During my visit to the late, great Namu in San Francisco’s Inner Richmond, an item on the dessert menu caught my attention: Yuzu French Toast. Who eats French toast for dessert? I will if it has yuja (Korean citron, called yuzu in Japanese) and bae (Korean pear) in it. The dish is a slice of yuzu/yuja-spiked…
Are latkes Korean?
On Dec. 3, 2010, Robert Aiudi asked himself, “Hannukah’s Potato Pancakes are also Korean?” Yep, here’s the proof: My “Korean latkes” video, originally posted on YouTube on Dec. 21, 2008.
Smokers, drink your Yakult!
A recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition has found that daily supplements of the probiotic Lactobacillus casei shirota, which is a proprietary strain used in Yakult, a Japanese yogurt drink, popular in Korea and throughout Asia, may boost activity of key immune cells in smokers. On a side note, it also showed…
Recipe: Korean-style spicy walnuts
This recipe taught me the real trick to flavoring nuts without grease: coat the nuts with egg while before coating them with the seasoning. The resulting nuts might not look as pretty as spiced nuts made with a coating of oil but they aren’t as messy, especially on your guest’s fingers. “God gives the nuts,…
S.F.’s Namu continues street eats as first restaurant closes, second to open
Namu, a San Francisco restaurant with a Korean spin on California cuisine, will continue to serve its version of Korean tacos as well as its popular 감자 gamja fries from street venues after the initial restaurant closes later this month and as a different-format location is set to open elsewhere in the city early next year….
Secret Recipe Club: Korean Shingo Pear Butter
This month’s Secret Recipe Club assignment for reproducing a food blog’s recipe came from Angela’s Kitchen. The recipes there are neatly organized so those with food allergies can avoid whatever will ail them. All her recipes are free of gluten, wheat and dairy products. What caught my eye was her recipe for pear butter. Making it…
Guest Post: Free Meal Planner & the Kimchi Burrito
Carolyn K. is a freelance writer from Austin, TX and began cooking with different Asian cuisines after she studied abroad in Singapore a couple years ago. She said, “I love how all the cultures there have blended, and I had some pretty interesting and wonderful food because of that blending. I have been doing some…
No more Cafe Gratitude kimchi or vegan bibimbap
Restaurant chain Cafe Gratitude, which focuses on raw vegan food, plans to close not only all seven Northern California locations but also its wholesale department, whose product line includes kimchi. Cafe Gratitude’s I Am Alive kimchi makes a very good topping on your favorite burger. Cafe Gratitude on Nov. 29 announced on its Facebook page it will close all…
Recipe: Korean fish tacos
The modern fish taco was born in Baja California, although different kinds of fish tacos have been part of that Mexican state’s cuisine for centuries. I made a Korean fish taco with 된장 doenjang-glazed cod, Korean pear salsa and coleslaw (shredded cabbage or lettuce would work). Savory Doenjang and sweet, crunchy Korean pears add texture to these…
Is American soju ‘watered down’?
Twitter makes it so much easier to “eavesdrop” on conversations of random strangers, which I do via a list of search terms related to Korean cuisine. For every person who asks a question, many others have the same one bouncing around their minds. Even random comments that don’t ask a question, but should ask a…