I thought the chastening nadir for the Prime Minister during a weekend of dismal local election results was a Labour mayoral victory in his own North Yorkshire constituency. But I was wrong. It was the cake-taking announcement from the council to stop using apostrophes on street signs because they created problems for its computer systems. The residents are not impressed; one of them said everything goes downhill when we start losing things like that. And damn right she is. If mispunctuation is institutionalised, where do we go from here?
I could relegate these worries for now, for my fellow audience at a book talk looked like decent folk who could be trusted to pick up pitchforks against grammar crime. The book Black Girl from Pyongyang was based on the author's true story so unique and remarkable, I've gone off script from the bookshop-tripping template just this once to share it. The daughter of the President of Equatorial Guinea, she was sent to North Korea when she was a child and placed under the care of the erstwhile Kim. Her father was executed in a military coup soon after which made the return journey impractical. She lived in Pyongyang until adulthood then went on an identity-seeking journey to Europe and Africa. The author was joined by a friend, a historian and diplomat at the Foreign Office who was in charge of laying the groundwork after Britain established diplomatic relations with North Korea at the turn of the century.
New Malden was a fitting location for the event, home to the largest number of DPRK defectors in Europe. On the way back, we stopped at Korea Foods. Our prior visit to the supermarket almost seven years ago for Cook Every Country had been a penny-dropping gateway to London's multicultural joys beyond Zones 1 and 2.
Dinner menu was hoovered into Korea day's slipstream. I turned to my tried and tested yachaejeon (vegetable pancake) recipe.
I cut 1/3rd of a courgette into matchsticks and put them in a mixing bowl. I gently removed the gnarly base from a cluster of brown shimeji mushrooms and separated the stalks. I stir fried the stalks for 1-2 minutes, then tipped them into the bowl over the courgette. I mixed and let the vegetables cool off. I added ¾ cup of flour, ¼ cup of corn starch and ½ teaspoon of salt into the mixing bowl. I gradually added water and mixed until a thick batter had formed.
I heated a large flat pan and added a splash of oil. I spread the batter out all the way out to the perimeter. I cooked for 2 minutes, then flipped and drizzled more oil around the edges. I continued cooking for another 3-4 minutes, pressing the pancake down and flipping a few more times until both sides were crisp and browned. Igeo masisseoyo!
Krishnan
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