Everyone loves Siracha but have you tried to Korean Gochujang? I discovered this sweet/savory/spicy paste while learning some Korean dishes. It’s definitely something you should try out in your kitchen. They go into the details at The Awl.

Toronto Life has weighed in on the top Korean restaurants in the city. Their list has a few modern takes on top of the traditional ones, but still worthy places to check out:

Swish by Han
Jang Uh Plus
Cho Dang Soon Tofu
Tofu Village
Koko Share Bar

Galleria Supermarket, a Korean grocer in Richmond Hill, has expanded southward. Their new location at Don Mills and York Mills is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. The Don Mills corridor is really expanding since the “Shops” opened up two years ago.

This supermarket focuses on Korean products but worthwhile to visit even if you don’t cook Korean food. Lots of premade delicacies are available. There’s also a very large hot food section where the cooks prepare everything fresh within your view. There’s also a fresh tofu machine, a bakery, a side dish “bar” and butcher.

Galleria Supermarket
865 York Mills Road

I’m a little amazed at why Toronto’s foodies haven’t raved about the great Korean food that has been growing in the city in the past few years. Toronto Life are acknowledging some of these new small shops with an article about Toronto’s Best Korean Food. If you haven’t been to an authentic Korean restaurant, it’s definitely worth a try.

I was at the PAT Korean market last weekend and saw these all prepped and ready to go. With some rice and seaweed these can be made into rolls in minutes! Very good idea.

There’s this great sidedish at Korean Grill House that I always end up hoarding. After a quick trip to P.A.T. didn’t show any sources for this spicy and savoury dish. So I headed to Maangchi for a recipe and cooked up my first batch. It needs some tweaking but I was satisfied with my first attempt. Recipe from Maagnchi is below:

Ingredients:

2-3 medium sized potatoes

onion

2 cloves garlic

soy sauce

1 tbs corn syrup

1 tbs sugar

half cup of water.

Recipe:

1. Peel the potatoes, wash, and cut them into 1 inch dice and make 2 cups.

2. Rinse the potato using colander in running water to remove starch.

3. Cut half onion into bite sized pieces.

4. Heat the pan and add 1-2 tbs olive oil and pour the potato into the pan.

5. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and sauté it until the potato look a little translucent, then add the onion and keep stirring it.

6. Add half cup of water into the pan, 2 tbs – 2½ tbs soy sauce (depends on your taste), 1 tbs of sugar, 1 tbs of corn syrup and mix it and simmer it over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the liquid is evaporated.Tip: Keep checking and stirring not to burn it and to cook evenly, if it needs more water, add some.

7. When the potato is cooked, turn off the stove and add 1 tbs of sesame oil and sprinkle a pinch of sesame seeds.

My proximity to the Korean Grill House, Oja and Little Korea has me craving a lot of Korean food at home. For a while I’ve been getting recipes online and making them on my own, however I just discovered a great website with both recipes and videos. Called Maangchi, it’s made by a Toronto ex-pat who now lives in New York. Her a great list of recipes of home-style Korean dishes.

Her recipe for Bibimbap is below, I used a variation of it in the picture above.

Bibimbap from Maangchi on Vimeo.

I was in Little Korea the other day going to the Korean supermarket they have in the area. Across the street from the PAT Central Market is Korea House. It caught my eye because of it’s unique address – 666 Bloor St. Always daring, I went inside to check out the food.

Typical of small mom & pop asian restaurants downtown, it’s small and the furnishings are very simple. It was a gorgeous day outside and I lucked out with a seat at the window. I ordered the Bibimbap, a rice dish served in a hot earthen bowl. It’s topped with beef, vegetables and an egg. I find it’s one of the most hearty dishes around – perfect for a winter dinner (however, it was the middle of the summer).

The meal was good and inexpensive, an excellent value. I recommend the place but it’s small and a bit of a hole-in-the-wall. People used to eating at Swatow downtown would feel right at home.