The Korean Wave 2010-2011 - Korean Cultural Service

The New York Times Magazine, Sunday, September 18, 201170, 71Ignore for a moment the obvious sops to Westernpalates and tapas-loving cocktail drinkers: the bulgogisliders on the “modern” menu; the “K.F.C.”fried-chicken wings; the kimchi, bacon and chorizo“paella” that reads like a midnight Twitter postingfrom a chef in his cups.But only for a moment! Sliders may be a goofball trendlike cupcakes or Korean fried chicken. That doesn’tmake them bad. (You can pass on Danji’s wings,though: unremarkable, even a little pallid.)That paella is nice, too: hot and weird below a friedJidori hen egg, bright as the sun. And the bulgogi slider,crisp at its edges, turns out to be packed with thesweet thrum of Asian pear and the salty hush of soysauce, with smoky sesame oil and the deep, steely tasteof good beef. It provides excellent eating beneath itspickled cucumbers and mesclun-amped scallion salsa,on a soft grilled bun. A pork-belly version does, too,caramelized and fiery with gochujang and a finishingoil made from the seeds of hot peppers.Appetizers? Entrees? All Danji’s dishes are small. Oneexception on the traditional menu is the poached sablefishwith daikon, which ought to be eaten with rice:the luscious fish and chopstick-tender daikon swimmingin a dark, lovely braise of Mr. Kim’s beloved soy,garlic, ginger and Korean red pepper, with a splash ofdashi and a fine julienne of ginger to lighten thingsup. It explains in a single bite the concept of umami.(Another big fellow: the restaurant’s classic DMZ meatstew, a staple of Korean restaurants that combines bitsof hot dog and Spam, pork belly, kimchi and ramennoodles in a spicy broth.)On the “modern” side of the menu is a dish markedsimply tofu with ginger-scallion dressing. It is magical.Mr. Kim rolls rectangles of fresh tofu in potato starch,then flash fries them and tops the packages with crispbits of fried tempura batter and a few slices of hot pepperalong with the ginger and scallion. By the time thedish reaches the table, the starch has softened to createa skin over the creamy tofu that is elastic and notdissimilar to mochi, the Japanese glutinous rice paste.Two orders for four people seems correct.More traditional is the steak tartare. It is a versionof the classic Korean dish yook hwe, which oftenmarries long strands of partially frozen beef to thinones of Asian pear, sesame oil, soy sauce and gochujang,topped with a raw egg yolk. All those ingredientsare present here, though in fancy form (a quailegg, Creekstone beef, pear purée). But Mr. Kim, whoworked at Daniel, eschews freezing the meat and, withhis fine dice and careful plating, makes the dish seemexactly as if it might be served with a plate of fries atBenoit or Balthazar. It could be colder, perhaps. But itis pretty great.Not that everything at Danji is. There is no need forgrilled corn with a cheese aioli and spicy mayonnaisehere or perhaps at any other restaurant; fried calamariwith wasabi mayonnaise is unnecessary except to accommodatethose for whom a menu with no calamariis no menu at all; there is no real dessert on offer. Andeven if you stall your way through the menu, orderingin waves of food, a meal at Danji goes by quite quickly.Meanwhile, the crowd waiting up by the bar for tablesstares bullets if you linger.No reservations. Go.Danji346 West 52nd Street, Clinton; (212) 586-2880, danjinyc.com.ATMOSPHERE Part tapas bar, part Japanese izakaya, allKorean, very welcoming.SOUND LEVEL Moderate.RECOMMENDED DISHES Whelk salad with buckwheatnoodles, steak tartare, pancake, japchae, sablefish,DMZ stew, fried tofu, sliders, paella.WINE LIST A tiny if serviceable list of wines, sakes andsojus, and OB beer.PRICE RANGE Small plates, $6 to $18.HOURS Monday to Friday, noon to 3 p.m.; Monday toThursday, 5:30 p.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday,5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.RESERVATIONS Accepted only for parties of six ormore.CREDIT CARDS All major cards.*WHEELCHAIR ACCESS The restaurant is up one stepfrom street level and is quite narrow. There is an accessiblerestroom in the rear.WHAT THE STARS MEAN Ratings range from zero tofour stars and reflect the reviewer’s reaction to food,ambience and service, with price taken into consideration.Menu listings and prices are subject to change.Heat by the HandfulBy SAM SIFTONThere are three ways to make the recipe thatfollows here; three pathways to dinnertimenirvana. The dish is the Korean barbecuestandard known as bulgogi — “fire meat,” is the literaltranslation — transformed into a sandwich filling,a sloppy Joe for a more perfect union. (File under“Blessings of Liberty.”) Fed to children with a tall glassof milk, the sandwiches may inspire smiles and lickedplates, rapt attention and the request that the meal beserved at least monthly — they are not at all too spicyfor younger palates. Given to adults accompanied bycold lager, cucumber kimchi and a pot of the fermentedKorean hot-pepper paste known as gochujang, theycan rise to higher planes.Bulgogi sandwiches are a taste of the sort of homecooking that can lead to more home cooking. Theyserve as fragrant hamburger crushers, elegant vanquishersof pizza. They are an enemy of takeout.To cook them, you can follow the instructions slavishly,as if working for Hooni Kim, the chef and owner ofDanji, on the edge of the theater district in Manhattan.Bulgogi “sliders” are a hallmark of his menu and by farthe restaurant’s most popular dish. The recipe is his.30Copyright © 2011 by The New York Times Co. Reprinted with permission.31