I'm Gonna Live Post Trying Korean Food for the First Time

IronKnuckle's Ghost

THE STORY SO FAR

I'm in Tokyo for a few days, I've found myself in Koreatown during dinner time, let's try out an entire cuisine I'm unfamiliar with.

IronKnuckle's Ghost

This place is set up like it's a school classroom. I'm sitting at a desk right now. To my right, a group of middle aged ladies are enjoying the proprietor cook something at the table with a portable gas stove. One of them is doing an impression of some guy and y'all, despite the language barrier, it is not a favorable impression.

I have ordered something Google translate describes as a "seafood pancake" and a beer which I'm hoping is Asahi. The owner asked if I wanted the large or the small beer and baby, you know I ordered the large.

Darmak

I'm eating a bowl of cereal right now, but Korean food sounds good too

IronKnuckle's Ghost

IT IS ASAHI

Depressperado

there's a hibachi place where I used to live that sold Asahi and boy howdy that is a beer, better than Lionshead, at least!

except Lionshead has those little pictogram riddles that vexed young me so

edit: also Korean food in Japan, you are jet setting I think

IronKnuckle's Ghost

Impression lady is the life of the party at this restaurant, at least she was until the literal overhead projector showing kpop changed to a different boy band in baseball uniforms and the younger women became very interested in that. I recognize the hook, it's been playing nonstop from the front doors of the host club I pass by on the way to the closest Lawson Station from my hotel. (Guess which game franchise inspired my hotel choice! It was maybe a bad idea!)

IronKnuckle's Ghost

I have been brought A a big beer and B several appetizers that all look delicious and spicy. They are, in fact, both.

IronKnuckle's Ghost

Good gravy she has brought me far more food than I thought possible. This is pizza sized!

It's so damn good too! Hot damn!

Darmak

Eat iiiitttttttt

IronKnuckle's Ghost

Been in this country for three weeks and I've had to ask for a fork for the first time.

Kelor

Bibimbap is a classic for a reason.

IronKnuckle's Ghost

This seafood pancake is great. Carrots, green onions, shrimp, fish, all in a batter and fried. Just greasy enough and so delicious. Came with a dipping sauce that is slightly spicy.

I had considered ordering gyoza as well but I'm really glad I didn't, this is way too much food as is.

Raijin Quickfoot

I love Korean food. I’m jealous

discrider

Mmm Korean pancake

Raijin Quickfoot

discrider wrote: »

Mmm Korean pancake

I was going to ask why this sounds so dirty but…I already know the answer

IronKnuckle's Ghost

Ok I gave up. It was a valiant fight but there was simply too much seafood pancake.

Regardless the verdict on Korean food based on this one meal of one dish at one restaurant is.....

Good stuff!

Rhesus Positive

That reminds me, I need to buy more gochujang

pooka

Wait, how much banchan did they bring? What banchan did they bring??

H0b0man

Seafood pancakes are so damn good. I had one in a tiny hole in the wall in Seoul once and am kinda sad that I'll never be able to get one in the States that comes close to that.

discrider

Raijin Quickfoot wrote: »

discrider wrote: »

Mmm Korean pancake

I was going to ask why this sounds so dirty but…I already know the answer

When the grease hits your screen with an ir'descent sheen
That's a pancake

pooka

The only reason we don't eat Korean all the time is because, lazy, and our favorite Korean place doesn't do gluten free, so we haven't eaten there in years and have only started to explore again recently. But making bulgogi is honestly pretty easy if you don't mind a short marinade. What really lacks at home is the buffet of side dish.

IronKnuckle's Ghost

pooka wrote: »

Wait, how much banchan did they bring? What banchan did they bring??

I had to look this word up, so new word learned! I had one dish of two pieces of omelette with onion, one with what appeared to be raw green onion in a sweet sauce (might have been something else, I swear she asked me something along the lines of "is kimchi ok?" but kimchi is the one Korean dish I can recognize and this wasn't that), and finally a dish of what looked to be slices of something cucumber or zucchini-ish (it didn't taste like it) in a red spicy sauce. That last one was so good, easily the best of the three.

H0b0man

Sounds like you might have had cucumber kimchi

pooka

Yeah, kimchi is a class of pickled and fermented vegetable dishes (though the versions with red chili paste are iconic.) So the green onions / scallions were maybe a (I looked this up, I do not have all the varieties memorized) pa kimchi.

IronKnuckle's Ghost

Upon receipt of this information I am prepared to certify all kimchi as Good.

Depressperado

used to party at this Korean dude's house, when I was in high school, and his mom always had massive jars of kimchi a-brewin'.

when he told his mom that I liked Kimchi, she made me my own little jar, because she was an adorable old Korean lady who would yell if you upset her oh my god she could be so loud

Rhesus Positive

Rhesus Positive wrote: »

That reminds me, I need to buy more gochujang

Update: I bought more gochujang

Raijin Quickfoot

I have that same or very similar gochujang in my house!

Always have some gochujang, palm sugar, and kimchi.

Johnny Chopsocky

Another thing worth having in the kitchen is a jar of sambal oelek, an Indonesian pepper mash. It adds so much spice and flavor and vinegar bite and can punch up so many dishes.

Unfortunately, the biggest distributor of sambal oelek in the US is Huy Fong, who made some stupid supplier decisions and as such it is much harder to get sambal now than in the past. Hopefully they get their shit right soon, because I'm missing that spice.

Raijin Quickfoot

I have, in my possession right now, 2 bottles of sriracha.

Pretty sure I could sell those bad boys for like a grand each.

Mortal Sky

I have spent most of my life living within a few miles of some kind of Koreatown (usually Annandale VA or Ellicott City MD), plus I've been to Busan for a long weekend while living in Japan a decade ago. Can confirm Korean food slaps, even if in the last couple of years health issues have kept me from enjoying the more junk food-y side of it I still like the more "kimchi and chopped seafood on rice" side a ton

PiptheFair

Raijin Quickfoot wrote: »

I have, in my possession right now, 2 bottles of sriracha.

Pretty sure I could sell those bad boys for like a grand each.

the shortage is over and the price is coming back to normal human amounts again, you lost your chance old man!

Raijin Quickfoot

PiptheFair wrote: »

Raijin Quickfoot wrote: »

I have, in my possession right now, 2 bottles of sriracha.

Pretty sure I could sell those bad boys for like a grand each.

the shortage is over and the price is coming back to normal human amounts again, you lost your chance old man!

Or did I?

*plans a sriracha heist*

Taya

Korean food is very good, mostly. I regularly make a drizzlable gochujang sauce for bibimbap or just as a hot sauce.

Paladin

Korean stews are pretty good, especially round this time of year. There's a soft tofu soup, sundubu, that's made with a savory but not rich kelp and anchovy base with chili oil / flake, so it's spicy. To mellow that, the stew part is a silken tofu and seafood mix, emphasis on the tofu, and people generally crack a raw egg and scoop some rice in. There's also other stews like fermented bean paste stew, which is similar but savory rather than spicy, a bone broth dumpling stew, and a large spicy stew made with like spam and ramen because that's what was scavenged from US army bases.

IronKnuckle's Ghost

IMPORTANT UPDATE

I'm at a Korean restaurant again. Gonna get bulgogi bibimbap.

And of course a frosty beer!

IronKnuckle's Ghost

I'm not gonna live post this one cause that's obnoxious and y'all already indulged me last night. But I will report back when the meal is complete!

This place is really hopping though. Probably because it's 10:30 and most everyone in here is a couple beers deep.

Jokerman

Raijin Quickfoot wrote: »

PiptheFair wrote: »

Raijin Quickfoot wrote: »

I have, in my possession right now, 2 bottles of sriracha.

Pretty sure I could sell those bad boys for like a grand each.

the shortage is over and the price is coming back to normal human amounts again, you lost your chance old man!

Or did I?

*plans a sriracha heist*

JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS OUT, THEY PULLED ME BACK IN

IronKnuckle's Ghost

Bulgogi bibimbap status: excellent.

Banchan report is as follows. Three total. One was cabbage kimchi which is great and is not disbursing the notion that kimchi is categorically great stuff. Also had some kind of sausage and cabbage in a sticky sweet sauce. And finally a few Italian noodles in a cheese sauce, which was perfectly fine but not exactly screaming Korean cuisine as far as I can tell.

Beer status: Asahi 500 mL

Mortal Sky

Paladin wrote: »

Korean stews are pretty good, especially round this time of year. There's a soft tofu soup, sundubu, that's made with a savory but not rich kelp and anchovy base with chili oil / flake, so it's spicy. To mellow that, the stew part is a silken tofu and seafood mix, emphasis on the tofu, and people generally crack a raw egg and scoop some rice in. There's also other stews like fermented bean paste stew, which is similar but savory rather than spicy, a bone broth dumpling stew, and a large spicy stew made with like spam and ramen because that's what was scavenged from US army bases.

back when I could be a stoner and eat dumb amounts of junk food, without the government job or my stomach respectively trying to ruin my life, one of my favorite things to make was wicked spicy budaejigae with about five times more gochujang in the sauce than is usually recommended

I spent 4/20/20 in lockdown eating a couple bowls of that while watching The Pest and Paranoia Agent, what a wild fuckin day

Wearingglasses

Koreans love cheese in their food. Try the tteokbokki, some sort of chewy ricecake tubes usually slathered in spices and cheeses.

Korean Fried Chicken is also nice!