Foam-egranate

Last weekend, all of us (sans Terence, who had a huge hang-over and felt like he was ran over by a truck) went to Non Dae Mun - the Divisoria of South Korea!

After walking around in -1C weather with wind (bbrrrrr), we were headed back to the warm sanctuary called "subway station" when I spotted a lady selling these familiar things. Selling price was 3 pieces for 10,000 KRW (about 8USD) or 3,500 a piece. I convinced her to part with one in exchange for 3,000 KRW (around 2.50 USD). So, this piece of purple-red wonder became mine.

Heart on a plate

After three days, I spotted it sitting on top of my microwave oven. The outside was quite soft - like a papaya a day away from ripeness. It was time to operate.

Cut in half!

Butchering a pomegranate is not one of my talents. In my entire life, this will only be my third time to have a close encounter with this... seedy fruit (the first two being courtesy of Jeni). The ones I had seen were pale pink to pinkish-red and the insides were a soft pink... like crystals. So imagine my shock when I sliced this open and blood sprayed across my kitchen counter.

Bloody murder!

Now, when Jeni ate this she would quarter the fruit and pick at the seeds. When she got impatient, she'd scrape the pink bits off with her teeth.

However, Marketman had a post on these things. His daughter brought home a pom from China and when it was his turn to butcher it, he whacked the bejeezus out of the thing with the back of a spoon. Masunurin akong bata so I took my spoon (Koreans use huge but beautifully shaped spoons that weigh a ton) and started taking my aggression out on the helpless pomegranate.

Beaten to a pulp...literally

The seemingly tiny fruit (about the size of a softball), yileded about 2 to 2.25 cups of beautiful red caviar. Not bad for something that became my punching bag. It felt good...after a hard day at work, it was definitely what the doctor ordered.

Caviar, anyone?

Eating it, however, took some effort from me. It was not the sort of thing I'd eat. It was slightly sweet, tart to the point of producing a slight pain in my throat (like swallowing a sip of citrus juice the wrong way), and strangely watery.

Aaaaggghhhh...

But the mouthfeel was amazing! Placing a spoonful between my molars and crunching down felt...explosive. First, my teeth go through flesh that yielded with a sligh snap. Then I ground down against gritty and amazingly stiff seeds that pop in my mouth - reminds me of why I like to eat sesame seeds.

So was it worth 3,000 KRW? I won't buy it again... but I'd eat it if it were free! I take it back, I'd buy it again and sneak it back into Manila for Jeni. The look on her face when she sees this will be priceless!