Kimchi Sot Bab
by Celia Cheng
November 25th, 2005
CHO DANG GOL
55 W 35th St
(5th & 6th Ave)
212-695-8222
Cho Dang Gol has been my favorite Korean restaurant in the city for many years now because the food and service is of the highest quality in Korea town and the atmosphere is absolutely charming. How can you not love it when the “grandmother” — the matriarch of the proprietors — is sitting in the kitchen (visible to diners) preparing the panchan, or side dishes, herself?
Cho Dang Gol’s specialty is tofu. While I love the biji — ground bean-curd, pork and vegetable casserole — I don’t necessarily go there for their tofu. All the appetizers are great, and I love their specialty casseroles: boo dae jun gol, which my friends and I call the “Spam pot” because it includes Spam and hot dogs and pretty much every kind of pork you can think of (I know not everyone appreciates Spam, but hey, I grew up in Hawaii) and gam ja jun gol, which is spicy pork bone soup with potato. The menu says these casseroles serve two people, but in reality, it’s more suited to four to five people.
On this visit, with a party of five, we ordered some of the usual dishes but also tried the kimchi sot bab, namely steamed rice mixed with kimchi and pork (or beef or shrimp) in a hot stone pot. It arrived at the table still cooking in the stone pot and that’s in order to get the rice to stick to the outer edges of the pot and make it crispy and crackling, for which you then have to use your spoon to scrape and scoop out. In other words, you have to work a little for the good stuff. When you mix everything up, in a single spoonful, you can taste kimchi, pork, steamed rice and crispy rice — it’s as if all the stars are in perfect alignment!
I’ve always loved kimchi and pork, a dish the Japanese themselves have adapted into part of the regular izakaya (the Japanese pub) repertoire called buta kimuchi. I used to cook my version of kimchi fried rice at home, but now I know what I’ve been missing: the stone pot. The crispy rice really does add another dimension to this simple dish and elevates it to another culinary realm. My friend who ordered the dish cannot take too much spice, so I was more than happy to partake of more than my allocated share. I liked it so much I wanted to go back the following night and order the same thing. Don’t get me wrong, this is a rustic and simple dish, but it’s one of those things that you just can’t stop craving. And then there’s the spice factor: it’s just so easy to get hooked. I’m planning my week now to see how I can take a detour through K-town just to get my fix.
Posted in Koreatown , Korean , Rice
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Cabernet Three-Layers Pork
by Celia Cheng
June 16th, 2005
DON’S BO GAM BBQ & WINE BAR
17 E 32nd St
(5th & Madison Ave)
212-683-2200
Let me preface this review by saying that it will seemingly be unfair, since I do like Don’s Bo Gam BBQ & Wine Bar, or at least have a Cravings dish from this restaurant, the beef tongue. However, this time I wanted to try something different and had heard a great deal about the Cabernet Three-Layers Pork, a.k.a., pork belly.
Big mistake. Pork belly at NYC Korean bbq restaurants, in my experience, has mainly been disappointing. The concept of it is always great, but somehow the final product is just not tasty. In this case, the pork was too chewy and lacked the smooth tenderness that it should have had. Although we ordered two portions, I was done after three pieces.
Having said that, I will definitely go back to Don’s for the beef tongue. But that is a review for another day.
Posted in Koreatown , Korean , Meat
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Grilled Pork Short Ribs (dweji kal bi)
by Celia Cheng
June 4th, 2005
YANGPYUNG
43 W 33rd St
(Broadway & 5th Ave)
212-629-5599
Yangpyung is a nondescript restaurant in K-town, and oddly enough the only Korean restaurant on its block.
One of my mosted trusted eating buddies recommended the spicy grilled chicken at this restaurant, but it was the grilled pork short ribs that left the deepest impression on me.
Most people know that I am a beef girl, especially when it comes to Korean BBQ, but the grilled pork short ribs here were so tender and juicy I just couldn’t stop eating them, despite the five other dishes we had ordered. I had to ask several times if it really was chicken I was eating because it was so much lighter than I expected it to be.
The spicy grilled chicken was by far the most exciting spicy dish I’ve tasted in a while, the masochistic type of spice that makes you cry but beg for more. My only complaint is that they cook the chicken with the skin, which I generally don’t have any problems with. But the skin here is not crispy, a bit fatty and rubbery, so I left the skin alone but continued on my masochistic ways with the rest of the chicken.
I’m not sure if it’s fair to call Yangpyung a hole in the wall, but I certainly don’t feel as comfortable here as I do at nearby Cho Dang Gol, for example. On the other hand, this is about cravings, so if you are looking for great pork short ribs and some spicy chicken to clear those sinuses, this is the place.
Posted in Koreatown , Korean , Meat
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