Korea!

Due to two back-to-back trips with a lot of overindulgence, busy weekdays, and trying to eat better, it has been hard to stay on top of my project, but I have recommitted myself to getting this done in 52 weeks. That means there will be some doubling up soon! 

This week was Korea! I remembered a conversation I had with a friend about his favorite dish in the city and it was from Korea House, so I decided to go for it.

I had my marching orders so off to Korea House I went. It's in Cleveland's Asiatown which I've written about several times already, so I'll save you the history lesson and head straight to the food. 

After a brief panic when I couldn't find a #43 on the menu, I found the dolsot bibim bap and breathed a sigh of relief because clearly there was ONLY ONE CHOICE. I also ordered the #4 - tteakboki - because I love those chewy rice cakes.

Right after I ordered, the server brought me a tray of delicious pickled items which is one of my favorite parts of eating Korean food. I love pickled anything, so a tray with lots of options is heaven!

There's a long history of pickling things in Korea as a way to preserve vegetables to eat during the winter. Kimchi is a part of life in Korea. Many families gather to make kimchi and make a full year's worth at a time. Koreans regard this as an intimate symbol of "we are one." Koreans have always believed that kimchi helps digestion, appetite, and has other beneficial effects so they eat it at every meal.

Next up was the tteakboki. This version had rice cakes, fish cake, vegetables, and beef in a sweet and spicy sauce. The sauce was more sweet than spicy which isn't my preference, but it was still very good! And since I'm a chronic over-orderer, I ended up bringing most of it home. I was pleased that it was equally good reheated the next day!

But the shining star was the dish I came for: dolsat bibim bap. It came in the dolsot which is a very! hot! stone pot that was brought to the table sizzling and continued to sizzle for several minutes. I love a dramatic dish! Before the rice is placed in the bowl, the bottom of the bowl is coated with sesame oil, making the layer of the rice touching the bowl cook to a crisp, golden brown known as nurungji. This variation of bibimbap is typically served to order, with the egg and other ingredients mixed in the pot just before eating.

I ordered the beef and kimchi option and it was served with purple cabbage, greens of some sort, carrots, bean sprouts, and maybe radish? The rice underneath, nurungji, got so crispy and delicious that I'm not surprised to learn that it's served by itself as a snack. I was eating with chopsticks and quickly moved to the giant spoon so I could shovel that rice into my mouth easier. SO GOOD. I've been thinking about it ever since! 

The Korean Cultural Garden looks to still be under development. It is located at 710 Martin Luther King Blvd., but now is just a placeholder for what I hope is a much bigger design eventually. 

25 down, 27 to go! 

Korea House

3700 Superior Ave. E.

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

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Hours:

MON | closed

TUES-SAT| 11am - 10pm

SUN | 1pm-9pm