Korean Comfort Food

Sachiko and I find ourselves having cravings for the simple yet delicious comfort food at My Tofu House on Geary in San Francisco. This is authentic Korean Food. In fact, if you go to the website, you'll see it is predominantly written in Korean. We found ourselves here one night last week.

After steaming hot tea is served in clear plastic glasses, banchan, or kimchee appetizers are brought out. The raw egg in its shell in the upper right of the photo is an ingredient in Sachiko's dish. The banchan were tasty, and many of the dishes rather spicy.

Following next was a large traditional stone pot of rice. Although it helped with the heat of the banchan, I went sparingly on this because I knew my dish had a bed of rice as its base.

Sachiko ordered a simple Kimchee Tofu Soup. The egg is broken in while its bubbling hot so it cooks with the broth. This is one of her simple favorites.

I ordered a Tofu and Vegetables Bibimbap. It was so colorful and had a variety of vegetables colorfully arranged around the stone pot atop the rice. Topping the vegetables was again, a raw egg which cooked into the rice when I stirred it, and grilled tofu with a spicy red sauce and leaves of seaweed. A hot, filling and antioxidant packed meal! It's always too much to finish and so hot that you have to take it slowly. This place always has a waiting line and I rarely see non-Asians among the guests.

Previously reviewed:
August 27, 2007

Vegetarian at Grilled Meat House

I'd noticed Juban for sometime at the street level of the Kinokuniya Building in San Francisco's Japantown. And on that shopping day, it seemed like the time to visit. I had some trepidations, having been newly reminded to eat simply and vegetarian by my Ayurvedic doctor...

However, there was something called a Tofu Sukiyaki Bento on the menu, and it looked pretty good! Slabs of fresh tofu with vegetables simmered in sukiyaki sauce smelled SO good and so it tasted. The clear soup with spinach and bean sprouts was also tasty, and I ate a little bit of the kim chee. Honestly this yakiniku house, ostensibly Japanese, had a decided Korean tinge. But I enjoy Korean too. It's clean, pleasant and the service is prompt as well.

Last meat-eating adventure. I alluded to a diet that I've started in a previous post, and one of it's key features is that it is vegetarian. Last week Dad & I visited a cute tofu house in Japantown, which coincidentally ended up being the last time I had any meat/poultry/fish product except for the Thanksgiving Day diet holiday. It wasn't planned that way, it just happened. More about the diet at the end of the post. DooBu is a gem of a place, with prompt and friendly service.

I was quite attracted by the artful soybean display in the front window.

The bar/serving space was open and cheery and looked quite clean.

The seating area was nicely decorated with antique musical instruments and art pieces.

After we ordered, the first thing to appear was a whole deep fried white fish for each of us, a special offering of hospitality.

Then followed the 'banchan', or accompaniments to the meal. A nice selection, including kimchee of course. I understand that that these are supposed to be eaten with the meal, but I've never been with anyone where these things have actually lasted until the meal came!

I ordered one of their combinations, and my special soft tofu soup came out first, the Clam Soon Tofu. The waitress asked if I would like the traditional raw egg cracked into the boiling soup, and I nodded yes. (The heat of the boiling soup cooks it anyway). The soup was good, and had a generous portion of very fresh clams in it.

The Spicy Pork was good too. I forgot that something that has "spicy" in its name likely is. It was very good, but the reason I'm not a fan of very spicy food is that it anesthetizes your tongue, so you really don't get to taste the other food. But since we'd pretty much finished off the banchan, and I'd made quite a bit of headway into my Clam Soon, before I started this dish, it really didn't matter.

Dad ordered the Bulgogi, described as Korean style sliced beef BBQ. He liked it, and I tried a bite as well. It was tender and nicely sauced.

Our meals were also accompanied by a mixture of white and black rice, which was flavorful and hearty.

And we were given a little dessert treat, a yogurt flavored drink I recognized by the bottle shape, Yakult. Despite the Korean lettering, I raised it and said, ohh Japanese?? And the waitress replied, "No, Korean". I said "Yakult?", and she said, "Oh yes, you know!" Well, it's Japanese actually, developed for ingesting friendly bacteria pleasantly, and now has become popular all over the globe. Nice touch to a very pleasant meal.

Ayurvedic Diet: I wrote about meeting Dr. Arya Bhushan Bhardwaj earlier this month, and I had a private consultation with him. My South Beach Diet had stalled, and although I knew I could go back to Phase I (nearly no carbs) to get off the plateau, it might be worth a try to see what an Ayurvedic discipline might have to offer. It is more than a diet, incorporating exercises (breathing & kicking) and herbs. Basically it's lassi, dal, fresh raw salad, basmati rice and steamed vegetables. I thought although unlikely I could stick to what looked to me as a modified fast for 40 days, if I even get close it will probably move me forward. A little over a week into it, I feel great! This may be tough on my blogging as bowls of dal and rice aren't very photogenic, but I trust I'll figure out something to blog about ;-).

Korean mood. The other evening I met Sachiko for a homey Korean meal at My Tofu House on Geary in San Francisco. Simple comfort food, it's a wonderful place to enjoy with good friends, but there is often a line outside, as I'm not the only one with this opinion.

First we are brought complimentary tea in plastic glasses. The heat belies the type of glass it is in, but it is smooth and tasty. I think it is barley tea, or perhaps corn tea. After we order, a group of accompaniments to the meal arrive. Crisp seasoned cucumber, grilled whitefish, spicy white radish, small oily fish (great for calcium!), kim chee and raw eggs arrive. The eggs are for dropping in the boiling hot pots that come with the tofu and other ingredients inside.

I ordered the mushroom tofu pot (in Korean this variety of dish is called "soondubu chijae"), and dropped my whole egg in, and it cooked right away. You have to eat this slowly because it is so hot. Rice cooked in a stone pot comes out with peas and chickpeas adorning the top, and the waiter spoons some in a stainless bowl for each person at the table.

Sachiko ordered the vegetable variety, which was hardly distinguishable from mine in appearance. Wholesome and vegetarian if you don't have the fish that comes at the beginning of the meal. A great place for a comfortable evening.

Home again, home again jiggity-jig. And this little pig took her Dad and his companion while I was in Chicago, Patricia, out to Seoul Garden for an eating adventure last night. I love introducing people to new experiences and tastes, and Patricia, originally from Nicaragua, had never had Korean food before. Since we no longer have a Korean restaurant in Marin, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and went to Japantown.

We started with hae mul pa jeon, a Korean seafood and vegetable pancake for an appetizer. It was seasoned well and delicious. It had a soy sauce/vinegar/citrus dipping sauce. As we were enjoying it, all the small plates arrived as an accompaniment to the barbecued meats we'd ordered. In the leading photo you can see all the varieties, steamed broccoli, miso paste, kim chi, vinegared radish and carrot slivers, soy curd cakes, hot white radish cubes, nearly clear white starchy cubes with a gentle flavor, sauteed bean spouts in garlic, and a vinegared seaweed salad. What variety!

and oh! They also served my favorite flavored lotus roots as one of the side dishes.

Then came the beef and cabbage soup. It definitely had the taste of homemade, long simmered broth offset by light napa cabbage leaves. It tasted better than it looks to be sure.

Next, the jabchae bokum warm salad came out... yam noodles with a couple of varieties of mushrooms, egg, vegetables and fish cakes with a nice sesame infused sauce stir fried into it. This is one of my all-time favorite Korean dishes.

Then the barbecue items started arriving, beginning with the dak gui, marinated chicken.

Next came the perennial favorite, bul gogi, seasoned rib eye steak. It was tender, well-seasoned and good.

The barbecued items were accompanied by lettuce leaves for wrapping. Patricia was mmming and ahhing all the way through, and declared, "You sure know how to feast!". She went on to say she'd never had so much fun with a client's family before. How could I not invite her for a treat when I saw how well she took care of my Dad while I was in Chicago? He was so bright, happy and alive when I came back, and looking impeccable (as well as my house) that my background worry turned into delight and appreciation.

Then came the finale, green tea ice cream and rice 'punch'. Actually, the ice cream packed the 'punch'. It seemed to be made of matcha -- the crushed and ground bitter green tea that is used in the Japanese traditional tea ceremony, which carries a stronger and fresher taste.

I held the rice punch up and questioned the waitress about it. Indeed it is called "punch" in Korean, and it is non-alcoholic. It has the taste of sweet rice water, and the rice at the bottom added artistic flair and a little texture at the end. Needless to say, this was far more food than for one meal, so Dad and I enjoyed the leftovers for tonight's dinner after I returned from my Adyashanti intensive in San Rafael (I'll be there again tomorrow.) Seoul Garden was a nice experience, although I'm not sure what a real connoisseur of Korean food would think about it. It's also a bit on the pricey side. We certainly enjoyed ourselves and would not hesitate to come back. In fact, Patricia is looking forward to introducing it to her brother on his next visit from Toronto.

Daiing for Hahn's. I heard the news that San Rafael's Hahn's Hibachi has left, and Sushi to Dai For is moving in the space. Since Hahn's was the only Korean restaurant in Marin, we are left a little less diverse than before. And it's also nice to see a local Japanese restaurant do so well.

Korean in Marin. Searching the usual sources, no answers come up for a Korean Restaurant in Marin. But there is a small chain originating in San Francisco called Hahn's Hibachi, which is definitely concentrates on Korean cuisine that has a branch in San Rafael.

I'll have to admit, on that rainy day last week I was trying to dash in a place closer to the parking lot -- so I first tried Sushi Lin, thinking it had a few months now to hit its stride. But alas, although the lunch hours clearly indicated that it should be open for another hour when I arrived, the door was firmly locked and the man behind the counter just scowled. Not a way to encourage customers... I had visions of an obento box in my head, so then I braved the rain to head around the corner to Akira, only to discover that they have stopped weekday lunch service except on Fridays. Awk! Across the street beaconed Hahn's Hibachi, so that is how I ended up there.

By that time I was soaked, and ready for something warm. I was greeted warmly (hurrah!) and I reviewed their extensive menu, deciding upon something a little unusual, a Dolsot Bibimbop. Very generously portioned, you have in a dangerously hot clay pot toasty rice topped with fresh steamed vegetables and barbecued chicken, then an fried egg! It stays almost too hot to eat for a long time due to the clay pot retaining the heat, but patience is rewarded with a fresh and inventive one-pot meal. The vegetables underneath were spinach, carrots, zucchini, turnips and sauteed bean sprouts. A veritable garden!

I was trying to find other Korean restaurants in Marin, and remembered a fast food one called Sorbol (I think), and found that the Village Food Court in Corte Madera where it lived has been swallowed up by Anthropologie. A little birdie told me that Java Hut Cafe in San Anselmo serves great Korean food, although it's a coffee shop. I'll have to put it on my list to check. If any of you know of other Korean restaurants in Marin, let me know! But at any rate, Hahn's Hibatchi was friendly and fresh and I'll be back again!