Tag: globalization

  • Making kimchi with California ingredients

    Making kimchi with California ingredients

    This video was filmed in the hills of Lake County California, just north of  Napa Valley to make a point about “regionalizing,” or adapting recipes for local ingredients. “Regionalizing” is a trend in culinary circles. Fermented foods are becoming popular for their health-promoting benefits.

    Baechu kimchi, the commonly recognized Korean red-pepper spiced picked cabbage side dish, brings the growing intrigue of Korean food together with pickling. This video shows how you can substitute commonly available chilis for Korean ones to achieve the desired spiciness and flavor.

  • Two versions of Korean tacos

    Posted by Tammy

    Since 2010 seems to be the year of the Korean taco truck, I decided to bring this popular Korean fusion food to you. I’m serving up a So-Cal  vs. Nor-Cal face off between two very different versions.

    California is Korean fusion cooking central, in a manner of speaking. According to the 2007 U.S. Census, more than 322,628 native Koreans make California their home. It has the largest number of Korean immigrants of any in the U.S., even Hawaii.

    Kogi-style* Korean Tacos

    Kogi style Taco

    First off the grill is a version inspired by Roy Choi’s famous Kogi taco truck. The Kogi Korean taco was born in Southern California, with a strong Hispanic influence. A warm corn tortilla is topped with bulgogi (savory-sweet grilled beef), shredded cabbage and the spiciest kimchi you can find.

    The key to this recipe is the bulgogi marinade.

    1 pound thinly sliced milanesa beef sliced into thin strips
    4 ounces pear juice
    1/4 cup soy sauce
    1/4 cup sake
    1 tablespoon honey or mul yoot (Korean malt syrup)
    5 cloves garlic, minced
    2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
    2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
    pinch of salt
    1 teaspoon ground black pepper

    1. Mix with the beef and marinade for at least a half-hour. The longer the better.
    2. Grill the bulgogi in a cast iron skillet until it is well done.
    3. Place one warmed corn tortilla on the plate with a small handful of shredded cabbage. Top with bulgogi and kimchi. This recipe will serve four.

    Namu-style Korean Tacos

    Namutacos 1

    Another Korean taco style hails from San Francisco, which has over 150 years of Chinese, Japanese and Korean immigrant history going back to the earliest days of statehood. Many of the leaders of Korea’s independence movement used San Francisco as their base of operations during the Japanese occupation.

    The Namu-style Korean taco is a nori — kim, in Korean — “taco shell” with a bit of sushi rice, bulgogi or boneless kalbi (grilled ribs) and kimchi on top. It’s more of an appetizer than a meal, but it packs a lot of flavor. For the seaweed used for the “shell,” I used Annie Chun’s Roasted Seaweed Snacks, which I found during my futile search for locally sourced gochujang sauce. I have both the wasabi- and sesame flavored-wraps and used one of each for these tacos.

    Asian grocery stores sell small sheets of kim. Koreans often wrap them around a small bite of rice and pop the package into their mouths, eat the seaweed sheets by themselves or cut them into small strips to sprinkle on bibimbap (mixture of ingredients such as vegetables, meat and an egg with rice).

    1 pound carne de taco beef marinaded in bulgogi marinade for at least a half-hour
    2 nori sheets per taco
    sushi rice
    diced tomatoes

    The most complicated part of this recipe is the sushi rice. Here are the basics.

    2 cups Japanese short-grained white rice or Calrose short-grain rice
    1/4 cup rice vinegar (no substitutions)
    2 teaspoons salt
    1/4 cup sugar or add more to taste

    1. Heat the vinegar, sugar and salt in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved. Do not boil the mixture. You can also microwave the mixture for 30-45 seconds to achieve the same result. Leave sitting off heat until needed. You can make this portion ahead of time.
    2. Take 2 cups of rice and rinse two to three times until the water runs clear or nearly so.
    3. If your rice cooker has a sushi rice setting, use it. Otherwise, remember you need equal parts of rice to water. For example, 2 cups of rice needs 2 cups of water. Keep covered until the rice is done.
    4. Once the rice has finished cooking, take off the lid and let the rice cool down for about 15 minutes.
    5. Once the rice is cooled down, add the vinegar seasoning mix to the rice.
    6. Turn the rice out of the pot and into a nonreactive glass or wooden bowl (tradition dictates a wooden bowl to better absorb the excess liquid). Use a tool like a shamoji, which is a flat Japanese rice paddle.
    7. Use a gentle chopping motion to spread out the grains of rice and ensure the seasoning covers every grain. To speed up the cooling process, some people use a hand-held fan to help in the cooling process, but I didn’t find that necessary.
    8. Once it’s cooled off, you’re ready to grill your bulgogi and assemble your tacos.
    9. Put two sheets of nori on the plate, one on top of the other. Add up to a few tablespoons of sushi rice on top of the nori.
    10. Pile a couple of tablespoons of bulgogi and garnish with diced tomatoes

    Which version do you prefer? Tell us in the comments below.

    * Kogi style tacos are in no way affiliated with the Kogi Taco Truck, just inspired by it.

  • Product Review: Annie Chun's Go-chu-jang PLUS Recipe

    Annie Chun's Go-chu-jang

    by Tammy

    Since December 2009, Annie Chun’s — yes, she’s a real person — and CJ Foods stirred up some controversy over the debut of Annie Chun’s gochujang sauce in the U.S. And some in the Korean blogosphere have been gnashing their teeth over this potential corruption of Korean cuisine and they haven’t even tasted it yet.

    Even stores in Northern California, her American home turf, that stock other Annie Chun’s products don’t yet have that sauce. So, I bought a six-bottle case from the brand website, and five friends helped judge the culinary merits of this new sauce. Only one is somewhat a Koreaphile. Most have little to no prior experience with authentic cuisine.

    I gave each of them a bottle to test any way they saw fit, provided they would report with what foods they tried it and how the sauce complemented or clashed with their meals.

    The first to report was my Koreaphile friend, whom I will call “M.” She and her equally knowledgeable husband — whom I’ll call “J” — put the gochujang through the paces, testing it on everything from omelets and pizzas to honeydew melons. They even tried it on a mutual friend of ours — whom I’ll call “S” — and M’s father in law — whom I’ll call FIL. That’s plenty of feedback for a free bottle of sauce.

    Here are a collection of comments:

    • Vegetarian pizza: “too sweet.”
    • Veggie burgers: “very good.”
    • Honeydew melon: A mixed review. J liked it; M thought it was “OK.”
    • Spinach cheese omelets: M liked it; J said it was “too sweet.”
    • S put it on everything in sight, apparently, including potato chips, burger and melon. He said it was “flamin’ hot!”
    • FIL put it on everything too and even used some of the sauce in a recipe. FIL tried it on veggie burgers, omelets and red potatoes.

    FIL’s Roasted Red Potatoes with Gochujang

    INGREDIENTS

    • Red Potatoes
    • Olive Oil
    • Fresh Rosemary
    • Fresh Thyme
    • Salt
    • Gochujang
    1. Rub down the red potatoes with a mix of gochujang, olive oil and herbs.
    2. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.
    3. Serve hot.

    M’s conclusion:

    Hope that was helpful. We’ll finish the bottle for sure. Not sure if we would specifically go out and buy it. We’ll see.

    The next report came back from my friend “L,” who said:

    I thought the level of spiciness was good. There’s a real sweet initial flavor followed soon after by the heat. I thought it lacked an identity though, in other words, I wouldn’t know how to use it. The flavor isn’t such that I would use it in American dishes we generally make (I’m thinking of meat/barbeque in particular), and doesn’t have the right flavor for Asian dishes we eat. My husband  said it doesn’t taste authentic. He did say it might be something he would use as a dipping sauce, for instance, for lumpia.

    My friend T said:

    YUMMMM! I was worried the spicy would take away from the flavor, but it wasn’t too bad. Not for anyone who doesn’t like spicy though. I give it a thumbs up!

    The most fascinating critique came from the husband of another friend. He said the sauce was “too Korean.”

    At first, I was at a loss on how sauce clearly labeled “Korean sweet and spicy sauce” can be “too Korean.” Then I had a flash: A fundamental flavor of Korean recipes is sesame oil. However, some people have a real aversion to that pungent ingredient, even in small quantities. This blend of gochujang has sesame oil and seeds, and it was enough for him to know that the sauce was “too Korean” for his taste.

    In sum, this gochujang is accurately named: sweet with a bold but not overwhelming spiciness.

  • Korean tacos come to Atlanta

    Korean tacos come to Atlanta

    by Tammy

    Korean taco trucks are no longer limited to America’s West Coast cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland. Now Atlanta, the largest U.S. Southeast city, has Yumbii. It’s one of the latest such roving restaurants to follow in the wake of intense popularity for Kogi, which has more than 67,000 listed followers on Twitter.

    Yumbii chef Tomas Lee fuses Korean, Mexican and Southern cooking traditions onto a small plate. He is the former executive chef of Atlanta’s ritzy Buckhead Diner.

    Lee calls Yumbii, “the result is the best damn meal you’ve had out of a food truck east of the Mississippi.” The menu includes Korean barbecue tacos and burritos as well as pulled pork sliders topped with cucumber kimchi.

    Using an increasingly common marketing method for rolling restaurants, Yumbii updates Atlanta-area residents on the truck’s latest location via Twitter.

    ZenKimchi would like to hear about your experiences with this newcomer to Korean fusion gourmet on the go.


  • Korean food made in the USA

    Korean food made in the USA

    beefyveggiesoup1

    The Korean government is working overtime to convince Americans (and all foreigners) of the superior benefits of Korean cuisine. Even before the current government’s intervention, private Korean companies such as CJ Corp. and Ottogi already set up a corporate presence and a distribution network through Korean and Asian grocery stores in the United States. However, most of the food is made in Korea and then imported into the United States for distribution and sale.

    If the Korean elite want to see explosive growth in the popularity of Korean food, particularly among non-Korean domestic cooks, Korean companies need to set up corporate offices and food production plants in the USA. They also need to heavily advertise in American magazines, TV commercials and influential food blogs.

    Korean automobile manufacturers have already done this. Hyundai and KIA both have automobile plants in the United States. Setting up operations in the States helped Hyundai grow from a niche market into a strong, highly esteemed competitor in the automotive market.

    Establishing a corporate presence in the United States will make it easier for Korean food manufacturers to learn what American people like and dislike about Korean food and be able to target their product lines accordingly. Which means Koreans may have to broaden their defIMG 1364inition of Korean food.

    Despite Ottogi and CJ Corp.’s American corporate presence, they are primarily importers of Korean foods made in Korea. There are no American production plants. I’ve never seen an Ottogi spice packet say “Made in the USA”. However, that trend is starting to change as well.

    I went to my local Korean grocery store recently and discovered a Korean beef and vegetable soup made by a Korean company called Chang Tuh Corp. Chang Tuh Corp. is based in Kimpo, Gyonggi-do, South Korea. Even though the product itself is 100% Korean based on the bilingual, mostly Korean packaging, it was made in the USA in Salem, Ore.

    I was intrigued enough to bring some home and try it for myself. I served it with white rice and Korean sidedishes, and both hubby and I thought it tasted pretty good. It was not overly salty, like many processed food products. It had lots of veggies as well, including daikon, bean sprouts, and green onions.

    As the Korean government continues its efforts to globalize Korean food, I hope they listen closely to food companies who have offices overseas and have been overseas long enough to have their fingers on America’s culinary pulse.

  • Product Review: Annie Chun's Korean Sweet Chili Noodle Bowl

    Product Review: Annie Chun's Korean Sweet Chili Noodle Bowl

    Annie Chun noodles
    Annie Chun's noodles are not currently available in the ROK. After Annie Chun's Gochujang sparked controversy in the Korean blogosphere, I decided I'd check out one of her other Korean food offerings to get a sneak preview of things to come.

    The Korean blogosphere has been spinning recently over how to introduce Korean cuisine to American markets and, particularly, what should be role of the South Korean government in this popularization. However, Korean food companies on both sides of the Pacific aren’t waiting for Seoul to tell them what to do.

    Annie Chun's Korean Sweet Chili noodle bowl
    Until Annie Chun's merger with CJ Foods in 2005, Annie Chun's line did not feature any Korean style foods. Since that time, she has introduced Korean noodles, Kimchi soup, and Korean seaweed wraps to her line.

    Annie Chun is a Korean-born developer of one of the most popular lines of prepared Asian foods in the United States. After the merger with CJ Foods in 2005, Annie Chun’s started going back to her Korean roots with food items such as the Korean Sweet Chili Noodle Bowl. I found it in a local San Francisco Bay–area supermarket, which was not selling her newly released bottled gochujang (spicy red pepper paste) yet.

    I tested the dish by preparing it according to label instructions and without modifications. What’s required is just scalding-hot water — heated in a kettle, bottle dispenser or microwave — to warm the noodles and reconstitute the dehydrated vegetables and spices.

    The sauce is very sweet. A number of hanshik lovers may cringe at sweet and spicy Korean noodle dish, but the name of the dish does include the word sweet.

    The label also says the spiciness level is “medium,” and that’s an accurate comparison with other spicy Korean foods. But it might be a bit mild for Koreaphiles.

    The combination of spiciness and sweetness reminded my husband of the American Chinese food favorite orange chicken, with a Korean flair of sesame oil.

    Pros

    • 100 percent natural. For example, the sweetener is cane sugar juice instead of high-fructose corn syrup.
    • Vegan. That’s rare for prepared Korean foods.
    • Fresh noodles, not deep fried or dried.
    • No MSG or preservatives.
    • Quick to make. It takes about two minutes from heat to eat.

    Cons

    • High in calories. A bowl supposedly has two servings, totaling 640 calories for one bowl.
    • Too sweet. Traditional Korean food items such as dakkalbi (spicy grilled chicken) and dwejikalbi (spicy grilled pork) have a balance of salty, sweet, spicy and bitter.

    One of the reviewers for this product on Amazon.com posted her recipe for what you might call stir-fried Korean sweet chili noodles with shrimp.

    So first you saute some veggies, say, in some peanut oil in a skillet or small wok, and then you add some scallops, say, or maybe shrimp, and then you turn off the heat and follow the directions on the box (using the microwave). Then you add the noodles, flavor pack and the UNBELIEVABLY fantastic Sweet Korean Chili sauce to the skillet and toss to heat through. Maybe you add some almonds or peanuts, say, after you add it all either to a bowl or a plate, and then you consume with some moderately sweet wine, like White Zinfandel, say. An absolutely fantastic meal.

    That’s certainly a good option to stretch this 600-plus-calorie bowl between two to four people.

    On its own, Annie Chun’s Korean Sweet Chili Noodle Bowl is a slightly healthier alternative for a quick lunch at work than greasy fast food or a bowl of deep-fried ramen. But if your sweet tooth is reserved for dessert only, you might want to leave this noodle bowl on the shelf.

  • BiBi–Oh, NO-O-O!!

    bibigo1

    Here it is, folks. Meet your new master.

    Remember the beloved Cafe Sobahn in downtown Seoul? It closed down to create this:

    The name “Bibigo” combines bibimbap, the spicy mixed rice and vegetable dish and “to go.” The restaurant’s emphasis is on quick takeout.

    “It’s often the case that foreigners have a difficult time eating Korean food cooked and served the traditional way,” [CJ Foodville CEO Kim Il-chun] said. “Should Koreans emphasize the traditional element of the food, foreigners may take interest in it out of curiosity, but in the long term there will be a limit to that interest.”

    […]

    [Get ready for it…]

    “We want Bibigo to be the McDonald’s or Starbucks of Korean food,” he said.

    I hope you weren’t in the middle of drinking your coffee when reading that.

    Here’s the scoop. Some of you may remember Seoul Eats and ZenKimchi organizing secret test marketing last year for a Korean restaurant. It was for Cafe Sobahn’s expansion into overseas markets. Some of you participated in it, and it was a good time. The word spread about Cafe Sobahn, and it became a favorite amongst the foreigner crowd. Towards the end of the market testing, which the exec in charge admitted that CJ had little experience in doing, they asked what we thought of the name “Bibigo.”

    There was almost universal laughter and strong opposition to the name.

    I guess you can figure out that they threw the market testing out the window, shuttered Cafe Sobahn, and went ahead with shoving this Bibigo down their markets’ throats.

    Despite the McDonaldization and that bitter tasting story, I would still like to try it out. They’re still obsessed with the “Americans will eat it because it’s healthy” meme over the reality that Americans put taste over health most of the time. They’re not Koreans. These guys have a hard time mentally wrapping around that concept. But after reading the description of one dish, black rice, bulgogi, and citron soy sauce, I’d be interested in checking it out.

    But if they won’t listen to the market they’re trying to sell to, maybe they’d at least learn from the failed efforts of their rivals. It got passed on to me that Korean bakery Paris Baguette, which does have a location in L.A., try to rebrand itself in another location as Wheatberry Bakery in Pasadena, CA. Yes, they were able to fool some folks into thinking it was an olde worlde European bakery, but others saw through it. Through bad management (likely middle-aged ajosshis refusing to listen to the on-the-frontline notes from their underlings), unsanitary conditions, bait-and-switch overpricing (sound familiar?) and a total arrogant presumption towards their market, Wheatberry crashed down in flames.

    ‘McDonald’s of bibimbap’ debuts

    [HT to a very special reader]

  • Weekly Chosun Article about Food Bloggers–TRANSLATED

    Shin has performed an amazing feat in translating this ENTIRE ARTICLE that came out a couple of weeks ago, highlighting Jen, Dan and me. I must say, it’s a good ‘un. It’s a bit ballsy in pushing our critiques–and really, the critiques of a lot of expats–regarding the government’s promotion of Korean food.

    Give it a read–and give Shin a pat on the back for doing this for us.

    threemusketeers1

    Weekly.Chosun.Com

    (2103rd Edition) 2010.05.03

    http://weekly.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/04/28/2010042802117.html

    [PEOPLE] Foreign Powerbloggers as Korean Food Missionaries

    Gobchang, Pork Skin, Fermented Skate …Wonderful!

    There is a fever for the ‘globalization of Korean food.’  Not only government organizations such as The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MIFAFF) and the Korea Tourism Organization, but also major companies in the food industry are taking action for the globalization of Korean food.  The first lady Yoon-ok Kim appeared on the American news channel CNN and gave cooking demonstration of Korean food last October.  The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) plans to accelerate the effort on the globalization of Korean food through the International Food Industry Exhibition in Seoul from May 12th through May 15th.  Among the efforts for the globalization of Korean food, there are 3 foreign bloggers who draw thousands of daily visitors to their blogs focused on just that.  Joe McPherson (36) of ZenKimchi (www.zenkimchi.com), Daniel Gray (31) of Seoul Eats (www.seouleats.com), and Jennifer Flinn (30) of Fatman Seoul (www.fatmanseoul.com).  Self-claimed as ‘The Three Musketeers of Korean food blogging,’ they review restaurants, introduce Korean food culture, and share high quality critiques on culture through their stand-out blogs.

    If you type in the words ‘Seoul Korean food’ on the English search engine Google, these sites will appear on the first page.  It’s not an overstatement to say that these three blogs are the easiest to reach for information on Korean food in English.  I met with the three powerbloggers and heard about their lives in Korea, love for Korean food, and harsh criticisms on the globalization of Korean food.

    Site Visitors from the U.S., Australia and Africa

    The influence of the three bloggers should not be overlooked.  ZenKimchi among the ‘Three Musketeers’ logs in the most visitors, one time reading as much as 18,000 pageviews in a day.  Seoul Eats is also proud of over 2000 average pageviews.  People visit the 3 sites not only from the English-speaking countries such as the U.S., Australia, the Philippines, but also from France, Germany, Israel, Indonesia and Africa.

    When a reporter from the daily newspaper The New York Times came to Seoul for a taste of Seoul, the ones who took him to a Korean fine-dining restaurant in Shinsa-dong, pojang macha, a restaurant specializing in galbi grilled over charcoal in front of Hongik University, and Noryangjin Seafood Market were Gray and McPherson.  The article in The New York Times on July 20th, 2008, described the taste of Seoul as “Weird, Wild and, Ultimately, Sublime.”

    [I don’t think] it’s necessary to worry about ‘what foreigners would know about Korean food.’  All three people have lived in Korea for a minimum of 5 to 11 years.  When asked about any plans to leave Korea, they all went, ‘Well…’ as if to say no thoughts of leaving.  In the case of Gray, who grew up in Korea until the age of 5 then was adopted by [a family] in the U.S., “I came to Korea to learn about my roots.”  McPherson, who got married to Korean wife last October, is expecting the birth of his first child.  “There are many foreigners who stay in Korea for the short-term.  At one point I realized it’s not easy to get to know people who would be leaving soon.  So I like hanging out with Korean people or foreigners who will settle in Korea.”

    Flinn, who came to Korea as an exchange student in 1999, also said, “Perspectives of foreigners who are visiting and settling [in Korea] are very different.  First-time visitors find charcoal grilled meat and kimchi interesting, but for people like me who have been living [in Korea] for a while, obviously, that’s not the case.

    McPherson says it’s natural for the three Americans to become close.  “We were on our own with very little exchange, but after 2007, a community of foreign bloggers formed, and we help and support one another by contributing articles and leaving comments.”  For example, Gray’s food consulting company O’ngo Food Communications is an advertiser on ZenKimchi, and when Fatman Seoul’s site shut down from bugs, ZenKimchi helped by offering to lend out server space.

    Three People Three Colors…More professional Assessment than Koreans

    They also share a reason for starting their blogs.  In the beginning, they started writing to update on their lives to families back home, but realized that it became mostly about eating and changed the focus to food.  The current format of ZenKimchi formed in 2004, and Seoul Eats and Fatman Seoul in 2008.  Although they manage blogs with the Korean food theme, their focus areas differ based on their specialization and experience.  Gray, who is in food marketing, gears the site for foreigners residing in Korea by focusing on restaurant reviews in Seoul and promoting his Korean food tours.  On the other hand, long posts with clear view points parallel to newspaper editorial articles stand out in the blog by McPherson, who majored in Communications.  Flinn, who majored in Anthropology, said, “I always keep in mind the cultural differences and write each post as part of documentary.”  She adds, “I plan to go for a doctorate degree with a theme on Korean food.”  “[I find it] interesting how there is a divide in sexes in Korean food culture.  Have you wondered why it’s hard to see guys going to Outback by themselves or women going to eat gobchang by themselves?”

    These three are more concerned about reviews on food and cultural observations whereas Korean blogs focus on pictures with short restaurant introductions.  McPherson, who is also working as food editor for 10 Magazine, an English magazine for Koreans, said, “I try to keep a consistent perspective with more focus on writing than pictures, as I consider all blog posts as magazine articles.”  McPherson also mentioned that food pictures that arouse the appetite just by looking at them are called “food porn,” and, “When I want to show my friends ‘food porn,’ I post Korean blog links on my twitter.”

    An Extraordinary Love for Korean Food…Makgeolli and Pajeon at Get-togethers

    For these three, love for Korean food is distinctive.  It amazes me to look at Flinn, who loves GulBap and SamHap, and McPherson, whose favorite food is gobchang and pork skin (usually stir-fried or grilled).  Gray even developed ‘Korean food tours’ and is introducing Seoul food himself to tourists and foreigners living in Korea.  Snacks in pojang macha, pork skirt meat for the 2nd round, then to round out the night, makgeolli and pajeon are enjoyed at the 3rd round.

    I asked about their favorite Korean food.  Gray recommends spicy Galbi Jjim at Dong In Dong in Shinsa-dong, Samgyetang at To Sok Chon next to Gyeongbok Palace and Korean fine-dining at Sandang in Yang-pyung, Gyeonggi Province.  “I have a peculiar taste,” says McPherson.  He laughs and says, “When I say I like gobchang, jogae gui, budae jjigae, and pork skin dishes, my foreign friends ask me if I am listing the weirdest foods.”  Flinn counts GulBap at Cheong Su Jeong in Samcheong-dong, creative reinterpretations of Korean food at Star Chef in Dogok-dong, buckwheat noodles at Memil Kot Pil Muryeop in Hyoja-dong.  “I have my own criteria for picking good Korean restaurants, which is the shorter the menu, the better.  I like places that ask, ‘How many,’ without [having me need to] choose what to eat.”  She also has an unusual praise for hong-eo [fermented skate].  “The reason people don’t like fermented skate is usually because their first experiences were bad, but my first was so delicious.  I believe fermented skates sold at restaurants are usually aged for 2-3 months, but the restaurant I went to in Anyang aged it for 2-3 years.”

    Flinn and Gray usually seek out Seoul area restaurants, and McPherson, who lives in Anyang, looks for restaurants in Seoul and the surrounding areas.  Flinn fell for Andong Jjim Dalk (braised Andong-style chicken) and salt-cured mackerel after tasting them at the Andong Maskdance Festival in 2008.  She also likes Suwon Wang Galbi (large beef ribs) that she had at Yeon Po Gal Bi in Suwon.  McPherson enjoys food from different countries and has recommended Uzbek restaurant Samarkand Kafe and Vietnamese restaurant Quan Viet Nam through his blog.

    ‘Globalization of Korean food’ can succeed

    Since the effort for the globalization of Korean food surged last year, bloggers of ‘Three Musketeers’ are also very much interested in [the direction of] Korean food overseas, especially the possibility of success in the motherland of the U.S.  However, they point out weaknesses in Korean food globalization currently spearheaded by the government.  At the basis of the issues is the lack of market research, which [leads to] the lack of understanding of the culture of consumers.  McPherson says with a smile that the current effort in the globalization of Korean food “feels like it’s forcefully telling foreigners ‘this is what you have to like’ without asking them.  The only person in the world who can do that is Steve Jobs.”  Mr. Gray also said food and culture have to be promoted together.  “For example, foreigners are not familiar with the concept ‘son-mat’ [‘hand flavor’].  Especially, Americans who are particularly sensitive about cleanliness could refuse the concept of making food with [bare] hands.  Therefore, in explaining ‘son-mat,’ the fact that hands are the most delicate and functional ‘tools’ should be emphasized instead of directly relating to ‘taste.’  Flinn is critical on tteokbokkii as one of the representative dishes of Korean food sponsored by MIFAFF.  “[Do you think] changing the Romanization from tteokbokkii to topokki to make it easier to read will make people like the food more?  The most important thing is not the name, it is the taste and texture.  Americans are not comfortable with sticky-chewy textures, so they do not like tteok [rice cakes in general] as much as Koreans think.  It goes with the example that sashimi in the chewy Korean style is not as popular as Japanese-style sashimi.”

    Forget Dae Jang Geum!

    They also point out the limits of marketing Korean fine dining and royal court cuisine.  Flinn advises to “forget Dae Jang Geum now.”  McPherson says royal court cuisine tends to be expensive and focuses more on the appearance rather than the taste.  “If you keep focusing on appearance, it feels like Korean food is copying Japanese food.  The reason Japanese food comes out beautifully is that it doesn’t have any particular ‘flavor.’  On the other hand, the appeal of Korean food is its complicated flavors and abundance.  So giving up flavors and focusing on appearance might even make Korean cuisine boring.”  Mr. Gray also said, “Celebrity chefs and high-end royal court cuisine are good, but the daily lives of common people are far from them.  Fine dining cuisine is very concerned about techniques and ingredients, but most people want food that’s easy to make, comforting to eat and cheap.”

    They recommend grassroots marketing rather than high-end marketing, and agree on “inviting young foreign chefs to Korea and educating them” in particular.  McPherson shared his own experience.  “My younger brother came to Korea to attend my wedding last October.  He is a chef specializing in Mediterranean food around Italy and Spain and American southern food.  He wanted to learn more about Korean food, so I introduced him to a Korean chef for a crash course.  My brother became a fanatic fan of Korean food.  He made turkey with kimchi for Thanksgiving in November.”  Flinn says to invite foreign chefs and food experts and ‘let them loose’ on the street rather than taking them to hotels and Korean fine-dining restaurants.

    Don’t get stuck on Pure-bred Korean food!

    They also criticize the emphasis on ‘pure-bred’ Korean food.  Mr. McPherson says, “Korean food is getting attention as street food in the U.S.”  Street food was sweeping the west in L.A. in 2009.  ‘Kimchi Tacos,’ developed by Roy Choi (40), a Korean American, is the center of attention.  ‘Kimchi Tacos’ is putting kimchi and bulgogi in Mexican tacos, which is a thin flour wrap with meat and vegetable stuffing.  Choi’s ‘Kogi BBQ’ truck is so popular that people line up everywhere the truck goes.  Choi was also chosen as one of the best new chefs in 2010 by the American food magazine Food and Wine.  David Chang, a Korean American, has a fusion Korean restaurant Momofuku Ssam Bar in New York.  I also tasted their raw oysters lightly sprinkled with kimchi sauce and buns with pork, scallions, cucumber and hoisin sauce at this place last February.  The ingredients were certainly Korean, but the flavors were different from Korean food.  McPherson said, “Americans did not like kimchi until it was put on their beloved tacos.  Kimchi is hard to eat by itself, but it adds a great flavor when eaten with other foods. [If you] find American food that goes well with Korean food and combine them well, the next ‘Kogi BBQ’ and ‘Momofuku’ will come out.”

    Flinn also recommends better adaptation of Korean food with local cuisines.  “In the existing effort of ‘the globalization of Korean food,’ there seems to be a fear of losing ‘originality’ and disappearing into somewhere as the food goes [overseas].  However, I think it’s unnecessary to be concerned about losing originality unless the government leads with the ‘pure-bred’ Korean food.  Korean cuisine has to change and, in fact, it is as it goes outside of Korea.  Look at Chinese cuisine and Japanese cuisine.  There was less friction because these cuisines were localized and familiarized first, followed by the introduction of traditional styles.”

    SsamJang, Salt … Introduce Ingredients First!

    Which food, if not royal court cuisine or tteokbokki, has the potential to be the leader of Korean food globalization?  Gray said, “Promoting ingredients rather than complete dishes could be a strategy.”  Momofuku of New York is a good example.  Gray said, “Every time I go to the states, I fill half of my suitcase with SsamJang for a gift for my friends.  Korean sea salt is also popular among American chefs.  They say there is a unique, sharp flavor to it.  There is a chef in Seattle who always asks me to send him Korean salt.”  Interestingly, McPherson counts Jogae Gui.  “Grilling clams on the beach with a sea breeze could be the best vacation Americans could imagine.  But [you will] probably have to put up a warning sign that says, ‘We are not responsible for any burns.’” They also agree on the possibility of chicken dishes such as Andong Jjim Dalk and Dalk Galbi [spicy chicken stew flavored with gochujang, Chun-cheon version is most well known].

    Wouldn’t they miss the taste of home even when they like Korean food so much?  I asked where they go when they miss American food.  McPherson mentioned a hole in the wall that’s now closed, in front of the American army base in Samgakji**.  “They had $2 burgers and $12 steaks of FDA quality.  It was a really famous place among foreigners although it wasn’t advertised.  Gray counts Suji’s in Itaewon for American brunch, Chef Meili in Itaewon for Austrian food, Gina & Franco nearby the Seoul National University Station for Italian food.  Flinn enjoys American burgers and mussels at Public in Hyoja-dong.  Flinn says, “I don’t expect the same American taste in Korea.  But there is a place that produces 100% the same taste anywhere in the world – McDonalds.  I don’t go near it in the States but I eat [there] once in a while in Korea.”

    Original article written by Shim Hye Gi

    Translated for ZenKimchi Food Journal by Shin Kim (www.shinshine.com)

    **They’re talking about the USO Canteen

  • The Rhetoric of Korean Food Globalization

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    Greg Boone of Schoolhouse: ROK looks at the current debate on promoting Korean food overseas, particularly the debate between Dan Gray and Andrew Salmon regarding the marketing of makgeolli/makolli. It’s an excellent read that breaks down the rhetoric from the bullhorns and concludes that Seoul needs to figure out how to fit Korean food into American social norms rather than prying itself in there.

    Though I’m pretty sure any government official would laugh me out of the room if I suggested giving money to foreigners to open restaurants overseas. It’s hard enough to get them to notice, much less help out financially, the food blogs that have been much more successful in promoting Korean food than expensive full-page ads in The New York Times.

    Globalizing Korea: A Rhetoric of Food

  • The 'Hansik Samchongsa' in the Weekly Chosun

    The 'Hansik Samchongsa' in the Weekly Chosun

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    The Weekly Chosun (주간조선) has published a really good article by Shin Hye-gi about the Hansik “Samchongsa” (“삼총사”), or the Korean Food “Trinity” of food bloggers–that being Seoul Eats, Fatman Seoul, and ZenKimchi.

    I’m a slow reader in Korean, but Eun Jeong was wowed by the article, reading it three times. She said it was bold and included a lot of criticisms from us on what’s been going on with the Korean food globalization campaign. She laughed while reading it in the taxi. I glanced at her.

    “What?”

    It looks like Ms. Shin printed my comment that only Steve Jobs can dictate to the public what they want. It’s also Alkongi’s first mention in the media. I’ve also never noticed before how even the color schemes of our sites complement each other.

    If you want to get a copy, here’s what the cover looks like. The article should be online next week on their site.

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