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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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jdog2050
Joined: 17 Dec 2006
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 Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 4:21 am Post subject: My revelation about korean food |
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...is that I don't hate the *idea* of it. I hate the ingredients.
For example;
does Kimchi-chiggae with Dwaeji *have* to use hot dogs? Or Spam for that matter? What about throwing in a little more fresh pork instead of the faux-Oscar Meyer wieners.
Does every single f'in vegetable have to be boiled to mush? What about sauteeing or brazing?
Does red sauce have to go on everything? What about a chili pepper vinaigrette? a Chili, garlic, and lemon mix?
I've never seen a salad made *completely* from Korean vegetables...what's the deal?
So, in this thread, replacing korean ingredients to put a spin on things. Discuss. |
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Homer
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 4:37 am Post subject: |
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| does Kimchi-chiggae with Dwaeji *have* to use hot dogs? Or Spam for that matter? What about throwing in a little more fresh pork instead of the faux-Oscar Meyer wieners. |
dude..just pick better restaurants...I avoid the floating spam places like the plague...if you look just a little bit you will find many good restaurants that will do precisely what you are asking for....
As for the rest...again..venture around...look about...you will find it. Also there are many dishes not drenched in "red sauce" for example: gal guk su, udong, myuk guk (see weed soup), many fish dishes, some rice dishes as well....just a question of doing a little looking around I think....
Good luck out there j-dog and may you live a spam free life....gotta hate that stuff. |
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mercury
Joined: 05 Dec 2004
Location: Pusan
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 4:44 am Post subject: |
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When I first came to Korea, me and this French guy went out to eat. He had been in Korea a few months and could not stand the food. He had actually gone to cooking school and was some kind of saucier or something. Well, we went to one Korean restaurant by his apartment and it basically had this pot with potatos and carrots and chicken on one of those portable cooking flames. As the soup was boiling he left and went to his place. He came back with this sack full of spices and wine. He added white wine, some French tomato sauce, some special cheeses and some spices. I don't know how he did it, but that was the best soup I had ever tasted in my life. He also brought some bread, butter, pate, and we had a great meal. Curious, the old ladies who worked at the place walked over and wanted to taste of his creation. He gave them all free samples and their eyes lit up HUGE and they kept saying MASHISAYO, over and over.
and over. |
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Homer
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 4:56 am Post subject: |
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There you go jdog...as mercury showed ya...where there is a will there is a way.
I will say it again..venture out and you can find many options....or...cook at home! I know many people who decided to do just that to satisfy their preferences.....  |
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jaganath69
Joined: 17 Jul 2003
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 4:59 am Post subject: |
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| I'd agree with Homer. I'm not the biggest fan of Korean food, but what I do like I friggen well crave. Often its a case that you have to find a place that is famous for its signature dish. I have favourites here for BBQ, pajeon, dalk galbi and chicken feet. I seldom go elsewhere to get those. |
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yingwenlaoshi
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Location: ... location, location!
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 5:07 am Post subject: |
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| mercury wrote: |
When I first came to Korea, me and this French guy went out to eat. He had been in Korea a few months and could not stand the food. He had actually gone to cooking school and was some kind of saucier or something. Well, we went to one Korean restaurant by his apartment and it basically had this pot with potatos and carrots and chicken on one of those portable cooking flames. As the soup was boiling he left and went to his place. He came back with this sack full of spices and wine. He added white wine, some French tomato sauce, some special cheeses and some spices. I don't know how he did it, but that was the best soup I had ever tasted in my life. He also brought some bread, butter, pate, and we had a great meal. Curious, the old ladies who worked at the place walked over and wanted to taste of his creation. He gave them all free samples and their eyes lit up HUGE and they kept saying MASHISAYO, over and over.
and over. |
You're lucky to experience that.
I went to one of those big seafood tents with some adult students last month. It was peak season for those huge shrimp. I tried my first raw shrimp ever, but we barbecued most of them. It was disappointing because all I had to dip them in were samjang,red pepper sauce, and soy/wasabe sauce. I would've killed for some melted butter, garlic butter, or even cocktail sauce. I'll be better prepared if I ever go again. Can't have all that shrimp and not have garlic butter or something. |
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Donkey Beer
Joined: 20 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 5:12 am Post subject: |
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Korean food can be good if you avoid the types of places you seem to be eating at. Spam, hot dogs, etc. I have yet to receive when my food comes.
I can agree that the ingredients are far overused. I'm not a big fan of the super sticky rice either. |
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indytrucks
Joined: 09 Apr 2003
Location: The Shelf
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 5:15 am Post subject: |
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| Meh. Nothing beats a good budaechigae. |
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yingwenlaoshi
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Location: ... location, location!
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 5:30 am Post subject: |
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| indytrucks wrote: |
| Meh. Nothing beats a good budaechigae. |
Not sure what that is, but I'm sure a big fat steak is better. |
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stevieg4ever
Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Location: London, England
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 5:45 am Post subject: |
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Its ramin noodles with processed cheese, spam, korean hot dogs, kimchi and some vegetables thrown in for good measure. boiled shit would be better tasting and healthier.
| yingwenlaoshi wrote: |
| indytrucks wrote: |
| Meh. Nothing beats a good budaechigae. |
Not sure what that is, but I'm sure a big fat steak is better. |
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Privateer
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Location: Easy Street.
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:10 am Post subject: |
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| It helps to get a Korean friend to introduce you to a decent restaurant. The good ones are usually crowded and some of the best ones are also darn cheap. |
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jdog2050
Joined: 17 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:31 am Post subject: |
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| Privateer wrote: |
| It helps to get a Korean friend to introduce you to a decent restaurant. The good ones are usually crowded and some of the best ones are also darn cheap. |
Meh; not a tell tale sign IMO--the place that serves hot dog kimchi chiggae in my 'hood always has a crowd.
Anyway, the chiggae example was a bit extreme, but we've all seen it. I've been to plenty of upscale places and I think my point still sticks. Fish with a bajillion bones, no salad, etc, etc. I think my main point is that korean food is still stuck in this kind of peasant-ish "I'll eat this even though it's horrible for me because it reminds me of when I was 5" mindset.
There are ways to break out of it though, simple ways. Take afro american food for example. A lot of it used to be pork based, but in the last ten years most afro-americans use turkey as a meat stock. Simple, effective, same taste, healthier.
That's what I'm talking about. |
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yingwenlaoshi
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Location: ... location, location!
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:49 am Post subject: |
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| jdog2050 wrote: |
| Privateer wrote: |
| It helps to get a Korean friend to introduce you to a decent restaurant. The good ones are usually crowded and some of the best ones are also darn cheap. |
Meh; not a tell tale sign IMO--the place that serves hot dog kimchi chiggae in my 'hood always has a crowd.
Anyway, the chiggae example was a bit extreme, but we've all seen it. I've been to plenty of upscale places and I think my point still sticks. Fish with a bajillion bones, no salad, etc, etc. I think my main point is that korean food is still stuck in this kind of peasant-ish "I'll eat this even though it's horrible for me because it reminds me of when I was 5" mindset.
There are ways to break out of it though, simple ways. Take afro american food for example. A lot of it used to be pork based, but in the last ten years most afro-americans use turkey as a meat stock. Simple, effective, same taste, healthier.
That's what I'm talking about. |
You make a good point of something I'm pretty sure most of us are well aware of. I think we've experienced the same kind of thing back home in our respective families. In a way. But this, "Oh it's good because we didn't have a lot to eat and mmm, yummy", is pretty annoying. |
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Privateer
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Location: Easy Street.
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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| jdog2050 wrote: |
| Privateer wrote: |
| It helps to get a Korean friend to introduce you to a decent restaurant. The good ones are usually crowded and some of the best ones are also darn cheap. |
Meh; not a tell tale sign IMO--the place that serves hot dog kimchi chiggae in my 'hood always has a crowd.
Anyway, the chiggae example was a bit extreme, but we've all seen it. I've been to plenty of upscale places and I think my point still sticks. Fish with a bajillion bones, no salad, etc, etc. I think my main point is that korean food is still stuck in this kind of peasant-ish "I'll eat this even though it's horrible for me because it reminds me of when I was 5" mindset. |
Salad? They don't do salad. They don't generally do fresh vegetables. Salad, soup, main course, dessert is the western concept and if that's what you want you should stick to western food. I don't like the bones and shells left in either, because I don't like getting my fingers messy, but it adds more flavour while it's cooking. Also, if it's grilled fish it separates from the bones quite nicely.
I (think I) know what you mean about liking a food because you ate it when you were five, like liking the crunchy crispy bits of rice left on the edge of the dol sot and liking to add hot water to it and drink it, but er...what's wrong with that exactly? It's only human. |
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ernie
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
Location: asdfghjk
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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| i'm looking for some korean dishes that make use of green vegetables, e.g. green peppers (NOT the spicy kind, i get plenty of those), broccoli, green beans, etc... and preferably not overcooked into a soggy, tasteless, vitamin-free paste! any ideas? |
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