Pork belly

The boiled spaghetti is thrown into a pan of onion, bell pepper, mushroom, and garlic.   She then dumps what is left of the pollack egg flavored Furikake.  This is what she has learnt from her mother, who had to cook for a family of four while pursuing her PhD: toss in whatever readily available ingredients that will go well together.  Voila, unexpected delicacy.  She pokes a fork into the middle of the frying pan, twirls it to catch some noodles, fishes for pieces of mushroom and bell pepper, and tastes the concoction.  "Perfect," she thinks, "just what I was craving for."

The next day, she opens the refrigerator and presses her fingers against the thawed package of pork belly.  She wants to boil it as her grandmother would, but doesn't quite know how to.  She texts her parents for instructions.

Her father promptly calls, but it isn't his voice.

"Hi it's me," says a familiar female voice.

"Mom! I had the weirdest dream last night," she immediately starts to chatter away about what may be considered the most mundane thing to tell another person.

"No, it's me, your aunt!"   This is the aunt who raised her while her parents had to return to Korea without her.  Thinking about her brings a feeling of warmth and softness.  Maybe because that's how her hugs feel.  She gives detailed instructions on how to cook the pork belly.

Ingredients:

Pork belly
(this one is 1.3lb, or "the size of two of your fists put together," her aunt confirms)
A can of beer
(more the better? Anyway, she uses two cans)
One whole bulb of garlic
Ginger
("the size of your pinky," as her aunt describes)
Tablespoon of salt
Ground pepper
One onion
Jalapeno
(may be replaced by a couple of unidentified chilies available at the commissary)

In a medium sized pot, pour two cans of beer, and drop in all the prepared ingredients.  Make sure that the piece of pork belly is fully submerged.  Bring the pot to a boil at high temperature, then allow it to simmer for at least an hour.

You may stand by the stove and stare at the pot, but this will not make the meat cook faster.  If you are confident that the pot will not overflow, you may leave the kitchen for a while and read a book or otherwise be productive.  However, it is completely okay to stay and stare, as she always does, whether a pan of muffins needs to be baked for fifteen minutes or the turkey needs to be cooked for a couple of hours.

After poking around and slicing enough to verify that the meat is thoroughly cooked, she tries a piece of the pork belly.  It is perfect.  She eats another piece with some kimchi and remembers that there is one thing missing: a piece of fermented stinger.  That would complete the trio of a delightful Korean dish.