Kimchi Mamas

Hepatitis B, You, and Your Baby

Did you know that Hepatitis B is 100 times more prevalent in Asians and ten times more common than HIV? The virus is most commonly transmitted from mother to child during birth. If you are preggers, make sure you get tested to see if you are infected. The USPSTF recommends all pregnant women get screened for Hep B.  All children and adults under age 25 should get the Hep B Vaccine (3 shots).

The nonprofit (http://hepbmoms.org) educates mothers about this leading cause of liver cancer. During the month of May, they are encouraging moms to visit to their website and participate in a “Hep B Stops with Me” contest to win prizes from the Tea children’s clothing line. 

Many thanks to Chrissy Cheung for sending us this info!

- Mary

Open Thread Thursday

It's Thursday!

What's on your mind?

I'm flying off to Chicago for a friend's wedding. Yipee!

- Mary

Free Kids and Family Program at LA Asian Pacific Film Festival

Film festivals sound like such fun, but when you have small people tethered to your legs - small people with early bedtimes no less - they don't seem like very practical endeavors. (Especially not when the last movie you saw was that bad Heigl rom-com from how many months back now?) Now the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival has a Saturday morning short film program, and a follow up fun performance artist in the theater lobby (with the irrepressible Kristina Wong). 

Here's the program info:

Itsy Bitsy Shorts at the L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival

Date:	Saturday, May 1, 2010
Time:	10:00am - 11:00am
Location:	Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Blvd (at Hayworth, One block west of Fairfax), West Hollywood

ITSY BITSY SHORTS: “FURRY FEATHERED FRIENDS AND MORE” TRT: 30 min.

The second edition of ITSY BITSY SHORTS returns to showcase films that speak to our youngest moviegoers, bringing us up close with a cuddly hand-drawn pup, sneaky 3D birds, multilingual stop motion animals searching for home, and two island brothers who court trouble in their quest for summer shaved ice…the fun continues with a special program appearance by performance artist Kristina Wong. (Appropriate for viewers age 3 and up)

DGA parking and tickets for this event are free! (This is a FREE admission, but a ticket must be ordered to hold your seat(s).)

SF Giants Korean Heritage Night

If you'e in the Bay Area, check out SF Giants Korean Heritage Night.

"The Giants would like to invite all Korean community groups and families in Northern California to join us at AT&T Park for a Wednesday night showdown with the division-rival San Diego Padres. Fans will be entertained with Korean cultural performances on the field prior to the game, and all special event ticket holders will be seated in the same section to create a community feel at the Park. Additionally, each ticket package includes a commemorative Korean-themed Giants t-shirt that is only available through this ticket offer. Come out and represent the strong connection between Korean culture and baseball at this great event!"

Sounds fabulous.

Thanks to Eleanna for the heads up!

- Mary is not a big baseball fan but perhaps it's time for a baseball game with the toddler.

April Photo Share!

Everyone has their personal favorite harbinger of spring.  Mine happens to be the cheery yellow forsythia bushes, especially the kind that are allowed to grow wild and unkempt.  I had the chance to photograph my daughter in a particularly extravagant forest of forsythia growing by a park.  It was just perfect for fulfilling one of my dreams, which was to recreate with my daughter this photo of me taken just a few weeks before I left Korea:

I spent that last month before I left Korea in Wonju, with my maternal grandparents, while my parents prepared for the big move to Chicago, and some of my fondest early childhood memories are from that time in that place.

How do you and your families celebrate spring?  Please share links to any images you may have.

Also, mark your calendars for a special post on Children's Day, May 5th!  You won't want to miss it! 

~ Sarah-Ji

My Thoughts on "The Mommy Track"

Weigook Saram gave us all a heads up about this article on Slate, "The Mommy Track Turns 21, Why it no longer deserves a bad rap from feminists" by Angie Kim.

I've never really thought about being or not being on a "Mommy Track." I've only mainly thought about the pros and cons of being a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) versus working full time outside the home. I "chose" (in quotes because we need the double income to make ends meet unless we move to the outskirts and drastically change our lifestyle) to work full time because I prefer to work and pay someone else to raise my kids. JUST KIDDING. Well... only kind of?

Even if I had oodles of money, I don't think I would choose to stay home and raise my kids all on my own. I would probably still put them in some sort of daycare/preschool program. Why? Because I don't think I'm all that great at providing enough stimulation for them to learn and thrive. I can only play legos for so long until my butt gets sore and my legs fall asleep. Also, I want them to interact with other kids for a bulk of the day to help teach them social skills. But given that I don't have oodles of money, I work full time for Big Company who generously provide healthcare for my entire family and help me pay for diapers, groceries, and the mortgage. I like the intellectual stimulation that my work provides, as well as a sense of accomplishment I get when I finish a big project or see the product of my work being used in real life. I also like that I can be an employee or 8 hours a day, and not "mommy." 

4/20 Pork Belly Kimchi Tacos

I had a huge craving this afternoon for some spiciness. And since necessity is the mother of invention, I created this recipe with some leftovers I had in the refrigerator.  Korean fusion cuisine is easy-peasy if you remember a couple things: Kimchi + pork = 2getha 4eva, and Korean side dishes (ban chan) makes pretty much anything taste more lively (or, dare I say it, exotic).  And let me just add that its name and culinary daredevilry aside, these tacos were not invented under the influence of actual 420.  It's more of an homage, let's say.

I believe this is the first recipe I've ever posted, so that should show you how religious this eating experience was for me.  I washed it down with Black Beer Stout made by Hite (yes, a Korean stout!!!) which is basically Guinness Lite and is my new favorite beer.

 

Julie's 4/20 Pork Belly Kimchi Tacos

8-10 slices of pork belly (samgyupsal), sliced vertically into 1/4-inch strips
2 large king oyster mushrooms (or 1 pack of normal mushrooms), sliced similarly to pork belly
1-2 cups kimchi, roughly chopped (depending on whether you want it to be mostly meat or mostly kimchi)
1 T butter or bacon grease
Chili flakes (gochugaru) to taste, optional
salt and pepper to taste
Corn tortillas
Taco fixin's: I used seaweed salad and crumbled tofu, but the more "traditional" shredded cabbage/salsa/queso fresco combo would be excellent as well.  Another possibility would be bibim-bahp toppings if you have them handy.

1. Heat a pan over medium-high heat.  Throw the pork belly strips in and let them brown.  Season with salt and pepper (watch the salt, since kimchi is naturally salty).

2. After 2 minutes, throw in the mushrooms and saute for 3-4 minutes.  Add 1 T butter or bacon grease for flavor and lubrication.

3. Throw in the kimchi and chili flakes!  Saute (but mostly leave it be) for 8-10 minutes, or until done.  The kimchi will release their juices after a few minutes; let that evaporate and caramelize.  The kimchi's done when it is slightly yellow in color and floppy.

4. Warm up your tortillas, and scoop in your filling and toppings.  Disfrutenlos, amigos!

Feeds 2+

Note: I didn't include sesame oil in the recipe because I personally hate the taste of it with kimchi, but include it if you wish.

 

--Julie

Being Other; Being Whole

My daughter and I were at Chicago's Field Museum for a kid's theater show, and we happened to pass by this photo exhibit of portraits of people who are part Asian.  It's a selection of images from Kip Fullbeck's Hapa Project.  He also has a book titled the same as the exhibit.

It was interesting to see so many different faces who are all part Asian and to read the descriptions of how people define themselves personally.  My daughter was too hungry for lunch to take the time to look at each photo, but I did wonder how much she has considered being "other."  As far as I know, she is the only mixed race child in her class, and she knows that Mommy is Korean, and Daddy is not, and she is both.  

I doubt she's given it much thought, and I'm not sure what guidance I can provide in encouraging her to reflect on her identity as she grows older.  I hope our postmodern sensibilities will allow us to embrace the complexity and seeming contradiction of having a racial makeup of certain proportions that do not equate to how one actually identifies oneself.  I don't know how my daughter will take her "half Korean-ness" and "half Caucasian-ness" and integrate them into an identity that is holistic and truly her own self; I just hope I can be the support she needs on that journey.

~ Sarah-Ji

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In addition to the Hapa Project, Kip Fullbeck has a newer project called MIXED which features portraits of mixed race children and is also out in book form.

To see if there is an exhibit of either project near you, click here.

Giving in to Hope

Having a family of my own makes me think about the one I had growing up. My parents, my brother, my sister.  The way we related to each other, or didn't.  The way we treated each other.  Some of the things that went right, but mostly, what didn't. 

I think about my parents when they first started out.  Younger than Jeff and I currently are by almost two decades.  No one starts out intending to have a fractured family, and I'm sure they didn't. I imagine them as a newly married couple as they appear in the wedding photos we have at home -- with years to look forward to, with plans and hopes, and with the same kinds of excitement and anticipation Jeff and I have about raising our own children. Now their oldest child is in his 40s, and the other two, in their late 30s. Do they look back and wonder if things could have turned out differently?

Open Thread Thursday

Better late than never.

It's Thursday!  What's on your mind today? Taxes? Spring? Glee? (Saw the cast on Oprah the other day.)

Random: There seems to be a community outbreak of hand-foot-mouth disease in my area. My little one caught it but he's almost recovered now.

- Mary