Wow, it seems that Edward Kim is getting all over the place. He was recently featured on Marmot’s Hole for his take on the Azia Kim scandal at Stanford.
Yet he’s also written an interesting bit on the Pinkberry vs. Red Mango Korean yogurt craze (touched on a bit on this site earlier) and how it relates to Korean culture. Even though I agree a bit with Edward’s comment that Korean traditional sweets are not as sweet as its Western counterparts. Yet it still baffles me that Korean interpretations of much of Western cuisine is loaded with sweetness, from the always prevalent sweet pickles accompanying Western food to the fact that I can’t find anything at a Korean bakery that isn’t cloyingly sweet, including the meat pastries.
Nonetheless, the comparisons between Korean-style yogurt and Sundubu Jjigae (Soft Tofu Stew) are insightful. I look forward to more of Edward’s opinions on Korean cuisine on the international landscape.
I completely agree. Now if only Americans can start liking Korean food as much as Japanese food, I’d get a decent meal in Tampa.
Maybe addict would better describe my relationship to kimchi. Not only do I simply love it but I believe it keeps me healthy. Wake up with a touch of a sore throat, eat extra kimchi. Others around me get sick but I don’t, and that is not how I’ve always been.
Chicago has lots of great Korean restaurants and markets. In the 11 yrs. I’ve lived here I’ve been teaching myself to prepare some of my favorite Korean dishes, but my attempt at making kimchi was not a success. There is a Super H Mart near my home, on weekends and special occasions they prepare huge batches of kimchi in the store where people can watch the process. It’s a whole cabbage kimchi that’s very good. Though I’ve liked almost all the kimchi variations I’ve tried, it turns out I prefer mine well fermented. My husband won’t touch it and complains about the smell when I eat it. He’s not a big fan . of hot spice. He jokes about me liking it better after it’s had some time in the fridge, he says, “it can’t go bad, it was bad when you bought it”.
Being from New Orleans I find that Koreans appreciate and celebrate wonderful food much the way the people in Louisiana and the south in general do. It’s not just aquiring fuel, it’s a social celebration.
And, this site is a delight!