My friend J from the Culinary Linguist took me to Daerim on an eating tour with a group of friends. Daerim is Seoul's Chinatown . What followed was a culinary experience so delicious I am afraid to mention it for fear that I will ruin it. But it was good and I want people to have some of a good thing. It was absolutely amazing.
Before going I knew that the ethics of the food production was questionable. However, I knew that in order to have an authentic experience, I would have to put those issues aside and feel good that at least I was supporting small businesses making something really good. This area didn't have your typical Chinese restaurant but places that catered to the taste of the people born in China. There would be no Sticky Sweet Fried Chicken with Pineapple Chunks in this.
I met up with the group later than the start time so I could buy spices for fermentation trailabration. I was a little worried I would miss the lamb experience.
J said when I arrived, "We saved the lamb restaurant until you arrived."
A really gleeful yes I exclaimed. I love the taste of lamb.
We walked to what I thought was a lamb restaurant but what I would later find out is a chaum restaurant for meat on a skewer one of which is lamb but also could be beef tendon, chicken gizzards or other tasty part. The character chaum 串 which I think is perfect when you have a character for skewered meet that looks like skewered meat.
When I approached the restaurant I noticed the grill was outside- a perfect way to keep your grilling simple. We ordered a kind of Dium Sum but not appropriate for the dish and the lamb. Both were good. I would like the lamb again- and actually to say it was good misses the point that I was swearing frequently with delight at the food. It looked like this.
But what really blew my mind was the appetizer that came to the table. And that appetizer was century eggs with some fresh tofu, spring onions, and some black vinegar. It was kind of like this but with a way better presentation. Why such simple elements is hard to explain until you try the dish. It would be like trying to explain to someone who hasn't tasted cheese why such a thing as this is delicious. Also, this dish might not be for everyone. Century eggs are eggs fermented for 1 month in a crust that protects from rotting. What remains when fermentation is finished is a blue transluscuent outside and I geological color spectrum on the inside. I can't describe why it was so delicious. It's has an intense egg flavor. It feels so smooth. This eggs were duck eggs and being a fan of duck I am not surprised it was delicious.
Why hadn't I eaten this so much before? Then I thoughabout it. Like many things lost in translation to American culture century eggs were a too foreign while pork and tofy dishes made it onto the Western Chinese food menu. However, many people in China eat century eggs almost everyday. My own special world was turned upside down. Of all the fermented food I've tasted this was the mountain top.
This is strange for my friend J who ate century eggs in her rice porridge growing up in America. For many children of immigrants its quite common to eat food different from mainstream America. And this food is really damn good.
From my evening I was thinking about how awesome this was and then I wondered: What is wrong with people who settle for McDonalds or Kimchi Chungook or the chains? Or never learned how to cook? Or don't know where there food comes from? Or don't support people that cooked the food that I just ate that did something really good and didn't make it for mainstream appeal. But I know the answers to these question and the trend towards homogenization is a trait it seems. Where the really good thing is hard to find. And where the boring choice easier than the exciting one.
After that experience, I've been dreaming about eating it again. It's what I want to eat and I want to eat it very badly. However, I know it will never be as good as the first time. But that's okay. I have experienced something unique and delicious.
Schlosser, Eric (2001). Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of All-American Meal. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-97789-4
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