Category: Video

Video: One of the best new Korean restaurants
Bean Table is featured in this gorgeous episode of the new Arirang series “Semipermanent.” This is a show that highlights expats in Korea, and it’s definitely a positive sign in Arirang’s new turn in programming. It is not so much awkward government propaganda (as my show, you could say, was). It’s an actually nicely produced mature program.
And they featured Bean Table!
My friend Sarah Lee introduced me to Bean Table (review and map here) on my birthday this year. I was blown away. That was also the day we decided to do a pop-up restaurant together. Remember that?
And they featured Sarah Lee!
Some people have asked why we haven’t done another pop-up restaurant lately. As you can see from the video, Sarah apprenticed at Bean Table, and she’s about to open an outlet of Bean Table in Los Angeles. She’s returned to the States.
Also featured are food writer Meagan Mastriani, talking about the Chinese food culture in the Daerim neighborhood where she lives. They also go to the Moroccan sandwich shop Casablanca.
Great show. Stick around for the credits.
November 26, 2012
Cooking Octopus on Olive TV
A couple of months ago, I was on Korea’s Olive TV, which is sort of like Food Network. The show was “You Can Cook,” which is a bunch of guys learning how to cook. The segment I did was with French expat Fabian–who has amazing Korean speaking skills.
You can tell we had a lot of fun making this video. A little behind-the-scenes background…
The producers and I worked together to come up with a recipe. It was a joint effort. No one knew what it was going to taste like before shooting. Fabian was the first person to ever try the dish. But it surprisingly turned out to be very good. I’ll post the recipe on here sometime.
Remind me.
October 8, 2012
Food Story: Linus’ ‘Bama BBQ–Back in the day
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.
September 9, 2012
Video: ZenKimchi Korean Food Tours
Prominent video blogger Noe Alonzo made a video of our Ultimate Korean BBQ Experience tour. Take a look.
Make sure to sign up for our next tour, usually every Thursday evening. If you have a group of friends we can do a special outing for y’all.
Click here for details.
August 27, 2012
Video: Interview with Chef Hooni Kim of Danji
Chef Hooni Kim of ZenKimchi’s favorite Michelin-starred Korean restaurant Danji, scored a good 45-minute interview on the Arirang program Innerview. This is a must-view for anyone interested in Korean food, the New York restaurant industry, and the popularization of Korean food. I particularly appreciate Chef Kim’s illustrations on how he goes out of his way to get top-notch ingredients from Korea. He truly know his stuff, and he points out how Korean cuisine can be and should be given the same respect as French and Japanese, especially from Koreans themselves.
As an aside, I have noticed the ample jump in quality coming from Arirang this past year thanks to the new CEO.
August 9, 2012
TED Talk is Online–WATCH!
The talk I did for the worldwide TED talent search is online, along with my Seoul compadres. I talked about the meteoric rise of Korean food. I did have a flub in the middle, but I recovered. Still makes me cringe to see that.
You can watch it here–and vote if you’re so inclined.
Joe McPherson: The meteoric rise of Korean food
Also watch the other great talks from that event.
Dong Woo Jang (age 14): Crafting the perfect bow – Dong Woo was one of the favorites. He has a hilarious story about his obsession with bowmaking. You really have to see it for yourself.
Jinsop Lee: Design that tantalizes the five senses – Jinsop and I became quick buddies. His Five Senses Scale is an interesting way to rate design. Stick around for the ending.
Soo-in Yang: My public installations, designed to engage – Super intelligent and sensitive dude. Soo-in’s designs freakin’ amaze me. He’s very much into interactivity with art and architectural projects.
Sherman Li: A new visual search technology for video – Visual search. You have to see the demo to believe it.
Hyeonseo Lee: Escaping North Korea – North Korean refugee, Hyeonseo Lee, describes her life and escape from North Korea.
Sokeel Park: How to solve a problem like North Korea – When Sokeel talks, the entire room goes quiet.
Jeongmee Yoon: An artist explores little girls’ love of pink – Super, super fascinating study on kids’ preferences for colors based on gender. The conclusion will surprise you.
Otto Ng: Canopying the desert for solar energy – Science fiction is reality. The visuals help show this clever idea for harnessing energy while also making the desert into farmland.
Kyla Mitsunaga: Why teachers must learn “with” their students – My buddy Kyla gives a fun talk on teaching, with flying objects thrown at the audience.
JT Singh: The power of cities – He’s young but really is full of perspective-changing ideas.
Lee Jang Sub: The natural beauty of street maps – I love maps. You should see the art this guy does with street maps.
Peter Lee: A game to connect us all – This was the most interactive talk. Game designer Peter Lee has us all play a game that makes us all get to know each other better.
Keehyun Ahn: A building from five shipping containers – I love this guy’s artwork. I also like how he approaches his art–with a big extended middle finger.
Gwon Osang: Making life-size sculptures out of photos – Another fascinating artist with somewhat creepy artwork–and I mean that as a compliment.
Ji-Hae Park: Bringing joy through the violin – The grand finale. Ji-Hae performs like a punk rocker.
July 10, 2012
Video: The Star King Kimchi Jjigae Competition, part 2
Here is the second and final part of the Star King “Cooking King” kimchi jjigae competition where I was on the judging panel. On this one we see the second part of the preliminary round as well as the second group of semi-finalists, along with the finalists and winners.
This second group of semi-finalists had the more exotic versions: stuffed rosemary chicken and shrimp kimchi jjigae, super spicy rib kimchi jjigae, and even pizza kimchi jjigae. None of us were expecting to like the pizza one, but it was GOOOD!
The contestants who won, though, really did have the best pot. The flavor was deep and complex, balanced by sweet chunks of pork.
But enough of that. Let’s watch!
July 6, 2012
Video: Star King’s Kimchi Jjigae Competition, part 1

As mentioned, I was on the popular program Star King as a judge for their kimchi jjigae competition. Celebrities like K-pop group Super Junior were also on (Super Junior’s leader, Lee Teuk, is one of the hosts).
The judge panel itself was composed of big names in Korean food. I was freaked out that they put me on the same panel as them.
The show starts out with a summary of the initial round. I think 100 people cooked in this one. I wish they dedicated a whole episode to that because there were some interesting jjigaes being made with some interesting people. I thought the American woman making kimchi jjigae with yellow pickled radishes and convenience store kimchi was groovy.
The crew asked me for some pics. I directed them to my Flickr account. You may notice at 19:30 when they introduce me, a picture of my brother, Chef Ben, flashes. (Oh well… good job Ben!)
Even if you don’t understand Korean, you can easily follow what’s going on. And get ready to DROOL!
**If you have trouble viewing the video on this page click here**
June 3, 2012
Video: Roy Choi of Kogi Taco Truck
http://vimeo.com/40530242
Nice vid here.
Filmmaker Fridolin Schoepper created a video about Roy Choi, the much celebrated chef who started the whole Korean taco and food truck craze. Chef Choi will be part of The Avant/Garde Diaries, a show curated by Mike D of the Beastie Boys.
April 20, 2012
Korean Carrots (Koreyscha Sabzili Salat)
Korean carrot salad, pronounced Koreyscha Sabzili Salat in the Uzbek language, is ubiquitous throughout the former Soviet Union. The dish was invented by Korean immigrants to Russia’s Far East and the recipe would have stayed there if Stalin hadn’t forcibly deported the Soviet Koreans further west to the Central Asian republics of Uzbekistan and Kazakstan. Stalin’s fear that Japanese spies were infiltrating the USSR via these Korean immigrants spread Korean cuisine into the Soviet Union’s interior.

This is a recipe that begs to be made a day in advance so the ingredients have a chance to get to know each other better.
March 31, 2012