UNSRC Korean Cultural Society

KOREA HERALD

LONDON - Korean restaurants are beginning to pop up in London’s center as British people are increasingly being exposed to Korean cuisine - or “hansik” - and more Koreans visit the United Kingdom. No longer restricted to New Malden - a southwestern suburb which is the closest thing London has to a Koreatown - Korean restaurants have gone central and can be found in the busiest of the shopping, tourist and business districts in the city.

They are not, however, that prominent. This is hardly an explosion of the Korean Wave and the restaurants would probably only be noticed if people were looking for them.

Compared to other types of foreign fare, Korean food is the choice of a minority of restaurant goers in London. Italian, Indian and Thai would typically top the list of foreign food, and unfortunately for Korea’s national pride, Japanese food is much more popular in the United Kingdom than hansik.

Take the location of Asadal, for example. It is probably the most well-known Korean restaurant and was one of the first to open in New Malden. It now has a premises in Holborn, in the Bloomsbury district of central London, but it is overshadowed by the number of Japanese restaurants in the area.

Tucked between a newsagent’s and a Costa coffee, the entrance to the basement restaurant could be easily missed by the hundreds of commuters who rush past it everyday.

Asadal stands as the sole Korean restaurant on a street of numerous lunchtime eateries and coffee places that provide Londoners with a quick caffeine fix. This is on the edge of some major tourist attractions - about 10 minutes’ walk from Oxford Street and not far from the British Museum. The restaurant is also on the same block as the London School of Economics and Bush House - the site of the BBC World Service - and the area is flooded with students and workers looking for a feed at lunchtime. The options include Italian, sandwiches, a pub lunch and Japanese. There is a plethora of Japanese restaurants: Fusion Japanese, Sushi Hiroba, Bento Box and Samurai Sushi & Bento, all within 50 meters of Asadal.

Despite not being well-known, for those who do know it, Asadal is highly regarded. The stairs leading down to the basement open out onto a sleek, wooden-furnished restaurant. The neutral decor has been spruced up with Korean oddments - a samulnori drum, large wall fans and photographs of Korea’s most famous temples. The dim lighting and muted colors, and the relaxing classical guitar music playing in the background, all make this a posher option than a quick grab-and-go lunchtime snack.

At 9.50 pounds ($14.80) for “dolsot bibimbap,” this would be beyond the budget of most students in the area, and is more suited to business lunches or evening dinners for people with more time to enjoy the pleasant atmosphere of the restaurant. It is frequented by many Korean customers, tourists as well as cosmopolitan Londoners.

While Asadal is the lone Korean restaurant in this area, there are clusters of Korean restaurants beginning to sprout in other parts of the capital city. Near the British Museum are two - Bibimbab Cafe and Bi Won - as well as a Korean mart nearby.

Under the shadow of Centre Point tower, which, as its name suggests marks the geographical center of London, there is a street of mom-and-pop style restaurants hidden away near the West End theater district and moments away from the hectic shopping area of Oxford Street.

Here the clientele is more likely to be Korean, forming a kind of subculture that is emerging in London. At Woo Jung, Korean pop music plays in the background and the menu caters for all styles of Korean food. Also on St. Giles High Street are Assa, Po Cha and Seoul Bakery. The restaurants are smaller and Seoul Bakery, which has the most interesting window display, is packed even outside of regular meal times. Its prices and “bunsik”-style offering of kimbap and smaller meals is favoured by younger Korean tourists or students who cram into the restaurant to experience a little taste of Korea in the heart of this bustling metropolis.

One restaurant that has more of a mix of local Londoners is Tohbang. Situated on Clerkenwell Road, on the eastern side of central London - a once run-down area that has now turned trendy - more English people are likely to be found here trying Korean cuisine. Tohbang has a lively, friendly atmosphere, and at lunchtime it is packed. The clientele here is a hip, young professional crowd of friends sharing lunch together rather than the business or tourist meals you would see in the busier parts.

Like Asadal, Tohbang is a more obscure lunchtime option for most Westerners, and it is unlikely that locals would stumble across this place by accident and have an unplanned experience of Korean food. It seems that Westerners would only come here if they had some connection, either if they had been to Korea, or they have a Korean acquaintance who could introduce them to the food.

Rena Paek, Tohbang’s owner, explains that the most popular dishes for Westerners are the traditional Korean barbecue dishes, such as bulgogi or galbi. Another favorite is the “dolsot bibimbap,” a sizzling crockpot of rice and vegetables that are stirred together with a dollop of chili paste.

The popularity of bibimbap could be in part because it is suited to the different style of ordering. Koreans would typically order food for the whole table for everyone to share, whereas Londoners are used to ordering their own separate dishes. This is not just because of Western-style individualism, but because there is an aversion to sharing saliva and potentially spreading germs. When it comes to ordering starters, English people typically want their own, which could cause a problem when they order a “pajeon” - a kind of pancake cooked with spring onions and seafood - because it is usually large enough to feed two or three people.

The menus in restaurants in London are typically more varied than they would be in Korea to cater for Western individual tastes, and also to cover the spectrum of Korean cuisine for Korean visitors. This differs from Korean restaurants, which tend to specialize in one type of cuisine, where people decide beforehand what kind of food everyone wants to eat together. With such varied menus, more ingredients have to be ordered and more dishes have to be made from scratch. This inevitably is going to be more expensive to prepare and slower to serve than in restaurants in Korea.

The different ingredients, however, in London are noticeable. The meat used in Korean restaurants here is of a better quality - perhaps something that is prevented in Korea by restrictions on imports of foreign meat - and the vegetables are fresher. The carrot, cucumber, radish and spinach in Asadal’s bibimbap is more colorful than its Korean-based counterparts. The choice of chicken, beef or pork strips that are added into the rice dish have a richer flavor than you would expect to find in Korea. Likewise, the pork that is added to Tohbang’s “kimchi bokkeumbap” is more succulent. Paek, Tohbang’s manager, explains that all the ingredients are fresh; the kimchi at her restaurant is home-made and the chef prepares new side dishes everyday.

Among the row of Korean restaurants near Center Point, Woo Jung’s soy bean paste in its “doenjang jjiggae” also tastes fresh. It has a pungent smell - and taste - and is like the home-made version you would expect to find in Korea. It is debatable, however, whether this would appeal to Westerners who have not tried Korean food before.

Tohbang’s Paek argues that Korean food is not popular in London because English people have not been exposed to it. She says it is not because English people do not like hansik. “Customers who come here and try it for the first time always come back,” she says.

She argues that Japanese food is more popular in the United Kingdom because it is more trendy. “Korea is not that well-known in general,” Paek points out. “People know less about Korea than they would about Japan,” she adds.

Some Korean restaurants, such as Little Korea, have piggybacked on the popularity and knowledge of other Asian food by being in the Chinatown district and also serving Japanese dishes. This may no longer be necessary for other Korean businesses, as Korean food and culture is becoming better known in the United Kingdom.

“Korean food is becoming more popular in London - English people are becoming more willing to try different food,” says Paek.

There is typically a hesitation for first-timers to Korean food because they are unsure what to order or how to eat the dishes. This is quickly overcome once a Korean friend introduces them to the food, or a waitress assists them with reading the menu and showing them how to eat it. As more British people experience Korean restaurants, they are then more likely to bring other people to the restaurant so that they, too, are exposed to Korean cuisine.

(jane.cooper@sugimedia.com)

By Jane Cooper/Korea Herald contributing writer

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KOREA HERALD

A staple of the Lunar New Year table, “galbijjim,” or braised short ribs, is a quintessential example of homey yet regal Seollal fare. The hearty stew of ribs plays sweet and savory flavors off each other and renders meat into tender, velvety chunks of molten glory. The dish, according to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food president Yoon Sook-ja, dates back to the mid-1700s. In an agricultural text from 1766 a method for steaming beef appears. A cooking book from the late 1800s documents it as “garijjim.”

Yoon attributed the practice of serving galbijjim during Seollal to Korea’s agrarian history.

“Our country is an agricultural nation,” Yoon wrote in an e-mail interview. “Cows used to do farm work were considered sacred. During the Goryeo Dynasty, the slaughtering of cows was forbidden to the point that anyone who did so would be punished.”

According to Yoon, only the monarch and aristocrats dined on galbijjim during the Joseon Dynasty. The precious nature of the dish led to the tradition of putting it on the Seollal table.

Today, some households place a bowl of galbijjim on the ancestral table for rites. Some households serve it to guests and family and do not include it as part of the ancestral ceremony.

Where to eat

For those who want to tuck into some galbijjim without going through the hassle of making it, the Korea House serves a galbijjim lunch special.

The set (priced at a reasonable 25,000 won) includes another Seollal staple: “tteokguk” (rice cake soup). For this meal, however, the ribs are where it’s at.

Served up in an elegant porcelain dish, the establishment’s take on this classic displayed an understated sophistication.

Made from grade 1 and 2 “hanwoo” short ribs, the galbijjim bore a fragrant, spice-laden flavor and was appropriately sweet. The secret to the flavor, according to the Korea House’s cooking team head, lies in the fresh ginseng, pyogo (or shitake) mushrooms, daikon radish, apples, Asian pear, licorice root and cinnamon used it infuse it with an aromatic character.

A smattering of chestnut, gingko biloba nuts, carrot, pyogo mushroom and jujube added a dash of color.

An accompaniment of pumpkin porridge, “japchae” (clear noodles stir-fried with vegetables), rice, tteokguk and a dessert of yuzu tea, rice cakes, hangwa (traditional Korean sweets) and fruit rounded out the meal.

The galbijjim lunch special costs 25,000 won per person. Opening hours are from noon to 2 p.m.; 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.; 7:20 p.m. to 8:50 p.m. The Korea House will be open during Seollal. Weekend reservations are required.

For more information visit www.koreahouse.or.kr or call (02) 2266-9101~9103. The Korea House is located near Exit 3, Chungmuro Station, Subway Line No. 4.

(oh_jean@heraldm.com)

Galbijjim Recipe

From the writer’s maternal grandmother

Serves 4 to 5

Galbijjim:

2.4 kilograms of beef short ribs

2/3 cup of water or beef broth (for those who do step 3)

1 cup of raw peeled chestnuts (available at most marts and grocery stores)

1 carrot

1. Pour the ribs into a large bowl. Add cold water till it covers ribs. Cover bowl with newspaper. Soak for two to three hours in a cool place to drain out blood. If there is a lot of blood, change the water once while soaking.

2. Trim off the fat from the ribs. Make two vertical cuts on the cartilage on the bone. Score the meat down to the bone. To make a criss-crossed score, make vertical slices first, then one horizontal slice across the middle.

3. If there is a lot of fat inside the meat, put ribs in a pot, pour in a small amount of water, just enough to help cook it and boil for 20 minutes. Leave in a cool place overnight and skim off the hardened fat. Substitute the resulting beef broth for the 2/3 cups of water. If there is not a lot of fat skip step 3 and go directly to step 4.

4. Put ribs in a large bowl. Add marinade (recipe below) to the ribs. Mix marinade and ribs together. Store the marinating ribs in the refrigerator overnight. Do not discard any of the marinade, pour it all into the container with the ribs so that ribs can fully marinate.

5. Pour the marinated ribs with all of its marinade sauce into a large pot. Add 2/3 cup water or beef broth (for those who did step 3). Cover with lid. Put on high heat until it starts boiling. Reduce to a simmer on medium to medium low heat. Boil for 40 minutes, gently stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from burning and to keep an even amount of marinade and heat distributed on ribs.

6. While the jjim is simmering, cut the carrot into small, rounded bite-sized spheres. Wash the peeled chestnuts with water. Add the carrot and the chestnuts to the pot. Simmer on low heat for another 20 to 40 minutes or until the beef, carrots and chestnuts are fully cooked and marinade broth is reduced to a thickened sauce-like texture.

Marinade:

30 cloves of garlic

1 onion

1 Asian pear

2 stalks of green onion

1/2 ginger

8 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine or sake

2 tablespoons jocheong (grain syrup)

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons black pepper

4 tablespoons white sugar

4 tablespoons sesame seed oil

Dash of ground toasted sesame seeds

1. Process the garlic in a food processor. Set aside.

2. Chop pear into cubes and slice onion. Process the chopped pear and sliced onion together in a food processor.

3. Combine the garlic, pear and onion in a large bowl.

4. Slice the green onion and add to bowl.

5. Grate ginger and squeeze and extract 1 teaspoon of ginger juice. Add juice to bowl.

6. Add 8 tablespoons of soy sauce. Add 2 tablespoons of rice wine or sake. Add 2 tablespoons of jocheong. Add 2 tablespoons honey. Add 2 teaspoons black pepper. Add 4 tablespoons white sugar. Add 4 tablespoons sesame seed oil. Add a dash of ground toasted sesame seeds. Stir marinade.

(oh_jean@heraldm.com)

By Jean Oh

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JoongAng Daily

	Photo of Dakjang tteokguk by Oh Sang-min. Other images provided by the World Food Culture Center

With Lunar New Year’s Day falling on Feb. 14 this year, there are two foods likely to share the spotlight: chocolate and rice cake soup, better known as tteokguk in Korea.

While chocolate comes in various shapes, colors, degrees of sweetness and kinds of packaging, tteokguk seems - at first glance - to have retained its traditional recipe with little variation. Most bowls of tteokguk have thin, oval-shaped slices of white rice cake, tteok, served in a delicate beef broth.

But tteokguk is more versatile than expected, and there are more than five major kinds of tteokguk from as many different provinces around the country.

“Korea is a peninsula-shaped country with different geographical features and climates according to region, and tteokguk recipes vary likewise,” said Yang Hyang-ja, 53, the executive director of the World Food Culture Center who has been in the food business for 25 years now. She is currently working with the Agriculture Ministry on their project to globalize Korean food.

“The northern provinces of the country, such as Pyongan, Hamgyong and Hwanghae in North Korea, traditionally make a variation of tteokguk called manduguk [dumpling soup], while the provinces in the southern part of the country make their tteokguk broth with different ingredients, which gives it a different taste,” Yang added.

Tteokguk is traditionally eaten around the Lunar New Year, and is believed to bring good luck and another year of life to the person who consumes it. Let’s take a look at the five kinds of tteokguk from five different regions in Korea.

Gyeonggi Province: Choraengi tteokguk

Kaesong, which was once the capital of Goryeo, was known to have had a strong culinary tradition. After the 1950-53 Korean War, the province to which the city belonged, Gyeonggi, was divided into North and South, with the city of Kaesong becoming part of North Korea.

Today, the people on the southern side of the border still practice the traditional regional cooking style.

The traditional dish served for the Lunar New Year holiday is choraengi tteokguk. It gets its name from its barbell shape, called choraengi in Korean, there is an interesting folk tale about where the shape comes from.

After the foundation of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), Yi Seong-gye, who is credited as the founder of the dynasty, tried to kill all the men from the preceding dynasty, Goryeo (918-1392), so that they could never retaliate.

When news of the general’s intentions spread, the men of Kaesong began to leave, enraging the women of Kaesong. To blow off steam, the women of Kaesong started making their tteok by breaking off pieces of garaetteok, a cylindrical piece of tteok about 12 inches long, and stretching them into smaller gourd-shaped pieces of tteok that they could then use to make soup. It was said that when the women started using a knife to cut the tteok into pieces, they pretended it was Yi’s head they were cutting off.

Chungcheong provinces: Raw tteok tteokguk

In the Chungcheong provinces, tteokguk is often made with pieces of raw, unboiled tteok. Unlike other forms of tteokguk, where the tteok is pre-boiled before it is added to the soup, the broth and raw pieces of tteok are boiled together to make the tteokguk from Chungcheong. This process makes the tteok less chewy when served. The broth contains oysters seasoned with salt or short-necked clams, which gives it the milky-white color that is peculiar to this type of tteokguk.

Jeolla provinces: Dakjang tteokguk

The Jeolla provinces are famous for their dakjang tteokguk.

“Dakjang” is a portmanteau of the Korean words for chicken (“dak”) and soy sauce (“ganjang”) that refers to sliced chicken boiled in soy sauce.

The dakjang is made in advance and buried in the ground, and it keeps for about 15 days.

“Dakjang tteokguk has a pleasantly salty taste and a slight sweetness, which comes from the flavor of the soy sauce used to boil the chicken,” Yang said. “Dakjang tteokguk, which once seemed to have lost ground to other kinds of tteokguk, is becoming more popular these days. I think that’s due to people’s nostalgia for the oldies but goodies as well as the recent ‘well-being’ trend and revival of interest in traditional food, which is presumed to be wholesome,” she added.

Pyongang provinces: Onban (Rice served in beef soup)

In the Pyongan provinces, they serve “onban,” which literally translates to “warm rice” in Korean, in place of tteokguk. As a dish, onban consists of rice served in beef soup.

To make onban, fill half a bowl with rice and put boiled glass noodles on top. Garnish with toppings such as stir-fried mushrooms, seasoned beef, a beaten egg, thinly sliced red chili peppers and slightly toasted and crushed gim (dried seaweed). Pour the boiling beef broth over the bowl immediately before serving.

Since the dish is already garnished with various ingredients, with each one adding its own flavor, side dishes are not considered necessary when this dish is served, with the exception of kimchi.

Hamgyong and Hwanghae provinces: Wang manduguk (Giant dumpling soup)

People in the Hamgyong and Hwanghae provinces celebrate Lunar New Year by making a soup with large, fist-sized dumplings.

“In the northern area of the country, there are not as many rice farms as in the southern part, so there is a limited supply of rice for making tteok,” Yang explained. “That’s why they make dumplings for festive occasions.”

In the past, tteokguk was actually considered to be a fancy and highly nutritious treat due to the scarcity of white rice, which is the most desired staple food in the country, according to Yang.

Gangwon Province

Dubu tteok manduguk (Tofu, rice cake and dumpling soup)

The ingredient that makes the tteokguk from Gangwon so extraordinary is simple: tofu. The city of Gangneung is particularly well known for its Chodang tofu, which is said to be seasoned with seawater from the East Sea, instead of salt.

Gyeongsang provinces: Geul (oyster) tteokguk

The Gyeongsang provinces, which are near the sea, are known for their oyster tteokguk. Here, the broth is made with oysters instead of beef, which makes for a refreshing taste for those of you accustomed to the beef stock variety. Clams, shrimp and other kinds of seafood are then added to taste. And in some places, anchovies are used to make the broth, instead of the oysters, which are added to the broth later.

By Park Sun-young [spark0320@joongang.co.kr]

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