Momofuku maestro David Chang is taking on a new role just for the 2018 Winter Olympics. This week, as NBC’s official food and culture expert during the Winter Games, he’s eating his way around South Korea for your viewing (and eating) pleasure. On Thursday, the network aired his first segment, a culinary tour that introduces Olympic viewers to all the different varieties of Korean food:
“Korean food is really an amalgamation of food from all over the world,” Chang starts off, while he visits a Seoul night market. “You have Chinese sausages, you have Japanese dumplings, you have American roast lobster with cheese. It doesn’t get more multicultural than this. So maybe you’ve tried kimchi or gone out for Korean barbecue, but that’s for beginners. The streets of Seoul offer a next-level way to explore what this country is and was—all served up hot.”
After giving a brief history lesson about colonization in Korea, Chang heads to a truck stop to enjoy a bowl of budae jjigae, or “army stew,” which traditionally has spam, rice cakes, kimchi, ramen noodles, hot dog wieners. (He grew up eating the dish sans wieners.) “It seems like a crazy concoction, but it’s actually a soup or stew that was made out of necessity and resourcefulness, and a delicious one at that,” he says. “This is what I like to eat after a big night out, for sure.”
His next two stops are at a temple, where he goes foraging for vegan ingredients with a Buddhist monk, and then a three-star Michelin restaurant called Gaon, which he calls the “pinnacle of gastronomy” on this culinary tour. “At Gaon, everything about the meal is designed to take you back in time,” he says.
Throughout his tour, David Chang sprinkles in bits and pieces about Korean history and culture, and ends with a challenge to broaden your horizons. “Next time you’re eating Korean food, just realize it’s so much more than barbecue and kimchi,” he says. “You’re only scratching the surface.”
28 Recipes for the Ultimate Korean Barbecue, from Meats and Sides to Noodles and Rice
Gentl & Hyers
The centerpiece of any Korean barbecue is the meat. Whether you marinate or not, the first rule to getting it right remains the same: Embrace the fast and furious.
Gentl & Hyers
The Korean grill favors thin pieces of meat cooked quickly over high heat, so the proteins don’t dry out. This method works just as well for rib eye as it does for short ribs.
Francesco Tonelli
“Jeolgi-jeolgi” (literally, “chewy-chewy”) is a prized texture in Korean barbecue. As it turns out, using your teeth to tear into a piece of meat feels really good.
Linda Xiao
For this basic bulgogi recipe, cutting the meat into very thin strips allows it to absorb the hot-sweet-salty marinade in minutes, not hours.
Gentl & Hyers
Sarah Flotard, food styling by Malina Lopez
Alex Lau
Alex Lau
Gentl & Hyers
Gentl & Hyers
Gentl & Hyers
Matt Duckor
Gentl & Hyers
Matt Duckor
Matt Duckor
Sarah Flotard
Gentl & Hyers
For these beans from NYC chef Takashi Inoue, feel free to swap the black pepper for other spices, such as cumin, or fresh chopped herbs.
Alex Lau
You’re gonna need some kimchi to go with the barbecue, and when they’re in season, ramps make a fine and funky pickle.
Danny Kim
Gentl & Hyers
This is where it all starts to come together. Ssam means “wrapped”—you’ll be using lettuce. Set out sturdy, palm-size leaves, like romaine or Bibb hearts, or perilla. Add some grilled protein, a dab of sauce, and the banchan you like; mix textures, flavors, and temperatures. Then fold and chomp. Just please, don’t overstuff: You’re crafting one perfect bite, not a burrito.
Gentl & Hyers
Gentl & Hyers
Edward Kim, of Mott St. in Chicago, delivers a final hit of seasoning with this condiment. Solar salt is coarse and crunchy and keeps its shape; Asian markets stock it, but kosher salt is fine, too.
Dominique LaFond
An anchovy fillet and some fish sauce mimic fermented kimchi’s slightly funky undertones, but they won’t hit you over the head with fishiness (we promise).
Gentl & Hyers
Chef Rachel Yang likes her rice “chopstick-ready”: sticky enough to hold together lightly, but with defined grains. To get that texture, rinse short-grain white rice (a.k.a. sushi rice) to remove some starch. And hold the salt! Rice should taste like rice. Our method requires no special equipment.
Alex Lau
The power trio of butter, kimchi, and gochujang produces an umami ballad so beautiful in this udon recipe, you’ll want to play it over and over again.
Christina Holmes
Rice should taste like rice—but there’s no reason you shouldn’t serve it with all the fixings and turn it into classic bibimbap.
Gentl & Hyers
Edward Kim’s vinegary buckwheat noodles will put out the fire in your belly and wake up your palate. Crushed ice cubes on top keeps it chilled no matter the heat index, and, as they melt, add to what Kim describes as the dish’s “slurp-ability.”
Photo by Laura Murray, styling by Judy Mancini
The ability to eat these noodles hot, cold, or room temp will make you rethink everything.
Kings of the Korean Pantry
Shop hmart.com for these Korean staple ingredients:
1. Toasted Sesame Oil: Rich, nutty, and a non-negotiable addition to dips and marinades.
2. Doenjang: A fermented soybean paste that is saltier, stinkier, and coarser than miso—not unlike a ripe blue cheese.
3. Gochujang: This fermented chile paste is key to Rachel Yang’s pork marinade and Edward Kim’s ssam sauce.
4. Gochugaru Powder: The source of kimchi’s fruity, earthy heat; also good for spicing up sauces.
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