"Asian Dining Rules" -- Fat Guy's new book

[SheenaGreena]

And let's not forget potato salad! 

Actually, one of my favorites is something that seems like it's made with raw or partially cooked potato shreds.

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thats stir fried julienned potato with minimal seasoning, salt, oil, and sesame seeds.

sorry for all the posts, I want to make sure the fat guy gets all of his info right!

[Fat Guy]

And let's not forget potato salad! 

Actually, one of my favorites is something that seems like it's made with raw or partially cooked potato shreds.

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thats stir fried julienned potato with minimal seasoning, salt, oil, and sesame seeds.

sorry for all the posts, I want to make sure the fat guy gets all of his info right!

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Is that somehow different from the gamja jorim that's on my list?

[SheenaGreena]

gamja jorim = "potao braised"

they are just potatos that are braised in soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, etc

potato salad in korean is: potato sa la du

[Fat Guy]

Like, check out the photo in the center of this page. That's what we're all talking about, isn't it?

[Fat Guy]

I can't believe how much misinformation I've been given by Korean waiters over the years!

[SheenaGreena]

no, thats just potato salad...the western version

if you look at the caption it says gamja salad, which is translated as potato salad

here's gamja jorim (I don't know why they didn't label it that way)top right

[Fat Guy]

Okay, I've got my potatoes straight now. Phew.

[SheenaGreena]

any more questions?

this thread makes me hungry....all this talk about potatos and kimchi

[Fat Guy]

How does doo-boo chorim get its golden color? Is it deep fried?

Sheena, while you're over on that cool page of photos, do you see any other core panchan items to add to the list? By core I mean frequently appearing in Korean restaurant panchan selections in North America.

[SheenaGreena]

that pan fried tofu isn't deep fried, it's pan fried in oil.

Have you ever made it? when I fry it in a little bit of oil, it always gets golden on the outside. Its also eaten at room temp for some reason. I don't think I've ever had hot panchan now that I come to think of it

that webpage isn't the greatest guide. Some of the translations are misleading..but the pictures are nice.

I don't know if I'd consider japchae to be a side dish? I always ate it as a main growing up (and I don't like it very much). Jang jo rim is popular in my house, but I never see it at restaurants

myeol chi bokkeum - very popular at korean restaurants

oh and gochu with gochujang and dwaengjang is usually served. you dip the gochu (chile) in the gochujang or dwaengjang

kkaenip chorim is also popular

[Peter Green]

What's galbi jim doing on the panchan list?

And I don't see meruchi, those little fishies.

And there's no roasted gim (nori)

[SheenaGreena]

What's galbi jim doing on the panchan list? 

And I don't see meruchi, those little fishies.

And there's no roasted gim (nori)

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that webpage isn't very good.

notice the translation for pa jeon? pork meatball? I don't think so

[Peter Green]

Now I'm getting hungry.

[Peter Green]

I like it when they put out the blanched spring onions that they've tied in a knot. Dip those in the sauce.......I wonder if it's too late to make Yoonhi prep some?

[anpanman]

What about the egg custard in the casserole? It usually comes to the table mid-meal, mostly unexpected on my part, but I do love it.

[SheenaGreena]

or ice cold cucumber spears dipped in chogochujang?

tell yoonhi I'll be over and to put the rice on

[Peter Green]

What's galbi jim doing on the panchan list? 

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Okay, Yoonhi had some words to say to me when I woke her up to make panchan.

Panchan is anything served with rice. But namool is specifically about prepared vegetables.

Chigges and soups are not panchan, and neither are Chinese-style noodles, but chapche caused her to furrow her brows in consternation for a second (and stop hitting me) and she said it could be panchan.

And then there's anju, which is anything served with alcohol. And things can be both panchan and anju, depending on which they're served with.

I could ask her what happens when you have rice and alcohol together, but this could lead to more violence at this hour of the night.

[SheenaGreena]

I forgot doktorimuk muchim -yummy seasoned acorn jelly

brown or white?

for anju, I like dried squid, dried cuttlefish, or dried fish (don't know the name) with lots of peanuts and sliced fruit

[Fat Guy]

Okay, this is where I'm at with the panchan guide. I'm doing about a dozen mini-guides like this throughout the book, for everything from sushi to dim sum. The idea isn't to be comprehensive/encyclopedic. It's to give the consumer, in a casual format, the basic information needed to navigate a given aspect of a cuisine. How am I doing at striking that balance?

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PANCHAN GUIDE

The thing I enjoy most about dining at Korean restaurants is the selection of “panchan.” At the typical Korean restaurant in North America, you’ll automatically be served several of these small side dishes as appetizers. Their interesting flavors and textures build anticipation for the meal, and they’re free!

The first time you see an array of panchan, it’s likely to be an overwhelming cognitive experience – like trying to read a foreign alphabet without a Rosetta Stone or any kind of guide. Over time, however, as you learn the names and flavors of the dishes, you’ll slowly become fluent in panchan. If you don’t know what something is, ask your server for both the Korean word and a description of the ingredients (then go home and look it up online for confirmation and suggested spelling). Eventually, when the little dishes of panchan hit the table, you’ll be able to rattle them off like a pro.

The following are some of the panchan items you’re most likely to see on the table, though there are hundreds of other possibilities. All these panchan selections are likely to be served at room temperature, even the fried ones.

Hint: if you finish a given panchan item, you can always ask for a refill – most such requests are happily accommodated. If you don’t know what it’s called, be sure to leave a tiny piece in the bowl so you can show your server: “More of this, please!”

Kimchi (sometimes written “kimchee”) – If there is a national dish of Korea, kimchi is it. If you just say “kimchi” you’ll be understood to mean spicy, fermented cabbage. However, there are a variety of other kimchi preparations, usually indicated by hyphenated descriptions. For example, manul kimchi is green onion (scallion) kimchi, oh-e kimchi is made with cucumbers, and kaktugi kimchi is made with radish cubes. There are many other kinds of kimchi, some of which are barely recognizable as such, but cabbage, scallion, cucumber and radish are the ones you’re most likely to see in a restaurant’s panchan assortment.

Odeng – A type of fish cake, usually served in long, thin slices. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of odeng, and I’ve found that most Americans (including a lot of Korean-Americans) aren’t either. Still, it’s worth a taste. It reminds me a little of the Jewish specialty of gefilte fish, which I don’t love either.

K'ong namul – Seasoned bean sprouts.

Shigeumchi – Seasoned spinach.

Doo-boo chorim – Seasoned fried tofu.

Yeunkeun jorim – Seasoned lotus root. Lotus root is easy to recognize: it’s served as thin round slices with almost a wagon-wheel pattern of holes in them.

Hobak jeon – Seasoned fried zucchini.

Gamja jorim – Tiny potatoes simmered with sweetened soy sauce.

Gamja saladu – Korea’s answer to potato salad, usually made with long thin shreds of potato.

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[SheenaGreena]

i'm pretty sure korean potato salad is usually made with cubed potato like in its western counterpart.

Maybe you should mention that panchan isn't an appetizer and you should eat it with your rice and main dishes when they arrive? A lot of people make the mistake of eating all their panchan before the main.

other than that, looks good

should've added that manul means garlic in korean, NOT green onion (that's called pa)

Edited June 25, 2007 by SheenaGreena (log)

[SheenaGreena]

actually I lied, potato salad is also served kinda mashed up (like mashed potatoes) or it can be cubed up. I would just say that it's just potatos with lots of mayo and some seasoning and tastes like a bad version of american potato salad

give a korean a potato, apple, an ear of corn, and some mayo and he/she will make potato salad with that and nothing else. ew

[slkinsey]

Yea. That, to me, is one of the funny things about panchan. You get all these interesting non-American things, but then you're likely to get cubed potatoes with peas, corn and mayonnaise that would be right at home at an Asheville church picnic, or maybe salad greens dressed with the ubiquitous balsamic vinaigrette.

Edited June 25, 2007 by slkinsey (log)

[Pan]

There's also that sliced salted fish in a sauce with tomatoes in it (I think?) that comes with watercress. That's one I've had at Han Bat and some other places in Koreatown in Manhattan

tomatoes aren't traditionally used in korean cooking. If you were to give a tomato to my grandmother, she would sprinkle sugar on it and eat it like an apple

maybe the tomatos were chilis? salted fish with watercress sounds like it would be in a soup to me, cause watercress and fish are traditionally served in hotpots/stews.

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Not a soup, a cold banchan.

[Fat Guy]

Maybe you should mention that panchan isn't an appetizer and you should eat it with your rice and main dishes when they arrive?  A lot of people make the mistake of eating all their panchan before the main.

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I've read this, but there are a few issues: 1- If you're supposed to eat it with your rice, why do they serve the panchan long before they serve any rice? 2- I see everybody -- even tables that are populated entirely by Korean-speaking Koreans -- diving into the panchan before the rice arrives. And 3- You can always ask for more!

[SheenaGreena]

good point about them serving it before the rice comes. They do the same thing in korea by the way...and I guess it's okay to pick at the non salty items, but the ones that are really salty should be eaten with rice.

I'm one of those people who dive into the banchan before the rice comes....but I only eat a little bit becaue it tastes so delicious

michael, I think I know the fish dish that you ate, but I don't know what it's called. I think the fish is usually croaker and it's sliced in chunks with the bone still iinside the fish?