korean cuisine consciousness

cute!

One of the experiences that got me growing curiouser about this food I grew up around was the first time I ate at David Chang's Momofuku Ssam Bar. The few times I've eaten there I experienced not only delicious food but something of a tasting adventure. That is what I get excited about — Tasting Adventures, not Great Adventure. Because I am scared of roller coasters and that scary dancing "old" man in the TV commercials.

Chang is of Korean descent but the influence comes out in accents and origins — the pleasure of the pork, the picklings, the apple slices (salted! mm) that come with the mochi. And he's also put in time at some of the big name restaurants, not to mention the whole ramen stint in Japan. There's brussel sprouts and banh mi, bread and butter and seasonal things on the menu. Calling Chang's food "Asian fusion" here seems to gloss over a lot. (The term "fusion food" is the quick path to Pandora's refrigerator box... let's leave it for another day.) Gourmet features him and a bunch of recipes in their October issue, and he says, "We don't categorize our food or ask, How can we make this Asian? We just want to make something delicious. It's American food." Hm.

Still, Chang's roots and his starry place in the NY restaurant scene did jumpstart my little porky brain thinking about the place of Korean cuisine in the landscape of American food culture — we don't have that much space in it, but we throw a freakin' tasty block party. It seems the majority of Americans are still unfamiliar with Korean food or are just getting to know it. (The irritating ones think they know Korean food after having some barbecue. You know the ones. They also love Thai food but only eat pad thai; they love Indian food but can only utter the words "curry" or "samosa." Yeah. Awesome.) But why is Korean food sort of in the alleyway, drinking alone? Food is a huge part of Korean culture, as in most Asian roots. We love to eat. It's almost made and market-ready — for "foodie" consumption especially. Because it's de-li-cious. And fun!

Other Asia-based cuisines have caught on more quickly. It's not only a matter of numbers/population. From what I understand, Japanese cuisine found easy attraction in traditional French-rooted culinary arts and vice versa, so that now, in the world of food-dom, French and Japanese sort of represent this "high" end. The Chinese, like the Japanese, have had a long history of immigration to the States and there are — Americanized and far from "authentic" as it is — like a gazillion Chinese places and a history of Chinatowns, which have greatly affected American acceptance. Thai and Vietnamese I know less about, but it's not a surprise that many of the top chefs today are influenced and inspired by and sure, enamored with the cuisines of Southeast Asia. With Indian cuisine — again, shaky on the history of this — the whole east-west thing was perhaps dealt with first in England (oh, colonialism) and perhaps that influence trickled to the States, not to mention the impact of another large influx of immigrants.

A lot of perception obviously has to do with who is running these restaurants (take Indian food as most Americans know it — it comes from one region, Punjab, in a large, super-populous nation, not to mention the surrounding areas of the subcontinent) and whether influential traditionally-Western public figures are paying attention, not to mention food "trends." I feel like much of this, especially in this day and age, comes down to publicity. Korean cuisine never got a spokesperson. (Nor am I sure we wanted one, at least in the early days.) There's no famous Korean food expert, no public figure, in cookbooks (of which there are like three) or in the media (food network, public television) or even on the internet (most, if not all, the korean food blogs I've seen are based in Korea). We have no Ming Tsai, Martin Yan, Iron Chef, Madhur Jaffrey. Even Asia-nut, Anthony Bourdain admitted on the Korea episode of No Reservations episodes that he wasn't very familiar with the cuisine. (Thanks for the idea for this blog title though!)

So, finally, that is partly why I'm so thrilled to have David Chang as this chef "celebrity." Sure he gets a lot of press. He doesn't even cook Korean food really. Yet, without that background, he wouldn't be where he is today.

So I wonder, what possibilities are out there for Korean food to have a bigger block party, and what is hip and trendy in Korean food in Korea that don't really make it over to the States? Or perhaps it does in little pockets (fried chicken anyone?). How many Koreans are there in the kitchens? (that sounds like a setup to a bad joke). Is Korean cuisine changing in the U.S. at all? Arrrrrr! SO MANY QUESTIONS! Time to go to sleep.

(Photo from merdiekristine's flickr)

Rice cooking, no pressure!

blurry rice and barley nubbins in their warm cavern

Making rice is not difficult. So you should give it a try!

1. Wash rice, as in add water, swirl it around, and pour out water. Do this until the water runs semi-clear (2-3 times is probably fine). Traditionally, rice was washed to get out the rice bugs, and the ricewater would be used for cooking or for face-washing in geisha houses (news to me!). You don't have to worry about rice bugs and please don't watch Memoirs of a Geisha while having rice on "Asian" night, cuz then you are lame. And I will come to your house and beat your leg while only speaking Engrish, so that you are doubly lame. ANYWAYS, washing rice gets rid of dust or other unsavory particles that have accumulated while it has been sitting patiently for you to eat it.

2. Add around 1 cup (or a tad more - about 1/4 of a cup) of water to 1 cup of rice. You can also use the "knuckle method" where you dunk in your hand and stop the water where it comes up to your knuckles. (For an explanation and other tips on cooking rice, check out My Korean Kitchen.)

Some people like to soak their rice for a while to speed up cooking time on the stove, but it's not necessary, especially if you're using a rice cooker. And most rice cooker pots will have markings to show you the water level. Easy breezy!

3. Close machine and push button! Or put on stove!
For the stove: Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Take off the heat and let it rest covered for about 10 minutes.

4. As soon as the rice is ready, fluff it with a rice paddle or a spoon if that's what you have, or the rice will become dense and stick together and form rice blocks. You don't want to eat rice blocks. No fun.

Inaugural post - Very Rice!

Right now, I'm exuding the smell of korean bbq, which is simultaneously grossing me out because I don't want to smell like eau de boeuf - and making me hungry, even though dinner was not too long ago. No matter! We soldier on, for you, our dear readers, who don't exist just yet.

What better foodstuffs to start the KC blog than the staple of Asian nations and stupid racist jokes?? RICE!! Just like how Italians have oodles of noodles (well, pasta), the star starch of the Korean household is rice (accompanied by its best friend kimchi) at all meals, even breakfast (it is a cereal grain!). Koreans eat short-grain rice, which is starchier and stickier, more like Japanese sushi rice than American Chinese take-out box rice. You can tell good quality rice by its pearly sheen and the way its cute fluffy bodies stick together like the happy friends they are. In fact, if rice is good and well-prepared, in Korean one says "It's very sticky." I guess we weren't terribly creative on that one. But don't confuse this sort of short-grain rice with glutinous or more commonly termed "sticky rice" or "sweet rice" (in Korean, chap ssal).

Ooh vocab lesson time. Ssal is uncooked rice. Bap is cooked rice. You'll probably be more familiar with bap or other such variations if you've had bibimbap ("mix rice"). Hm. When it comes to food, Koreans don't beat around the bush. What dish is that fancy bowl of veggies and meats and spicy stuff and rice over there? Mix rice. Duh.

Most households prepare rice in their handy rice cooker, though the trend nowadays is to use a special kind of cooker that is a sort of pressure cooker. But you can still prepare "It's very sticky" rice in a regularl ol' pot, whatever you have, and for those on-the-go, there's microwavable rice that'll do in a pinch.

Obviously since rice is such a big part of the diet, it takes many forms. Not ghosts though. No rice ghosts. Plus, there are a ton of rice variations and add-ins, whether other grains like barley or wild rice, or veggies and legumes like peas or beans. Rice is a tasty, nubbly canvas to create something fabulous and to fill your bellies. A quick rundown on how to cook it soon to follow.

(Photo from jiva)

About

Welcome to Kimchi Confidential!

No more recipes for Korean dishes calling for sriracha! Navigate through your banchan with panache! Kimchi Confidential is where we'll explore the riches of Korean cuisine and work to overcome sloppy, white-i-fied writing on the subject, through the practiced taste buds of two Korean American foodies. CK will laugh at JC's bumbling first attempts at the basics. JC will laugh at CK's k-pop habits. Expect recipes, food histories, ingredient primers, article links, and other awesomeness.

Do you have any comments, suggestions or questions for us to tackle? Send us a note at gourmetkorean AT gmail DOT com