There was a lot of buzz last week about the New York Times article about the new wave of Korean taco shops popping up as a result of Kogi Truck’s success. Well Roy Choi of Kogi Truck fame should realize that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Korean Taco Trucks and Korean tacos are popping up on menus across America, but the real question is if it’s really a way for Korean food to become mainstream by going fusion. Korean food is still considered exotic so how can Korean food become more accepted like sushi and Thai food? Perhaps these fusion tacos (Mexican/Korean) introduces the flavors of Korean food which will ultimately pave the way for adopting the other delicacies that are popular like the tried and true kimchi. You can ask different Koreans and you’ll get different opinions on the possible mass acceptance of Korean food equal to other Asian cuisines but only time will tell. At least Korean tacos are a good start.
It may not be a surprise to many that Roy Choi was announced as the “Best New Chef” by Food & Wine Magazine.
“Roy Choi is on a mission, and it’s a mission we completely and thoroughly support,” Cowin says. “He wants to bring great food to the street, not just to Twittering foodies. His food is delicious [and] original….
“This is the first time truck food has been nominated for this award, and it represents a change in the way food is delivered and consumed around America today.”
Here’s the full list of Food & Wine’s 2010 best new chefs:
Roy Choi of Kogi BBQ truck, Los Angeles
Matt Lightner of Castagna, Portland, Ore.
Clayton Miller of Trummer’s on Main, Clifton, Va.
Missy Robbins of A Voce, New York
Jonathon Sawyer of the Greenhouse Tavern, Cleveland
Alex Seidel of Fruition, Denver
Mike Sheerin of Blackbird, Chicago
John Shields of Town House, Chilhowie, Va.
Jason Stratton of Spinasse, Seattle
James Syhabout of Commis, Oakland
Korean chef Roy Choi who made truck food famous with his kogi tacos in southern California is now about to expand his food empire. What started a year ago with a single truck and a bunch of Twitter followers has now become an empire of 4 trucks and a soon to be restaurant in west L.A.
The new, still unnamed restaurant won’t use the Kogi name, Mr. Choi says, and he doesn’t plan to serve the taco. Instead he will try to update the rice bowl. “I see bacon-fat-studded chestnuts and fresh herbs on braised lamb; steak with a soft-poached egg and hand-crushed sesame seeds; organic rice, braised pork-belly, fresh-water spinach in a beautiful broth with sesame leaves,” he says, rattling off ideas. The food, he says, will be inexpensive enough that people who normally eat McDonald’s can afford it.
We named Roy Choi as one of the most influential Korean-Americans in 2009 and his impact was truly evident with new Korean taco trucks popping up everywhere and restauranteurs serving up their version of a Korean taco. Roy Choi embodies the hard working culture of Koreans and many Korean-Americans can relate to his life. He may not be the most eloquent guy but his focus and diligence has brought him this far and his belief in himself has turned the food world upside down. ”There is something very Korean about Roy being Roy,” says David Chang of New York’s Momofuku restaurants, who is also of Korean heritage and who met Mr. Choi last spring. “It’s about working your a— off, and not believing that you’re any good.”
Continuing our top ten of most influential Korean-Americans in 2009, we meet a man who stormed America with his food truck. How influential was Roy Choi and his Kogi Truck? The Zagat guide for 2010 began including the ratings of food trucks and it would be safe to say that the Kogi truck made the most influence on the Zagat guide to include this new category. How many restaurateurs can say they were profiled in the New York Times, LA Times, Newsweek, ABC News and many other national media outlets? Not many if any, but a little truck that zooms around southern California with Twitter followers may have made the biggest news in the food world in all of 2009. New trucks were popping up all around the country and this was a direct correlation to the success and popularity of the Kogi Truck. Of course David Chang is the most famous of Korean-American chefs, but it was Roy’s grassroots efforts and guerrilla mentality that got Kogi Truck on the American map. Roy Choi has a pedigree – a La Bernardin alum and Culinary Institute of America valedictorian - but he chose to do something very innovative with the invention of Korean Kogi Tacos and delivering them on wheels. No one else out there used Twitter and social media as a marketing tool better than the Kogi Truck. Roy Choi and the Kogi Truck were honored at this year’s prestigious Bon Appetit Awards, where he spoke in front of America’s top chefs and restaurateurs.
He (Roy Choi) spoke of delivering cheap, healthy, sustainable fast food to kids and adults in underprivileged neighborhoods who from birth to death eat nothing but fast food. (Later Choi explained to Eater that what they do would be the equivalent of an NYC truck going into the South Bronx or Bed Stuy at midnight). He spoke of starting with $1,500 and a family of co-workers and growing it into a 53 person company. He got a standing ovation. Ten minutes later, reps from both the Today show and the Food Network were scheduling spots with Kogi.
Roy Choi and the Kogi Truck is #9 on our list of top ten most influential Korean-Americans in 2009.
If you don’t know about the Kogi truck, then you’ve been living under a rock. Roy Choi and buds started humbly with a truck and an idea to cook and sell kogi tacos on the streets of LA. It’s taken the country by storm and it seems like everyone is trying to start-up a truck. Who would’ve thought that truck food could be so popular. It caused such a craze that now food trucks are covered for the first time by the new Zagat guide for 2010. We covered these guys back in January and who would’ve thought they would explode onto the food scene like they have. Walk down memory lane with a video from the Kogi guys on how it all started.
This past weekend, the kings of the New York culinary scene came together for the Bon Appetit Awards. Big guns like D-Biggity, Dave Chang, Drew Nieporent, Nate Appleman, Jose Andres, and Michael Laiskonis gathered in the Bon Appetit Supper Club restaurant on 57th and 6th Avenue to celebrate the magazine’s new top ten list of culinary taste makers. Daniel Boulud, the famed chef made a funny crack at David Chang saying he wants to debut a new Korean sausage called Momofuckyou. The final speech came from Korean-American Roy Choi from the Kogi Truck, who stole the show by delivering a moving speech about the grassroots and guerrilla mentality of his taco truck operation. Can you say Korean?!
He spoke of delivering cheap, healthy, sustainable fast food to kids and adults in underprivileged neighborhoods who from birth to death eat nothing but fast food. (Later Choi explained to Eater that what they do would be the equivalent of an NYC truck going into the South Bronx or Bed Stuy at midnight). He spoke of starting with $1,500 and a family of co-workers and growing it into a 53 person company. He got a standing ovation. Ten minutes later, reps from both the Today show and the Food Network were scheduling spots with Kogi.
Get ready for some Kogi tacos at Baja Fresh. The fast food franchise is about to start serving up the Korean tacos first made famous by the Kogi Truck. I guess imitation is the biggest form of flattery because more and more of these tacos are popping up in restaurants. Baja Fresh is taking it mainstream with its 283 stores. They tested it out earlier this month with the introduction of the Baja Kogi Taco. According to the Wall Street Journal, there’s a fight brewing.
Baja Fresh filed for trademark protection for the term “kogi” on May 8th, Mr. Rink says. Kogi filed its trademark paperwork for “kogi” on December 4th of last year, but only for narrow use, just on mobile food carts. Baja Fresh is seeking protection for the use of Kogi with everything from tacos and burritos to promotional toys. Kogi co-founder Caroline Shin-Manguera says a steep “learning curve” when starting the business accounts for the wording on the trademark application.
Ms. Shin-Manguera says she finds it flattering that Korean barbecue-style tacos are becoming so popular. But “the use of the name after we have worked so hard to create a Kogi community through Twitter and bloggers” is “disheartening,” she says. Ms. Shin says she became aware of the Baja Fresh menu yesterday and isn’t yet sure what the company will do about it. But can you say “lawyers”?
The Kogi truck took LA by storm. Twittering its locations across Southern California, the media picked up on how the Kogi truck utilized social networking to organically gain a following. It also helped that the tacos were pretty darn good. What an interesting recipe combining bulgogi and tortillas. Do you ask for salsa or gojoojang on the taco? ABC News, the LA Times, the New York Times and many other major publications did separate features on the popularity of the Kogi truck. If you go on YouTube, people chronicle their hunt for the Kogi truck. It’s almost reaching cult status. Well, it’s now inspired Gourmet Magazine to bring the Korean tacos to your home. Check out the recipes on how to make bulgogi tacos and kimchi fried rice. Of course it’s always risky to try out a Korean recipe from an American publication, but this is fusion food so definitely worth trying out.
Bulgogi
Adapted from Kye Soon Hong
Makes enough for about 18 tacos
Note: the same marinade may be used for kalbi, thin-sliced bone-in short ribs
• 1 1/2 pounds beef rib eye, thinly sliced (preferably from a Korean or Japanese market)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons mirin
• 2 teaspoons water
Combine all ingredients and marinate at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Cook meat on a grill or in a skillet, then chop for tacos.
Dwaeji (Spicy Pork) Bulgogi
Adapted from Kye Soon Hong
Makes enough for about 12 tacos
• 1 pound pork shoulder, thinly sliced (preferably from a Korean or Japanese market)
• 3 tablespoons coarse-ground hot Korean red pepper powder
• 1 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• pinch of black pepper
Combine all ingredients and marinate at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Cook meat on a grill or in a skillet, then chop for tacos.
Kimchi Fried Rice
Adapted from Kye Soon Hong
Makes about 5 cups, enough for 4 burritos
• 4 cups cooked rice, cooled and chilled in refrigerator
• 4 strips bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 cups Napa cabbage kimchi, the riper the better, diced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• salt
• sesame seeds, for garnish
• sliced scallions, white and green parts, for garnish
1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the kimchi and cook several minutes.
2. Raise the heat to high, add the rice and stir-fry several minutes, until rice is beginning to brown.
3. Stir in butter and sesame oil. Season with sesame seed and salt to taste and garnish with scallions.
Napa-Romaine Slaw
Makes about 6 cups, enough for many tacos, with leftovers
For the dressing:
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1-1/2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1-1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
For the salad:
• 4 cups (5 ounces) shredded romaine lettuce
• 2 cups (3 ounces) shredded Napa cabbage
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) thinly sliced onion
• toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Toss the salad in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of the dressing. Add more dressing to taste and garnish generously with sesame seeds.
“From Royalty to Reinvention” - A Taste of Korean Cuisine at the Korean Pavilion, featuring Imperial Cuisine Chef Michelle Cho and Chefs from the Kogi BBQ Truck from Los Angeles
Hosted by the Korea Agro-Trade Center, NY at the National Restaurant Association Trade Show, McCormick Place, Chicago, IL from May 16-19
NEW YORK, May 8, 2009 — The Korea Agro-Trade Center, NY, a government agency that promotes foods and beverages imported from Korea, is pleased to announce From Royalty to Reinvention, a unique tasting event at the Korean Pavilion (Booth 6848) on Monday, May 18 at 11 am during the National Restaurants Association (NRA) trade show held at the McCormick Place, Chicago, IL from May 16 to May 19.
Guests and attendees will experience traditional Korean Royal Cuisine prepared by esteemed Imperial Cuisine Chef and Culinary Educator Michelle Cho, who studied with her aunt, Hye Sung Hwang. She was personally trained by the last Imperial head chef, Hee Soon Han, who worked in the royal kitchen during the Lee Dynasty. To share their insights on how they reinvented Korean cuisine and made use of new media tools to build a cult-like following, young rising star chefs Roy Choi, Mark Manguera and Caroline Shin of Kogi BBQ truck fame will showcase their hugely popular Korean-inspired street foods such as their famous Korean BBQ Tacos filled with pork, short-ribs and chicken. Debra Samuels, food writer and stylist for The Boston Globe, will be available for book signings and a food demonstration from her book, The Korean Table: From Barbeque to Bibimbap, which she co-authored with Taekyung Chung. In addition, a select cast of Cookin’, a nonverbal percussion show that uses kitchen utensils such as pots, pans and kimchi vats as percussion instruments, will be flown in from Korea to do an exciting shortperformance to entertain attendees.
Having recently been called “The New Hot Cuisine” by The Wall Street Journal, there is a growing trend of chefs and restaurateurs incorporating elements or flavors of Korean cuisine into their cooking. From sophisticated fusion destinations to popular casual dining places, kimchi and kalbi have taken on new exciting roles on the menu as increasing number of Americans are adopting the culture and cuisine of Korea.
Participating exhibitors at the NRA Show include BJIF (bibimbap restaurant chain franchise), Daesang FNF Corporation (kimchi manufacturer), Daesang Corporation (hot pepper paste and soybean paste exporter), Human Rice Food (assorted frozen meals), and Sinanmade / Woosung America (sea salt purveyor).
For additional information about the May 18 media event or a schedule of the daily cooking demos, tasting and book signing sessions during the 4-day show, please email grace@niwapr.com.
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