FatManSeoul

Japanese* donut chain Mister Donut has been opening up chains across Seoul, giving some competition to the mostly American-founded chains like Dunkin’ Donuts*and Krispy Kreme, along with the offerings of local bakeries and chains like Paris Baguette and Tous les Jours.  They pride themselves on having donuts that suit local Asian tastes, including their new offerings of tofu and sweet potato donuts.

The sweet potato donuts are all old-fashioneds, including sesame-dipped, sugar-dusted, green tea and chocolate enhanced versions. With a very dense crumb and a definite sweet potato taste, they provide a new urban take on the old sweet potato street snacking. These are some heavy eats, with a stick to the ribs quality you won’t find in the typical donut, right down to chunks of real sweet potato in the batter. One of these is practically a meal in and of itself, so don’t snack on this one just before dinner unless you have an appetite of prodigious proportions . . . Read the rest of this entry »

From business journalist Daniel Gross in today’s Slate Magazine:  Do Starbucks spell financial doom?  Gross connects the density of Starbucks in a country’s financial capital with the catastrophic financial losses of the past few weeks.

My tentative theory: Having a significant Starbucks presence is a pretty significant indicator of the degree of connectedness to the form of highly caffeinated, free-spending capitalism that got us into this mess. It’s also a sign of a culture’s willingness to abandon traditional norms and ways of doing business (virtually all the countries in which Starbucks has established beachheads have their own venerable coffee-house traditions) in favor of fast-moving American ones. The fact that the company or its local licensee felt there was room for dozens of outlets where consumers would pony up lots of euros, liras, and rials for expensive drinks is also a pretty good indicator that excessive financial optimism had entered the bloodstream.

If this is true, Seoul is in for some bad times; there’s a whopping 172 locations here, with nearly another hundred throughtout the rest of the country.  Better downgrade to a grande.

Say it ain’t so!  From Naver (한국어 링크) and Korea Beat (영어링크):

image courtesy Naver

7 brands of hard tack manufactured in China contain, what else?: Melamine.  While the amount contained therin is not enough to make an adult sick, you probably shouldn’t go around chowing down on it.  Fatman has already talked about hardtack’s unique history here.  We’ve also got a running tally of foods in Korea known to have been contaminated here and here.

This past weekend was a gathering of some of the best and most famous brewers of traditional Korean alcohols at Namsan Hanok Village. The weekend featured taste testings, demonstrations, and a chance to mingle in the beautiful outdoors. There were opportunities to see and share in making dongdongju, appreciate some beautiful ceramics, and even watch them distill Jindo Hongju the old-fashioned way. Here are some of the highlights of the weekend:

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On October 25 at 3pm, conceptual artist, Elaine Tin Nyo will present “Kimchi, Jeotgal, Makgeolli: a fermentation seminar.”  The seminar panel will consist of Korean food experts who will discuss how the method of wild fermentation makes Korean food unique in the world.

Anyang chef, Jeong Hyo Jin will provide examples of kimchi, jeotgal and makgeolli for the panel to begin the discussion. Also on the panel are Korean food professional Kim Soo Jin; Korean alcohol authority Park Rock Dam; Sin Soo Ji, curator of Kimchi Field Museum; biologist, I Chang Hong; and and food-trend expert Kang Pae An.

Since the seminar will be taped, seating will be limited. Please call or email to attend.

Saturday, October 25, 3 pm
SAP Open Studios
Seoksu Market 286-15, Man-an-gu
Anyang
031-472-2886

There is a traditional Korean wine event today from noon to four pm at the Namsangol Hanok Village (Chungmuro Station, exits 3 and 4) where can meet and talk with a whole gaggle of traditional brewers, check out some beautiful ceramics and displays, watch demonstrations, and taste over thirty different kinds of traditional alcohols.

Figs are one of the great treats of fall. These inflorescence are actually not fruit at all, but collections of tiny inward-growing flowers that form the “fruit”.  This shows up oddly in the etymology of the Korean name: 무화과 means “no flower fruit”. There are flowers that contain fruit, but we can’t see them until we cut inside. They’ve been cultivated in Korea for centuries, but since they spoil quickly the season of eating is short. While they’re fabulous fresh with a bit of strong cheese, sliced into a salad, mixed with yogurt or just eaten out of hand, Fatman has a new recipe in store for ya’ll.

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New York based conceptual artist Elaine Tin Nyo will be having a seminar on Korean fermented foods at 3pm Saturday, October 25th at the Seoksu Artist Project studio in Anyang. Lead by fermented skate expert chef Jeong Hyo-jin, this tasting is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the process of making traditional fermented foods in Korea and to explore their role and relation to Korean culture. The lecture will be in Korean, with English-speakers available to help interpret.

Kimchi Summit Invite

Elaine Tin Nyo is also the editor in chief, photographer, and conceptual artist behind Touch and Taste: A Hungry Cook’s Field Guide, the ultimate visual field guide to Korean foods. Fatman is pleased to be a contributor to this collaborative art project!

For those of you looking to broaden your cultural horizons, Fatman suggests the following delicious opportunity (one of the Seoksu artists, Elaine Tin Nyo, is working on a project on Korean fermented food and drink, hence Fatman’s steak in the matter.) Should prove interesting and tasty:

Invitation

2008 Seoksu Art Project (SAP) cordially invites you to the opening reception of SAP OPEN STUDIO and an OPEN FESTIVAL on October 17th, 2008.

SAP Open Studio and Open Festival is the conclusion of a three-month art residency in the vacant storefronts of Seoksu Market in Anyang. Please join us in visiting the studios of SAP’s international and Korean artists for 2008, and attending the Open Festival workshops about Anyang.

Yong-Ik Kim, Head of SAP Organizing Committee

Chan-Eung Park, Director of SAP Executive Committee

2008 SAP Seoksu Art Project Open Festival + Open Studio

10/17(F), 10/18(S), 10/19(S)

10/24(F), 10/25(S), 10/26(S)

SAP studios, Stone & Water, Man-an Bridge, near Anyang River

Opening Date / October 17^th, 2008 Friday 3pm

Opening Location / SAP studios in Stone & Water, Anyang

Schedule / 3-5pm opening ceremony + studio tour

5-7pm Walking on Man-an Bridge ceremony

Oftentimes you’ll see bulgogi, galbi, and samgyeopsal translated as “Korean Barbecue.”

Fatman hates this translation. While the use of the term varies slightly worldwide, in its home country, America, barbecue has a very specific meaning. Barbecue is a method of cooking using indirect heat. Whether the heat source is burning charcoal, wood, or a gas flame, the meat is cooked slowly and not on top of the flame.

The problem is that lots of people associate “barbecue” with another kind of cooking: grilling. Grilling is a fast cooking method where foods are placed on a grill directly on top of a flame.

So, for the record:

• barbecue = slow cooking time, indirect heat

• grilling = fast cooking time, direct heat

Some confusion is probably because of the American tradition of barbecue parties. While these parties often have traditional barbecue, other foods like hamburgers and hot dogs which are usually grilled are also served. The equipment used to make both outdoor grilled foods and barbecue is commonly called a “barbecue grill”. There’s also a broad variety of sauces called barbecue sauce, with its own controversies (Fatman is not yet ready to wade into the vinegar vs. mustard, dry rub vs. wet right now. Shudder!)

What is the advantage of barbecuing? Simple: cooking for a long time at low heat breaks down the collagen in meat, making cuts that are normally very tough and unappetizing into soft, tender morsels. It was a way to make even the worst, most jaw-numbing cuts delicious.

Fatman has seen some real barbecue in Korea - think of those lovely hogs roasted for hours on a spit. Mmmmm. But bulgogi and galbi are definitely not barbecue, no matter how they’re sauced.