How to Celebrate A Korean's Birthday

Pho real?

You kidnap him (and his non-Asian wife) and you go eat Vietnamese/Korean pho.

One of Justin's mission buddies's birthdays is today. But, since he was already being kidnapped for today, we talked with his wife and kidnapped them last night. Justin (my husband) and Justin Chang (henceforth known as Chang) got to know each other very well on their LDS mission to the south Salt Lake Valley area during 2010. They've been close buddies ever since.

Chang is half-Korean and likes a lot of the same things Justin does: food (especially Asian food, especially Korean food), anime, sci-fi, videogames. They have different majors--Chang is a political science major, they have different personalities--Chang is much quieter and calm than Justin. Funny thing is, Chang's wife, Rachel, is the female version of Justin! They are much more similar in personality and action. And, Chang and I are pretty similar in personality and action. Which makes it great! Rachel and Justin will get all uber-geeky and Chang and I will talk of other things. Then, Justin and Chang will reminisce about their mission and Rachel and I will talk of cooking, fantasy, writing, etc.

One of Rachel and Chang's favorite dishes is the Vietnamese pho. Pho is kind of like a high-class ramen. Pho is actually popular in many eastern Asian countries, so Koreans are very familiar with it as well.

You have a big bowl of broth, rice noodles, onion, and meat. Then, you have a side plate of green hot peppers, basil leaves, bean sprouts to put in at your pleasure. There are also two sauces to squirt in--sriracha (spicy) and hoison (sweet).

It is very delicious and it is a big bowl. 

The four of us ate and ate and ate and ate. And we talked and talked and talked and talked. That is one great thing about the Chang's...we can spend hours talking with them and never run out of things to say or get bored.

So, what do you feed a half-Korean for his birthday? Vietnamese pho!!!