Slide into the comfort of on the growing band of Hawksmoors and order yourself a kimchi burger. But wait, however hip this joint might be, what’s with the idea of Korean pickled cabbage and beef. It works, it just does, cross cultural dressing that ticks so many boxes.
I keep hearing mutterings about Korean food. 10 (or was it 15) years ago I heard the same thing. South Korea may hate North Korea but this is a country who’s food was made for fashionable status. It just never seems to have climbed on the catwalk. Why is this?
Does it matter? For those of us in search of some really great flavours, a lightness of touch that is so in keeping with our health-obsessed generation and a focus on vegetables it might be worth viewing regardless, or perhaps because of, its fad-lessness.
Check out www.hansik.org for recipes like Bibimbap, Japchae, Kimchi-jjigae (a stew) and Yeongyang-dolsotbap, the latter a nourishing hot pot.
For not all Korean food relies, like much of its Asian neighbours, on extensive use of stir-fry, which although quick and easy, is not necessarily that healthy. Koreans have an almost obsessive liking for barbecues but with that goes a desire for deep and satisfying broths, much use or focus on vegetables and a fondness for rice.
I’ve been playing around with some Korean recipes over the last few weeks and one of the overriding attractions is simply how darn healthy it all is. I’ve seldom felt so good. Coupled to this their obsession with pickles (kimchi is most popularly known as a cabbage pickle but other vegetables are also used), Gochujang, a chilli paste based on red peppers, means each person’s meal can be dressed according to preference.
Want to know what real Korean food tastes like? The hansik site, an initiative by the South Korean government to spread the word, also lists some of the surprisingly large number of Korean restaurants in and around London.
So what does this mean for me?: Just because the names are hard to pronounce doesn’t mean it’s not something worth trying.
Tell me what I should do: Visit the website, try a dish or two, feel the good karma…
