Tag Archives: Korean

BCD Tofu House

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In a former life, I worked about two blocks from Manhattan’s Koreatown, 32nd St between Madison and 6th Avenues, and way back then I probably tried just about every restaurant in the neighborhood in the company of special friends. So it was a treat to return to one of my favorites, BCD Tofu House (BCD refers to Bukchang Dong, a district in Korea).

The eponymous BCD Tofu House is known for their Soon Tofu, soft silken tofu, and they make it masterfully. We got an Entrée Combo, a main dish served with a choice of over ten varieties of soon tofu. In addition to rice, soup, and banchan, a sine qua non of any Korean meal, we ordered the LA Galbi Combo – LA style fragrant, sizzling BBQ short ribs…

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

…and outstanding Dumpling Soon Tofu soup.

Our feast also featured an enormous Seafood Pajeon (seafood pancake from the Shared Plates section of the menu) filled with squid, mussels, shrimp, green onion – decidedly one of the best I’ve ever enjoyed.

Curiously, the experience there turned out to be even better than any I can recall now and more evocative than my distant memories embraced.

Moral – and feel free to alter indefinite pronouns: If you miss something dearly, consider revisiting it: there was a reason it meant so much to you the first time you met.
 
 

July is National Ice Cream Month! Celebrate Globally!

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The story began here:

Every August, as a routinely flushed, overheated child, I would join in chorus with my perspiring cohorts, boisterously importuning, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” Little did I realize that rather than conjuring dessert, I was conjugating it and probably laying the groundwork for a lifetime of fascination with foreign languages and world food.

We lived in close proximity to one of the best dairies in town; it was known for its wide assortment of locally produced natural flavors, certainly sufficient in number and variety to satisfy any palate. Perhaps my obsession with offbeat ice cream flavors is rooted in my frustration with my father’s return home from work, invariably bearing the same kind of ice cream as the last time, Neapolitan. Neapolitan, again. My pleas to try a different flavor – just once? please? – consistently fell on deaf ears. “Neapolitan is chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. That’s three flavors right there. If you don’t want it, don’t eat it.” Some kids’ idea of rebellion involved smoking behind the garage; mine was to tuck into a bowl of Rum Raisin….

There’s lots more to the story, of course. Click here to get the full scoop! 🍨
 
 

July is National Ice Cream Month! Celebrate Globally!

Posted on by

The story began here:

Every August, as a routinely flushed, overheated child, I would join in chorus with my perspiring cohorts, boisterously importuning, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” Little did I realize that rather than conjuring dessert, I was conjugating it and probably laying the groundwork for a lifetime of fascination with foreign languages and world food.

We lived in close proximity to one of the best dairies in town; it was known for its wide assortment of locally produced natural flavors, certainly sufficient in number and variety to satisfy any palate. Perhaps my obsession with offbeat ice cream flavors is rooted in my frustration with my father’s return home from work, invariably bearing the same kind of ice cream as the last time, Neapolitan. Neapolitan, again. My pleas to try a different flavor – just once? please? – consistently fell on deaf ears. “Neapolitan is chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. That’s three flavors right there. If you don’t want it, don’t eat it.” Some kids’ idea of rebellion involved smoking behind the garage; mine was to tuck into a bowl of Rum Raisin….

There’s lots more to the story, of course. Click here to get the full scoop! 🍨
 
 

Oh K-Dog

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You know about K-pop, right? This is K-dog. “Oh K-Dog” to be precise, and it seems like there are dozens of outposts across the country (this one can be found at Queens Crossing Food Court, 136-17 39th Ave in Flushing) and from what I see, it’s a thing.

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

In their own marketspeak, “Korean rice hotdogs have become a craze in Korea, quickly becoming one of the most popular street foods. Unlike a typical hot dog, we specialize in using a stick to deep fry our signature item until it crisps golden brown.”


So instead of a bun for a dog carrier, it’s battered, yielding a soft, bready interior and a crispy exterior. Not into hot dogs? Me neither, but you can swap in a cylindrical Korean rice cake or a log of mozzarella for the dog. To gild the lily, you can add diced potato or sweet potato to embellish the delicacy.

I opted for a sweet version: mozz inside, sweet potato chunks outside. I was asked if I wanted sugar or cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top. “Half and half?” I ventured, dodging the decision, and I was rewarded with an unexpectedly tasty treat.

And only then did the real fun begin. Off to the side, there’s a variety of condiments with which to experiment including ketchup, honey mustard, sweet chili, gochu hot sauce, garlic sauce, and cheese mustard among others. Cheese mustard? It tasted of neither cheese nor mustard but it turned out to be the perfect complement to my order.

But wait there’s more! For the final act, you can sprinkle on your choice of toppings like honey butter, parmesan cheese, onion sprinkle, snowing seasoning, and coconut.


When flying solo, I am physically incapable of positioning a camera, holding a chunk of food and doing an Instagram cheese pull, but hopefully you get the idea. At the counter, there’s a mesmerizing video loop of a young woman handily demonstrating those skills. Dinner and a show.

I wanted to dismiss this as an exercise in silliness, but I got hooked on it – as did some guests on my Flushing ethnojunket.

And I haven’t even tried their other specialty, Egg Toast, and its variations. Next time.
 
 

Chuseok – 2022

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Chuseok (추석) or Hangawi (literally “autumn evening”) is a major mid-autumn festival in Korea celebrated this year from September 9th though the 12th; because it’s a harvest festival, it’s sometimes referred to as “Korean Thanksgiving”. Needless to say there are traditional foods and even traditional table settings.

I wish I could say that these photos are part of that tradition, but they are, nevertheless, quintessentially Korean dishes from my local Korean deli. Here’s a rundown:

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Korean grilled mackerel, sweet and spicy pickled daikon, and seasoned cucumbers (fish sauce, sesame oil, sugar and garlic).


Five banchan (Korean side dishes). In the center there’s spicy baby radish kimchi: the leaves and stems are topped by slices of the root which was about four inches long before I got to it. Then clockwise from the top: red, crunchy radish (not as spicy as it looks), green seaweed (a little slippery), savory marinated black beans, and jwipo: seasoned, pressed, and dried filefish jerky that’s sold as a street snack – chewy, a little spicy, a little sweet.


Marinated soy sauce eggs leading the parade of assorted Korean pancakes (모듬전, mo deum jeon), followed by pollock filet, kimchi (napa cabbage, radish, carrot), surimi, scallion, and seafood mix (squid, cuttlefish, clam, shrimp, mussel).

Happy Chuseok!
 
 

July is National Ice Cream Month! Celebrate Globally!

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The story began here:

Every August, as a routinely flushed, overheated child, I would join in chorus with my perspiring cohorts, boisterously importuning, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” Little did I realize that rather than conjuring dessert, I was conjugating it and probably laying the groundwork for a lifetime of fascination with foreign languages and world food.

We lived in close proximity to one of the best dairies in town; it was known for its wide assortment of locally produced natural flavors, certainly sufficient in number and variety to satisfy any palate. Perhaps my obsession with offbeat ice cream flavors is rooted in my frustration with my father’s return home from work, invariably bearing the same kind of ice cream as the last time, Neapolitan. Neapolitan, again. My pleas to try a different flavor – just once? please? – consistently fell on deaf ears. “Neapolitan is chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. That’s three flavors right there. If you don’t want it, don’t eat it.” Some kids’ idea of rebellion involved smoking behind the garage; mine was to tuck into a bowl of Rum Raisin….

There’s lots more to the story, of course. Click here to get the full scoop! 🍨
 
 

Sparzha

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(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

I’ve been doing food tours in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood for so many years that by now, notwithstanding the vicissitudes of hurricanes called Sandy and pandemics called COVID, I know Little Odessa like a second home. Consequently, there’s not a lot about the vast array of Eastern European, Central Asian, and Russian cuisines that leaves me stumped. But happily, every exploration brings some kind of surprise and a recent visit brought this one:

Each of the numerous markets offering prepared food presents a different roster of dishes. One of them (come on my Little Odessa ethnojunket and I’ll take you there 😉) had an unfamiliar item in the cold salad section. The sign read “спаржа,” the word for asparagus.

I caught the eye of the woman behind the counter. “The sign says ‘sparzha,’ but that looks like bean curd skin; is it bean curd skin?” I asked expectantly.

“You can read this?” she replied, avoiding my question. “I give you a taste.”

On this ethnojunket, we sample a broad range of culinary specialties. One of them is that of the Koryo-saram, people who in the 1920s and 30s fled from Korea to Russia when Japan occupied their homeland and who were subsequently moved to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan by Stalin; they adapted their cuisine to whatever was available there. Turns out this is another one of the dishes they created. (More about that – and why it’s called asparagus – on the tour.)

It is indeed bean curd skin, known as соевая спаржа, soy asparagus. In Central Asian cuisine just as in that of East Asia, it doesn’t impart a lot of flavor but it does provide a little chew – texture is its prime directive here. Fresh dill and a light dressing inform the dish but do not overwhelm it; the carrot is for color.

I’d consider it a side, certainly not a main. As a matter of fact, IMHO it would be a perfect foil for khe – think spicy Korean ceviche – which we sample on the tour as well.

Hope to see you soon!
 
 

Korean American Day

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Korean American Day commemorates the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the United States on January 13, 1903 and honors the contributions the Korean American community has made to this country.

In recognition of the annual January 13th celebration, I offer some pix from Mokbar, the Korean restaurant at 212 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn near Barclays Center. A bit of research reveals that Mokbar is still holding strong at that address and has two locations in Manhattan food courts as well, in Chelsea Market (75 9th Ave) and at the Hugh (601 Lexington Ave & 157 East 53rd St); you can order online from any of them.

Here’s a lookback at what we enjoyed at the Brooklyn venue in 2017 BC (Before COVID).

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

From the jipbap (“set menu”), we couldn’t forgo the Jaeyook – crispy pork belly with caramelized kimchi and onions. Easy to see why.


Kalbi Mandu – dumplings filled with marinated beef, caramelized onion, and garlic chives.


Tteokkboki – brown butter rice cakes with bacon, minced pork, white kimchi, and poached egg.


A particularly delicious Ho’ Cake (Mokbar’s spin on hotteok, Korean sweet pancakes); these delights are filled with braised pork belly and served with a kimchi dipping sauce.


Mok Wings – crispy chicken wings with spicy gochujang.


Pajeon – Korean pancakes with charred scallion and garlic chives.

 
 

July is National Ice Cream Month! Celebrate Globally!

Posted on by

The story began here:

Every August, as a routinely flushed, overheated child, I would join in chorus with my perspiring cohorts, boisterously importuning, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” Little did I realize that rather than conjuring dessert, I was conjugating it and probably laying the groundwork for a lifetime of fascination with foreign languages and world food.

We lived in close proximity to one of the best dairies in town; it was known for its wide assortment of locally produced natural flavors, certainly sufficient in number and variety to satisfy any palate. Perhaps my obsession with offbeat ice cream flavors is rooted in my frustration with my father’s return home from work, invariably bearing the same kind of ice cream as the last time, Neapolitan. Neapolitan, again. My pleas to try a different flavor – just once? please? – consistently fell on deaf ears. “Neapolitan is chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. That’s three flavors right there. If you don’t want it, don’t eat it.” Some kids’ idea of rebellion involved smoking behind the garage; mine was to tuck into a bowl of Rum Raisin….

There’s lots more to the story, of course. Click here to get the full scoop! 🍨
 
 

Korean Grilled Mackerel

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👨‍🍳 NOT Cooking in the Time of COVID 👨‍🍳

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

No, I didn’t make any of this.

I bought the components and the best I can lay claim to is having arranged them on the plate. But for what it’s worth, it was pretty tasty: Korean grilled mackerel, sweet and spicy pickled daikon, and seasoned cucumbers (fish sauce, sesame oil, sugar and garlic). The bowl of rice never made it into the photo. (Actually, that was homemade.)

The source was DNY Natural Land, 322 Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn, a fixture in the neighborhood since 1999. Larger than the average bodega, smaller than the average grocery store, and pricier on average than either, its presence a few blocks from my apartment is a boon at a time like this. The primary undertaking of this Korean-owned business beyond setting out a modest selection of prepared food like the above is providing good quality, mostly organic produce, but they also have a fresh fish department, grab-n-go sushi, some Korean refrigerated goodies like kimchi, a small but reasonably comprehensive selection of Japanese and Korean staples, beer, bulk items, packaged goods, plus the ever-important Tom Cat Bakery baguettes – Amy’s too if you insist, but do try Tom Cat – and of course the obligatory rainbow of fresh flowers parked along the stoop line. Oh, and enough notable brands of ice cream to satisfy every pandemically depressed palate including a wide assortment of Ben & Jerry’s offerings. Have you tried their Punch Line flavor? Deeply flavorful brown butter bourbon ice cream paired with rich, delicious almond ice cream laden with crunchy, roasted almonds and luscious cherries. O.M.G!

But I digress.

H Mart, it’s not, but I can’t walk to H Mart in a New York minute. All this and they’re open 24-7. So you can get that Ben & Jerr…uh, never mind….🙄
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes. ❤️