I didn't know that my sister was now a cook. She has introduced me to the world of New-American Eats. Here we have Jill showing off her Coca-Cola Pulled Chicken Sandwich. She chopped up onions and put them in a slow cooker with a whole chicken and then dumped a can of coca-cola that was mixed in a bottle of ketchup and let it slow cook in a crock pot for 3 hours. After it was done, she pulled the bones out of the chicken and shredded it with a fork and plopped it on some bread.

It was tender and a tad sweet. The coke flavor was minimal, but I did get a whiff. I would have to say it was pretty darn good after adding a few veggies (see my take on the sandwich below with a bit of cucumber, sliced radish, and served on wheat bread).

My sister did a good job with it- I think I'll have it for breakfast tomorrow.

Here's the recipe:

1 chicken, cut up
1 1/2 lg. onions, sliced
10 to 12 oz. Coca Cola
10 to 12 oz. catsup

Lay chicken in baking dish. Mix Coca Cola and catsup. Pour over chicken. Cook in a crock pot first on high and then reduce to medium and cook for 3-6 hours. Pull the chicken out and shred it with a fork and pull out the bones. If the chicken gets dry, add some more ketchup or bbq sauce.

This is one of the games that my parents got me for Christmas: It's Spam the Dice Game. It's basically a dice game like yahtzee but with pictures of Spam! Hilarious! So what gifts did other people get? If anyone got a Kitchen Aide Mixer, I'll be quite jealous.

I was in Publix Supermarket in Florida and I was impressed and shocked. Impressed because it is so big, shocked because the produce section is so small and most of the market is filled with dry foods, cooking equipment, sauces, and frozen foods. The other oddities were the vegetarian section with Tofurky. This thing claims to be tofu turkey with stuffing, and rich giblet gravy. Sorry, but I think people should simply eat Turkey or make a new tradition.

Wouldn't that be great? I think vegetarians should come up with a new thanksgiving feast dinner. I could even imagine having something like a cornucopia of vegetables that are grilled and fresh with bean pancakes or something. I don't know something like that- if not, it's like a constant reminder of the food you are missing.

The other odd thing I saw was dutch chocolate with red wine. I don't know what it tastes like, but it doesn't quite jell in my mind.

I hope everyone is having a good holidays.

Sincerely,

Daniel Gray

For Christmas, I am in Winter Haven, Florida to spend the holidays with my family. Now just because I'm in America, doesn't mean that I will stop eating. So...for the next 2 weeks or so, the blog will become American Eats.

The American food culture is fascinating. Just being here for the last couple of days have opened my eyes to how much my eating habits had changed. I think our Christmas dinner had 1 thing that I would say was from the vegetable group: green bean casserole doused in mushroom soup and topped with Durkee's French Fried Onions. Sure there was sweet potatoes with marshmallows and potatoes, but I feel these fit in the bread and starch group.

Anyway, my sister was craving Chick-Fil-A and we went to stand alone store. Now I have had Chick-Fil-A in the past, but I remember them as being a "Mall Fast Food Franchise" that was closed on Sunday. I had found memories of this place, but I nothing that I craved from afar.

I didn't realize how big of a franchise they had become until I went to one of the stores in Florida.

Wow.

The drive-in had cars looped all the way around the place and the parking lot was jam packed. My father who is handicapped couldn't even get to the parking spot, because the drive-thru had blocked that row of spaces.

Inside, it was just as packed. The atmosphere was jovial and it had a family-like feel to it- not corporately like McDonalds. There seemed to be a sense of unity among the patrons- people getting good food with friends and family. Also, the cliental seemed like they were interested in the quality of the food for this is gourmet fast food.

The chicken sandwich is made with real chicken breast and it is so moist and flavorful that I'll be snubbing my nose at those crispy cardboard chicken that I would find at most other places. The sauces and the waffle fries were excellent as well- the honey mustard is made with real honey.

Best of all is the whole marketing. I love the cows that tell everyone to "Eat Mor Chikin." Brilliant.

Dan

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I am spending the holidays with my parents in Winter Haven, Florida. Weather has been great- much warmer than Seoul. Today, I went for a run and then ate steamed blue crabs for Christmas Eve dinner. It was my first time to have crabs for Christmas dinner and my hands still smell from it.

There is a Korean anecdote that makes sense right now. You can eat an entire cow and no one would know, but if you eat just one crab, the whole village will know- that's because the smell is so strong.

Anyway, after dinner we went for a ride around the neighborhood to see the Christmas lights in Florida. My favorite is the Santa Flamingo.

Merry Christmas!

Dan

Here are some shots of Christmas Cakes in Seoul. The ones in the cases are from Paris Croissant. They looked great, but were a tad expensive (37,000 for a cake). I ended up getting a cake from Crown Bakery. It was a yellow cake with chocolate icing. Not bad and at only 20,000 won, it was great.

Merry Christmas!

Dan

My company was invited to the Korean Food Globalization Team's Year-end conference to see all the work that had been completed by different organizations this year. These are companies and universities that had been funded by the Hansik Jedang (Korean Food Globalization Team) to create products or do research on the topic of globalizing Korean food. The standout this year was CJ Food's "Rice & Nice" Microwaveable Rice dishes. The product was extensively researched (I know because I helped find the focus groups) and I feel their initial offerings: Spicy Chicken, Bibimbap, and 5-grain Rice is what the western market will like. The packaging is eye catching as well. I'm not a big fan of the name "Rice & Nice," because it sounds cheesy and Asian cutesy; but that's something that can be worked out by the marketing team. The products taste good and its something I could see taking off.

A university made blueberry pancakes and black soybean pancakes. Meh. It was clear this group didn't do their research for there was clearly a cultural disconnect. The black soybean pancakes were fine, but the blueberry was odd. It was made like a fried, Korean pancake that had a blueberry and carrot flavor. The fact that it was a fried, dense, and chewy goes against my western ideals of a "blueberry pancake." I am going to call this a fail.

Finally, there was a university from Daejeon that was sharing Korean dishes they had made. Their westernized samgyetang in chicken consomme was delicious. Of course, its been done. The first place I saw this dish was at the W-Hotel.

Overall, I think the Hansik Jedang has done a great job this year. There were some hits and misses, but you can't expect to be perfect every time- especially when you are trying to globalize a cuisine. Now, I think this year the group should focus on actually leaving the country and sharing the food with other countries. There are food festivals all around the world and I feel Korea needs to get involved. I mean, isn't that the purpose of globalization? If they taste it, they will learn to like it.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Dan

O'ngo Culinary School

In January and February, O'ngo Culinary School will be offering Saturday Cooking Classes for those hoping to learn Korean cuisine and meet other foodies. You'll learn Korean favorites such as Daktoritang, Bibimbap, Japchae, and Sundubu throughout the 2 month course. You'll get a deep understanding of the culture and the techniques of Korean cuisine from our award winning chefs. First, you'll see a demonstration from the chef, then you'll have a chance to make your own, and then you'll get to eat what you made.

January 8th: Kimchi and Bulgogi
January 15th: Daktoritang and Vegetable Side Dishes
January 22nd: Dolsot Bibimbap and Bean Sprout Soup

February 5th: Korean New Year's Class: Mandoo Rice Cake Soup
February 12th: Sundubu and Seafood Pancake
February 19th: Japchae and Spicy Pork

The classes will be offered in English at 11am and at 3pm. You can sign up for 1 or all of the classes. There are 3 classes a month and classes cost 55,000 a person per session, but if you sign up for a month you can save 30,000 won- only 135,000 won. We are conveniently located in Insadong. You can find us by going out Anguk Station (Subway Line 3) Exit 4 and walk 2 blocks and make a left after Young's Music and Pizza Haven. We are on the 3rd Floor in the building across from Crown Hotel.

You can sign-up by contacting us at ongofood@ongofood.com 

O'ngo Food Communications
Jongno-gu, Nagwon-dong 55-1
Nagwon-dong Zip 110-709
02-3446-1607

O'ngo Culinary School in Insadong

Come take a cooking class or take a Culinary Tour in Seoul! http://www.ongofood.com

The other day I got a letter from Jules who is planning a trip to Seoul and she said she is searching for the best tteokbokki places in Seoul for a story she is writing for a magazine. I guess I was wrong, maybe tteokbokki will become an overseas hit. Anyway, here is my first recommendations. If anyone else has any let me know and I'll tell her.

Hyojadong Old-Fashioned Tteokbokki are not drowned in a slurpy spicy-sweet sauce. Instead, chewy fingers of rice cake are either dry rubbed with red pepper flakes and then then pan fried over high heat or it is basted in soy sauce and then pan fried as well. They are crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle like a deep fried Mars bar.

The only other things on the menu are soondae (blood sausage), pork pancakes, and Nokdu Bindaetteok (a pan-fried bean pancake). The lady running the place is a sweetheart, so be nice to her. She often gets busy during the daytime, so you might have to wait a bit. Trust me, it's worth it.

Inside Tongin Market
Take exit 2 from Gyeongbokgung Station on Line 3, and walk straight about 10 minutes. Tongin Market will be on your left.
Open late; we were there after 9 p.m.

Taxi Drivers have their pick of the land in Korea and where they eat the food is often as authentic Korean as you'll find. You won't find Taxi Drivers parked outside of faux Italian restaurants carrying their ultra-made-up girlfriends drinking overpriced pumpkin lattes. Nope, you'll see them in real Korean restaurants eating soups and stews and meat- that's why the cabs smell so delicious (not really) when you get inside. Anyway another great place is Song Gane Kamjatang (potato and pork stew) and Bossam restaurant in Mapo-gu. It's not that far from Hongik University Station (Line 2).  I highly recommend their Kamjatang- the broth is rich and porky and potatoes are delicious.

The Bossam is great as well, especially with fresh oysters.

If you have problems finding the place- ask a taxi driver, they all know where it's at.

Directions: Go out Hongdae Station Exit 3 and go straight. Turn right on
the first main road. 02-3141-6557.

Me and Marja Vongerichten

It's been a great year for Korean food and next year looks to be even bigger.
Let's first talk about the good.

Written by Andy Isaacson for Koreataste.org You can see and read more of his work at  http://www.worldwebeyes.com


Chef Corey Lee: Benu, in San Francisco
At Benu, James Beard Award-winning chef Corey Lee’s first solo restaurant, which opened last August in San Francisco, each intricately prepared dish is so exacting, so considered, and so nuanced in flavor that to talk while eating— “mmm”, “woah” and other involuntary expressions of sensual pleasure aside—would be far too distracting. Fully appreciating the subtleties of each dish requires a certain meditative state, which is encouraged even before you pick up a fork: the modernist, cement courtyard outside, planted with symmetrical Japanese maples, calls to mind a Zen temple garden; the minimalistic, neutral-toned dining room—grey carpeting, grey padded chairs, bare grey-colored walls—achieves the serenity of a day spa.

My treatment: first, some crisp, delicate, toasted buckwheat and nori wafers, served in a specially designed slotted box, so each stands upright. A canapé —quail egg, light citrus juice, star anise—comes with a thin bubble of ginger juice (the membrane is acquired through a trick of molecular gastronomy) that explodes as a refreshing tingle inside the mouth. “It kind of wakes you up a little bit,” Lee later told me. “It sets the tone, and is a playful thing for your first bite.” The rest of the meal unfolded with similar gusto, dish after dish exhibiting intriguing texture and complex flavor—thin eel wrapped in flaky pastry, dipped in lime-salted crème fraiche; sea urchin with creamy sunchokes, prepared like panna cotta, and topped with vibrant green apple ice. Some creations are reinterpretations of Asian classics: in Lee’s “duck with eight treasures” ($28), the meat is rolled around foie gras, duck confit, gizzards, black truffle puree, pistachios and goji berries and then wrapped in crispy skin. The roll is halved, presented like two maki pieces, and sprinkled with gold leaf flakes (the eighth treasure). Knowledgeable servers work efficiently between courses, setting clean utensils on a polished wood orb. Each dish is served in customized porcelain plate ware. Delicious house-made chocolates–white chocolate and green tea, Vietnamese coffee and sweetened condensed milk—arrive for dessert in a wood jewel box. The bowl housing orange curd and pistachio ice cream, which is topped with Tasmanian peppercorn foam, is shaped in a way that hides warm vanilla tapioca as a surprise for the spoon to uncover.

Later, I had a chance to speak with Chef Lee about his cuisine and influences.
Read the interview over at Koreataste.org by following this link http://www.koreataste.org/lang/en/en/magazine-en/interviews-en/a-meal-at-benu-and-a-conversation-with-chef-corey-lee

One of my favorite places to eat in Insadong is at Tweet Maru (툇마루). They are famous for Doenjang Bibimbap and their sauce is earthy and full of flavor. The sauce over barley rice and topped with fresh vegetables and a few drops of roasted sesame oil is delicious and hearty.

툇마루
Seoul Jongno-gu Insadong 4-2
Tel 02-739-5683