This weekend, after a quick few beers & Korean fried chicken the night before, I went to Chef Jay Morjaria’s (Twitter, Instagram) pop-up event at Vineworks. If you haven’t watched Chef Morjaria’s episode on Million Pound Menu (BBC2 & Netflix), you should check it out.
Here’s what was on the menu. Snacks. Bibimbap arancini, ssamjang aioli, kim. Bibimbap in handheld form. The ssamjang was heavy on the Doenjang. This was also on Million Dollar Menu.
Kaennip, pickled mushrooms, pine nut crumble. Bright wake up. Could really taste the pine nuts.
Cured and torched jeon-eo 전어 (gizzard shad), pickled radish, green chili. Orange ponzu.
I love jeon-eo! Delicate. The acidity framed it and put it on the stage.
Grilled duck breast with maesil jus, BBQ Cabbage, kimchi crumb, seasonal figs, acorn squash puree, quick acorn squash kimchi.
Extremely seasonal. A walk through autumn woods. Acorn squash also makes a satisfying kimchi.
Chestnut mousse, fresh persimmon, clementine, Italian torched meringue, walnut brittle.
Late autumn into Christmas, especially when paired with Justino’s Madeira
The whole menu felt like a journey from September to December. Chef Morjaria will be in Singapore and other Asian locations this week. Go to the Vineworks website to find out more wine related events. They have a lot of them.
The Korean government has worked hard, over the course of two presidential administrations, to preach the gospel of the health benefits and bold flavor profile of Korean cuisine. Korean trade officials are hoping their three-year-long relationship with the Culinary Institute of America will help spark the interest of America’s up and coming chefs in traditional Korean ingredients and that their evangelical fervor will spread onto the shelves of America’s grocery stores.
CIA students from all three of their American campuses submitted recipe ideas and the five students with the most promising concepts were invited to travel to the CIA’s Greystone campus to compete for scholarships ranging from the first prize of $7,000 to the fifth place prize of $1,000.
The culinary students were given a list of five Korean ingredients to chose as the inspiration of their recipes: gochujang, bulgogi sauce, kimchi, yujacha (citron tea) or boricha (roasted barley tea). The students were required to use at least two of the ingredients in their final recipe.
The Korean Sensation Day at CIA Greystone was not just a scholarshp contest, it was also an opportunity for CIA students, media and guests to taste some innovative dishes using Korean ingredients.
The finalists, listed in the order their food was presented to the judges, were:
Eric Garcia, a student at the CIA Greystone in St. Helena. He made a recipe called K-town Carpaccio, which was made with gochujang and kimchi.
Stephen Neumann, a student at the CIA Greystone, made a dish he called Yangchigi Pie (which means Shephard’s pie in Korean) or Pâté Coreen was his his Koreanized take on a traditional Quebecois dish called Pâté Chinois, which strongly resembles an Anglo-American Shephard’s pie. This dish featured Korean sweet potato, kimchi and lamb marinated in bulgogi sauce.
Elizabeth Aristeguieta, a student from the CIA in San Antonio, Texas. Her dish was called Mah-Sit-Sso-Yo Pork, which used roasted barley, yujacha and gochujang in the sauce and marinade, garnished with grilled green onions.
Sean Dodds, a student from the CIA in Hyde Park, N.Y., made Memphis/Seoul Pulled Pork sliders, flavored with bulgogi sauce, gochujang and topped with finely julienned kimchi.
Jun Heum Park, a student from the CIA in Hyde Park. His dish, called Yuzu-like Ssam Pork, was a pork roll flavored with gochujang and yujacha.
The dishes were scrutinized and judged by several judges including:
Marja D. Vongerichten of Kimchi Chronicles
Chef Hooni Kim of Michelin-starred Danji and Han Jan in New York City
K-Town Carpaccio. Chef Hooni Kim said of Garcia’s K-town Carpaccio, “The beef took a back seat to the salad, but the salad had the salty, sweet and spicy of Korean food.” (Tammy Quackenbush photo)
Yangchigi Pie. This dish received quite a bit of love from the judges. aT Center VP Yoo Chun Sik said, “It’s a bit playful. The sweet and spicy play well in this dish.” (Tammy Quackenbush photo)
Mah-Sit-Sso-Yo Pork. Marja Vongerichten, host of the PBS TV series and author of the cookbook, Kimchi Chronicles praised the dish saying, “Wow, this is perfectly cooked. I can really taste the yuja.” (Tammy Quackenbush photo).
Dodd’s Memphis BBQ pork slider featured pulled pork marinated in bulgogi sauce. It was cooked slow overnight sous vide. The recipe also had the distinction of using 4 of the 5 featured ingredients. Chef Hooni Kim called it, ‘The most delicious thing I’ve tasted today, but when you create something miniature, make sure everything is perfect. There’s no room for error.” (Tammy Quackenbush photo).
Park’s Yuzu-like Ssam Pork with couscous was brined and then marinated in ssamjang, which was not one of the featured Korean ingredients. Marja Vongerichten said, “It looks like western dish but with every bite, there were true Korean flavors.” Chef Bill Heubel, an instructor at the CIA called it, “a restrained dish even with the bold flavors” that showed that “Korean ingredients don’t have to be loud.”
None of the students left empty-handed. Each of them won an aT Center culinary scholarship. The grand prize $7,000 scholarship was awarded to Stephen Neumann (CIA Greystone) for his Yangchigi Pie (Shepherd’s Pie aka Pate Coreen). Mom’s home-cooking won Neumann a nice reward.
Elizabeth Aristeguiesta’s (CIA San Antonio) Mah-Sit-Sso-Yo Pork won her second place and a $4000 scholarship. Maybe the dish’s name, which literally means “Delicious Pork,” was a subliminal message that help her come very close to the top.
Eric Garcia’s (CIA Greystone) K-town Carpaccio won him the third place scholarship of $3,000.
Fourth place went to Sean Dodd (CIA Hyde Park) and his Memphis Seoul Pulled Pork Slider and a $2000 scholarship.
Jun Heum Park’s (CIA Hyde Park) Yuzu Ssam Pork came in fifth place, netting him a $1,000 scholarship.
This scholarship was a student innovation challenge. The CIA and aT Center have no plans at this time to make this into an annual contest.
Koreafornian Cooking will star in a food-culture documentary on San Francisco Bay–area Korean cable television station, set to air in late October.
San Jose, Calif.-based KEMS-TV broadcasts on cable channel 197 in most of the San Francisco Bay area. Beside original Korean-language programming, the channel also airs Arirang K-pop shows and MBC dramas.
KEMS Rosa Kim contacted me in June via YouTube about being part of a Korean food documentary. Each of the five 30-minute episodes in the Rising Korea series covers a different topic. Korean cuisine is the theme of the first episode, “Korean Cuisine Is Coming,” in which I’ll be appearing.
The episode includes visits to a couple of South Bay–area restaurants and a Korean home cooking demonstration and discuss the growing popularity of Korean cuisine in the San Francisco Bay Area and around the world.
My Korean TV debut is scheduled to air in the San Francisco Bay area on Friday, Oct. 25, at 9:30 p.m. and be rebroadcast Monday, Oct. 28, at the same time.
On Sept. 11, I spent an hour of my day interviewing Roy Choi of Kogi BBQ. Choi discussed his soon-to-be-released biography, Flavor! Napa Valley and his opinion on pairing Korean foods with wine, the marketing of Korean cuisine and advice for the next generation of chefs and food writers.
Choi is preparing for the Nov. 5 release of his book, L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food. The book, co-written by Tien Nguyen and Natasha Phan, is the second publication from celebrity chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain’s line of books for Ecco.
“You can count on one hand the chefs who have tilted the world with their innovation,” said Michael Chiarello, event founder and owner-chef of Bottega in the heart of California’s Napa Valley. He also owns the lifestyle brand NapaStyle. “Roy (Choi) and his Kogi BBQ truck have forever changed the landscape of cooking in America. Flavor! Napa Valley was created to celebrate great chef innovators like Roy.”
Click here to read Tammy’s complete interview with Korean-American Roy Choi.
Eric Ripert is in Korea. This is just after it was announced that Le Bernardin maintained its three Michelin stars and was again voted “Best Restaurant in New York City” by Zagat. He’s traveling with Matt Rodbard (Korean Restaurant Guide New York) for a piece in a major American food publication. On Sunday evening, I had dinner with them at YangMiOk 양미옥–a dinner of cattle innards. YES!
I was so giddy that this was the only picture I took of Chef Ripert. During dinner, I was trying to act all nonchalant, which just made me sound dumb. We sat next to each other, and I was so nervous to talk to him. I mostly talked to Matt, who is an amazing dinner companion.
When they were choosing what to drink, I asked if they had any dong-dong-ju, which they did. The mini-pot came out with the cloudy bubbly liquid. We filled our bowls and toasted.
“This reminds me of champagne,” said Eric.
We downed a good many beers and sojus following that. Eric made a Vine of the lovely intestines.
https://vine.co/v/hXew1APKWlW
He had learned about Buddhist temple cuisine the day before, and he was ecstatic about it.
in Korea :JINKWANSA Monastery learning &fascinated by"Temple Cuisine" Nun Dowoon Snim is so knowledgeable 🙂 pic.twitter.com/deEfEmayZv
After dinner, we headed to Gwangjang Market. It was Sunday, so it wasn’t as crowded. But we did have some soondae, ddeokbokki, and various innards. Eric particularly liked the hogs jowls dipped in ddeokbokki sauce. The ajumma at the stand motioned us towards a bubbling wok of meatage and goaded us to try it. I was the only one to do so. We asked her what it was, and she pointed to her chest and breathed heavily (I have that effect sometimes). I figured out she meant that I was eating lung. And it wasn’t that good.
We moved on to some bindaeddeok, one of my favorites. We downed that with some road beers. Eric was texting on the phone and showed it to me.
“Who are you talking to?”
“Bourdain.”
—-FLOORED—
As most of you know, I’m a serious fanboy of chefs. It was more than enough to be within breathing distance of Eric Ripert. But Anthony Bourdain I partially credit to my being in Asia. It was in 2003 that I spent my Friday nights at home just to watch at 20-minute episode of his first show, “A Cook’s Tour.” At the time, I was struggling to stay afloat amidst a divorce and the dot-com bust. One of my friends was beckoning me to go to Korea. After a few episodes of “A Cook’s Tour,” I said, “Screw it. I need to get my butt to Asia.”
My first year in Korea was a bit on the lean side. When I was able to get a secondhand computer, one of the first things I did was get my hands on as many “Cook’s Tour” episodes as possible. It comforted me. It gave me a frame of reference to help survive as an expat in Korea. It’s so easy to fall into a dark pit of negativity here. But the cynical swaggering gusto that Bourdain captured in those old episodes kept my brain in the right space.
So I said to Eric, “Tell Bourdain that he’s the reason I moved to Asia ten years ago.”
“Okay, I will.”
They wrapped up, and Eric went back to the hotel. He signed my copy of On the Line, gave me a hug, and went back in the van. I grabbed taxi to hang out with Matt and the gang.
What’s been fun is watching their travels through Eric’s Twitter account.
The Game of Thrones Pop-up Restaurant happened last night at Magpie Brewing Company, and it was a success. Thanks all of you who turned out for the event. As you saw, I was extremely busy the entire time either cooking or cleaning. Wish I had more time. But it seems like the food was enjoyed, considering how little we had to take home 😉
Now for nerding out. Here’s how this whole thing went down. A few months ago, before the beginning of the new Game of Thrones season, I joked on Facebook how fun it would be to do a Game of Thrones pop-up. A few minutes later, I got a message from Jason Lindley at Magpie saying that he’d set it up–calling my bluff.
We originally had planned it to go with the beginning of the season, but I had just returned from the Philippines and had not time to plan and shop. So we scheduled it to coincide with the final episode. Even then, it was hard for me to plan much. But when crunch time came, I broke down the menu, set up shopping lists, contacted folks to help, and laid out a schedule. We placed orders with Authentic Meats (the High Street Market folks) and The Baker’s Table. June Chang helped me shop and transport groceries from Costco. I did more shopping at the bakery market by Euljiro 4-ga, Foreign Food Market, Home Plus, and Costco. I also carried the major meats on my back, including two legs of lamb and two pork shoulders, from High Street Market to Magpie. In the meantime, I was transporting equipment and serving ware from my home in Anyang to Seoul via subway. The morning of the feast, I lugged a heavy suitcase filled with equipment, platters, and ducks.
With each dish (except one I forgot) I made name placards that included what house/location they were associated with and a passage/anecdote from the book where it comes from. Most of the food was meant to compliment the beer.
This was the easiest one to set up. When signing in, guests partake in eating bread and salt to secure guest rights. Television viewers may recall that Robb Stark did this at the beginning of the fateful ninth episode of season three. The original plan was to bake all the bread, but we had so many dishes, along with a really great bakery next door (Baker’s Table), that I included a few loaves of German bread in our order.
The Baker’s Table supplied us with the shells. I used some frozen berry mixes with sugar, star anise, and fresh lemon juice for the filling. We had a tough time getting the filling to set, which delayed us a bit.
If you’re going to have a Game of Thrones event, you gotta have the famous Lemon Cakes that Sansa adored so much. This recipe I got from Inn at the Crossroads, and it’s a great one.
I was warned. Expats love hummus. I made the hummus at home the night before. Actually, I started soaking the chickpeas two nights before. We added the lemon juice the day of the event. One of the themes I had for this event was to have food that was somewhat familiar with flavors that jarred your preconceptions. In the hummus, I used Spanish smoked paprika to set it off a bit. The giant capers I stumbled upon at the Foreign Food Market. The bread was from Baker’s Table. The olives are some of the things I’ve been loving. E-Mart has these olives stuffed with bacon, feta cheese, and almonds (separately). So that also surprised diners.
This was the big one. You won’t believe how hard it is to find arrows. I was freaking out about it for weeks, asking around. Then it occurred to me–In Insa-dong they sell lots of children’s toy arrows with suction cups on them. I bought a couple of them on the way to the office, snipped off the suction cups, and stylized the rubber feathers to make them look more feathery. The first lamb was encrusted with juniper berries, star anise, coriander, and I don’t remember. The second lamb had more traditional herbs, like rosemary, with lemons stuffed in the cracks. The lone casualty of the dinner was my hand blender. It burned out from blending so many spices, which it’s not designed to do.
We needed vegetables! It’s hard to find veggie dishes in The Song of Ice and Fire. The Spiced Squash was easy to prepare. The dominant spices were cardamom and coriander. The squashes themselves were hard to cut, so I figured I’d roast them and then deal with them. Unfortunately, their shells got rock hard in the oven. So I had to cut each piece away and chop it up.
I don’t have pictures of everything. If anyone else has pics, I’d love to see them. We couldn’t get any actual boar for this one. But as Linus Kim told me, there ain’t much different between boar and pork. We made a small bending of imagination for this one. I got some pork shoulder and slapped that mother down with yuja cha and fresh basil. Roasted it along with the duck.
Was kinda proud of this one. It’s a simple roasted duck with honey. But the throw-off was that I used this special Thyme Honey from New Zealand. It’s a honey that makes you do a double take.
Onion Broth with Goat and Carrot
This was a very popular soup. (PHEW!) I’d never cooked with goat before. It was a basic stew with roasted bone beef broth (we roasted the bones first thing that morning) and Magpie’s Porter. It just cooked and reduced all day. The goat I got from the Foreign Food Market.
This also was an easy one. With that roasted beef bone stock, I added beef stew meat, onions, carrots. At the end, we added barley and leeks. The flavorings were from Scarborough Fair lyrics.
Chanju prepping the salad
Originally called “Sansa Salad,” we were planning to have edible flowers and pomegranates. But while shopping, I changed my mind a lot based on what was available. I stewed some prunes in red wine and bokbunja (Korean raspberry wine) the night before, a take on ancient Roman cuisine. The salad was basic greens with fresh herbs thrown in, including mint, cilantro, and dill. The dressing was a yuja cha vinaigrette. This dish was slaughtered. I should have made more.
The idea I got from Inn at the Crossroads. For the filling, I was hoping to get some blood that’s used in Haejangguk. My local Home Plus had been selling it–until I NEEDED IT!! So I made do with spicy flavored soondae mixed with ground beef. For the flavorings, I leaned on curry and Jamaican ideas with lots and lots of black pepper. June turned out to be much more adept at folding the pies than me. So she and Chanju took this one over. Served it with mango chutney from the Foreign Food Market.
Again, I plan for something, and then the stores that carry this ingredient no longer carry it. For years, E-Mart has been carrying goat milk. I’ve been making goat cheese with it. I was planning to stuff the peppers with goat cheese. No luck finding the milk anywhere. But I had an idea while shopping. Mix some feta cheese with sour cream and butter-sauteed onions and chill it. Oh my! This was my favorite dish of the entire evening. I could eat those all freakin’ day!
How to make butter-sauteed mushrooms more decadent? Add more butter! You know those blocks of butter that are the equivalent of four sticks? I used one and a half of them with oyster, shiitake, and portabello mushrooms. Threw in some tarragon. That was my final dish of the night, and I was exhausted. Nothing but cleaning left.
I’m still wrapping my brain around everything. Magpie was super cool with it all. I also got to try mead for the first time. Strong stuff, but I liked it.
Many thanks go to Simon for helping me cook all day and all night. June and Chanju for swooping in at the right moment to do the rest. Jason and Lydia at Magpie for hosting such a great evening. Linus and Kip for hooking me up with some ingredients. And thank you to all that arrived. Wow!
The Filipino Department of Tourism invited Korean bloggers for a tour of the Philippines, paying for transportation, lodging, and most of the food. The goal was to highlight areas that were under the radar of tourists and to check out attractions that were being developed. This is my diary of that trip.
Thursday, March 28 2013
Day 1: Getting There
For the flight to the Philippines, we had to meet at Incheon Airport at 6:20 a.m. There was no way that an airport bus would go from Anyang that early. So I decided to spend the night at the airport.
After packing my things and kissing my family goodbye, I took the subway to Seoul Station and then took the AREX train to Incheon Airport. I arrived around 11 p.m. The place was dark. Very few people were there. Mostly workers. I looked around, and eventually I found the spa and sauna, which had private sleeping rooms. Luckily, they had one available, so I took it.
Now, this was also a Korean sauna, which I am always awkward in. I never know what the correct etiquette is. I found my locker and stripped on down. Grabbed a towel and hit the showers. I was planning to go straight to bed when the baths called to me.
“Maybe a little relaxing hot soak will help me sleep more deeply.”
The way this was set up was it had a pool with cool water in the middle of a pool with hot water. There was a marble stepping stone bridge to the cool pool. I walked over and dipped my foot. Decided I wasn’t in the mood for the cool pool. So I stepped from the marble stepping stone bridge into the warm pool.
I misjudged.
The bottom of the pool was deeper than I anticipated, and I guess they didn’t intend for people to enter the pool from the stepping stone bridge. I fell down and banged my cheek against the edge of the marble. I think I blacked out for a second. Pulled myself up and went, “Oh, no. This isn’t good.”
I thought I had chipped the bone in my cheekbone. I found my glasses. Thankfully, they weren’t broken. My towel was floating in the tub. No one else was there. I sat there a while and tried to still enjoy it. But really, I felt like an idiot and left.
I checked in the mirror, and it didn’t look so bad. Hurt like a mother, especially when I smiled. I found my sleeping room and was disappointed that it consisted of a sparse mattress with a tiny cubic pillow and thin blanket.
I think I got two hours sleep.
I was able to meet the tour group on time the next morning. We flew Philippine Airlines—a four hour flight. Not bad at all. When we got there, a greeter gave us—well, they’d be leis if we were in Hawaii—necklaces made of jasmine flowers.
Smelled so good! And hey, when they dried, I could make them into tea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irq27pMTjqk
We boarded a small bus to take us to the ferry to Marinduque. A four-hour drive turned into six with little bouts of traffic.
One thing I got to check off my bucket list was a trip to Jollibee, the homegrown fast food franchise of the Philippines that my Pinoy friends rave over. Their fries are good. Not McDonald’s but way better than most fast food franchises. We each had dinners that included pieces of fried chicken, a rich brown gravy, and rice. I thought the rice was a biscuit at first because it was wrapped up in paper. Loved the gravy. For dessert we had peach mango pies. There’s talk of a Jollibee opening in Korea. I think it could do well.
There’s not much else I can say about the drive down. My first impression was the architecture reminded me a lot of the Spanish part of the Gulf of Mexico. It was a bit eerie. I was in a much different place than I’ve ever been before, but little things were familiar. Houses looked like what you’d find driving down a tiny road in Florida, south Alabama, or Mississippi.
We caught the ferry at 6:30. It was crowded, and it was a three-and-a-half hour trip. I found a place close to the bow and sat down. Listened to podcasts under the full moon.
By the time we got to Marinduque, it was getting late. The driver zipped use through dark curvy roads to a festive place where a serious Passion play was in the works with deep voiced narration and lots of lighting effects.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDEhvpB75w4
Our dinner was waiting for us there.
Fried fish with butter sauceLo MeinEggplant Ensalada (favorite!)Fish with soy vinegar sauce
The whole dinner was great. I particularly liked the eggplant dish, which reminded me of Brazilian vinaigrette. Bright, tart, and fresh.
We were tired from a long day of travel. So sleep found us quickly when we arrived at our quaint hotel.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first post by guest contributor Jenna Collett
라면 for One
I have never seen Ms. Ahn eat alone. I’ve never seen her eat without sharing with the closest available mouth. On any given day I’d be handed a near constant stream of easy-to-share edibles: segments of oranges and tangerines, slices of exquisitely peeled apple, rice cakes, biscuits, sweets, and rounds of homemade kimbap. I have likewise witnessed my Korean colleagues halve the most impractical foods in order to share them. I’ve seen a chicken burger divided into quarters, grapefruit painstakingly pulled into segments, cream cake sliced with chopsticks, and bananas cut in two with their peels still on. Outside the office I have been offered biscuits and a generous handful of nuts by hikers met on route (admittedly, they were enjoying a celebratory soju at the summit, which could have contributed to their kindness).
Korean dining, like many Korean cultural mores, is collectivist in nature. This is in contrast with a dining experience in a ‘Western’ or globalised office, where individuals indulge in specialised snacks modified to their preferences. Of course, offers of food aren’t banished from the Western meal (the rest of the world aren’t complete heathens), but my peanut butter and banana sandwich is not a taste universally shared. Besides, I may be eating that leftover square of lasagne that I’ve been looking forward to all morning (portioned for one), or a Masala-based curry that may be too spicy for my friend down in admin to enjoy.
With this cultural difference in mind, it’s no wonder it took a year for me to notice the one dish that is frequently eaten alone here. In fact it’s eaten alone, in convenience stores, while standing. Food is not generally munched on the hoof here, and I’ve been given the grandmother scowl more than once for eating on public transport or while walking in the street. Food is shared, and–preferably–eaten while seated around a table. But increased time away from home due to the pressures of school and work no longer allows for this on a regular basis. And while adults can afford to eat at restaurants or get food delivered to their workplace, students on their way from one school to another need a cheaper alternative. Enter ramyeon, or 라면.
While ramyeon noodles hail from China and were introduced to Korea via Japan (where the dish can be eaten in its homemade form), Korea probably has the spiciest twist on the instant snack. In the Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles of All Time list, Korean brands of ramyeon appear five times (six if you count the brand adopted by an American company), with the most popular and bestselling being Shin Ramyeon (신 means spicy). Although China consumes the most instant noodles of any country in the world, South Korea takes the top spot in terms of most ramyeon consumed per person per year (the figure has been estimated at a stomach churning 70 packs).
I’ve tried ramyeon many times before, both at home and in Kimbap Nara joints, but until recently I’d never eaten them at a convenience store. Having some time to chew on a rainy, particularly penniless Tuesday, I decided that some ramyeon from the 7-Eleven would be the perfect fit for both my stomach and my wallet.
Deciding on a flavour and brand when faced with a myriad of brightly coloured containers can be a daunting task, but I’ve got my go-to favourites. If you need help figuring out yours there is a top ten list with helpful explanations. I chose a kimchi flavoured pack and made my way to the counter. It was here that I started to realise that I had unwittingly entered into a cultural experiment of some kind, as the cashier blinked at me, slightly befuddled by the scene about to ensue. Wanting to blend in, I stalled to get a bottle of water and watch the boys already eating to see how it’s done.
Step one: Open the pack and chuck in sacheted flavourants, freeze dried meat, vegetables and seafood (no one ever said this meal was good for you).
Step two: Pour boiling water into the container and cover. (This can be done with the lid, but placing additional items on top is recommended for extra sealage).
Step three: Whip out your phone and begin to play games, message friends, and read the news while you wait for the noodles to cook.
Step four: Eat as quickly as possible (some can achieve warp speeds while the water is still near the temperature of the sun).
Step four: Deposit waste into the appropriate bins.
Step five: Be a young Korean student negotiating the hormonal haze that is adolescent life.
It seemed easy enough. Except the part about being an adolescent; my mutant phase is happily behind me.
Chopsticks from the cashier in hand, I went to the counter housing hot water, a microwave, and tissues. New to the game, I couldn’t get the hot water to work, so I asked my nearest dining companion–who looked rather shocked to see a female foreigner on his lunch turf–for help. Things were going swimmingly as I took up a standing position next to him and unpocketed my smart phone. I was blending in suitably and wasn’t getting too many looks through the store’s large glass windows. When I’d spent a sufficient amount of time on my phone I checked the noodles. Ready.
Another group of boys in uniform gambolled in, and I learned that there is a regimented queue strategy to fine 7-Eleven dining. The guy to my left shifted up so that I could follow suit and let the boy to my right have access to the hot water and some counter space. This shift prompted the boy on my left to speed up his lunch even further, dump his trash, and then leave to allow for more shuffling towards the end of the table to let the third boy in.
Following my left-hand companion’s lead, I was eating while holding the cup close to my face. Here, you run the risk of scalding splash-backs, but less overall mess is made. However, there are many ways to schlurp a noodle. The young boy on my right was carefully using his plastic lid as a plate, so that he could continue watching a video on his phone. He might have found this Anti-Loneliness Ramyeon bowl handy. His buddy next to him was still in the game-playing stage of the meal, but as I shifted up once more I noticed he was more of a drinker than an eater. I tend to scoop up a group of boiling noodles and bite, sending any stragglers back into the cup, but the boys just keep gathering noodles from the bowl with their chopsticks, fitting more and more into their mouths. I call this the rope-climbing method, and it’s definitely one to leave to the pros on your first go.
The sight of a blonde, adult foreigner eating 7-Eleven Ramyeon with the best of them did eventually turn a couple of heads, and even broke a few gaits, but it was worth taking part in one of the most ubiquitous Korean experiences not often shared.
Back when Sarah Lee and I were putting ideas together for our first pop-up restaurant, our friend Linus gave me a call.
“Joe, it’s interesting y’all are doing a pop-up because I’m working on a secret project myself. I’m doing barbecue.”
Over some drinks a while back, Linus and I got to talking about ideas for future restaurants, and I mentioned that I wanted to eventually bring Alabama style barbecue to Korea. Or at least I wanted someone to. It looks like Linus already had that plan.
He held his first small pop-up in early summer. He was cooking ribs. I liked them. The smoke flavors were there. The sauce was almost there but not quite. Linus was really critical of himself, but we all had a great time.
Then late last month, he held another pop-up restaurant in east Itaewon trying out his pulled pork sandwiches and his improved sauce. I didn’t have a chance to go, but I heard it was crowded, and there was a line.
Yesterday, though, I made sure to make it over there for his third pop-up. There was an assembly line going, butter toasting buns, laying on sauce, portioning pulled pork–oh, the aroma!
A plate with sandwich, beans, and slaw was W10,000. I bought two. Good thing napkins were free. One of my guidelines is the messier the food the better it tastes.
The pork itself was very much like North Alabama, specifically the Decatur style popularized by Big Bob Gibson. I spent my first thirteen years of life in Decatur, so I knew that. The sauce for pork in Decatur, if ever used, is just white vinegar and cayenne pepper. Linus instead used a thicker vinegar-tomato sauce that pretty much nailed the taste of the famous Dreamland Bar-B-Que in Tuscaloosa.
By the end of the evening, I’d eaten three whole sandwiches. Right before the “Sold Out” sign went up, I made sure to get one more for the road.
I had to get one more for my baby girl.
And she downed all the meat and beans on her plate!
If you want to try Linus’ BBQ, he is getting a lot of requests. This weekend, he’ll be at Platoon in Gangnam, along with the cocktail stylings of Southern Sons.
The modern fish taco was born in Baja California, although different kinds of fish tacos have been part of that Mexican state’s cuisine for centuries. I made a Korean fish taco with 된장 doenjang-glazed cod, Korean pear salsa and coleslaw (shredded cabbage or lettuce would work).
Savory Doenjang and sweet, crunchy Korean pears add texture to these fish tacos. (Tammy Quackenbush photo)
In November, U.S.-grown shingo pears are still in season, and ones imported from Korea are still readily available in many Korean grocery stores.
Korean-grown shingo pears are noticeably larger than their American siblings. Unlike some supersized fruit, the larger pears tend to be more crunchily juicy and sweet without being syrupy than the smaller versions. Cubed raw shingo pears refreshingly complement salads, sandwiches and salsas.
