32nd Street betta watch out!
Starting tomorrow, I will review every single Korean restaurant in the “Koreatown” district of Manhattan. Get ready my lovely stomach!!!
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An Ode to Spam
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the sodium and MSG and mystery
My tongue can reach, when feeling every bite.
For the ends of cooked crisp and meeting rice.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most sizzling sear, by sun or candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for taste;
I love thee purely, as they it turns into craze.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my fond memories with my childhood’s foods.
I love thee with a love I seemed to choose and choose.
I love thee with the instant smell,
Smiles, cries, of all my life!—and, if you will Spam,
I shall but love thee forever till the meal’s death.
The Siren Song of “Good Food at Great Prices”
Being a member of the Park Slope Food Coop is just like dating someone. During the good times (usually the beginning), things are blissful. Every trip to the Coop is like going on an awesome date. Even that initial smell that is so distinctly the Coop, gives you a rush — the kind you get when your date walks into the room. You get excited making out your weekly grocery list the way you look forward a great kiss. You think, “what will be in season today and what amazing dish I can prepare with it?” just as you day dream about a weekend trip with that special someone.
And just like that, you miss your Coop shift. Rainbows become thunderstorm clouds, laughter becomes salty tears and embraces become ignored text messages. The only person you can blame is yourself but of course like in all relationships, it is way easier to blame the other person. You sneer when their name is mentioned and start plotting ways to get even. And the next thing you know, you break up with the Coop and vow never to return.
This was me during the summer of 2008. The Coop is evil, and I’d rather pay more than have to deal with this cruel relationship. Time goes by and I forget all about my love and heartbreak. But like a flame that never died, my love for “good food at great prices” has rekindled. I love you, Coop. Let’s give it another go!
RECIPE: Scallion Pancakes
What do Korean Ninja Turtles love more than defeating evil food villains out to take over the world? Eating KOREAN PIZZA! You don’t have to be an ass-kicking mutant turtle to enjoy these scrumptious pancakes.
Ingredients:
1 pound small or medium-sized scallions aka green onions, white and pale green parts only, cut into 6-inch pieces
1 cup all-purpose wheat flour
1 cup ice cold water
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 hot red Korean pepper, seeded and finely chopped
Salt, Pepper and pinch of hot red pepper flakes
Instructions:
Wash and chop up the veggies and set aside. In a chilled bowl, combine the flour and ice water and lightly mix. Season the batter with salt, pepper and dried hot pepper flakes. To your batter, add all the vegetables.
In a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over high heat until the pan begins to smoke. Pour half the batter into the pan and cook for 1 1/2 minutes until the edges turn golden brown. Flip the pancake over, press down, flatten, make as thin as possible, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove pan slice up like a pizza into individual portions. For the dipping sauce, use equal parts soy sauce and vinegar with a pinch of dried hot pepper flakes. Power up!
A Christmas (bo ssam) Miracle
‘Twas the night before Christmas (brunch), when all through the house,
not a creature was stirring, except for all the delicious bo ssams in my dreams;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
Nari awoke and hoped the pork butt brined its share;
The pork butt was nestled all snug in its pot,
while visions of duck stock danced in my head;
Away to the kimchi I flew like a flash,
Tore through the leaves and made quite a splash.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But Mr. Chang and eight tiny reindeer,
With a great, wafting smell of something amazing
I knew in a moment it must be time for tasting.
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Ingredients
10 pounds bone-in Boston pork butt
2 1/3 cups white sugar
2 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons salt
4 each red and green chiles
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 cups uncooked Korean rice
2 heads Boston lettuce
Sagyegeol ssäm jang (Korean soybean paste)
Salted shrimp
1 pounds cabbage or daikon kimchee
Instructions
The Night Before
Place 2 cups each sugar and salt in a bowl or saucepan large enough to hold the butt, add 6 cups water, and stir until dissolved. Place the pork butt in the brine solution. Make sure it’s submerged (weight if necessary), and refrigerate overnight.
Clean the chile peppers (leave the seeds in for a hotter flavor) and slice them 1/2-inch thick, on the bias. Mix 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup salt with 1 cup water until dissolved, pour over the chiles, and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place the pork in a large 6-inch-deep pot or casserole, and cook uncovered in the oven for about 6 1/2–7 1/2 hours, basting the pork with the pan drippings every hour. When the meat is fork-tender and pulls away from the bone, sprinkle the exterior with a mixture of 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 tablespoon salt. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees, and continue roasting until the outside is well caramelized. Remove from oven.
Cook Rice. Clean and wash the lettuce; select the best leaves, and set aside. Assemble ssäm: use the lettuce leaves as a blanket to wrap the rice, kimchi, ssäm jang and pork and in they go, into mouths!
(recipe from New York Magazine; Momofuku Ssäm Bar)
I’m lovin’ this (insanity)
Play this on loop and think back fondly on childhood Mickey ‘D memories.
Episode 2: Fermented Soy Bean Stew
Wowee, HD Video available at Vimeo!
Make it: you can get my written recipe by clicking here.
RECIPE: Fermented Soybean Stew
Happy American Thanksgiving everyone! As you gather around the dinner table with your loved ones, take a look around and see if anything is missing. Can I guess what that is? Fermented soy bean stew, of course! Invite Nyam Nyam into your homes and hearts tonight. Enjoy this fermented soy bean stew that is loved and devoured by Koreans all year around but is particularly favored during the fall season.
RECIPE:
THREE CUPS OF ANCHOVY STOCK, BEEF STOCK OR VEGETABLE STOCK.
4 TABLESPOONS OF DWENJANG (FERMENTED SOY PASTE)
5 CLOVES OF CRUSHED GARLIC
1 POUND MEDIUM FIRM BEAN CURD AKA TOFU
1 POUND OF DAIKON
1 POUND SUMMER SQUASH
5 OUNCES OF LEAN PORK, SLICED THIN
2 LARGE SWEET GREEN ONIONS
1 HOT GREED KOREAN PEPPER OR JALAPENO PEPPER
1 HOT RED KOREAN PEPPER
Pour three cups of stock in a large skillet or pot and dissolve four tablespoons of the delicious fermented soy bean paste (dwen jang). Add the minced garlic and bring to a boil. Then place the sliced daikon and cubed tofu into the pot. Leave a little space in the center of your pot for your sliced pork. Cover, bring to a boil and cook gently for about five minutes.
Place the thin strips of lean pork into the center of the pot and cover and boil for another two minutes. Add your chopped scallions and peppers into the pot and cook for a couple of more minutes. Serve immediately with a nice hot bowl of white rice.