Home Cooking: Dak Kalguksu

 This boiling hot noodle soup is a popular summertime dish in Korea. Kalguksu literally means “knife noodles”, but it actually refers to a steaming hot noodle soup that’s traditionally made with handmade, knife-cut noodles. There are many variations using different ingredients for the soup base or for the dough. Dak (chicken) kalguksu is made with a rich chicken broth, and shredded chicken meat. For convenience, you can use commercially packaged fresh kalguksu noodles available in the refrigerat

July 24, 2015

Around the Hotels

Taste of Thailand at Sheraton D Cube City  Sheraton D Cube City Hotel is presenting authentic Thai dishes for its “Thai@Feast” promotion from Aug.7-27 at the hotel’s signature restaurant Feast on the 41st floor. The menu will be prepared by guest chefs from Thailand’s Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit in Bangkok. The chefs will present an assortment of Thai dishes including the Kaho Samunprai Nai Kratong Tong, or organic crispy rice, and Kanom Pang Na Goog, a deep-fried shrimp toast with sweet plum sauc

July 24, 2015

Peruvian cuisine draws connoisseurs at Hyatt

Peruvian cuisine, famous for its diversity and creativity, has come to the fore of international attention in recent years, abetted by experimental efforts and proactive promotion. Eight Peruvian restaurants were listed last year in a list of Latin America’s 50 best restaurants sponsored by mineral water brand Acqua Panna S. Pellegrino, and two were included in its list of the top 50 in the world. Peru’s disparate ecosystem, biodiversity and climate from the Pacific Ocean, Lake Titicaca, Andes M

July 22, 2015

Bona fide Southern-style barbecue at Manimal Smokehouse

Before noon, on a blistering summer weekday, Manimal Smokehouse co-owner Jeff Kang is seven hours deep into smoking cured hunks of beef and pork into juicy goodness. The scent of burning oak travels all the way down the steep metal staircase leading up to this four-man barbecue project, a 30-seat restaurant located in Itaewon that was almost a year in-the-making.Manimal opened its doors near Noksapyeong Station this April and ever since then Kang has been busy barbecuing from around 11 p.m. to 2

July 17, 2015

Superfoods that help you stay slim

Your workout plan for a perfect beach body for this summer is a half success without a healthy meal plan. Even if you stick to a strict exercise schedule, what you eat after the workout hours will determine the result you want to achieve. When you try to cut down calories to lose weight, eating food that is filling yet low in calories can help you achieve your diet goal faster. Office worker Park Il-gyu, 31, proved he could lose the weight by just eating healthy. Feeling heavy and tired from the

July 15, 2015

[Herald Interview] Baek Jong-won, the anti-celebrity chef

Amid the throng of cooking reality shows that pervade Korean television today, one person making big waves in viewers’ kitchens is restaurateur Baek Jong-won.Baek, who appears on such shows as “House Cook Master Baek” and “My Little Television,” is neither a highly trained chef nor a commanding kitchen presence. While most TV chefs dazzle viewers with luxurious Western recipes and impeccable plating, Baek has been preaching the charms of Korean home staples like doenjang (fermented soy bean past

July 12, 2015

Around the Hotels

Pizza festival at JW Marriott Hotel SeoulOlivo, JW Marriott Hotel Seoul’s Italian restaurant, is presenting a summer pizza festival until July 31. The menu will feature 12 pizzas, including the fiorentina, topped with spinach and egg; the capesanta, with sliced fried scallop, basil and mozzarella cheese; the tonno, with tuna slow-cooked in herb marinade, spicy horseradish, red onions and capers; the insalata, with endive, fennel, mango, cherry tomatoes and feta cheese; the aragosta, with lobster

July 10, 2015

Spicy marinated chicken

Spicy marinated chicken (Korean Babsang)This spicy marinated chicken dish is another great option for your Korean barbecue this summer. Dark meat stands up better to the bold marinade in this recipe. Boneless thigh meat is my favorite part of the chicken for grilling. Its open, flat surface works well for marinating and grilling. Deboned drumstick meat will be excellent for this recipe as well. Keeping the skin or not is a matter of personal preference.As a sweetener for the marinade, I used a K

July 10, 2015

Award-winning U.S. video series spotlights ‘hansik’

Every year for the past decade, the Culinary Institute of America -- one of the U.S.’ most prominent professional cooking schools -- releases a video series that teaches chefs, food experts and other industry insiders about a region’s cuisine.The program, called “Savoring the Best of World Flavors,” has already earned its street cred in the foodie stratosphere, nabbing not one but two James Beard Awards for its coverage of India, Spain, Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam and Sicily.Now, the institute has

July 5, 2015

Around the Hotels

Summer bargains at Lotte Hotel BusanLotte Hotel Busan is offering a series of bargain summer promotions from July 1-Aug. 31. The “Summer” package, which is limited to 10 rooms per day, allows visitors to stay in the deluxe room for the affordable price of 160,000 won a night. The “Cool” package, priced at 180,000 won, includes one night in the deluxe room plus an ice tumbler and one glass of ice coffee. The “Cool Beach” package, priced at 220,000 won, includes one night in a deluxe room, breakfa

July 3, 2015

Elegant French sweets at Maison M’O

Maison M’O opened in Seoul’s Bangbae-dong in March. (Chung Hee-cho/The Korea Herald)In a quiet, unassuming corner of Seoul’s residential Bangbae-dong, pastry chefs Tetsuya Otsuka and Lee Min-sun craft elegant French pastries with a subtle modern twist at Maison M’O.Madeleines are coated in a citrusy lemon glaze, arranged, plump and inviting in their baking trays for passersby to stop by and pop into their eager mouths, while chaussons shed their more conventional apple filling for tart apricots

July 3, 2015

How to decipher a wine label

A wine label is more than a pretty marketing device. Most of the information printed there is highly regulated and can tell you a lot about what to expect. (Handout/TNS)Trumping whatever aesthetic value a wine label may have, its main function is to impart legal information to the consumer. As such, the bottler, winery or winemaker, as well as the legal authority in the country where the wine is sold, have an interest in shaping that information. For their part, the people who put the wine in th

July 1, 2015

[Weekender] Chef helped turn quiet street into dining mecca

Just a short stroll away from the bustling multicultural neighborhood of Seoul’s Itaewon lies the lesser-known, yet trend-setting street of Gyeongnidan-gil.A short walk from Noksapyeong Station, this stretch of road is filled with craft breweries, terrace cafes, unique restaurants and quaint shops steeped in culture and creativity. Located two blocks away from the main streets of this up-and-coming neighborhood is a narrow alley, nestled away in a residential district that is even further off th

June 26, 2015

Tteokgalbi (short rib patties)

These fancy beef patties are called tteokgalbi, literally translated to rice cake ribs. But don’t expect any rice cakes in the dish. The name comes from the way the minced meat is kneaded and shaped as rice cakes are made in Korea. Tteokgalbi is made with beef short rib meat. The meat is separated from the bones, finely minced and then marinated. The marinated meat can be attached back to the rib bones before being cooked. Here, I simply shaped them like burger patties. Beef short ribs are an ex

June 26, 2015

Hungarian winemaking blends traditions

　If one good thing came from the years of communist control in Hungary, it was to hew Hungarian winemaking to its traditions.　　For the most part, Hungary’s wine is still made as it has long been made, by small vineyard owners and wineries and down-to-earth, everyday folk. Fertilizer use is infrequent; sustainable farming practices are common.　　This somewhat bucolic image belies Hungary’s past as a winemaking country. From the 17th to the early 20th century, Hungary had the third-most sophisticat

June 26, 2015

Healthy recipes from top chefs

With South Korea’s well-being trend showing no signs of abating, health-conscious dishes are an increasing fixture on the menus of many restaurants and cafes throughout Seoul. It is with such dishes that chefs demonstrate their flair for using wholesome ingredients to create palate-pleasing fare and drinks that keep one coming back for more. Now, three prominent chefs are making it possible to recreate healthy favorites at home by sharing their recipes.Haap’s baesukEver since Haap owner-chef Sin

June 19, 2015

Private raw food chef lends expertise for next line of Organica products

Christine Cho, a plant-based private chef based in New York City and one of the flavor masterminds behind Organica’s “Just Juice Cleanse” detox juice line, has returned to Korea to once again join hands with Organica in extending her healthy eating expertise for the next line of products from the premium organic whole foods company. With the global trend of heart-smart eating and the ever increasing demand for natural and organic foods, Organica’s non-processed foods and raw juices are looking t

June 14, 2015

[Herald Interview] Veteran chef Butz on mission to ‘wow’ guests

Bernhard Butz, the culinary director at the Millennium Seoul Hilton, appears to be a tired and stressed chef at first glance.But it’s only natural that he looks that way after hearing his story and understanding what kind of responsibilities he has for the hotel.He manages five specialty restaurants, a bar and a deli, in addition to making sure breakfast, lunch and dinner are served properly to the highest standards.  Pastries called “Namssants” designed and made by Bernhard ButzAnd that’s not a

June 12, 2015

Gamjajeon (potato pancakes)

Gamjajeon is a variety of Korean savory pancake made with grated or ground potatoes. It’s a humble dish that can simply be made with potatoes. But, a little bit of onion helps prevent discoloring of the potatoes without overpowering their flavor. This is a basic recipe, but you can add other vegetables such as garlic chives (buchu), chili peppers, and/or perilla leaves (kkaennip) if you like.You can grate the potatoes or grind them in a blender or a food processor. I like to grate them on a grat

June 12, 2015

[Weekender] Soft or crusty ― bread that Koreans fall for

A hot, steamy bowl of rice was long considered an irreplaceable staple in Korean breakfast. “You manage a day with the power of rice,” Korean moms would tell their kids, encouraging them to finish their meal. This centuries-old, typical morning scene is changing rapidly now. Bread, which arrived in Korea through Japan only in the 19th century, is fast emerging as a tasty and convenient alternative to rice. At a Seoul branch of French bakery Gontran Cherrier, croissants and champagne with walnuts

June 5, 2015