KOREA ROUNDUP: FROM ACORN JELLY TO ETHEREAL TONKATSU

It's been over two years since I last wrote. A lot has happened but my passion to make, find and eat good food hasn't changed. I was inspired to highlight some of the best meals I had in my last trip and document the duds so you all don't have to make the same mistake (and because IG isn't enough room).

This acorn jelly, though. It's definitely not for everyone but Chunghwajung (청화정 안동국시) in the southeastern suburb of Suji (not the starlet, for Kpop fans) makes one of the best versions I've had. Called dotorimook moochim (도토리묵 무침), it's jelly made from acorn powder that's then seasoned with chopped kimchi, sesame oil and sprinkled with sesame seeds and shredded dried seaweed. The flavors and textures blend perfectly well together to make the best appetizer or side dish to any meal. 

Chunghwajung also does an excellent sooyook (수육), or steamed sliced beef. It's not the most photogenic dish but every bite of the meat was extra soft and tender -- the perfect accompaniment to a traditional Korean rice wine called makgolli (막걸리). Better yet, wrap the meat in one of the perilla leaves (kennip or 깻잎) marinated in soy sauce and green onions. Or should you like spicier flavors, wrap the meat in the Korean leek (boochoo or 부추) kimchi for an explosion of flavors in your mouth. 

What this restaurant is known for is its so-called knife noodles, or kalguksoo (칼국수). While good, kalguksoo isn't my favorite type of noodles and I really use the noodles as an excuse to have the perilla leaves and leek kimchi by wrapping each morsel of noodles with these greens. 

Comfort food at its best.

Now for hands-down the best meal I had on this trip: Seoji Chogatteul (서지초가뜰) in the coastal town of Kangneung (강릉). It's off the beaten path but well worth it. They first served us these fried beauties upon sitting down. They're dried chiles that they have fried to perfection. The crunch was satisfyingly loud like we were biting into chips. I had never had these before and am now obsessed.

The restaurant serves different levels of jungshik (정식), a classic Korean meal with the works. The namul (나물) included the usual suspects but the vegetables were steamed, stir fried and seasoned just right. They included shitake mushrooms, carrots, radish and two kinds of greens that don't really have a common translation (one being chui namul, 취나물).

The rice itself came with the popular green, gondeurae (곤드레) and we then mixed in the veggies from the previous image. The tofu blocks seasoned lightly with red pepper flakes in a broth were the second best thing from the meal. We could taste the deep soybean flavor that came from hand-making the tofu from scratch. We kept asking for refills.

The biggest revelation, however, was this trio of sauces. One was spicy and another was salty based on fermented soybean paste with a baby anchovy broth base. The one I keep dreaming about, though, is the green sauce made from a secret combination of greens with some garlic and likely crack. I couldn't get enough of this sauce in my rice that I had never tasted before. This trio of sauces is rather unusual in that restaurants don't normally offer different sauces to mix with the rice. It's usually red/spicy, soy sauce-based or based on the fermented soybean paste only and definitely had never seen or tasted anything like this green sauce. Must hack. 

Other side dishes were equally solid including the good ol' acorn jelly that you can see was served differently from the previous one that came seasoned. This is served with a sauce on the side based on soy sauce, red pepper flakes and green onions to apply to taste.

One of my biggest beefs about Los Angeles is that despite having a sizable Japanese American community and expat Japanese business community in South Bay, its tonkatsu (fried pork cutlets) game blows. I mean, seriously, get with the program, LA. I'll be happy with a chain straight from Japan like Hibarin because it's simply excellent and we should have one in LA. It's a more upscale version of the chain, Saboten, that I've written about here and owned by the same company. Hibarin only has one location in Seoul (Hyundai Department Store at the Express Bus Terminal) for now but it's a matter of time until they expand Starbucks-style. Hibarin takes its tonkatsu seriously. It offers three kinds of high quality pork including the famous black pig from Jeju Island, green tea-fed pigs from Boseong area known for its green tea fields and ginseng-fed pigs. For each of these categories, it offers different cuts of pork tenderloin. It also offers the multi-layered one I had raved about in earlier posts but I didn't feel the need to have this version because the chunky version was moist enough so dryness wasn't a concern. I tried both the pricier cuts of green tea pork and Jeju pork and they were both amazing -- juicy, moist and crispier than any impostor versions out here. 



Speaking of impostors, I was so looking forward to having this ttukbokki (떡볶이), rice cakes in a spicy sauce with fish cakes and boiled egg with a side of fish cake broth. It was featured in a Korean food show but alas, it was highly disappointing. I could have this dish every day but I couldn't even finish it. This is the kind of dish that's not possible to make at home either because it has to have MSG to taste right or the sauce just doesn't come out the same. I tried a million times to make it at home to no avail but walk into any old hole in the wall in Korea and you'll get a half-way decent plate of this street food classic. Jopok Ttukbokki (조폭 떡볶이) in Koreatown does a passable but not great version if one gets desperate. They even have uncooked to-go packs if you want to make it at home.

Last but not least, my big family dinner party was a huge success with my favorite dish being this chicken and chorizo casserole that was perfect for a cold winter day. Ok, I know that chorizo is cheating. Major crowd-pleaser.

I also liked the green lentils rice with caramelized onions that was nutritious and sweet. Its mild flavor went well with the rest of the dishes that were quite spicy and salty. I also flew in some serious pork hatch red chile tamales I made as part of a tamale party here that I cooked and froze to take on my flight. Huge hit. After all, what's not to like about red chile tamales? Happy eating and cooking!

Miami & Santa Fe Roundups: The Best Slow-cooked Pork and Plantains Ever; Green Chile and Eggs for Brunch

I'm highlighting some of the best eats I've had during some recent travels to Miami, Santa Fe, San Francisco and New York.

First up, hands-down the best lechon (classic Cuban dish of pig roasted for like 40 hours) and rice and beans I've ever had -- at Enriqueta's Sandwich Shop in the artsy Wynwood district of Miami. It was the best of both worlds -- tender and moist on the inside with cracklin' crispy skin (note the glistening skin). The pork was seasoned perfectly with hints of garlic and just the right amount of salt. The slightly tangy red onions it came with helped to cut through what could have felt like a very heavy meal (ok, it was still heavy but you get the idea). I never thought I could get excited about a humble side of rice and beans but alas, this set of rice and beans overrode all the millions of rice and beans I've had to this day -- perfectly cooked beans and rice with such deep flavor (they must have used broth to cook that rice). And the fried plantains. I've virtually never met a fried plantain I didn't like, so it made the meal even better. Needless to say, my lunch mate and I seriously overate to the point of feeling sick but I still relish the meal and find it was completely worth it. Here's a traveler's tip: take a stroll afterwards to check out the beautiful murals around Wynwood to walk off the calories.
 

We couldn't leave Miami without having another Cuban classic -- the Cubano sandwich. We searched high and low and found a good one at Puerto Sagua (It's temporarily closed until Oct. 30 so I'm glad we got a taste of it before then!) just before leaving. While the sandwich was good -- behold that cheese that's about to ooze down that layer of ham and pork goodness in the background -- the real star for me was the plantain omelet we had with it. I already mentioned my unequivocal love for plantains and once you throw in an egg -- seriously, it was sweet, it was savory, it was fluffy, it was...the ultimate comfort food.  

I wasn't sure what to expect for Santa Fe but I loved the sheer beauty of the sprawling landscape, the awesome art and of course, the food. Big thanks to Panchito for guiding me to some stellar spots including Cafe Pasqual's. This quaint corner joint had one of the best carne asadas I've had -- spice rubbed skirt steak with roasted tomato and jalapeno salsa with a side of a grilled poblano pepper, red bell pepper and red onion; and black beans sprinkled with queso fresco. The meat was perfectly cooked with a slight char on the outside. You could vary every bite, Korean ssam-style -- the dish came with two corn tortillas. I washed it all down with some agave salt-rimmed margarita although I found it far too sweet for my taste. 

I should say at this point that I came to a realization when I was in Santa Fe that I wasn't a big fan of its chile sauces. I know. Outrageous. I noticed that whenever I ordered any kind of Mexican food at a restaurant, the server always asked, "red or green chile?" I tried both and I must say, I'm always in a conundrum because while I like spicy, I never liked the taste of the red chile sauce. But when I go with green, I'm dissatisfied because it's too bland for me. Anyway, the point is, I wasn't able to greatly enjoy the quintessential Southwestern dish of enchiladas smothered in either a red or green chile sauce for this reason. It's me, not you. 

I liked Cafe Pasqual's because it had an interesting menu items besides the usual suspects of Southwestern Mexican offered by most establishments. We had the fried green tomatoes, which were excellent. 

The cochinita pibil, a Yucatan dish of slow-cooked pork (I detect a pattern) wrapped in banana leaf paired with pickled red onions, tortillas and plantain fried tostones-style was solid as well. I didn't care for this harder version of plantains but the meat was extremely tender and I was just sorry I couldn't finish it. Had I been able to bring it home, I would have "pimped" the heck out of that meat with kimchi and perilla leaves over rice, with a crusty baguette and a fried egg or whatever other variations I could muster.

This image isn't the most photogenic but it was one brunch dish where the green chile actually worked for me -- smothered over layers of tortillas and beans sprinkled with cheese and topped with two over-easy eggs and a side of hash browns at Cecilia's Cafe in Albuquerque. Since I wouldn't necessarily have an extremely spicy dish from early in the morning, this was a perfect way to start a lazy Sunday. Stay tuned for my next entry of travel eats with njeats!

  

Excellent Tasty Garden in Monterrey Park: Indulge in Extra Decadent Walnut Shrimp and Garlicky Green Bean

I love it when I have a meeting somewhere and get out early enough to make a pit stop at a restaurant during off-hours. Tasty Garden is one of those places. Behold the giant shrimp fried to perfection and smothered in mayo and sprinkled with sesame seeds and paired with the crunchiest candied walnuts ever. It was the most raved about dish on message boards and it certainly didn't disappoint. I still dream about this.

The walnut shrimp was by far the best thing I had but the string beans stir fried in garlic and red chilies were done just the right way -- cooked until firm but tender with an explosion of garlic flavor and the right amount of heat.

The Singaporean noodles came with pork, shrimp, onions, bean sprouts, bell peppers and egg, all coming together with some curry powder. I know that's how they're made but I found the noodles a bit dry. I had to add some hot chili oil to moisten it. Still, pretty solid.

It was late afternoon and most of the other customers were having brick toast with tea. The portions of the dishes are huge and there will be plenty of leftovers.

The Best of Korea 2014: Rice Cake with Fries, Oyster Rice Soup and The Most (Deliciously) Aged Kimchi You'll Ever Have

It's never easy to pinpoint the best things you ate during a whirlwind trip. It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it. Here I present my top picks from Korea. Overall, I was disappointed by some of the high-end fusion attempts and found the old school spots to be the best with only a few exceptions. I also rediscovered the beauty of Pusan, or Busan, as they call it now. Who knew Pusan would turn into Blade Runner city in a matter of 20 years? Warning: most of the spots here don't have websites so you will have to find them via blogs and message boards. Sorry but many Korean restaurants don't have websites, especially the hole-in-the-wall-type joints.

One of the favorite things we ate was ttukbokki, of course. You know how much I grumbled about a dearth of half-way decent ttukbokki here in LA. Well, we went to Hongdaeipku and conquered this super crowded spot that served excellent ttubokki, cooked tableside -- rice cakes cooked in a garlicky and spicy sauce with ramyun noodles, hard boiled egg, scallions and perilla leaves. It has a long name, 또 보겠지 떡볶이집, or 또떡 (ttottuk) for short, that roughly translates to "Ttukbokki place that you'll probably see again." Behold this beauty. What made it even better: thick fries smothered with a healthy dose of garlic mayo we got on the side. It looks gnarly but it's actually the bomb. I still dream about this.

Next up: I never considered myself a huge oyster fan but I had the best oyster kookbab, which had fresh oysters sizzling in a stone pot with some rice and buchu, or greens similar to chives. The soup was lightly seasoned but the piping hot soup hit the spot in sub-zero temperatures in Seoul. It was nourishing and had a different twist with the oysters -- this soup usually comes with bean sprouts and kimchi but this was a more-than-fine substitute. (Restaurant: Kim Myungja Gul Kookbab, 김명자굴국밥 계동점)

I almost finished all this fried chicken from Happiness Chicken (행복치킨) in Bundang by myself had it not been for my eating companion guilt-tripping me into sharing it. But seriously, I liked that it came with shredded scallions that gave it a refreshing counterbalance to the fried chicken. Koreans have many monikers for fried chicken - chimaek (치맥) that stands for beer and (fried) chicken and padak (파닭) that stands for scallions (shredded and raw) with (fried or fried and smothered in sauce) chicken. It was garlicky, crispy and moist. The trifecta of amazing fried chicken.

My monumental dinner party went well with many dishes that I was proud of. The one thing that I was most proud of, however, was this Chilean cake called Mil Hojas made out of a million cans of dulce de leche. It translates to a thousand layers so I first baked like 8 layers of dough, slathered each with as much dulce de leche as it could take, stacked them high and once done, slathered some more dulce de leche on the sides to seal it from all directions and then sprinkled it with almonds all over.

It actually came out as I remembered it from Chile. Topped with some creme fraiche or whipped cream, it was a hit, if I may say so myself. I'll definitely make it again.

I threw this one in for its photogenic qualities and plain awesomeness. It was a potato pancake topped with smoked salmon and sturgeon slices with a dollop of creme fraiche (I used whipped cream because creme is harder to find in Korea) and caviar. It was a crowd-pleasing appetizer to our meal. 

I have a newfound appreciation for ttukgalbi, which I had always chalked up as inferior to galbi. It's ground galbi meat (or finely chopped up as they do in traditional kitchens) seasoned like the classic rib meat but built into patties and grilled. It was moist, tender and seasoned just right.

The kicker for this restaurant (Jin Il Jeung, 진일정, near the Blue House), though, was the braised sardine with extra-aged kimchi known as mugeunji. Wow. I couldn't stop eating that kimchi.

The rice came in a stone pot with all these beans and pumpkin that are good for you. Delicious.

I always try to have things I feel LA's Korean restos don't do as well, such as ttukbokki and jjajangmyun, black bean sauce noodles, the classic Chinese-Korean dish. Happy to report I got my noodle fix at Yeonhwasan (연화산) in a neighborhood near Karak Fish Market. I loved its jjajjai, it's kimchi-like side dish that goes so well with both the sweet and sour pork as well as the noodles.

Can't have jjajangmyun without tangsuyook, the equally classic fried pork smothered in a sweet and sour sauce with veggies. The pork was crispy and the glistening sauce was light without being too gooey or sweet.

I was a happy camper. 'Nuf said. Ok, I'll just say I mourn the less than serviceable bowls of jjajangmyun all across America.

I wasn't the only one who cooked -- hail the other cook who concocted some pretty amazing things such as this wonderful greens salad with fresh persimmons and dried persimmons as well as roasted pine nuts for some crunch. The colors were beautiful and textures came alive upon each bite. 

The piece de resistance, however, was this slow roasted pork that was charred on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. The heavily seasoned crispy skin complemented the mild meat so well. Wrap that baby in a lettuce leaf and you got yourself a great pairing. Went well with red wine too.

I don't feel too guilty having a meat fest in Korea because it often comes with all these vegetables that surely cancels out all the badness in the meat. It almost looked like a hot pot and the meat wasn't seasoned.

We cooked the raw meat in the pot and dipped it in a slightly sweet soy sauce-based sauce with chopped onions. It was such a soul-feeding meal -- warm and hearty without being too heavy.

Check out the sizzling action here. 

After the meat, they served gondeurae rice, rice mixed with a green that is also extremely nutritious. I have to apologize that I misplaced the card for this one but it's in Bundang near Jeongjadong. 

Hello, Pusan! We ran into this port city's most famous bakery, Ops, and went to town. It was as crowded as you'd imagine and we bought everything from fish egg baguette to red bean manju (a take on the Japanese sweet potato pastry -- a lot of Japanese influences because of its proximity) and giant cream puffs. It didn't disappoint. We were going to have a taste before dinner and ended up totaling half of our purchase and most of the following day's snacks. Sure, it's hit or miss as far as what you pick. For instance, I wouldn't get the croissants. But those red bean thingies and the cream puffs were addictive. Worth the insane lines at the cashiers. 

We were lucky to be staying near a whole slew of solid, relatively non-touristy spots despite the fact that it was in Haewoondae Beach, the city's most famous and usually most crowded area. Our first dinner was at 그때 그집, that translates to That House a While Back or at That Time known for local specialties such as grilled fish and lots of seaweed varieties. 

The images are somewhat blurry but wanted to show you the sheer varieties of kelp and seaweed that we got. Use them as wraps or side dishes. Take your pick.

Both of these side dishes are types of seaweed -- one seasoned with vinegar and sugar and another with added spicy pepper flakes.

Grilled fish. I liked the braised version better but this wasn't too shabby.

The restaurant is most famous for this super-fermented soy bean paste stew called cheonggookjang. Delicious and hearty with enoki mushrooms, buchu greens and tofu blocks.

This was my favorite dish -- slow braised mackerel with some giant blocks of radishes that are almost better than the fish. The normally neutral-tasting radish transforms itself into the softest repository of wonderful spicy and sweet juices from the braising. You know, like potatoes in a stew that have absorbed all that goodness.

 More seaweed! The white specks are crumbled tofu.

 Two kinds of kimchi to round out the table.

This is parae, a type of seaweed that's finer and softer than regular sea kelp -- slightly tangy from the vinegar and sweet.

Meet Samjin Eomook, one of the oldest fish cake shops in Pusan (since 1953 -- that's when the Korean War reached an armistice). I was bummed that I wasn't able to visit the actual shop but was heartened to see a small shop in the train station (by the way, the US needs to join civilization and get bullet trains). Given how many different kinds of fish cakes were displayed in this tiny store, I can only imagine how vast of a selection the original location has. Fish cake wrapped in a shiso leaf, squares of fish cake dotted with finely chopped bell peppers and of course, since we're in Pusan, seaweed fish cakes. Browse and see what kind you would get. I tried many and liked the one with burdock root and seaweed. Never thought I've have gourmet fish cakes.

I had the best dessert at Bicena, a high-end Korean restaurant in Itaewon. It was mulberry tea (뽕잎차) ice cream topped with a candied walnut. I wasn't as familiar with mulberry tea but it was similar to green tea only a bit more intense. It was a winning pairing with the crunchy texture of walnut. 

The fusion-y meal at Mingles Restaurant in Cheongdamdong was one of the better takes on Korean food we had. The fish with an oyster and avocado sauce was not too heavy and had the right mix of flavors and textures.

You can hardly ever go wrong with uni (sea urchin) and this noodle dish was no exception. It had shrimp and uni in a mild sauce drizzled with some olive oil. Simple and delicious.

I love me some dumplings but I'm pretty picky when it comes to dumplings. Ok. I'm picky all the time so I was ecstatic to find some solid dumplings made by Korean-Chinese people who had brought their top notch dumpling-making skills to Korea. Called Jonny Dumpling with three locations in Itaewon, this tiny shop has different kinds of dumplings and also serves dumpling soup with mussels. You can choose between steamed or pan-fried dumplings. Tough choice, truly. Everything is hand-made, including the skin, and the shrimp one has huge chunks of shrimp in it (unlike tiny specs that are barely there).

I got some to go to try the pan-fried one and the egg and buchu (greens) mandu (dumplings), which were all stellar. This was no ordinary mandu shop.

Last but not least, we ventured to Bisugumi (비수구미), a place featured on one of my favorite food shows, Delicious TV or 찾아라 맛있는 TV. It was located somewhat far off, so I wasn't sure I'd make it but boy, am I glad we went off the beaten path to find this gem. The tofu (made at the premises from scratch) with stir fried kimchi was excellent. We also had dudeok, one of my favorite roots smothered in a red spicy seasoning.

The namul, or greens side dishes, came out labelled for your reference since there are so many. Cute and informative all at once. It was fun trying each and deciphering their unique flavors.

It also had doraji, another root that is hard to find here and that I love. It was seasoned lightly, the ivory strips on the lower left side of the above image. All in all, a fantastic culinary journey, as always. I will miss the flavors and textures dearly and will try to replicate some of them in my kitchen. Will share any successes.