Korean Food is Everywhere... from LA to Springfield

The reason I love Los Angeles is because you can feel such a strong Korean vibe... it has nothing to do with the fact that I have a Korean face. I just really like the food! So does my husband.

These pics are from Gyenari, a restaurant Hannah and I stumbled on in Culver City. We were going to another restaurant to meet some of her friends for dinner. Not knowing the area very well, we were a little early and walked by a Korean restaurant during Happy Hour. And, what a good choice-- we were definitely smiling when we left!


Hite... my Korean beer of choice. You can buy it all over Springfield, by the way.

Back to Jim's love affair with Korean food... When we were in Korea in October, my Korean aunts kept hand feeding Jim as if he were a baby. Not only that, but they oohed and aahhed at the way he used his chopsticks. I thought..."What about me?!" After all, I was raised by white Missourians... where was my applause? haha

Anyway, I digress.

Korean food is really good eats, and I'm so glad to see it more in the mainstream--whether it is a full-on Korean restaurant or a Kogi taco truck.

DID YOU KNOW KOREAN FOOD IS ALSO EVERYWHERE IN SPRINGFIELD? Interestingly, there are a ton of Korean restaurant owners... who operate non-Korean establishments. How does this play into your food? Tons. Argentina Steakhouse, Fuji, Ohana, Mijuri, Haruno, ReRico and Kai are just a few examples I can think of off the top of my head. You are probably eating Korean-inspired dishes without knowing it!

Food Fusion is a Beautiful Thing...

Even I was skeptical of eating Korean-Mexican food. Could bulgoki and tacos really go together? What about pickled cabbage inside a quesadilla?

Well... that was before I had a visit to the Kogi Truck in Los Angeles.

The Kogi (Koh-Gee) truck is a popular taco truck that drives all around the L.A. area... you can find where it's going by following the company's tweets. Since the Kogi (Korean for "meat") truck started hitting the streets, other companies have popped up with their own version of fusion tacos... including Calbi!

Just read Koream Magazine's article to see the latest on Asian fusion taco wars!



If you go, you won't believe how freaking delicious the food is. I never thought a kimchi quesadilla sounded good until I tried it. Heck, I didn't even order it. My friend did, and when I took a bite of hers, I nearly blacked out. Ohmas everywhere need to take notes!

I think it's my second calling. If you see me driving a taco truck around in the next few years, it's a good thing.

Korean BBQ Cookoff, Okies, and Sandra Oh

I have so much to blog about when I get home... I wanted to blog here, but there wasn't enough time. We literally spent 15 hours "working it" in Los Angeles for this journalism convention, so there was not enough down time to keep up here.

However, if you were following me on Facebook earlier today, you would've seen that I had quite the time at the 2nd ever Korean BBQ Cookoff in Korea Town, I mean... heaven.

First, you could smell the bulgoki and kalbi a mile away. I have also never seen so many people in line for intenstines...

My friend Hannah Says Hi and I went before our AAJA convention... We also had the chance to catch with an old adoption connection of mine from Oklahoma. What a day.

Anyway, this cookoff was so great that I thought about just moving to Los Angeles. There were thousands of people there (more than 10,000, I'm sure.) Actress Sandra Oh was just one of the judges... and of course, the main attraction was some damn good Korean food!!

Tickets were $5 a plate. And there were more than a dozen restaurants to choose from. We ate kalbi, bulgoki, and intestines...just like Oma makes 'em. Delish. The lines were literally 100 people deep but totally worth it to try out new twists on old favorites.

Never in my life have I seen so many people lined up for Korean food. Made me so happy. And, what did I have? Beef from Green Tea Kalbi. It didn't win, but I have no complaints!

Korean BBQ

I'm having a Korean BBQ this week. And I'm so excited about what we're serving... I think I'm going to try to make mung beans on Friday, too. These are so delicious! My favorite thing to order when I go to Soo's!

Another Hanguk Shikdong!!!

Springfield has another Korean Restaurant...I am so excited!! Unfortunately, I can't remember the name..."Golden - something"...it's sort of on the corner of Fort and Sunshine.

Another unfortunate thing...the location. Honestly, it's a little skanky on the outside...but you should never judge a book by its cover, right? Forget that it's right by an adult shop. Whatever.

I dragged Jim to it, and he had some reservations about it's outward appearance...however, when you walk inside, it's clean and spacious...and most importantly, the food is good.

We had bulgoki and japchae...I always get popular Korean dishes to gauge how good it is. I was very pleased. I will definitely go back. The prices were more than reasonable...and I want to go back for lunch--they have great specials, and they also have a couple of Chinese dishes for those less interested in eating Korean food. (Cashew chicken and rice $3.99)

And another good sign, there were quite a few customers inside...and Korean ones at that. That sounds silly, but my thoughts are always this: if you go to a Korean restaurant and find Korean people eating the food, it's usually worthy. Yes, that was a deep thought.

Just Try It: Korean BBQ Beef (Awesome version)

I swear, everytime I make this, people go insane. I wish I could take credit for it, but a little, old Korean lady gave the recipe to me years ago.

It's basically the recipe for bulgogi (bull-go-gee)--a Korean favorite. I just call it Korean BBQ to avoid any kind of awkwardness.

1 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin

4 T soy sauce

3 T sugar

5 T green onion or leek

1 T minced garlic

2 T sesame oil

2 T toasted, crushed sesame seed (optional)

2 T rice wine or cooking sherry (optional)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Slice the tenderloin in tiny shreds. (You can freeze it for a while and then it cuts better.) Mix thoroughly with all the ingredients listed above. Let marinate for a while (up to a day if you'd like, but sometimes I've done it for 30 minutes.)

Broil the beef mixture over a charcoal fire or pan fry quickly until browned.

**Also, you don't have to use beef tenderloin, but if you use a tougher meat, tenderize it with a mallet or something.** You can also go to the Korean market on Glenstone or Campbell and ask for "kalbi"--basically short ribs. That way you don't have to do any cutting.

JUST TRY IT: Cucumber Kimchi (Awesome version)

**SCROLL DOWN FOR THE RECIPE**

I was looking through my blog archives (yes, I said archives), and I noticed that kimchi got a lot of responses...

So here goes a cucumber kimchi recipe that I recently tried and enjoyed. It's really easy to make, and it's not the stuffed cucumber kind. I think you'll like it. Much more similar to the kind of cucumber kimchi you'll get if you eat at Soo's Korean Restaurant, which by the way, is one of my favorite places to eat in Springfield. Oh, and the exact recipe comes from a book called Flavors of Korea.

Oh yeah, and ode to Gregory Holman (if you ever watch his blog, he always puts recipes on-line followed by *awesome version*)

Ingredients:

2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 to 1 teaspoon Korean red pepper powder or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

2 medium seedless cucumbers, peeled an cut lengthwise into thin, 4-inch long slices

1 medium white onion, cut in half, then cut into thin slices

Instructions:

In a large jar, thoroughly mix together the salt, vinegar, sugar, and Korean red pepper powder. Add the cucumber and onion slices, then mix. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

Bam! Done! Eat it with some sticky rice, and you'll feel awesome. It's refreshing and healthy. Kimchi kicks!

KIMCHI AND RICE AND EVERYTHING NICE

So here's to an unexpected, but nice outcome of the blog: new friends to eat kimchi (pronounced: kim-chee) with over at Soo's Korean Restaurant. It is hands-down my favorite hanguk shikdong (Korean restaurant) in Springfield. I highly recommend you try it out, even if you're adamant about not eating "Asian food"...more than likely, you'll like the pulkogi (it's BBQ Beef and a Western favorite...and my boyfriend practically licks the serving plate.)

What is kimchi, you ask? Basically fermented food. Some type of kimchi is served at every meal. Sounds gross but is really good. Only downfall if you eat too much: fermented farts

My favorite: oye kimchi (cucumber kimchi)

Check out this fermented food phenomenon at: http://www.kimchi.or.kr/eng/main.jsp