Squid Game 2, Onigiri and the joys of 7-Eleven
Making leftover rice balls while watching the bloody end-game of late capitalism
What to watch tonight: Squid Game 2
Squid Game, Netflix’s most successful series of all time – 265 million views and counting, compared to Wednesday’s 252 million, or Stranger Things 4 at 141 million – is back for its second series.
Surely you know the premise by now; a group of desperate people agree to take part in a bunch of childhood Korean games to win vast amounts of money, and are gunned down by masked men if they fail. Incredibly, grotesquely violent (one friend asked me if her 11-year-old son should watch the cartoon-coloured game: not if he ever wanted to sleep again, no) with more murders than any other series I’ve ever seen; it was also an incredibly creative and gripping debut from creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who used the series to make a not-so-subtle point about the insanity of living in the age of late capitalism.
Three years on after a cliff hanger as to whether Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) would be drawn back into the murky world after the games finished, the answer is yes, as he attempts to get to the bottom of who arranged the mass murder of 455 people purely for their own fucked-up pleasure.
Streaming from Boxing Day – such a smart move, as Black Doves (and arguably Eastenders) has shown, everyone needs a bit of bloody, unrelenting violence on screen in the festive season – my bet is that it might even out-perform series one. It’s funnier than the first series, and in the first two episodes, looks like it’s veering more towards the police-procedural this season. But while the Daily Mail will be clutching its pearls over the violence once again (it asked “Is this the most twisted series on TV?” back in 2021), it still has that strange, surreal edge to it, which elevates it from being just a cheap slasher. Lee Jung-jae puts in another stellar performance as the tortured running man, Gi-hun, and it’s gripping enough to have you up way later than expected on Boxing Day – don’t miss the end-credits scene for a hint of what to expect in the third and final series, out in 2025.
What do they eat in Squid Game 2?
7-Elevens are ubiquitous across Asia, and have a cult following across the rest of the world who are denied the fast-food grocery shop. In fact, I’ve just Googled if there are any in the UK, to find out that yes there were plans to launch, but they’ve now decided against it, as the market is “too saturated”. Shame, as it saved me a few times when I was low on cash in Japan and needed a cheap, late-night eat. From boiled egg sandos to fried chicken and dodgy-looking ‘dogs twirling away on the grill; it’s all there for your pleasure in an overly-processed neon-lit wonderland.
Anyway, bringing it back to Squid Game 2, and it looks like a 7-Eleven is exactly where two of the dumb gangsters are looking for the Ddakji-playing man in a suit on the Seoul subway have lunched. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” one of them complains to the other, brandishing a plastic-packed sando. “Even construction workers get proper food these days. This is just…Damn.” “You idiot,” the other one says. “Count your blessings.” Although, it should be noted he’s tucking in to an infinitely nicer onigiri, a nori-wrapped, Japanese rice ball, which should always be the number one snack choice for a quick lunch in 7-Eleven, washed down with some Pocari Sweat.
Once the contestants are gathered for the games; there’s still a focus on the food. The older mother from a mum-and-son pairing tells her team: “When you’re hungry, you start to miss home,” a sentiment that they then use to invite people over to theirs after the game (oh god, you haven’t realised you’re not getting out, are you?). Even her offers of pork — or her son’s offer of Korean beef (rather than the “dry gimbap”, sushi-like Korean rice rolls) — and noodles fall on deaf ears and can’t tempt the opposite team “O” . Nope, better just to continue murdering each other, in the hope of winning £25 million. Sometimes, breaking bread together can’t solve opposing enemies problems; especially when it’s the sadistic end-game stage of capitalism.
What to eat and drink while you’re watching Squid Game 2
December 27 is just about the perfect day to make onigiri; some plain, short-grain rice snacks, filled with whatever leftovers you’ve got laying around: a bit of salmon, egg miso mayo or even some turkey, but it definitely needs to be served with some pickles for a bit of extra zing.
Onigiri
Makes 4-6 pieces
Ingredients
300g Japanese short-grain rice (at a push, you could use Italian arborio, after all it’s what they use in their similar arancini)
6 pieces of nori, dried seaweed sheets
6 tablespoons of your filling of choice: tuna, egg or chicken mayo, or, like I’ve used, turkey mayo with some chopped kimchi
2 teaspoons of sesame seeds
Small bowl with cold water and a sprinkle of salt mixed in
Soy sauce, to taste
Method
Make the rice according to the packet; making sure to leave it to steam finish, so the water is all absorbed and the rice is a little sticky. Leave it to cool for 15 minutes.
Dipping your hands in the salted water, pick up two handfuls of rice, and make an indentation in the middle of one of them.
Add one tablespoon of your filling of choice, and place the other handful of rice over the top, shaping the entire thing into a triangular shape.
Wrap the bottom side of the triangle in one of the nori sheets, and sprinkle with sesame seeds on the top.
Serve, with a side of Japanese pickles, umeboshi (pickled plum) or kimchi.
To drink: don’t copy the Front Man and his sad little tumbler of whiskey. If you’ve been incredibly online this year – and woke up severely dehydrated at 3am – then you might want to try the Korean viral drink of hwachae; a sort of sweet, fizzy and chewy fruit salad drink. It consists of dumping a load of fresh or tinned fruit in a bowl, topping with jelly or tapioca cubes, pouring on yoghurt, some lemonade and finally a load of ice. It’s like an unblended smoothie, or a ‘bumpie” as I saw someone laughably refer to it. I’m yet to make it myself, it’s probably enjoyable, if not overly sweet, but if you’re really dehydrated (and aren’t we all at this time of year?) then do yourself a favour and neck a load of sparkling water instead.
Cheers!