Pork N' Waffles

Roscoe's Chicken N' Waffles is one of the most iconic culinary institutions in LA – something that was so uniquely associated with downtown when I was growing up. Nowadays you can find chicken and waffles on any self-respecting brunch menu in pretty much any town, but back in the 90s it was still an oxymoron for people. Why chicken? With waffles? It's a dish that can't make up its mind about being breakfast food or a dinner meal...

But I always saw the beauty in this union – mainly because of the whole new world of SAUCES it opened up. Instead of just maple syrup on waffles, or gravy on chicken, you can have both! And more!

Just like with Chinese food, Koreans have a set menu of Japanese they love and have co-opted as their own. Donkatsu is a spin on the Japanese tonkatsu – aka fried pork cutlet, aka schnitzel, aka chicken fried chicken (see how good food pervades all cultures?). The differences between the two manifests mainly through the donkatsu sauce and the accoutrements: usually a coleslaw with mayo dressing, crunchy radish kimchi (kkakdugi), and something pickled.

Pork Donkatsu + Kimchi Scallion Waffles smothered in donkatsu gravy & sambal maple syrup

Kimcheeze Grits topped with Ritz crackers & scallions

Roasted goguma (Korean sweet potatoes)

Goguma (Korean sweet potato) Pies!

Donkatsu & Waffles with Asian chive coleslaw, Kkakdugi (radish kimchi) and soy pickled peppers

Donkatsu and Waffles are a thing now! Visited the Korean / Southern fusion pop up by @yooeating today at @reclamationbar and it was mindblowing. Can't wait to see how this will evolve in NYC! Follow #yooeating for more delicious fusion foods! #SeoHungry

A photo posted by Heidi Seo (@seohungry) on Mar 19, 2016 at 4:55pm PDT

Donkatsu and Waffles are a thing now! Visited the Korean / Southern fusion pop up by @yooeating today at @reclamationbar and it was mindblowing. Can't wait to see how this will evolve in NYC! Follow #yooeating for more delicious fusion foods! #SeoHungry

A photo posted by Heidi Seo (@seohungry) on Mar 19, 2016 at 4:55pm PDT

MENU?!

Pork N' Waffles

Korean-Japanese Donkatsu (crispy pork cutlet)
Kimchi Scallion Waffles
Donkatsu gravy
Sambal Maple Syrup
Sides: Kkakdugi (radish kimchi), soy pickled peppers, Asian chive coleslaw

Kimcheeze Grits

Goguma (Korean Sweet Potato) Pie

Korean Jjigae Soup Dumplings

When I tried my first soup dumpling at New York's Joe Shanghai in Chinatown, my mind was BLOWN. Like almost everybody who tried these little soup & meat filled dough pockets I thought, "how did they get the soup into the dumpling?!" The secret is actually prety simple, just extremely gelatinous stock, made possible by either copious amounts of bones or a little bit of gelatin/aspic. That's the secret to the lip-smacking deliciousness in these little soup dumplings.

Jjigae is a staple of Korean meals at home – a simple stew made with a handful of ingredients to create a strong, bold flavor that pairs perfectly with a bowl of rice. Kimchi jjigae is a spicy soup featuring kimchi (of course), pork, and tofu and dwenjang jjigae is an earthy stew with zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, tofu, and fermented soybean. 

Kneading fresh dough for soup dumpling wrappers

MEAT JELLO! Kimchi Jjigae soup filling for dumplings

Takes a lot of hands to make a lot of dumplings

Rice & Banchan: kimchi, sesame spinach, Asian chive pancake

MENU?!

Kimchi Jjigae Soup Dumplings

kimchi & pork broth; kimchi, pork, tofu, scallion filling

Dwenjang Jjigae Soup Dumplings

anchovy, shiitake, dwenjang broth; shiitake, dwenjang, tofu, zucchini, onion, mushroom, Korean pepper filling

Rice & Banchan

Cabbage Kimchi, Sesame Spinach, Asian Chive Pancake

Iron Chef Birthday Battle

Our good friend Dakota Kim, who we've collaborated with for the Coney Island Burlesque x Food Pop-Up and Hot Sauce Burlesque x Food Pop-Up, asked us to participate in a Iron Chef style battle/dinner party to celebrate her recent birthday.

We competed against the awesome Harris Salat of Ganso Ramen in Battle: Dragonfruit to each create an appetizer and entree for the crowd.

Yooeating appetizer round: Fried cod cakes with dragonfruit sauce & garlic chive

Yooeating entree round: Rice noodles with miso tofu, dragonfruit, and bean sprouts

Brazilian Meets Korean

We adventured to Rio de Janeiro a couple of years ago, where unlike its normal sunny, beachy weather, it was dreary and rainy. We trekked up a large hill in Santa Teresa to reach a small restaurant at the top, where we feasted on feijoada, Brazilian's most famous black bean and pork stew topped with toasted farofa (yucca flour). During the days, we would take cover from the rain in tiny corner shops where we would order and devour any form of pastel we could find, after dousing in hot sauce. 

Brazilian food is close to my partner Nick's heart – his uncle's wife was Brazilian and he spent a fair amount of time in Rio and Minas Gerais, aka cowboy country, with her and her family. Both Brazilians and Koreans have an affinity for slow braised meats and vegetables, with some spicy & sour condiments to offset the richness. Plus, any excuse to marry kimchi & cheese!