Korean Job Discussion Forums

[deessell]

Ok I'll start.

Winter: Mandoo and mashed potoatoes.


Summer: Mandoo and salad.

Share some of your mixed up concoctions...I need some inspiration.

[Hater Depot]

Peel some potatoes and slice into sticks. Start frying them and dust with gochu powder. Just brown the potatoes and the powder should stick right to them -- and you've got some nice, easy fusion fries.

[The Bobster]

Years ago, my first Seoul contract was in Abkujeong. Met some Korean friend or other for lunch near "Rodeo Street" and sat down at a "fusion" place, and I think the trend was still new at that time. Ordered something the menu plainly referred to as "ravioli" in both languages but what came, at far too high a a cost, was pretty clearly mandu with a white sauce that tasted suspiciously like Campbell's Cream of Mushroom ...

I'll take some blame for letting this happen. A native Northern Californian, I recall having applauded Alice Waters and the efforts in her Berkely restaurant to create something reflecting the Pacific Rim that eventually came to be called California Nouvelle - it actually means ingredients coming from more than one continent sitting on your plate in scarce amounts for which you need an Amex Platinum Card to get you out of the restaurant in safety ...

Alice, you need to come over here and see what your grand ideas have morphed into.

[swupak]

I don't know if fusion pizza has been overplayed, but I recently visited D'or Ahn (generally disappointing) and had an interesting pizza.

They used a nice flat bread that was crusty on the top and bottom but a little soft and chewy in the middle, kind of like Cosi bread. The toppings were shavings of pecorino romano, kimchi (which tasted like it was washed slightly to weaken the piquant flavor and sweetened a little with some kind of sugar) and arugula. The arugula was a nice contrast to the sweetish kimchi. And the kimchi density was low. You could taste the slightly sweet bread along with everything else.

[Swiss James]

http://roryrunsamok.blogspot.com/2004/11/what-not-to-cookkimchi-ham-sandwichi.html
http://roryrunsamok.blogspot.com/2004/11/what-not-to-cookpart-2-volcanic.html

[JongnoGuru]

[eamo]

[Ya-ta Boy]

I am constitutionally unable to stomach even the idea of fusion food. It's a violation of everything sacred and holy. If god in his wisdom wanted me to eat kimchi at every meal, then I would have been born with black hair, a genetic compulsion to open windows in the winter and short stubby legs. Ummm, scratch that crack about the legs. But you know what I mean.

The separate existence of Italian restaurants, Chinese restaurants, Mexican restaurants etc is because of the integral design of the universe. Mixing them up throws the divine order out of whack. It's very likely to be the cause of global warming. (Although rapier's ranting alone is enough to explain that phenomenon.)

There is justification for California being refered to as La-la Land. It just isn't right to take the amount of food that would barely fill a salad plate and serve it on a dinner plate at triple the price. In a sane state you couldn't get away with it--but call it California cuisine and you can raise the price again.

I say, "Shoot the chefs and hire a cook!"

[peppermint]

I can't imagine most Korean food playing nicely with other cuisines, but I can easily imagine hottuk with maybe some maple syrup and shredded apple inside.

Now, if only I knew how to make basic hottuk

[xtchr]

I'm quite partial to tang-su-yuk (sp?), had it for lunch last week at a wee kimbap place. It came with a side dish of hot chips (fries) covered in CINNAMON. No fusion was involved, it was merely disgusting. Chips are supposed to be covered in salt, or perhaps vinegar, at a stretch, but cinnamon???

[deessell]

At my high school the other day we had fresh fruit salad covered in mayo, as a side dish.

[Ekuboko]