WELCOME TO OUR KITCHEN: We're talking about Korean food!
Do you have a favorite Korean restaurant? Or a favorite dish? Or a favorite ingredient? We do! To all!
We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of thirty-six cookbooks, plus one forthcoming this summer: COLD CANNING. You can click that link to order your copy. Learn how to preserve the seasons in small batches without any pressure or steam canning.
We've also got a one-minute cooking tip about chopsticks. And we'll tell you what's making us what's happy in food this week: crab apple cider and a lemon tart.
Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:
[00:46] Our one-minute cooking tip: chopstick etiquette.
[04:11] What do two North American guys know about Korean food? We'll take you on our journey of discovery for Korean fare.
[30:33] What’s making us happy in food this week: crab apple cider and a lemon tart.
Transcript
Hey, I am Bruce Weinstein and this is the Podcast
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:Cooking with Bruce and Mark.
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:And I'm Mark Scarborough, and together
with Bruce, my husband, we have written
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:three dozen cookbooks plus a couple
knitting books plus a memoir for me.
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:We've written, I don't know, quite
a few books plus some work for
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:hire books for celebrities, which
we can't really talk about Dr.
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:Phil, but can't really
talk about too much.
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:But this is the podcast that explores
our food and cooking passion,
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:the main passions of our life.
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:We've got a one minute
cooking tip about Korean food.
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:We wanna explore our journey to
discover Korean food, to help you
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:perhaps find a discovery route to
Korean food, and we'll tell you what's
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:making us happy in food this week.
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:So let's get started.
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:Our one minute cooking tip
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:Bruce: here is some
chopstick etiquette fuel.
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:Oh wow.
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:You have to know this.
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:Mark: I got one already.
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:You gotta have to know this.
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:No, I'm going first, Wayne.
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:Alright.
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:You go first.
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:No, I'm saying it right up.
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:Do not ever let your
chopsticks touch the table.
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:Okay.
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:The tips of your chopsticks
that you use to pick up food
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:should never touch the table.
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:You should.
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:If it comes in a little paper wrapper,
fold that up to make a little stand for
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:your chopsticks or rest them on the bowl.
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:Do not let the part of the chopsticks
that touch food, touch the table.
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:It's
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:Bruce: a whole bunch of nevers.
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:Here's the thing about
chopstick etiquette.
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:Mark says, never touch the table.
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:Never.
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:Pick up food off the main
platter with your chopsticks.
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:Eat it.
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:No.
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:Nope.
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:No.
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:Use a serving spoon to get it or
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:Mark: serving chopsticks
to get it to your plate.
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:If you go to a really fancy
place, or perhaps someone's home,
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:they may have serving chopstick,
these giant, giant chopsticks.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:They're used to, they're
used in a wok as you cook.
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:Bruce: Never share your food by
giving chopstick to chopstick.
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:Right.
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:So I'm not gonna pass you a piece of
meat for my chopstick, your chops.
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:I'm not sure.
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:I give, I'm
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:Mark: deft enough with chopsticks
to pull that off, but Okay.
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:It's rude.
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:Bruce: Don't stab your
food with the chopsticks.
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:Oh, no, no, no, no.
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:Don't point with your chopsticks
and the most important one.
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:No, do not lick.
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:Or suck your chopsticks.
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:Mark: Yes.
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:All of those are really important to
know about chopsticks, and let's just
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:also say while we're sitting here about
chopstick etiquette, especially if you
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:live in North America or the uk, let's
just say we're Australia or any place like
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:that, it's okay to ask for a fork spoon.
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:No, absolutely.
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:It is not.
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:Uh, what do I wanna say?
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:It's not, uh, anything to be ashamed of.
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:My mom, for example, could never mm-hmm.
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:Get the hang of chopsticks.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:My dad actually got the hang
of chopsticks, but my mom
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:could never figure it out.
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:And you know what?
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:It's okay.
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:And don't forget that there
are some cultures like.
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:Thai and Thai food, where in
fact chopsticks are served
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:in North America and the uk.
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:That would not appear on
a tie table in Thailand.
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:And why
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:Mark (2): is that?
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:Mark: Well, it's this
whole Asian racism thing.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:That somehow all Asians use chopsticks
is not necessarily the case.
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:Bruce: No.
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:And in some parts of
Asia it is the western.
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:Cutlery that is used
because unfortunately.
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:Co.
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:Western colonization
has happened, so, right,
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:Mark: right.
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:Yep.
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:So we're gonna come outta this
and talk about our exploration of
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:Korean food in the hopes that we can
inspire you to try some Korean food.
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:But before we get to that, let me
say that we have a TikTok channel.
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:We have an Instagram reels
channel, and we have a Facebook
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:channel, and all of them are named.
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:Cooking with Bruce and Mark.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:The TikTok channel is the
big one of all of them.
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:If you're on TikTok, check us out.
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:We've got all kinds of videos, cooking,
tasting, doing all kinds of crazy stuff.
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:We're really silly in those
videos and, um, it's okay.
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:That's how it's supposed to be on TikTok.
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:If you're gonna compete with a 20
year olds, then you have to be silly.
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:I always say this, if you as
a 65-year-old man is going to.
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:Compete with the shirtless
20-year-old boys.
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:You gotta, in fact be silly.
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:So if, because I ain't going shirtless.
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:No, certainly not.
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:That would lose followers.
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:So, um, check us out on any of those
places for cooking videos and videos about
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:us and writing cookbooks and our likes
and dislikes and all that kind of stuff.
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:Okay?
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:So let's talk about Korean food and a
way to in fact, discover it and in fact
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:make it part of your culinary experience.
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:Bruce: Okay, so what do two white
guys know about Korean food?
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:I mean, seriously, I have to, I,
we have to start there, right?
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:Neither of us are Korean.
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:No.
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:Neither of us speak Korean or
pronounce it well, so there's gonna
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:be lots of mispronunciations going on.
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:It's just something we both
love, but not something.
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:Either of us grew up with
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:Mark: no.
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:In fact, let me say that I can
start this journey by saying,
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:in college, I'm at Baylor.
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:I am taking my final science course before
I go off and take all my English courses
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:and my German courses for my majors and
I, I'm in my last, uh, science course,
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:it's physics and my lab partner is Korean.
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:And she doesn't speak English very
well, so I help her a lot with
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:our labs and we work together.
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:I mean, I didn't do her labs for her,
but I helped her a lot and in exchange
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:for helping her understand what was going
on in physics lab, she started taking
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:me to Korean restaurants and there was.
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:One, I forgot to
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:Bruce: say this is Waco,
Texas in the seventies.
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:That was one Korean
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:Mark: restaurant in the
late seventies in Waco.
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:And we went there and of course
she was very familiar with this
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:restaurant and knew the people that
owned it and all that kinda stuff.
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:But then we actually drove twice to
Austin and went to Korean restaurants
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:in Austin, and I learned about.
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:Korean food, and I was
undone with it as a kid.
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:I loved kid, college student.
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:I You were a kid.
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:You went to college as a 16-year-old.
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:I was.
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:I lied.
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:You did.
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:But I love bras.
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:I love really big, deep flavors.
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:I like bold combinations of flavors.
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:And when I discovered this Korean
food, I, I was scared of kimchi because
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:I'd heard all these horror stories
about it, burning people's faces off.
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:That's so not true.
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:I, I had heard all these
horror stories about a hot.
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:Korean food is, that's so not true.
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:Bruce: Well, it's not a subtle cuisine.
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:No, it's not.
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:I'll say that.
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:It's not a subtle cuisine.
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:I'm
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:Mark: not a subtle eater, so
I am not the, uh, incredibly
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:subtle Japanese connoisseur.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:I am in favor of giant, bold flavors.
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:Well, that's, Bruce knows I want a.
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:Dirty, funky red wine than a light
sophisticated, delicate white wine.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:That's just me.
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:And so Korean flavor profiles and Korean
taste it for my uneducated palette.
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:As a senior or junior in
college, I guess a junior I was.
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:Absolutely undone with it
and her taking me there.
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:And I came back to Dallas after
college and after traveling around
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:a bit, I came back to Dallas and I
tried to get other people interested
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:in Korean food and I could get no
one to go to Korean restaurants.
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:It's
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:Bruce: a hard sell.
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:People are so familiar with
Chinese food in the US Right.
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:And especially in the seventies.
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:Right.
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:You can go to Chinatowns.
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:So now we're in most big
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:Mark: cities.
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:Yeah.
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:Now we're talking like the late eighties
and I'm outta college and I can't get.
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:Anybody interested in any of
the Korean food in Dallas?
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:Bruce: It was really a hard sell.
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:I, to be honest, I grew up with lots
and lots and lots of Chinese food, and
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:I did not know what Korean food was
at all until my mid thirties and New
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:York City has a big China town at this
point, but it also had a big Korea
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:town, but it also had a big Korea town.
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:It was 32nd Street, like for two
avenues long was Korean restaurant
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:after Korean restaurant and.
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:I had lived there my whole life
and didn't know about this.
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:So that's how sort of
quiet this was being kept.
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:Mark: Well, at least quiet for you.
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:I mean.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:And I think this has something to do
and I'm gonna say something horrible,
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:but I, I think this stuff has something
to do with the Jews and Chinese food.
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:I think that there's a way
that there's this myopia that
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:sets in with Chinese food.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:In the culture that you came from.
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:Yeah.
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:Because it's what you eat on
Christmas, yada yada yada.
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:You
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:Bruce: eat on
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:Mark: what?
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:Eat.
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:Nobody eats, nobody eats
Chinese food on Chavez.
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:But okay.
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:Um, I think there is this myopia
that says, and so what happened is
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:I moved in with Bruce and in the mid
:
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:to Korean food, but can't find no one
to go to Korean restaurants with me.
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:And we together found a.
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:Place in Midtown?
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:Yes, Manhattan called
Hung, and it was a vegan
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:Bruce: Korean restaurant.
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:And I will say the vegan
part actually put me off.
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:You did?
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:Because I was like, oh, I'm a carnivore.
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:I've always been a carnivore
is birth and we're so okay.
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:We go to this, hung this, this place.
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:And it was so cliched.
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:You take your shoes off, of course you do.
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:They offer you kimono style
jackets They do to put on,
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:they do you sit on the floor?
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:They You do.
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:And not even with a well
to put your feet in.
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:Nope.
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:You sit on the floor.
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:Yep.
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:And we ordered things like
grilled burdock root and, which
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:was one of my favorite things.
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:Of course, it's the closest
thing to a meat texture.
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:And they had, but there were
much more subtle flavors.
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:And I, there was this pumpkin soup.
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:Yeah, the pumpkin soup, which
was so simple and beautiful.
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:So I have this.
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:Theory now about Korean
food, and that is vegan.
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:Korean food is much more subtle
than non-vegan Korean food.
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:Such
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:Mark: an esoteric subcategory
of vegan Korean food.
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:Well, there
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:Bruce: is, there was a book that came
out a few years ago called Temple
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:Food and it was written by a woman
who cooks in one of these, , Korean
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:monasteries and she makes vegan food
for all the people who live there.
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:You should make me more of that and.
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:I had a copy of that book and quite
honestly, I found every recipe
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:to be so bland and so boring.
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:No.
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:That I never made anything out of it.
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:Okay.
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:Mark: That goes against my big
flavors, and I don't remember.
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:We remember hung different.
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:It's still in Manhattan.
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:Yeah.
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:And we remember it differently
because I don't remember the flavors.
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:It's all that subtle.
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:I just remember it as all incredibly new.
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:It
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:Bruce: was new for us.
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:Mark: And we took your
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:Bruce: parents
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:Mark: there,
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:Bruce: which was We did.
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:They were, I mean, I don't
think they would've ever
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:gone there except that I was.
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:Included in this.
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:I think if you tried to take them,
they would've been like, no, no, no.
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:I don't So think they
were afraid to tell me No,
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:Mark: no, no, no.
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:I, I dragged my parents to
all kinds of weird places.
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:And, uh, not that Korean vegan food
is weird, but for them it was weird.
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:And that was
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:Bruce: the place your dad was
able to figure out chopsticks.
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:It was.
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:Your mom could not,
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:Mark: it was the place Dad
figured out chopsticks and.
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:My parents actually talked
about that place for years
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:afterwards about going to lunch.
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:There it was, and of course
it was a nice long lunch.
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:It was really beautiful and a
nice, so again, we're slowly
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:making our way toward Korean food.
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:We're experimenting.
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:I've been there at college.
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:We're going to a vegan place.
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:And then our editor at the time,
our book editor, at a one moment in
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:our life told us about this, be b.
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:Restaurant.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:That was in a really weird location
and he's like, oh, you have to go here.
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:So we did.
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:It was the East
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:Bruce: Village and it was
behind another noodle shop.
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:So you walked into a noodle shop.
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:Yep.
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:But then you had to go through a
back door behind the dining room.
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:Yeah, literally through, through the
kitchen and out a back door to get
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:into the second hidden restaurant.
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:And I didn't know what Biba was.
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:And if you don't know what it is,
it's a rice dish and most often
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:the rice is hot and it's served
in a hot, hot, hot stone bowl.
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:Yeah, I know.
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:I see.
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:Mark: Uh, at this point I'm obsessed
with Korean food, so I see these
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:Korean videos on TikTok and Instagram
reels, and they put those stone balls
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:right on the burners on the stove.
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:So when
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:Bruce: the rice goes in, it gets.
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:Crispy on the bottom, you get
that beautiful browned crust.
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:And then on the top, oh, I love it.
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:You put all sorts of fresh vegetables,
fermented vegetables, oh my gosh,
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:of sometimes some seasoned meat,
sometimes an egg raw or fried.
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:So if
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:Mark: you know about that, like soer at
the bit of paella where the rice burns on
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:the bottom and people think this is very.
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:Ta.
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:I think it's very tasty and PE many people
think this is a very tasty part of Haya.
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:This is a kind of paella rice on steroids.
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:Yep.
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:'cause it's really crunchy on the
bottom and it's really delicious.
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:Bruce: It was about, oh, I, maybe the 10th
or 12th time I had it before, I realized
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:after seeing enough videos online that the
proper way to eat it is to mix it all up.
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:Yeah.
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:And that is actually a very traditional
way of eating a lot of these.
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:Korean dishes we're gonna talk
about is to mix it all up.
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:And I was eating it from the top down.
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:And that's not really the traditional way.
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:No, no, no, no, no.
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:A lot of Korean food.
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:Mark: No, no, no.
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:You, you mash it all up.
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:You mash it all together.
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:And that's another reason I
like Korean cuisine so much.
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:And then of course we moved from
there from that experience too,
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:I think what is a lot of people's
entree point in North America and
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:the UK and Australia to Korean food.
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:And that is Korean barbecue.
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:But it was actually for us, a very late.
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:Intriguing into the process.
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:We were completely into vegan Korean food.
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:I was completely into glass
noodles and the Oh, che.
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:Yeah.
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:And I was, that made up from sweet
potato starch and they're really chewy.
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:Right.
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:And I was completely into all
of that from my college years.
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:Uh, and, you know, I was, I was into
the, uh, the quote unquote Korean
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:sushi with the, like the machi rolls,
uh, that you run through the hot.
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:Red sauce.
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:I was into all of that, but I didn't
actually until late know very much about
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:Korean barbecue, which is really weird.
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:'cause again, I think that's
where most people start these.
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:Bruce: And Korean barbecue is
a huge category of Korean food.
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:Yeah.
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:I mean there are Korean barbecue
restaurants where that's all they serve.
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:Mark: And I should say that one of
the moments when we really, uh, got
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:into Korean barbecue was in Dallas.
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:We were visiting my parents.
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:We had had some Korean
barbecue here in New England.
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:I'll let Bruce tell that story, but we'd
had some Korean barbecue here in New
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:England, but then we were in Dallas and
it just so happened that right where I
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:grew up in North Dallas, a Korea town
had in fact moved into a huge area.
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:If you know Dallas, this is.
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:At, uh, Royal Lane and Harry Hines,
and it became all of this Korean
370
:restaurants, Korean grocery stores,
Korean hair cutting salons, nail salons.
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:The whole business moved into
there and there was a Korean
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:barbecue restaurant there.
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:And we were with my dad and mom and,
I don't know, maybe for a holiday.
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:And I found this place online.
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:I was like, oh, we're gonna
go try this Korean barbecue.
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:And my mom and dad
would not go down there.
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:They would not come with us.
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:They no way refused.
379
:So they went to the vegan Korean
restaurant in New York City.
380
:I think it had to do with New York City.
381
:Put their guard down and so
they were able to go there.
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:But thi this, they were like, no way.
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:It
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:Bruce: may have scared them
the idea of barbecue and meats.
385
:They might not have been, know what
kind of meat that was gonna be.
386
:Might, well, I don't might
even if they knew it was
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:Mark: frightening.
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:Do it yourself.
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:Barbecue.
390
:Well
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:Bruce: that is the thing.
392
:Korean barbecue is do it yourself.
393
:They, you're, you're sitting
at a table with a burner in
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:the middle, in front of you.
395
:Um, some.
396
:Restaurants, it's gas flames.
397
:Some places they actually bring
a charcoal bucket and we'll talk
398
:about that experience we had in la.
399
:So I think this place in Dallas,
it was a gas flame and they
400
:put a metal, yes, it was gas.
401
:They put a metal pan over
that with slits in it.
402
:And you grill your meat on this,
almost griddled on this metal pan.
403
:They bring you a platter of
meat that you order and you can
404
:order pork belly, you can order.
405
:Um.
406
:You can order pork belly,
you can order short ribs, you
407
:Mark: can order all sorts of meat.
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:Okay.
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:So,
410
:Bruce: yeah.
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:And you
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:Mark: grill it yourself.
413
:Yeah.
414
:You grill it yourself.
415
:So now I, I'm sorry I'm pushing
you on, but let's you talk
416
:about Jacque for a moment.
417
:Bruce: Oh, that's how we got this.
418
:That's how we first found
out about Korean barbecue.
419
:So a very dear friend of ours who lives
in New England, right near us, her
420
:son-in-law is Korean and his name is Yuck.
421
:And he would.
422
:Always make Korean barbecue for them.
423
:Mm-hmm.
424
:And we started to get
invited to all these dinners.
425
:Mm-hmm.
426
:And yuck would bring all these
fabulous short ribs and, and it's the
427
:cross cut flunking style short ribs.
428
:And he'd marinate them in beautiful
Korean marinades and grill them.
429
:And then traditionally, as always, you
cut them into pieces with scissors.
430
:Mark: And, let me finish, let me get
in and let me say that what, how.
431
:Did, and I think what blew both of our
minds is Jacque upped the condiment game.
432
:Mark (2): Mm-hmm.
433
:Mark: That's what we didn't know.
434
:Yeah.
435
:We did know about grilling the meat.
436
:What we didn't know is all the
billions of condiments that you
437
:can put on the Korean barbecue.
438
:Bruce: So like my favorite thing,
Jiang, it's uh, a paste that is
439
:put on so much barbecued Korean
meat, and it's a combination of.
440
:Dun Jang, which is a fermented
soybean paste and gochujang,
441
:which is a sticky, sweet, spicy
paste and garlic and sesame oil.
442
:It is, dare I say, it
is the Korean ketchup.
443
:It is amazing.
444
:It is the Korean version
of Indian chutney.
445
:It's like the go-to condiment to put on.
446
:Anything that comes off the grill.
447
:Mark: So after Cka had gotten
us into Korean barbecue and
448
:we'd had some, uh, elsewhere we
went to on this trip to la Mm.
449
:And uh, we decided we were
gonna go off on vacation.
450
:We had a week.
451
:We didn't know where to go.
452
:Neither has really spent a
lot of time in la We ended up
453
:going to La, Los Angeles Yeah.
454
:For a week.
455
:And both of us fell dead
in love with Los Angeles.
456
:And we did, but we ate like beasts
for a week and it was fantastic.
457
:But one of the places Bruce chose for
lunch was this Korean barbecue spot
458
:in Koreatown in la and , so, I think,
how do I know this place is good?
459
:And we drive up and we open the
front door and what happens?
460
:Bruce: Smoke.
461
:So it's pouring out the front door, like
462
:Mark: seriously, as if, as if
the place inside is on fire.
463
:So
464
:Bruce: it is true, every
single table has a vent.
465
:Like that comes right down over to suck
the smoke up because this place actually
466
:brings you a box of burning charcoal.
467
:Mm-hmm.
468
:Puts that in the hole, in the table.
469
:Mm-hmm.
470
:Between you.
471
:Mm-hmm.
472
:Turns on the vent, but that vent is fine
until you put the meat on the grill.
473
:Mm-hmm.
474
:And then the smoke, it was.
475
:Spectacular.
476
:And we did have to go back to our
hotel and take a shower and wash our
477
:hair because it smelled like reminded
478
:Mark: me of being in a gay bar when,
back in the days when I did such things.
479
:Mark (2): And you would come out, did
it smell come like Korean barbecue?
480
:Mark: No, but you would come out
smelling like smoke disgust and you'd
481
:have to go home and take a shower
because it was so disgust disgusting.
482
:Your clothes smelled like smoke.
483
:Your hair smelled like smoke.
484
:It was like that, except we
smelled like Korean barbecue.
485
:But I
486
:Bruce: learned something
else in that restaurant.
487
:And that was the.
488
:First place that we had ever experienced
this idea of banchan and banchan are all
489
:those little side dishes of vegetables
and fermented pickles and all sorts of
490
:things that come with your main course.
491
:And in a barbecue restaurant where the
only main courses are grilled meat,
492
:they are first going to bring you.
493
:Bowl after bowl after bowl of
bunch on, and they're gonna
494
:put out 10, 12, 15 of these
495
:Mark: side dishes.
496
:And being the total westerner that I
am, when I first started eating Korean
497
:food, I would let all those bowls sit
on the table because I thought I was
498
:being polite and waiting for the main
course that I was to eat them with.
499
:I didn't realize until I started
looking around me what other people
500
:were doing that they were just digging
into all those bowls and eating the
501
:kimchi and eating this and that, and
the other that came and the bowls
502
:even before the main course arrived.
503
:Mm-hmm.
504
:I was being so decorated.
505
:We didn't
506
:Bruce: know what to do with this stuff.
507
:In fact, we didn't.
508
:We went, we went to a Korean restaurant
in Bayside where I grew up in Queens,
509
:and that when I was growing up, of
course in the sixties, that was an
510
:old Jewish neighborhood, and now
it's an all Korean neighborhood.
511
:Mm-hmm.
512
:Everything is Korean.
513
:Mm-hmm.
514
:Mm-hmm.
515
:There are.
516
:Korean restaurants in every corner.
517
:There were even Korean Chinese
restaurants on every other corner.
518
:Yeah.
519
:Mark: Which is a really
interesting category and I don't
520
:think most people know about it.
521
:And that is Chinese food as
CED through Korean techniques.
522
:It
523
:Bruce: was fabulous.
524
:Mark: It's really a wild subcategory.
525
:Mm-hmm.
526
:Of Chinese food.
527
:It's interesting.
528
:Bruce: But we went to a tofu
restaurant 'cause tofu is a.
529
:Huge ingredient and thing in Korean
food, and we went to a tofu restaurant
530
:and we ordered this dish called kimchi
gge, which is a big, famous dish.
531
:It is a stew made with this fermented
bean paste and lots of kimchi in it.
532
:Mark: One of my favorite things,
and when Bruce asks me What do I
533
:want for dinner at this point, I
often say kimchi, gigga, because,.
534
:Is so satisfying.
535
:Lots of onions, lots of kimchi,
long braised pork belly.
536
:It's so delicious.
537
:But as Bruce says, it
does have tofu in it.
538
:It has tofu in it.
539
:Lots of tofu.
540
:But
541
:Bruce: among all the baan they
brought to us, there was one
542
:little bowl that had an egg.
543
:Now, mark and I both assumed
this was a hard boiled egg.
544
:No, I don't like hard boiled eggs.
545
:Okay, so I'm not gonna touch it.
546
:And he didn't eat it.
547
:And it went back with all the dishes.
548
:Only then at the next table did we see a
couple, two women ordered the same dish
549
:we did, and they picked up that egg and
it was raw, and they cracked the egg into
550
:the bubbling hot dish of kimchi shige.
551
:And I'm like, oh, I want to do over.
552
:Mark: I have to add to this story
because our waiter came over and
553
:she saw that we hadn't cracked the
egg in before we figured out what
554
:other people were doing with it.
555
:And she swept.
556
:Egg off the table because
we had half eaten the stew.
557
:Yes.
558
:In disgust.
559
:She looked at us in disgust
and swept it off the table.
560
:Well, no one ever told
561
:Bruce: me you're supposed
to put the egg in it.
562
:No.
563
:I wish I'd
564
:Mark: known.
565
:Now I know I didn't know
this kind of stuff either.
566
:So this is, this is this whole bit
of slowly introducing ourselves to
567
:Korean food and we're saying all
this because we hope that perhaps
568
:we could inspire you to try it.
569
:Mm-hmm.
570
:And one of the great ways you
could try it is you could go to
571
:a large Korean grocery store.
572
:We've.
573
:Talked about H Mart endlessly, but
you could go to H Mart and you could
574
:see the prepared foods and there's
a lot of big foods that you can just
575
:actually buy right there and eat.
576
:Mm-hmm.
577
:You could try it out.
578
:You can go to a local Korean
restaurant, you can try the Be
579
:Bimba, you can try various things.
580
:One of the places that is really
easy to try in North America at
581
:this point is the chain Banon,
which makes Korean fried chicken.
582
:Mm-hmm.
583
:Bruce and I often go to the Bon Chun in
New England about an hour away from us.
584
:But when we're over at Costco, we often
stop at Bon Chun for lunch and uh, they
585
:make really crispy, unbelievably crispy,
uh, fried chicken that I wanna have.
586
:The super, super hot
sauce doused all over it.
587
:Now,
588
:Bruce: we've never ordered off
the other part of the menu.
589
:No, but they do have a whole side of
the menu that is more traditional.
590
:No, I know Korean dishes.
591
:So if you go there, you can try Beam Map.
592
:Mm-hmm.
593
:You can try bulgogi.
594
:No, you can try DeBakey.
595
:No.
596
:Which are those chewy rice
cakey sticks in a sweet and hot
597
:Mark: sauce, which
598
:Bruce: are amazing.
599
:Mark: Yes, uh, you can, but again,
Bonton is a great way to start.
600
:And if you go there, get, uh, what
is sometimes called chicken moo
601
:or the, the, what do they call it?
602
:Pickled radish or something.
603
:They call it pickled
604
:Bruce: radish, right?
605
:It's often called chicken moo
because moo is the word for radish.
606
:In Korean and you pickle it and it's
what is served with fried chicken.
607
:So it's called chicken moo,
608
:Mark: right?
609
:Chicken radish.
610
:And you can get that as a side
dish and eat it with your fried
611
:chicken, which is what we do.
612
:Um, and it's really delicious and
there are all kinds of ways to find and
613
:expand your palate with Korean food.
614
:Oh, and if you've done this and know
how to do this, then eventually, maybe
615
:the hope is you might even start.
616
:Making some of this at home
again, I think Kim Shiga is a
617
:really great winter stew to make.
618
:Mm-hmm.
619
:So why don't you just do a really simple
walkthrough of how you make Kim Shige?
620
:Bruce: You wanna take a heavy
small pan, like something you
621
:would make a soup or a stew in.
622
:And it's not too big 'cause you don't
really make giant batches of this,
623
:like a two quart or one quart pot.
624
:And I put a little sesame oil
in the bottom and I know people
625
:say, don't saute with sesame oil,
but I'd like it for this dish.
626
:And I put in a ton of fresh
ginger and onion, raw, raw onion.
627
:Raw, raw, sliced onion.
628
:And I just, just let it start sizzling.
629
:You don't really want
to cook it very much.
630
:And then you.
631
:Dump in a ton of fresh kimchi.
632
:Chop it up so that it's a
little easier to deal with.
633
:Mm-hmm.
634
:Put in some sliced pork belly,
and then you're going to
635
:cover that with some broth.
636
:Now you can use chicken broth.
637
:You can use vegetable broth.
638
:Traditionally, I would like to flavor
that broth with some dried anchovies.
639
:If you don't have those, you can
get something called Handi in an
640
:Asian market, which is a Japanese
dashi powder, and that'll give
641
:you that slight fish flavor to it.
642
:You be really careful with it.
643
:Just put a teaspoon, tiny little bits in
with your chicken broth, and then you have
644
:to put a little sweetener, so sometimes
a little brown sugar, a little corn
645
:syrup works, and then the chili flakes.
646
:You need chili flakes,
gochugaru, gochugaru, and then
647
:the pork belly, as I said,
648
:Mark: go is a think about red.
649
:Uh, pepper Flakes, you know,
the, that, that you put on pizza.
650
:Mm-hmm.
651
:But they're not, this is a Korean
version that's kind of like that.
652
:It's a coarsely, ground dried red pepper.
653
:It is hot.
654
:I will use two tablespoons for
a quart sized pot for us and.
655
:I have watched many at this point of a
cooking video of people making kimchi
656
:shiga online, and I see them put what
could only be a half cob, three quarters
657
:of a cob of the, it's really hot.
658
:It's really hot.
659
:We don't.
660
:Quite go that hot, but, and
661
:Bruce: once it comes to a simmer,
you're gonna let that simmer away
662
:for about 40 minutes until the pork
belly is tender about halfway through.
663
:I'm gonna open it and I'm
gonna put tofu on the top.
664
:You can use a firm tofu.
665
:A soft tofu.
666
:I like to use silk and tofu
because that's really good.
667
:And if I'm using.
668
:Silicon.
669
:I put it in closer to the
end just to warm it up.
670
:'cause I don't want it to break apart.
671
:We tend not to put the egg in
it when we have it at home.
672
:Right.
673
:But you can put the egg
in it and that's it.
674
:So it's the kimchi, the onions,
the sesame oil, and that's it.
675
:The fishy broth.
676
:It's the, I notice that
the writer has to fun of.
677
:Mark: That's it, because like that's it.
678
:I'm sorry.
679
:That's not just, that's it.
680
:Okay.
681
:Bruce: Well if you wanna
really go, that's it.
682
:The sweetener traditionally in
Korean food would be rice syrup.
683
:Okay.
684
:So anyway.
685
:Mark: Yeah, that's it.
686
:And I have to say that we, uh, Bruce
often makes, uh, Kim Suge in a totally
687
:non-traditional way, and he makes it
instead a pork belly with beef oxtails.
688
:And in fact, the Korean man
who kind of got us on the jag
689
:of Korean barbecue, fantastic.
690
:Actually ate Bruce's oxtail,
Kim Shige, and he was rather
691
:speechless about the whole thing.
692
:It's not that he didn't like it, he
just, it was like he couldn't process it.
693
:He didn't
694
:Bruce: know he, that's
695
:one of the things I've discovered
about a lot of Korean food.
696
:The dishes are very.
697
:Set.
698
:Like this dish has these
ingredients, right?
699
:And this dish has these ingredients,
and once you switch out one ingredient,
700
:it's like traditionalists will go.
701
:I don't even know what that dish is now.
702
:I don't recognize it.
703
:Mark: Well, I, yeah, I, I don't
know that that's a, that that's,
704
:uh, necessarily a Korean thing.
705
:I think that, oh no, I think
that comes with a lot of things.
706
:That's a French thing.
707
:Mm-hmm.
708
:That's.
709
:It's the Jewish grandmother thing.
710
:That's, that's, oh my gosh.
711
:So I, I'm totally off Korean for a
minute, but I just wanna say that when,
712
:uh, years ago we wrote the Ultimate
Cookbook, which was 900 recipes,
713
:his first giant book we ever wrote.
714
:And, um, it kind of represented
totally still represents the way
715
:Bruce cooks on an everyday basis.
716
:900 recipes is a huge,
huge encyclopedia book.
717
:And, um, we said we write this book.
718
:And it got of course reviews.
719
:And this one reviewer, his comment was out
of 900 recipes, he made a big deal that
720
:Bruce put garlic powder in matza balls.
721
:And it was this whole thing about matza
balls do not have garlic powder in them.
722
:And it, it, it, it's back to that, you
know, there is a way to make matza balls
723
:and it's the way I grew up making it.
724
:And that's the end of the matter
725
:Bruce: in my defense.
726
:If you look at the ingredient
list on the box of Manus
727
:Chitz, matza bowl mix, I, yeah,
728
:Mark: I know.
729
:Garlic powder.
730
:I know, but I'm just saying that
this is the way, I don't think it
731
:has anything to do with Korean food.
732
:This is the way that
storied dishes get mm-hmm.
733
:Set.
734
:Mm-hmm.
735
:In a kind of, and don't
736
:Bruce: change them.
737
:Mark: Right.
738
:In a kind of cultural matrix.
739
:It's really weird.
740
:Like, for example, I think that a lot
of us from the South have very set
741
:ideas about what Hop and John is, what.
742
:Cornbread is, I have
what fried chicken is.
743
:I have very set ideas about cornbread
and my ideas about cornbread.
744
:And I grew up, as you may know,
in Texas, and I grew up with mom,
745
:who thought that putting sugar
in things made you low class.
746
:So I grew up with
cornbread that did, had no.
747
:Added sugar to it.
748
:And still to this day, I can hear
my mother say, my now long gone
749
:mother say about cornbread when she
bites into it, Ooh, this is cake.
750
:Meaning, well so much.
751
:It has no sugar.
752
:Meaning it has sugar in it,
and she doesn't want any sugar.
753
:Bruce: How often have I bitten
into a piece of cornbread
754
:in a barbecue restaurant?
755
:Oh, and it's so sweet
and it's like dessert.
756
:Wait a
757
:Mark: second.
758
:This is like a polenta cake,
but you didn't grow up with it.
759
:And again, it's part of
what gets set in your head.
760
:Like, like the Jewish matza balls
and soup and like mini Korean dishes.
761
:These are storied dishes
from people's past.
762
:Mm-hmm.
763
:And so when you take this St story dish
and you add oxtails to it instead of pork
764
:belly, it changes the whole thing around.
765
:It did.
766
:Bruce: And boy did.
767
:I love it.
768
:Mark: I do.
769
:I actually love Kim
with, uh, oxtails in it.
770
:I think it's really tasty.
771
:so as we come to the end of this bit
about, uh, Korean food, is there any
772
:Korean cookbook that you would recommend
if somebody wanted to buy a cookbook
773
:and figure out how to make it at home?
774
:Bruce: That's really a good question.
775
:There's a brand new cookbook
that just came out this year and
776
:it's actually up for some awards.
777
:And it's called Uma, UMMA,
which is mom in Korean.
778
:It's called Uma, and it is all about
home cooking and stories that this author
779
:knows about from her mother and her
grandmother who taught her how to cook.
780
:And the recipes are.
781
:Just beautiful to look at and the
ingredients sound fabulous and I have
782
:not cooked from me yet, but I have so
many flag that I'm going to be making.
783
:Mark: So.
784
:I hope that in saying all this, we
have inspired you to go out and find a
785
:Korean restaurant to just experiment.
786
:Maybe you wanna start
with Korean barbecue.
787
:Maybe you wanna start with
a Korean vegan restaurant.
788
:Maybe you already know all there is
to know about Korean food and you
789
:want to, uh, tell us about that.
790
:You can find us on the
Facebook group cooking.
791
:Bruce and Mark will post this episode
of the podcast and you can tell us
792
:your favorite Korean dishes or your own
experience the first time you ever had.
793
:Korean food, or maybe you are Korean
and the best place where you live to
794
:get Korean food beside your mom's house,
the best place to go buy Korean food.
795
:Before we get to the final segment,
what's making us happy and food this week?
796
:Let me just say that it would be
great if you could subscribe to this
797
:podcast and if you could rate it,
if you could give it a star rating.
798
:Can I ask for five?
799
:That would be nice.
800
:And a review that helps in the,
uh, algorithms and the analytics.
801
:Thanks for doing that.
802
:As you know, we are.
803
:Unsupported.
804
:We choose to be unsupported.
805
:So it is the way that you can
actually help support this podcast.
806
:Thanks for doing that.
807
:I know it's an extra step and I
hate making, uh, any requests for
808
:extra steps, but there you go.
809
:Thanks for doing that.
810
:Okay.
811
:As is traditional, we're gonna
finish off with what's making
812
:us happy in food this week.
813
:Bruce: Crab apple hard cider.
814
:Oh gosh.
815
:You've heard me talk about hard cider
being one of my favorite things over
816
:and over, but as Mark has said in a
previous episode, we have been recently
817
:to the Finger Lakes and there are so
many cries around these lakes there.
818
:It is not only a wine producing region,
it is a huge cider reproducing region
819
:and increasingly cider reproducing.
820
:We found some fabulous ones and we
bought a couple of big bottles of a.
821
:Crab.
822
:Apple cider.
823
:Now
824
:Mark: I should say, when we say
cider, we're talking about hard cider.
825
:Hard cider
826
:Bruce: beer levels four to 5%.
827
:Mm.
828
:So good.
829
:So we had that crab, apple
cider with burgers for dinner,
830
:and it was spectacular.
831
:Mark: It was, it was really nice.
832
:Yeah, it was really sour
and it was really great.
833
:Okay, so what's making me
happy in food this week?
834
:It is a lemon tart that Bruce made, and
I have to say that this is a really hard
835
:thing for me to admit because I think I
am the master of the lemon meringue pie.
836
:But Bruce made a lemon tart recently,
and you made it with a thicker crust.
837
:So it was much more cookie like, and
then he put a lemon card on top of it
838
:and he put an Italian meringue, which
is a cooked meringue on top of that.
839
:So it's a marshmallowy sticky meringue.
840
:I do the french meringue, the
traditional American lemon meringue
841
:pie, where it's the French meringue.
842
:It's really light and high.
843
:His was much more marshmallowy
and his lemon tar was spectacular.
844
:I ate way too much of it.
845
:Mm-hmm.
846
:It was really good and it's really
hard for me to give any creds to any
847
:Lemon Tart except my own Lemon R pie,
which you do quite well, and which I
848
:got the recipe from my grandmother.
849
:So I am, uh, I'm really given a huge
kudos here, uh, because I think that it
850
:was just this spectacular Lemon Tart, and
it's not only nice occasionally to have a
851
:dessert that kind of blows your mind, so.
852
:Hmm.
853
:Thank you.
854
:That was really nice and
it made me very happy.
855
:Alright, that's the podcast for this week.
856
:Thanks for listening to it.
857
:Thanks for being part of
our podcast community.
858
:Thanks for being on this Food
and Cooking journey with us.
859
:We appreciate you more than you can know,
and we appreciate your being here with us
860
:Bruce: more than you can know.
861
:And as Mark said, please subscribe so
you don't miss a single episode when
862
:we talk about Korean food, Chinese
food, Japanese food, and all the
863
:foods that we are passionate about
here on cooking with Bruce and Mark.