I don't get Korean BBQ/Hotpot - Page 2

Originally Posted by changy

Cooking at the table in the form of bbq, hotpot, shabushabu etc. is common practice in Asia. If you don't like it, don't eat it. It's extremely rude to call it bullshit just because you are unfamiliar with the concept.

Hotpot allows for better control of how well done you want the food to be. Thinly sliced beef used in hot pot will cook in 5-10 seconds. If you precook the meat in the kitchen, they will be dry and flaky. Similarly, why eat fondue? Why not just melt cheese over bread?

Like Drew said, BBQ in Korea is a lot better. Just because your friend took you to a shit restaurant doesn't mean it's the same everywhere. Would you eat at Olive Garden and assume that's representative of Italian cuisine?

Originally Posted by WorkingOnIt

Also, it just depends on the people. There are some Korean BBQ places that cook for you. They bring the meat to your table, cook it, and plate it for you. Maybe it's just a Virginia thing though, as I've never seen this in California.

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

(was it Woo Lae Oak?)

I think that maybe it's restarauteur'ing, K-BBQ restaurants in America may all be locked into their genre and price range and don't have the incentive to give you anything better, nor do people expect it. In the Korean-American community there are special Korean-style butchers who cut down the meat in Korean cuts, freeze it, ship it across the country - in America the three or four central hubs for Korean food wholesale are LA- Chicago - New York - NoVa, or Atlanta (?), so all processed fresh food, the kimchi, the wholesale meat and seafood, they get made and picked up there. Dry goods come from LA, NYC, NoVa. There's not a lot of choice, it's just standardized stuff, not always the best quality. There's basically only one store to choose from, really, when it comes to a lot of that stuff.

Mainly though, they're just selling a) a foreign experience to non-Korean people (and Asian people in America generally eat tons of Asian food, not only from their own culture, but anything to have noodle soup or white rice) b) sustenance to Koreans, c) some sort of non-food related social thing to Koreans by having a store space, d) just food as they know it. And how few of the people who came to America and started restaurants for a living actually had sizable talent or skill in the food industry? That is not a huge factor when opening a Korean restaurant. Fuck, I can't really cook Korean food, but I could sure as hell open a K-BBQ restaurant that would please many. It's just a very different form of restaurant and food culture from the west. I can't even count it among my favorite foods, nor would I miss it a lot if I couldn't have it, but I understand what it's supposed to be.

Originally Posted by erictheobscure

I have a hard time evaluating Korean BBQ objectively since I grew up with the stuff. I guess I agree with you that it's not the best experience in the world, but I still find it satisfying. At least you went to a place with charcoal and not a little gas grill. But I guess Korean BBQ isn't really about the Maillard reaction or the charring. And which cut & preparation of meat you get makes a huge difference. I personally like tongue (hyuh mit gui), but a lot of the other non-marinated cuts are pretty boring. Korean BBQ places have evolved quite a bit over the last couple of decades--the sticky rice-sheet wrapper that substitutes for the lettuce at some places, the condiments that you get, etc.

I'm curious about the Korean foods that you do like. Japchae is probably among my least favorite Korean foods--I find it pretty pedestrian in flavor. Korean blood sausage is pretty tasty (though admittedly among the best of the world's blood sausages). And the newfangled Korean fried chicken is pretty awesome.

Originally Posted by blahman

Another thing about grill and hotpot is that it is not just about the food but an experience. People usually do that in groups and in winter. They crowd around a communal pot/grill and get warmth from the hot food and chilly sauce. It is also a very intimate bonding experience with friends and family being very hands on helping each other with cooking and sharing the food - instead of just doing your own thing on the plate in front of you.