k-sozai

Went back to K-sozai to try their honey mustard chicken and gimmari

Apparently gimmari is a Korean street food, and according to Maangchi, "they are crispy on the outside chewy on the inside"

I should've heated these up in the toaster because they were chewy and not crispy at all...boo!

the nori rolls seemed to be filled with glass noodles and the long dumplings seemed to filled with some fish paste?!

Will have to remember to try toasting them the next time...

I was glad that the honey mustard chicken was more yellow mustard than honey.

And the chicken was tender, I think this is the same fried chicken they use for the yangnyeom chicken...

Will explore their freezer section next... 

k-sozai

K-Sozai is a tiny shop that opened in May, in the space that used to sell mango drinks and before that boba drinks.

I thought they only sold Korean condiments, but realized they also sold pre-made foods, they have bento, kim chee and also frozen stuff.

I tried their yangnyeom chicken...512 yen (tax included)

This was sweet, spicy and I loved that it had crispy edges and the meat was still moist

I thought there might be ume (pickled plum) in the sauce but when I looked at the ingredients, I was surprised to see strawberry jam listed...still, it wasn’t overly sweet, I would get this again

half vegetable kimbap...458 yen (tax included)

thought this was kind of bland...the nori didn't even have sesame oil on it

the filling was carrot, takuan, egg, kanikama (fake crab), gobo and spinach

I'm glad I tried these and hope to try other items

K-Sozai

Tokyu Plaza Kamata 1F

Open when Tokyu Plaza Kamata is

croongji

Found croongji at Seijo Ishii...538 yen (tax included) for 2

These were huge!

About 8 inches in length.

A little chewy but super buttery.

Was also surprised that the bag was not sealed and only closed with a bread clip

Glad I got to try this. 

hangang

Got to try Hangang with V

It was blazing, so I had the cold noodles with kalbi

The kalbi was so tender! and tasty 

The banchan was delicious too, so much variety

Even if it was blazing, V ordered the jjigae (I think), her lunch also came with the kalbi

V shared avocados and a HUGE Kamiya papaya

Always fun catching up with V.

Thanks for today V!

Hangang

1246 Waimanu Street

Honolulu, Hawaii

Open daily: 11:00-16:00 (lunch), 17:00-23:00 (dinner)

croongji

Croissant + nurungji (o-koge (crispy)) = croongji

A popular Korean sweet.

Croissants are flattened then caramelized

Similar to palmiers but better.

I'm glad I tried this and would get it again.

180 yen (tax included)

itchy butt

Not sure when I heard about this place but I’ve had it on my “to try” list for awhile.

The parking for this place is not the best and it can get kinda sketchy with all the homeless people around the area.

I went after lunch and luckily found on street parking.

I thought $31 plus tax for a whole chicken was expensive, but the chicken was moist and tasty because it seemed like it was fried twice

If you order the whole chicken, you can choose two sauces, I chose garlic and korean. (the other choices are shoyu and spicy)

The chicken seemed like it had a honey caramel coating, it kind of reminded me of those bbq wings at KFC, which I think helps keep the chicken moist.

The whole chicken comes with pickled daikon and two drinks.

I wished they had given more pickles.

Dunno if I’ll be back, but am glad I got to try this

It’s fun to say the name too.

Itchy Butt

1229 Keeaumoku Street

Honolulu, Hawaii

Phone: 808.942.4845

Closed Sundays

Hours: 10:00-20:00

chapagetti

Have you tried chapagetti? It was my first time.

I had thought it was the same dish that I saw in the movie "Parasite", but it is different.

Chapagetti, is an instant noodle dish that resembles jajangmyeon.

Cha comes from chajang which is black bean sauce and pagetti is part of the word spaghetti.

The dish in the movie is apparently chapagetti mixed with neoguri (a spicy ramen) to get chapaguri

Anyway, since Satoshi didn't need dinner on Tuesday, I decided to try chapagetti and add steak for protein.

I thought I might not like this because I don't really care for chinese black bean sauce, but this was delicious.

Not spicy and the flavors were not overpowering.

I don't know that I would have this again, but I'm glad I tried this.

bukkake nori

Have you tried this type of nori?

It is bits of Korean style nori that you can put onto rice or into soups.

Well, someone had given me a bag of this type of nori before we moved to Tokyo.

I had packed it into the moving box and put it onto my metal rack pantry when we arrived in Tokyo.

When I was going to open the bag, I noticed it was all sticky, oily and gross.

Then I found a teeny hole in the bag.

Since my pantry is a metal rack, I also noticed that the oil from the bag had dripped onto everything that was under the bag...

Well, the other day, I was looking through a basket I have with some li hing items in and noticed that I had missed some of that oil that had dripped...

It was hard and sticky...what a mess.

arirang bbq

Saturday, V contacted me, she had some avocados and wondered if I had some time to meet up.

Wednesday, I had an appointment, so we planned to meet up for lunch after that.

Near the area my appointment was at, is V's favorite place for Korean food, Arirang BBQ.

Apparently this place used to be at the Moanalua Shopping Center and moved to Kalihi.

A tiny shop, this place is run by two ladies that make everything from scratch.

No MSG is used.

I tried the Bi bim kook soo...cold noodles, veggies and some beef.

I got the mild and it was just enough spicy for me.

(That's V's banchan in the photo)..and even though it was super humid, she ordered their Hot Beef Vegetable Soup.

It was nice to catch up with her.

Besides the avocados, V also gave us all these other goodies.

Like Ubae, which uses ube (ooh-bay...Filipino for purple sweet potato) and sells these tiny cheesecakes...a little too sweet but I'm glad she gave these to me to try.

The avocados were creamy and delicious.

There was also peanut and mac nut candies from Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery.

And a nori almond snack which I'm planning to bring back with me to Japan.

It was nice chatting with V and I appreciate her kindness and thoughtfulness.

Thank you V, for lunch, meeting up and for all these goodies.

Arirang BBQ (2021: no longer in business)
1111 Dillingham Boulevard
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.848.0803
Closed Sundays
Hours: 11:00-20:00

Ubae
1284 Kalihi Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.439.3224
Hours: Mondays-Saturdays 9:00-18:00, Sundays 9:00-16:00

maangchi's braised lotus root

I recently tried Maangchi's braised lotus root recipe.

Super easy and super tasty.

I also like that the lotus root stays quite crisp/crunchy.

I'll definitely make this again.

Had to share with you the krazy fog we had this morning.

It actually got thicker after I took this photo.

Have a nice weekend!

gina's barbeque

I'll be heading back at the end of the week, so I wanted to post stuff that I didn't get a chance to...

Tried Gina's Barbeque...I'm pretty sure this place was around when I was going to UH (University of Hawaii), though I don't remember if I had ever eaten here before.

I ordered their Bi Bim Kook Soo...it was $8-something (tax included).

Lots of noodles, spicy kim chee and their bean sprout namul, sweet barbeque meat and cabbage...

So much food I ate this for 2 meals...I'll be back.

Gina's Barbeque
Market City Shopping Center
2919 Kapiolani Boulevard
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.735.7964
Hours: 10:00-22:00

new friend

I recently met up with a new friend, Fiona.

She recently moved here from Singapore with her husband, who is studying at a local university.

We met up for lunch and tried a Korean restaurant that she wanted to try, Chingu.

I ordered the kimbap (Korean sushi), while she had the Bulgogi Chapchae.

Our meals came with some bancha (side dishes): omlette, kinpira gobo & kim chee. It also came with seaweed soup.

The owner also gave us some salad to share. The salad had slices of asian pear in it which gave it a little sweetness to it. There was also a little kick from it too, I think there may have been some kim chee sauce in the dressing.

The kimbap was delicious and really pretty looking.

After a pretty leisurely lunch, we went to have coffee at Sant'Andrea Cafe. I ordered the cafe mocha, but this one came with more whipped cream than coffee...

Then it was time to go, Fiona was kind enough to share with me some bak kwa from Singapore.

It is like jerky, but sweet. After tasting it, it reminded me of lup cheong.

Thank you Fiona for such a fun day, I hope we can meet up again soon!

Chingu
Labi Senri 4F
Toyonaka, Osaka
Phone: 06.6872.5837
Lunch: 11:00-15:00, Dinner 17:00-22:00

Sant'Andrea Cafe
Senchu Pal
Toyonaka, Osaka
Phone: 06.6872.7775
M-F: 7:30-19:30, S: 8:00-19:30, SU: 9:30-19:30

from bento to...

Recently had the bulgogi bento from Palama Market. I've written about it before here, it's still $5.50+tax.

For some reason, I wasn't able to finish it in one sitting, so I kept half (the rice, bulgogi & kim chee) aside.

Oh, this time around the kim chee wasn't sour...whoo! The meat was good too, no gristle. And those korean-style potatoes (bottom left corner) were so good!

The next day, I heated everything up and added an egg and some taegu...bi bim bap!

Mmm

hawaii revisits

Went back yet again to Palama Market, this time I tried their bulgogi bento, only US$5.50 + tax.

The meat was kinda gristly, but the serving was plentiful.

Not too sweet either.

Yet again, sour kim chee (boo!) but this one also had some cucumber kim chee which was delicious.

Also in the bento were 2 mandoo and some sauteed cabbage.

They also have a snack area now, at the back of the store, here you can order plates (even bowls of noodles), which were a little higher priced than the bento.

They also have some chairs and tables to eat your food at or sit and wait for your order.

I'll be back.

hawaii revisits

Went back to Palama Market to try their meat jun bento.

The meat jun was lightly seasoned with soy, sugar and some sesame oil. It came with 2 fried mandoo (potstickers), broccoli rabe (rapini), cabbage and some sour kim chee (blah!).

Everything was good (except for that kim chee).

Way too much rice for me, lots of veggies and only US$5.50 + tax, a price you can't really find nowadays....true "cheap eats".

I'll be back.

palama market

It's been awhile since I've had kimbap from Palama Market.

I recently picked some up from their Waimalu location.

$3.50 + tax, their price nor their quality has changed.

I'll be back.

Palama Market Waimalu
98-080 Kamehameha Highway
Aiea, Hawaii
Phone: 808.488.5055

bummer

I could've sworn that Tougarashiya had a kim chee sushi on their menu.

The other day, I tried their sushi (300 yen about US$3), but there was no kim chee in it. I wonder if I ordered the wrong thing...

This was actually the 3rd time I tried to buy this...the first 2 times, the rice was still cooking...

Anyway, it wasn't bad, but I guess I'll have to go back to see if they really have a kim chee version or if I read wrong.

re-creating and a re-do

If you recall, last month I made taegu which was too salty. With the rest of the dried codfish, I soaked it in water overnight then used the same recipe for the sauce and I also added 1 teaspoon of kim chee starter.

I liked this version, it wasn't as salty as my first trial and the fish was softer. It was definitely easier to separate from the bone too (though I did find while eating that I missed some). I think the next time I try making this, I will try it with cuttlefish.

Since I had some potatoes that needed to be used, I wanted to try making the korean potatoes that I sometimes get in Hawaii whenever I eat Korean take-out. I found an easy recipe in Jean Watanabe Hee's "Salads, Sides and Soups".

Here is the recipe if you want to try making it:

Korean Potatoes : 6 servings

3 medium potatoes (about 2 pounds)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon Hawaiian salt

Soy sauce mixture:
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper (or less, adjust to taste)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Peel and cut potatoes into bite sized pieces. Immerse in brine of water and salt for 10 minutes; drain. Place potatoes in skillet and pour soy sauce mixture over. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat for 10 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.

NOTES: while typing this recipe, I realized I didn't put the oil into the sauce. Still, the potatoes are tasty and just like the potatoes you can get at most Hawaii Korean take-out places.

Another comfort food I tried making was portuguese sausage. When we lived in Hawaii, Satoshi and I loved this especially for breakfast and loved putting it into chili. There is supposed to be a flavor packet made by Noh Foods for making portuguese sausage, but I've never found it at the local markets in Hawaii. My mom clipped out the recipe from the paper and sent it to me this past Christmas. (Thanks Mom!)

Portuguese Sausage Patties from HSB "By Request", who got it from Muriel Miura's "Hawai`i Cooks & Saves"

2 pounds pork, coarsely ground or chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 chili peppers, chopped
2 to 2.5 teaspoons salt or 1.5 teaspoons rock salt
1/8 teaspoon cumin, optional
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup water
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring, optional
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke

Combine pork with garlic, chilies, salt and spices.
Combine water with food coloring, vinegar and liquid smoke.
Pour over pork mixture and mix well.
Cover and refrigerate 2 days, mixing occasionally.
Shape into thin, 2-inch wide patties and fry in ungreased skillet 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked through.
Makes 32 patties, serves 8.

NOTES: I didn't add the cumin, food coloring or liquid smoke. The texture was more like pork sausage, a little different from the portuguese sausage that we know, but it tasted ono (delicious in Hawaiian)! When I fried some up for breakfast, I used a tablespoon to scoop out the sausage mixture, rolled it in my palms then flattened it. The rest of the sausage mixture, I divvied up and put it into the freezer so we have some to fry up for other breakfasts.

The last thing I tried re-creating was a reuben. We don't have delis here where you can get sandwiches made, so I was happy to come across pastrami, rye bread and sauerkraut at the supermarket. The rye bread tasted more like white bread with hard seeds in it, but the pastrami and sauerkraut were delicious. I didn't add any type of dressing, but I did add some cheese and cornichons on the side....delicious.

What have you been eating?

taegu

It is amazing how food photos on the internet can make you crave them. After seeing this musubi on Wowgrinds, I was craving taegu (tay-goo).

One thing about living away from the Islands is that whenever I crave something from home, most times I have to make it...from scratch.

After a little research, it seems that taegu is a local Korean food in Hawaii. (I've never seen the dish here in Japan, if you know what it is called in Japanese or Korean, please let me know.) Dried codfish is seasoned and eaten with rice as a side dish or as a beer chaser.

After some surfing, I found a recipe on this site.

The thing I was most worried about was finding codfish, or more specifically, dried codfish. I googled to see what it was called in Japanese and what it would look like. (for those interested, it is called tara (ta-la))

Then I went to the supermarket.

I looked in the pupu (Hawaiian for appetizer)/beer chaser section, nope. Then I went to the refrigerated fish section...bingo!

I actually wanted a smaller package, but bought the size they had. 480 yen (about US$4.80) for 150 grams.

The most P.I.T.A. (pain in the A**) part of this recipe was taking off the bones of the fish. As I shredded the dried fish, I sorted as best I could to get the bones out and only made half of the fish with half of the sauce.

There was no cooking involved, which was perfect. And all you need to do is let it sit overnight in the refrig.

Taegu from Recipe Cottage

2.5 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3 teaspoons sesame oil
1 package dried codfish (tara)
2 teaspoons sesame seed
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Put all the ingredients together and let stand for 1 day.

Get yourself a bowl of hot rice and dig in!

NOTES: I wasn't sure how many ounces a package of codfish was, so I looked at another taegu recipe and saw that they used 6 ounces (170 grams). I used ground Japanese chili pepper instead of Western chili powder. I have a feeling that the chili powder in the recipe should be the Korean type and not the Western type. I am also wondering if I should try soaking the fish to get rid of some of the salt.

But as for the taste, it was delicious! A little spicy, a little sweet, too salty for me, but all in all delicious and close to the taegu that I know. I'm making more after we eat this batch up and I will try soaking the fish before making it, maybe it will make taking the bones out easier too...will let you know the results.

comfort foods

The weather for the past week has been...well, crappy, I think it rained almost every day.

I was craving some comfort food and decided I wanted kimbap, or as my friends in Hawaii call it, korean sushi.

In order to make the kimbap I had in mind, I needed to first make a batch of bulgogi...so I did.

The only nori (seaweed sheet) that I have is pre-cut and only about 2 or 3 inches wide and maybe 8 inches or so long, perfect for making musubi, but not necessarily for sushi.

Since I hadn't made sushi for several years, I had forgotten how much rice to put in it. (sorry Grandma, she would totally be disappointed to hear this...)

The results, my filling was off center and I had a LOT of nori to spare.

What did I put into the kimbap? Bulgogi, some kim chee, several slices of cucumber and some takuan (pickled white radish). Even though it didn't look good, the kimbap hit the spot.

With some of the bulgogi I made bi bim bap for dinner another night....fried egg, kim chee, bulgogi and rice...mmm.

And yet another dinner was bi bim kook soo. I usually use somen for this dish, but didn't have any, so I used some udon. It was delicious.

On yet a different night, we had the salmon with the sweet and spicy rub as a salad. Actually as I was grilling it on my grill pan, one side REALLY got burnt, I mean black! there was no burning smell to let me know it and when I went to turn it over...blackness! I made the lemon and dill dressing from her chopped salad in "The Food You Crave" and it went nicely with the salad.

I was reading a copy of Saveur that my mom had packed into our Christmas box and they were talking about the Egg McMuffin, so of course, I had to make my own for breakfast one morning. The egg had to be a little firmer...but it was still delicious.

And then Kathy gave me an idea for another dinner, in her comment she said, "Mmm I bet the asparagus dish would be awesome with a sunny side up egg over the top"...I did a fried one, but it was.

With the gloom that comes with winter, what comfort foods have you been eating?