What to do with old Kimchi

It was a few years after I started eating kimchi (at restaurants) before I realized that kimchi is an actively evolving food -- it is a fermenting vegetable. I bought my first jar of kimchi and realized that it turned a little more sour and soggy a few days in the fridge. It was initially confusing trying to understand what I can or cannot do with kimchi. Here's a summary:

Fresh Kimchi: suitable for eating straight, and making kimbap (Korean sushi rolls). Beware if you're making kimchi kimbap and taking it in your lunchbox, because it will continue to ferment at room temperature (very quickly!).

Old Kimchi: stirfry with pork (and tuna), fried rice, kimchi soup with pork, kimchi pancake (pa-jeon)

"Cheeseboard" in Boston

One of the few icons in the Berkeley eating scene, besides Chez Panisse, is the more accessible Cheeseboard Pizza. It's located in the so-called gourmet ghetto in North Berkeley on Shattuck, and sells only one type of pizza each day (click here to check for the pizza of the day). Slices are sold at $2.50 each, and they usually give you a tiny sliver with each order. That means if you're buying a slice each for you and your friend, you should make 2 separate orders. They also usually have a jazz band playing live on weekends.















Cheeseboard Upper Crust

The Cheeseboard sells my favorite pizza period. They used to say that at Cal, it was between Fat Slice and Blondie's -- yeah right, for 2nd place maybe.

I finally found a suitable Cheeseboard substitute in the Boston area last week. Since D(iscovery) day, I've been there 4 times in 7 days. They have been around since 2001, and they are actually a chain (the Cheeseboard is unique, and a co-op). I've seen the store on Newbury Street, but I never actually tried them till they opened the store in Harvard Square.

Upper Crust sells thin pizza, and they sell more than 1 type of pizza each day. I have only tried the slices of the day so far, and I like them. For $3.50, you get a slice the size of 2 regular slices. The food is fresh and tasty and cheap. Plus it allows me to nourish my Norcal nostalgia.

Differences (for people who care to know):
1. Pizza at the Cheeseboard has a slightly thicker crust, that is baked till hard and crispy. Upper Crust's slices are thin and floppy, allowing you to fold them (New York style). They have an excellent edge that is crunchy though.

2. The Cheeseboard sells only 1 type of pizza each day, so the pizza needs to be friendly to all, aka vegetarian. At least I think that is how they work. I've never eaten a slice with meat on it. Upper Crust puts meat on their slice of the day some times. On those days, vegetarians can order from the rest of their menu.

3. The Upper Crust sells wings. The Cheeseboard has expanded to include a daily salad, and a daily dessert since my college days, but those are sort of complementary. I think the Upper Crust was trying to appeal to the football watching crowd, although they do serve salads.

4. The Cheeseboard has live jazz. The Upper Crust plays contemporary pop cds.

Conclusoin: The Cheeseboard comes first for me. Upper Crust can take its place above Fat Slice and Blondie's, but I don't think it rivals the best.

Korean Fried Chicken in Boston

I first found out about Korean fried chicken from a couple of New York Times articles. It sounded delicious and exciting. Unfortunately I didn't know where to go in Boston to get some. By accident, I discovered a tiny restaurant in Allston that sells a version of Korean fried chicken.

The restaurant is called Color, and it's at 166 Harvard Ave. It's a tiny place with about 8 tables, and a great appetizer menu. I first discovered this place when I asked a Korean friend where I could get soondae (I saw it in a drama). Soondae was an acquired taste for me. The fried chicken was an instant revelation.

These days besides the Color fried chicken, other dishes I like are the ra-bokki, kimchi pancake, and soondae. I also highly recommend the seafood soft tofu chigae. I do not recommend the jap chae, or the seafood stew over rice, or the fried calamari. The stirfried calamari is awesome though.

I like the casual ambience of the place (it is also a bolba cafe), but some people find the bright colors annoying.
I guess it would only be right to update this: you can find the famous NYC "Bonchon" korean fried chicken at this bar/restaurant place called Privus which is around the corner from Color. I don't think it was as good as the Bonchon chicken in NYC, and it just didn't feel like it was worth twice the price of what I paid at Color. I think I like the homeliness of the food at Color.

Golden raspberries

I first saw golden raspberries in a New York Times video clip, featuring Alice Waters shopping at a farmer's market. I had never seen golden raspberries prior to that.

At the farmer's market today, I saw some golden raspberries, and I had to try some. I bought those, and some blueberries. Posting pictures for your visual pleasure.

Unusual food of the day

Rind of the watermelon.

I was at the microwave warming up my lunch when I noticed an unusual vegetable in my colleague's lunchbox. It looked like small slivers of peach, an inch long, 1/8'' thick, yellow with a red tinge on the inner curve. I was pretty certain that it wasn't peach though, so I asked him.

He told me that it was watermelon. After scooping out the delicious red part, you are left with the rind which is normally discarded. If you took off the hard green exterior though, you have that white/red transition part that is usually hard and not very tasty. She sliced that part up and probably just stirfried it.

I'm going to have to look this up when I have a little more time. They are Chinese, so I assume it might be a Chinese dish even though I've never heard of it.

Best mango bubble drink is in Chinatown

I usually go to Chinatown for a meal if I'm downtown catching a movie, simply because I don't know where else to go. I've recently decided on my favorite drink to sneak into the theaters: the mango bubble from a shop simply named "Vietnamese sandwich and bubble tea" located on ~50 Harrison Ave in Chinatown.

The mango bubble comes with mango juice, mango chunks and a scoop of mango ice cream blended together and poured over tapioca pearls with a good chewy consistency. At $3.50, it's the same price as most places, but it's way more value for money. This is the only place I've found (so far), that doesn't give me a fruity syrup and ice and calls it a mango bubble.

If you know any other place that serves real fruit and stuff in their bubble teas, let me know. Thanks!

PS. I do not recommend the bubble tea in the Porter Exchange Mall -- the pearls are squashy, not chewy. They probably used the instant version, which is just wrong.

A treat from Chinatown

I discovered something new and delicious in the Chinese bakery, and it's not an egg tart. It looks like a giant fluffy marshmallow, but there wasn't a label in the display so I don't have name for it. Let me call it the Chinese mochi.

It's softer than a Japanese mochi, but still chewy. The outside of the rice dough is dusted with unsweetened shreds of coconut. The rice dough is barely sweet, possibly unsweetened. The inside is a filling of sesame seeds, peanut bits, shredded coconut and sugar. It's sweet, but not overwhelming such that when you chew it, everything blends harmoniously. The smooth chewy outside contrasts well with the crunch of peanuts, the occasional sugar granule, and the rough coconut bits. It's roughly half the size of my fist, which is kinda huge. Just one makes an ample treat. At 70 cents a piece, it's a bargain.


I got mine at Ho Yuen Bakery in Boston's Chinatown, but it must be available elsewhere. I've been there twice, and it seems to sell out a little past mid-afternoon on Saturdays. I think they will look lovely in a box for the next time I need to bring snacks to a friend's place.

Sundubu Chigae

A warm and comforting food. It was actually the first Korean food I've ever had. I was 19, and I was in Monterey Park, CA. My family and I were on vacation, and we were starving. Somehow we ended up at a place unremarkably called Lee's Tofu (is it still there?) that served the first and best tofu soup in my memory. I've since tried tofu soups in a couple of other Korean places, but I couldn't find anything quite as good. I like cooking my own food, and finally 2 years ago, I decided that I would venture into the unfamiliar world of Korean cuisine. The result -- a cheap and simple dish that doesn't require too many exotic ingredients that I can't reuse. (Note: I consider soy sauce and sesame oil kitchen staples.)

You do have to buy 1-2 special things from the Korean grocery store, depending on which recipe you choose. But I guarantee that you can use these special ingredients again.

The special ingredients: 1. red pepper flakes (mandatory); 2. gochujang (red pepper paste)

Red pepper flakes -- available at a Korean grocery store in huge 1-- 3lb bags (I was surprised when I first got my bag : see Understanding Koreans.) Ask the store if you're uncertain which type to get -- tell them that you're making soup. You can store your bag in the freezer.

Gochujang -- available at a Korean grocery store, possibly a larger Chinese supermarket. I use the seasoned one, mixed with sugar and sesame oil (my brand is Wang's). If you use those from the red boxes, they are way spicier (beware) and you should probably add some sugar and sesame oil to your recipe.


Pork and Kimchi Sundubu Chigae
1 16oz package of silken tofu (quartered)
~4oz pork meat (thinly sliced)
8oz kimchi, diced (you can use the entire 16oz jar if you can't figure what else to do with it)
1 egg
1 scallion thinly chopped (optional)

Meat seasoning: 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp chopped garlic, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, ground black pepper
Soup seasoning: 2-3 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, 1tsp chopped garlic, ground black pepper

1/2 cup water
oil

If you bought a chunk of pork, here is an easy way to slice it thin (requires advance preparation): freeze the chunk of pork, and then let it thaw for 4-8 hours in the fridge. The pork will then be hard enough to provide "support", while being soft enough for you to easily cut it.

1. Season pork with the meat seasoning.
2. Add 1/2 tbsp oil (olive works) to pot on medium-high heat, add pork and kimchi. Stir for a couple of minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium. Add water, tofu, and soup seasoning. Mix gently.
4. Allow the soup to come to a boil, then lower heat to med-low. Let that simmer for another ~30 -- 45 minutes.
5. Before serving, crack an egg over the soup and stir gently. Sprinkle scallions to garnish. Serve with rice.

Seafood Sundubu Chigae
(I'm using shrimp and fish, but you could probably also use scallops and squid as well. Mix those 4 up!)
1 16oz package of silken tofu
1/4 lb shrimp, shelled
1/4 lb cod fillet (I like cod, and I haven't experimented with other fish)
1 egg
1 scallion (optional)

Seafood seasoning: 1/4 tsp salt, ground black pepper
Soup seasoning: 2 tsp red pepper flakes, 2-3 tsp gochujang (reduce to 1/8 if you're using real gochujang), 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic, ground pepper

1/2 cup water
oil

1. Cut seafood into bitesized pieces. Add seasoning and mix.
2. 2. Add 1/2 tbsp oil (olive works) to pot on medium heat, add seafood. Stir for a couple of minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium. Add water, tofu, and soup seasoning. Mix gently.
4. Allow the soup to come to a boil, then lower heat to med-low. Let that simmer for another ~15 -- 30 minutes.
5. Before serving, crack an egg over the soup and stir gently. Sprinkle scallions to garnish. Serve with rice.