Lunch with Elaine is always a treat. The World Jewelry Museum curator has the old and twisted alleys of Insadong and Samcheon-dong down pat, and is always introduces me, right when I think I have Seoul’s food scene down, to something special.
Ok, I am stopping there. This post has been sitting in the edit file of my blog for over two weeks. I have tried many times to write a narrative that goes along with the following photos, but am struggling to come up with much that varies from a series of declarative sentences. So I am going to show, not tell, well, a little bit of telling, with some declarative sentences. Restaurant specifics at the end.
The restaurant is set in a traditional Korean house, hanok.
Lunches are not al a cart, but hanjeongsik, set meals.
Meals kick off with a soup to stimulate one’s appetite.
Second course features a wild green salad with dried mushrooms in a sweet pear dressing.
Kimchi and Mungbean cakes, or jeon.
Japchae, noodles with spinach and mushrooms.
Namul, greens, various kimchis, pickles, and deonjeong jiggae, soybean soup.
Service, free deep fried tofu and ginseng atop a spear of arugula (rocket).
Nwui Jo
Seoul, South Korea
02-730-9301
Some English spoken, English menu.
Vegetarians are easily accommodated, just ask the set meal you order to be vegetarian.
Service can be pushy, but over all pleasant.
Hidden in the back alleys, easiest to start from Anguk station, exit 6, head left, and turn right down the lane at the Jongro Police station. Follow the brick alley through a series of right and left turns (follow the green sign for the tea shop) Nwui Jo will be on your right.
In the last couple of weeks I’ve eaten at a few restaurants that I won’t be reviewing for the Times, and here’s the scoop on one, Indigo. The owners of Haeboncheon’s popular Orange Tree expanded their pervious coffeeshop Good to Go, creating an airy, artsy space many will find that reminds them of a favorite café from home. Having only opened a couple of weeks ago, the restaurant is working out its kinks.
Those kinks include an awkward ordering system, order at the counter from the chalkboard menu for brunch, lunch, or to go items. At dinner, nod to any server, take a seat, and wait. Wait for a menu, wait for the kitchen to open at 7pm, and wait for your drink to arrive well after it was ordered.
My review of the Japanese Izakaya, Shoubu runs in the Times today. You can read it here.
This Japanese drinking den takes a décor clue from TGIFridays. Edo era posters, vintage sake ads, and the luck cat, clutter the restaurant with their kitschy charm. The iconic red lanterns hang about the restaurant casting an underworld glow. A mod deal wouldn’t be out of place, nor is group of drunk college girls gossiping away in the corner. The idea here is to stop in for a bite and a pint before heading home, attempting to compost a meal from the menu’s myriad of appetizers will prove tiresome, on your palate and wallet. Instead opt for the okonomiyaki, a fluffy seafood and cabbage pancake, or the Vietnamese salad rolls. Sake is available, starting at 9,000won, budget conscious will do fine with the Korean Chunghwa 3,000won.
Earlier this year my students at Guro Middle School truged through their “food” unit. To my surprise the unit included useful verbs like mix, bake, and stir. They even had to translate a recipe for brownies. Getting them to make these recipe posters was fun, though many of them insisted they only knew how to make egg fry (fried egg).
“If it not be ripe it will drawe a mans mouth awrie with much torment; but when ripe it is as delicious as an Apricock” - Captain John Smith, 17th century.
Fuyu persimmons
October marks the arrival persimmons to Korea’s markets, tables, and tree branches. Having not tried one until I came to Seoul it was surprising to learn that the persimmon was a popular fruit in the American South in the 17th century, primarily used in baked goods, puddings, and such.
I recall having seen them in Olympia’s Eastside Co-op, sequestered to the far corner of the produce case, contained in a plastic tray, ripened to a barely stable mush, surrounded by a cloud of fruit files. Needless to say, I never purchased one.
Korean persimmon tree
Persimmons are a tricky fruit, the many varieties fall into two categories, astringent and non-astringent. The former, most likely tasted by Captain John Smith, contain high levels of tannins (red wine pucker) and cannot be eaten until it is puddingly soft. Non-astringent varieties, including the popular fuyu, sold in the Korean grocery stores and off the back of trucks, can be eaten hard or soft. However, the indigenous Korean variety, whose shape sags like a teardrop, is tres astringent. Better to look at, than to bite.
dried persimmons, kotkam
For Koreans, persimmons are commonly consumed and used in desserts. Dried persimmons are often stuffed with walnuts and sliced into rounds to be served with tea. They are also mixed with ginger to create a tasty “punch”, Sujonggwa, which is often served at the end of a Hanjeongsik meal. Persimmon vinegar is popular with the health conscious, as it is said to help digestion after heavy meals by dinking a glass of water graced with a teaspoon of vinegar. Bottoms up! Hanjeongsik meals are multi course meals providing an array of side dishes.
Earlier this month my kitchen (toaster oven) was a flurry with persimmon related activity. Counted among the successes, a persimmon and jujube bar, a persimmon cream cheese tart, and wait for it, a persimmon cheesecake. Not so successful, getting the walnuts into the dried persimmons and slicing them into neat rounds, or the crust for the tart. I blame it on the toaster oven.
Persimmon and Jujube Bars with Lemon Icing
Adapted from an online recipe from the webstie recipes.epicurean.com
Prep time 45 minutes. Baking time 15 minutes
Makes 16 delicious cookies.
Ingredients for the persimmon bars
Ingredients
16 Korean dates jujubes
4 Soft persimmons
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, beaten
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup soybean or other vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt,
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon,
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
1. Place the jujubes in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover the bowl with a plate and let soak for 30 minutes. Drain jujubes, remove pit and coarsely chop. Set aside.
2. Take four very ripe persimmons and remove skins, and stem. Using a wooden spoon, or your clean hands, press the soft persimmons through a fine meshed sieve. Discard seeds. Place the pulp in a bowl and add the lemon juice and baking soda. Set aside
3. In a large bowl combine the egg, sugar, and vegetable oil. Mix to combine.
4. In another bowl (yes, this recipe calls for a lot of dishes) mix the dry ingredients: flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, alternating with the persimmon mixture. Stir to combine.
5. Add the chopped nuts and jujubes.
6. Pour dough into a square glass baking dish, smeared with butter.
7. Bake in your toaster oven (or real oven 350 degrees) for 15-20 minutes, depending on the strength of your oven. Use a toothpick to test for doneness
8. Let the cookie cool in pan, atop a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. Invert baking dish and remove cookie from pan. Let cool completely on rack
9. In a small bowl (the last bowl, I promise), whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Brush the glaze atop the cookie and let harden 15 minutes. Cut the cookie into bars and serve.
Food and Wine magazine, a publication I simultaneously adore (for glamorous photos and exotic recipes) and hate (for pushing an effortlessly elegant lifestyle I’ll never attain), recently published list of 50 cities around the world showcasing the best of both high-end and hole in the wall cuisine.
This week I was asked to be the resident editor of the Seoul LUXE guide. The previous editor, moved away amidst the update of the first edition and I will be finishing it up, this week. That means hitting the shopping trail in search of new finds, and double checking bar and restaurant information.
It also means that the back log of new Korean recipes, restaurant reviews, videos, and other culinary insights I know you are itching to read will have to wait.
Here are some tasty bites from the foodies at the JoongAng Daily to tide you over.
Chusok, the Korean holiday where families pay respects to their elders, and women of the house prepare elaborate meals of thanks, passed this last weekend. Many expats that this extended holiday for a quick jaunt to China or Japan, some spend it in a beer induced haze wandering the Itaewon strip, and some gather for potlucks, drinks, and good company.
Last year Kev and I hightailed it to Pyeongcheon for an afternoon of Korean cooking with friends. This holiday weekend found us, yet again, in the city of Anyang, this time in the lovely home of Korean blogger Zen Kimchi.
The big kimchi invited fellow food and Korean bloggers over for, what he described as a humble, meal of crackling roasted duck rubbed with Chinese five spice powder, heavenly mashed potatoes, salad, and from scratch, pain a l’Ancienne and a rustic onion and gouda tart. You can find a couple of the recipes on his blog.
I, humbly contributed with a persimmon cream cheese tart.
Before you browse through the mouthwatering photos, documenting our excellent meal, let me just sat that it pays to be friends with foodies. We may bore you with our talk of the latest culinary equipment or our arcane musings on braising techniques, but boy do we feed you well.
One great thing about not being able to understand much Korean is that I am not suspect to advertisements boasting the newest diet fads. While folks around me are buying the lasted fruit vinegars to mix into their waters, or making a diet from three tomatoes a day, I can blissfully go about my day, munching away on a box of chocolate digestive cookies.
Back in the states, shirataki noodles (tofu shaped like noodles) are receiving a lot of attention as the new low-carb food. Until running across beloved babblings post I had been blissfully unaware of their existence.
Does anyone know if Shirataki noodles exist in Korea? I must try them. I am trying to imagine the texture of a tofu noodle, and am coming up blank.
Little Manila is open in the late morning/early afternoons every Sunday.
Take the blue line (line 4) to Hyewha station (the one right after Dongdaemun) and go out exit 1 and walk north (straight) towards the rotary.
Recommended eats*
Adobo, slow cooked pork or chicken in a soy based sauce
Menudo, spicy tomato based soup with pork, potatoes, and carrots
Turron, bananas wrapped in egg roll wrapper, rolled in sugar, then deep fried (1,000won)
Lumpia, spring roll with meats and vegetables (1,000won)
Gulaman, a sweet drink with tapioca pearls and gelatin bits (1,000won)
