Happy Valentine’s Day Followed by White Day but Hopefully Not Black Day

Happy Valentine’s Day! My girlfriend and I used to go out for dinner for Vday but getting reservations can sometimes be difficult, let alone finding a prefixe menu that sounds good. Our tradition over the last few years is to cook a nice meal together. Two favorites from past years include this massaman curry (GF/Vegan) paired with riesling and penne with vodka sauce. One not so favorite was a beet risotto – too much beet in the risotto.

It’s fun to come up with your own menu even if there is the occasional miss. Unfortunately for the first time in years my SO and I are away from each for Valentine’s Day. On the positive side, this provides a little more time for us to come up with a special dinner idea. What are your plans for tonight?

Black Day
On the topic of Valentine’s Day, I read about an interesting tradition in Korea called “Black Day.” That country (and Japan) celebrate it twice. On February 14th, the female buys the present, typically chocolate for the male. On March 14th, called “white day” where the males present said female with marshmallows or white chocolate hence the same. (Clever marketing idea starting in 1978).

And then in Korea, there is “Black Day.” On April 14th, known as Black Day, sorry singles in Korea who did not receive presents on Valentine’s Day or White Day, gather, dressed in black—black nail polish, black accessories, black shoes—and eat jjajang myeon, noodles covered in black bean paste. (Jjajang translates to black bean paste sauce; myeon, noodles).

The Chinese-style noodle dish is one of South Korea’s national foods, and is considered a comfort food—comparable to the stereotypical image of Ben and Jerry’s eaten straight out of the carton. On Black Day, there are organized, jjajang myeon-eating contests, where dark and devastated loners emerge to eat their weight in starch and bean paste. Sales of black coffee spike, and matchmaking services pounce on the resounding pity for singles lingering in the air.