Sushi Komasa

No wonder people wait until 9pm to have dinner here.

Must haves-

amaebi
unagi
spicy tuna roll
hamachi
cucumber with octopus

Fred and I were there at the sushi bar from 7 to 9. Had the time of our lives.

Koreatown Eats and Tasers

This blog is inspired by a terrible eats and violence at my school. See if you can follow the flow - its late and it don't matter right?

Koreatown isn't as intimidating as I remember. I just want to be able to go inside a restaurant, be able to read the menu and walk out filled with joy. I wasn't able to do that before, but the options are growing and I'm not afraid about not being Korean anymore.

MAPO RESTAURANT
3611 W 6th St
LOS ANGELES , CA 90005

Mapo has the best banchan - sumptuous little dishes: beansprouts with sesame oil, marinated eaggplants with anchovies, kim chi, radishes, spinach, pototoes with onions, blanched cabbage with soy bean paste - I'm not exaggerating when I say that there may be more. The banchan makes this place special.

Do not miss the pork sauteed with green onions and kim chi. Their spicy tofu soup is thick with soy bean paste and savory chili. The plan is to try the marinated fish dish that I see on everyone's table next - I'll be brave next time and order by pointing =)

Oh, and the waitress is a sweetheart. She defies the "rude Korean" stereotype and when I go there by myself, I watch in awe. 8 tables, take out orders and the serving of a million banchan's all by herself.

Betty Hallock wrote an article in the L.A. Times about Koreatown eats this past June. She makes a few great suggestions:

MOUNTAIN CAFE(San), 3064 W. 8th St. - great Samgyetang or chicken soup with ginseng.

WIEN KONDITOREI UND CAFE, 3035 W. Olympic Blvd. - its a beautiful bakery. I can sit there all morning. Recommended: their tiny cakes in the glass shelf and chestnut bread.

Then there's the place I will never go to again:

MOM's RESTAURANT (Umma Jip), 3126 W. 8th St. - I love mom and pop shops but um, there's not alot of love when you walk into this place - especially for a non Korean and a dark Pinoy. It's like the mom in mom and pop disappeared. If you're looking for something cheap, there's some beef soup for $2.99 but otherwise, go back to 6th street and have some of Mapo's grub.

I don't know friends. Kim chi is addictive. I have a half gallon in my fridge and I find myself munching on that as I cook my dinners =)

And yes, its on my mind. UCLA and tasers.

I didn't watch the footage last night and couldn't understand what my classmates meant this afternoon when they used words like infuriated. Until I saw the YouTube clip tonight. An excruciating 6:53 minutes of violence and discrimination. I passed up the protest at UCLA today cause I didn't understand what happened but now I do. It's automatic to feel angry when you hear a fellow student scream in that manner and be abused by campus police. And I'll be sure to be out there in solidarity with my peers next time. Denouncing the power that people assume with their uniform on and rejecting the mandate by our country's leaders to treat our fellow middle eastern citizens like criminals.

Xiao Long Bao

Mmm- Yoso

I never gave a second thought to the soup within the Xiao Long Bao. Now I know, and want to know the how to.

For the ambitious: visit Mmm-Yoso's blog for the recipe - thank you whoever it is you are!

If I ever get around to this, I'll share the results. Hopefully it looks something like the photo above. Sweet!

Kinpira Gobo

This is one of the first dishes I learned how to cook in Japan. Kazahaya okasan taught me how to take a burdock root and shave it with a knife as you would a pencil. It's impossible for me, so it inevitably takes me much longer to prepare! But its well worth the time, very simple, healthy and yummy. Takes me back to Okayama every time. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 Gobo (Burdock Root)
1/2 Medium Carrot
2 tsp Soy Sauce
3 tsp Tougarashi (Red Pepper)
3 tsp Mirin (Sweetened Sake)
1 tsp Sesame Oil
Sesame Seeds

Preparation
1. Peel carrot, slice into thin julienne strips.
2. Wash the gobo (burdock root). Remove dirt and scrape peel with back of knife. Slice them into thin julienne strips and soak in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain well.

Cooking
1. Preheat pan and add sesame oil.
2. Saute gobo in the pan on high heat.
3. Add sliced carrot and a little water to soften ingredients.
4. When moisture has decreased, lower the heat. Add soy sauce and mirin; stir well.
5. Add the tougarashi to taste and garnish with sesame seeds.