with really tasty, juicy beef steak bites, just like how they cooked it in the movie. It is definitely not overrated – all these hype over the dish from the popular movie ‘Parasite‘. Once you start, you can’t stop and you will find yourself asking for more and thinking about it again the next day!
And with this simple plate of chapaguri, I give cheers to all my readers out there and wish all of you a very very happy 2021 ahead. Cheers!
Ingredients:
- Neoguri (너구리): 1 packet
- Chapaghetti (짜파게티): 1 packet
- Olive oil: 1 tbsp
- Sirloin beef steak: 120g, cubed, marinated with a pinch of salt and ground blackpepper
Method:
- Cook noodles from both packets together with the packets of dried vegetable mix.
- Drain and reserve 1/2 cup water, pouring this back into the noodles.
- Mix in the remaining seasonings from inside the packets. Set aside.
- Heat oil in pan.
- Saute beef cubes till browned on each side, about 1-2min.
- Toss beef cubes with noodles to serve.
Serving:
2 persons