Korean dishes

[jay santos]

Katy Lied got me going this morning and in my wanderings I found this web site. http://www.maangchi.com/ This lady is amazing.

Here are my favorite Korean dishes:


http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/soondubu-jjigae a soft tofu stew. I've been craving this for a long time, I think I'll try making it

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/ojinguh-bokkeum squid fried rice umm delicious, never made it myself but I'm going to try it after watching this

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/tofu-...oenjang-chigae I make this sometimes. It's like a really strong miso.

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/samgyetang Great way to cook a whole chicken. Jam that baby full of garlic

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kimchi-chigae-kongnamool Kimche chigae (kimche stew) referred to other thread. I like to load up on the bacon

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/samgyeopsal-gui an alternative to the main Korean meat dish pulkogi...fried up pork belly dipped in samjang. Another great dipping sauce is to pour out straight sesame oil into a small bowl and then pour a mound of salt in the middle. Try this when you get some tough leftover pork roast or roast beef or something.

The most popular Korean dish pulkogi: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kimchi-bokkeumbap She combines two dishes here. Kimchi fried rice should be separate.


These are pretend dishes to SU as he sees no distinction between any Asian cultures and foods.

[Donuthole]

I'm slightly disappointed this isn't a thread about Sandra Oh and Grace Park.

[SeattleUte]

These are pretend dishes to SU as he sees no distinction between any Asian cultures and foods.

What I really believe is that Japanese and Korean cuisines are overrated. I have eaten plenty of sushi, etc. and continue to do so, as I did just last night. But simplicity has its limits. There is good reason humans in most places started cooking and seasoning foods. Mainly, I get tired of Japanese food rather quickly. I find it very redundant. I probably like Teryaki least of all (that threesome of sugar, soy sauce and sake gets old fast). If you've had one bowl of Udon you've had them all. I do think there is more variety in Korean food. But it is shot through with Japanese infludence becasue of the centuries of Japanese occupation in Korea.

I love Chinese in the hands of a master, as much or more than any cuisine, and Thai and Vietnamese tend to be reliably satisfying at low cost. My favorite way to eat Japanese is as a fusion, for example, tuna tartare. When I eat at a sushi bar I prefer sashimi (the sweet rice is too overpowering) or super exotic stuff outside the usual coveryor belt fare. I know a place here that does the blow fish. The chef has to be specially trained because it can be very poisonous.

As I told my wife last night (before Katy's post), I don't love Kimchee. It's so overpowering, and I don't like the consistency of pickled cabbage unless it has some crisp left, which kimchee usually does not.

[Jeff Lebowski]

What I really believe is that Japanese and Korean cuisines are overrated. I have eaten plenty of sushi, etc. and continue to do so, as I did just last night. But simplicity has its limits. There is good reason humans in most places started cooking and seasoning foods. Mainly, I get tired of Japanese food rather quickly. I find it very redundant. I probably like Teryaki least of all (that threesome of sugar, soy sauce and sake gets old fast). If you've had one bowl of Udon you've had them all. I do think there is more variety in Korean food. But it is shot through with Japanese infludence becasue of the centuries of Japanese occupation in Korea.

I love Chinese in the hands of a master, as much or more than any cuisine, and Thai and Vietnamese tend to be reliably satisfying at low cost. My favorite way to eat Japanese is as a fusion, for example, tuna tartare. When I eat at a sushi bar I prefer sashimi (the sweet rice is too overpowering) or super exotic stuff outside the usual coveryor belt fare. I know a place here that does the blow fish. The chef has to be specially trained because it can be very poisonous.

As I told my wife last night (before Katy's post), I don't love Kimchee. It's so overpowering, and I don't like the consistency of pickled cabbage unless it has some crisp left, which kimchee usually does not.

Your summary of Japanese food as bland sushi and teriyaki is funny. Your characterization of Korean food as bastardized Japanese food is downright embarrassing.

Good quality kim chee is wonderful. In all its varieties.

[SeattleUte]

Your summary of Japanese food as bland sushi and teriyaki is funny. Your characterization of Korean food as bastardized Japanese food is downright embarrassing.

Good quality kim chee is wonderful. In all its varieties.

I didn't call it bastardized Japanese. I actually prefer a Korean place. It is a historical fact that Korean food is heavily influenced by Japanese cuisine. Just as both cuisines are influnced by Chinese cuisine. China's relation to other parts of Asia is not unlike ancient Greece and Rome's relation to Europe or Europe's relation to the United States.

It is in fact a historical reality that humans in different parts of the world influnce one another's cuisine. You could call U.S. cuisine bastardized almost anything you want to choose, but I would not be so crude.

I would expect a more reasoned approach and one less reflexively slavish to PC sentimentalities from an engineer and a scholar. In any event, all we are talking about here is the most subjective of matters--taste in food!

I think people who claim to love Japanese are often pretentious (just my opinion). Get off your high horse.

[Flystripper]

When I eat at a sushi bar I prefer sashimi (the sweet rice is too overpowering) or super exotic stuff outside the usual coveryor belt fare. I know a place here that does the blow fish. The chef has to be specially trained because it can be very poisonous.

I like both sashimi and sushi but my favorite sushi bars are places that get very creative with their rolls.

[TripletDaddy]

I really like Asian food, but if I had to rank the 5 main culinary ethnicities: Italian, French, Mexican, Indian, and Asian....it is definitely not my favorite overall...I'm not talking going to some Michelin Asian place. I am ranking your average Mexican against your average Asian or your average Italian place. Asian ranks in the middle for me.

That being said, Asian food houses some of my favorite individual meals....sushi, for example. I agree with SeattleUte...teriyaki is boring. It is good, but it is boring.

I think there is a reason why almost all high-end Asian restaurants almost literally always wind up adopting a fusion concept (almost always french), whereas Italian and French places don't do it as often. Just a thought.

[SeattleUte]

I like both sashimi and sushi but my favorite sushi bars are places that get very creative with their rolls.

Yes, I too think this is a step in the right direction.

I've discovered that in our culture questioning sushi is an act of heresy. What's funny is how most people like it embedded in that vinegary/sugary rice, and then to douse it in a bath of soy sauce and wasabe. What do they taste? The sweet vinegary rice and the soy mixture! That's what they like, not really the flavor of the raw fish. If go to a such bar I pretty much just eat the fish and maybe a fancy roll.

[jay santos]

I like both sashimi and sushi but my favorite sushi bars are places that get very creative with their rolls.

pretentious

[TripletDaddy]

Yes, I too think this is a step in the right direction.

I've discovered that in our culture questioning sushi is an act of heresy. What's funny is how most people like it embedded in that vinegary/sugary rice, and then to douse it in a bath of soy sauce and wasabe. What do they taste? The sweet vinegary rice and the soy mixture! That's what they like, not really the flavor of the raw fish. If go to a such bar I pretty much just eat the fish and maybe a fancy roll.

This reminds me of a similar phenomenon.......I have found that people that claim to love lobster are really just looking for a socially acceptable reason to eat a stick of butter. gross. Lobster has never done much for me. I usually pass.

[Flystripper]

pretentious

[SeattleUte]

I really like Asian food, but if I had to rank the 5 main culinary ethnicities: Italian, French, Mexican, Indian, and Asian....it is definitely not my favorite overall...I'm not talking going to some Michelin Asian place. I am ranking your average Mexican against your average Asian or your average Italian place. Asian ranks in the middle for me.

That being said, Asian food houses some of my favorite individual meals....sushi, for example. I agree with SeattleUte...teriyaki is boring. It is good, but it is boring.

I think there is a reason why almost all high-end Asian restaurants almost literally always wind up adopting a fusion concept (almost always french), whereas Italian and French places don't do it as often. Just a thought.

Good thought. Now brace yourself for Lebowski to call you ethnocentric and embarrassing for favoring Western cuisines and saying that Asian goes fusion (sometimes by adding Western elements) to add more complexity and nuance (by the way, high end Chinese don't need to do this and often don't). Of course Vietnamese has benefited hugely from Chinese and French influences.

[SeattleUte]

GOD FORBID that colonialism should lead to improved local cuisienes (and decreased infant mortality, increased economic vigor and education for that matter).

[jay santos]

I really like Asian food, but if I had to rank the 5 main culinary ethnicities: Italian, French, Mexican, Indian, and Asian....it is definitely not my favorite overall...I'm not talking going to some Michelin Asian place. I am ranking your average Mexican against your average Asian or your average Italian place. Asian ranks in the middle for me.

That being said, Asian food houses some of my favorite individual meals....sushi, for example. I agree with SeattleUte...teriyaki is boring. It is good, but it is boring.

I think there is a reason why almost all high-end Asian restaurants almost literally always wind up adopting a fusion concept (almost always french), whereas Italian and French places don't do it as often. Just a thought.

I'm not a foodie, but my guess is that the fusion concept has more to do with accommodating to the tastes of the white American/European customer than the inherent quality of the tastes.

[TripletDaddy]

Good thought. Now brace yourself for Lebowski to call you ethnocentric and embarrassing for favoring Western cuisines and saying that Asian goes fusion (sometimes by adding Western elements) to add more complexity and nuance (by the way, high end Chinese don't need to do this and often don't). Of course Vietnamese has benefited hugely from Chinese and French influences.

The only traditional Vietnamese food I have eaten is the equivalent of street food.....pho, steamed dumplings, etc. If we go to a nice Vietnamese place, it is always a french Vietnamese concept. I've never seen an exception to this rule.

There is only so much you can do when fish sauce is the base flavor for pretty much every single dish. This is where Asian food is limited, imo. Fish is too overpowering and doesn't lend itself to mix well with a broad variety of other flavors. When was the last time you ate Italian and the chef said, "let's jazz this lasagna up a bit and add some fish sauce or kimchee?"