djchuang.com - Latest Comments in mainstreaming of Korean food

Re: mainstreaming of Korean food

John Lee — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:05:27 -0000

Haha, yeah, it's rather hard to get Korean "mainstream." I've seen places like these in some spots (in Toronto and Hawaii and other similarly diverse areas), but of course California would really be the place to launch. I agree with Joseon that it's hard to introduce Korean food to virgins... primarily because Korean food is like 95% soups and side dishes... Korean BBQ is really only a tiny percentage of the whole - but it's really the only Western-friendly, too.

Re: mainstreaming of Korean food

Joseon — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:14:37 -0000

It's interesting to read your thoughts on Korean food. I think most Korean food is really difficult to mainstream. When eating out w. non-Koreans I have no problem introducing the more standard dishes like the BBQ meats and Bi-Bim-Bop, but am somewhat reluctant to order for them some of my favorites like nakji bokum (spicy stir-fried octupus w/vegetables) and dwenjang chigae (bean paste soup w/tofu, clams, mussels, and vegetables). I think the latter dishes may be a little too different for some palates.

Here's a cool website that explains a little more on other dishes:

http://www.trifood.com/nakj...

Re: mainstreaming of Korean food

Noel — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:56:05 -0000

My wife and I have always talked about how cool it would be to have Korean food in the food court at the mall. We experienced it once in Hawaii and it was awesome.