korean lunch

For a while, I've been wanting to try out a Korean restaurant I heard of in the city, Koryo Kwan. I went in only with the recommendation of a couple of friends. Having tried Korean food before going to college, quite a few years back, I wasn't sure what to expect. Because I only sampled one of their dishes, I will not classify this post as a review of the restaurant, but rather a description of the experience.

The restaurant is located in the Carlton Tower Hotel, behind Rakan tower, next door to the building that holds my favourite thai restaurant. Through the antiquated lobby, you see the restaurant's frontage, a mostly wooden door with some characteristic Korean signage, only a glimpse of what's to come.

Walking in, I was greeted by a very friendly waiter and was asked to choose my seat. Only one other table was occupied, as they were about to close for their lunch break. For a moment, I truly felt like I was outside of Kuwait.

I looked through the menu and wasn't sure what to order. So I asked for a recommendation and went with the beef rib dish. Turns out it was a Korean-style barbecue meal, shown in the picture above. A bowl of seaweed and beef soup and rice were in front of me. On the left were the cold vegetables: seaweed, kimchi, potatoes with sesame, a crunchy root vegetable with similar spices to the kimchi, spinach and battered zucchini with pieces of chili; there was also a spicy dipping sauce. Then the rib meat was already cooked, smothered in a tasty garlic/ginger/sweet sauce with some sesame garnish - apparently this is served raw in many places and you control the cooking; it was served with romaine lettuce and a sauce that also tasted a bit like kimchi.

The portion I had could have probably fed two people, but I did my fair share of work and ate all the beef. I sampled everything else. Interesting that this may be where the low-carb, lettuce-wrapped fad emerged from.

Would I try this place again? Yes. There is another Korean restaurant in Kuwait that I will also try at the New Park Hotel in Maidan Hawalli.

vegan udon

It may be due to the weather, but I've been craving udon lately. However, not since my visit to Japan a couple of years ago have I had a worthy udon soup. There it was duck and green onion udon with the typical dashi (broth), and I had it several times. With my selection of ingredients, I wouldn't even try to recreate it. But, I did try a vegan udon soup today that turned out brilliantly.

Sultan centre has some of the ingredients that are key to making this dish work, including the noodles and miso paste. I got dried shitake mushrooms, sold as dried black chinese mushrooms, in a shop in the city.

First the broth. I covered the dried mushrooms with boiling water. I wanted to extract as much of the flavour as possible. It resulted in a beautifully golden broth that had such a nice aroma. Strained through a fine sieve and kept it on the side. In one pan, i boiled the noodles for 6 or 7 minutes until they were still a little al dente. In another, i sauteed some garlic and ginger in some sesame oil. Then added the vegetables (eggplant, fresh mushrooms, the rehydrated mushrooms, sweet red pepper, then the broth, about a tablespoon of miso paste, soy sauce and let it cook until the vegetables were almost done. Then I added some tofu and cooked for a couple of minutes more. To serve, I put some noodles in a bowl, poured over some broth and vegetables, then what you see above is what I got.

It was really enjoyable and a soup I'm sure I'll make again and again. If I could find some kombu (kelp) to give some extra aroma to the stock, I think that would perfect this dish.

artichoke and eggs

Artichokes are great. I like them in all kinds of ways. Simply steamed, with each nice fat leaf plucked and dipped into melted butter with garlic. Or, surprisingly, raw in a salad with some nice raw mushrooms, rocket leaves and shreds of parmesan (as done by Pasta e mani in Rome). Or used as a vegetable along with others in a nice pasta sauce.

Or as I had it on one of my first vegan "cheat" days... a Southern US classic, eggs sardou. Artichoke heart, sauteed spinach, poached egg and hollandaise sauce. With my spicy potato hashbrowns on the side. So satisfying, a perfect balance of tastes. Although, I think the best thing that goes with poached eggs and hollandaise is nicely toasted brown bread. So perhaps I need to put in a thin layer of carbs in there somewhere. Always good to have something soak up the tasty juices that come out of such a dish.

Foodie Family

I must promote my sister's blog http://jaijy.wordpress.com/
In it you'll find the adventures of taste, both culinary and visual.

I also have to promote my other sister's blog http://novemberblogs.wordpress.com/
It showcases all that's up and coming in the world of november - from the bakery to events, gifts and more.

Enjoy

Vegan apologies

Hi.
I have not been the most active blogger for the last few months. I started the blog as an experiment and have been thinking of ideas on how to make it more effective. Look out for a restaurant review soon of a place I've heard much about and am eager to try.
The last few months have been a culinary experiment for myself. I've been mostly vegan. Judging by the content of this blog I know that it's not expected, but it's been a good change for myself. Along with a lot more exercise, I'm feeling much better. I've reached a point, though, that maintains a mostly vegan diet, with the exception of when I feel like having something else. Like a piece of cheese or a nice juicy steak. At the end of the day, I'm listening to my body. I've honestly been afraid of disappointing you, my fellow readers, with food that you may typify as boring. I have to disclaim right now that my vegan trials have had no political background and are simply for the sake of making myself feel better. And it has, for the most part, worked... with the exception being when I feel like something else. But in truth, I can't consume the same quantities of non-vegetables as before.
What it has done, however, is forced me only to eat food of the quality that I envisage. And it's made me try even harder to perfect the techniques for cooking some of the basics. The other day I felt like having a steak. I was in fact craving it. I cooked it sous-vide, where it is cooked in a vacuum-packed pouch in a water bath at the temperature I wanted the steak cooked to. It was just cooked less than medium, the flesh was beautifully red and some of the marbling remained. But i wasn't completely satisfied. That steak should have been medium rare, cooked at around 130 F, instead of the 135-140 that I had cooked mine. I've become more picky.
And for that I'm really happy. I've stopped 95% of processed foods, i can't help but use condiments, soy sauce, (organic) ketchup... it's been much better.
So in the spirit of all things good, I will relaunch my blog with full interest of developing what I consider good food.

durian fruit

I stumbled upon this one by accident today. I was going to eat futoor at a restaurant i've already reviewed and on the way, in the building, a smell emerged. A friend asked if it was a gas leak. I imagined rotten residue on plastic bags. Maybe pest control chemicals? I asked the waitress what the smell was and she whispered to me, "durian."

The durian fruit is something i've heard about several times from people who've tried it, who always say that it tastes better than it smells, and from some tv shows and other media. I knew that it smelled bad and it was banned from a few places, but nothing prepared me for the smell. As the food got to the table, either I got used to the smell or the smell of wading, but it really didn't bother me so much. But then the smell emerged again after the meal - i think the table of 18 were eating durian for dessert. Appetizer and dessert, same smelly dish.

"The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust and has been described variously as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine and gym socks. The odour has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in southeast Asia." [Wikipedia]

meatballs and spaghetti

This has to be one of the great American classics, Italian spaghetti and meatballs. It's really not that hard to do. And it's a great staple for a ramadan dinner, or any other meal. The meatballs have bread crumbs, meat, egg, parmesan cheese and are cooked in a homemade tomato sauce. Like any good italian sauce, it doesn't have to be too saucy. But the right amount of olive oil, along with the evaporated juice of the tomatoes, coat the pasta just right and leave almost nothing on the plate.