I have a little secret- I love those reusable bags that you buy at the grocery store. I have about a dozen of them. You know what kind I'm talking about- Raley's, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods-- pretty much every place sells them or gives them away. The problem is I never remember to take them to the store with me. Instead I use them for everything else- carrying food/ingredients to Mr.S' casa, transporting my laundry, returning books to the library, even throwing wet clothes in there after a day at the beach. Mr.S used to make fun of me when we first started dating because he thought the bags were pretty dorky (especially my purple one from Whole Foods with a giant eggplant on it and the enthusiastic statement of, "I Love Veggies!" but he confessed to me a few years ago that he started looking forward to those bags because it usually meant I was going to cook something delicious at his house. And last year, he even bought a few himself...now whether he actually takes them to the store or not, I have no idea...but who am I to judge?☺ Anyhow, I used the bags recently to bring the ingredients over to his house to cook Korean ground beef. Both he and Kidlet #1 gave it the thumbs up, as did my friend Michelle when I gave her some. This is a super versatile recipe and I'm pretty sure I'll be making it a lot now that I'm working. It's easy to throw together and you can use it in tacos, rice bowls (this works fantastically in bibimbap) or in lettuce wraps. You will need some gochujang sauce though- a Korean red pepper paste containing chiles, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, salt (and sometimes a sweetner). You can find it as most Asian supermarkets. It usually comes in a jar or a plastic tub and some brands are spicier/sweeter than others. Gochujang tastes great when used to make marinades, stir-fries or stew. Sometimes I like to mix it with peanut butter and few other condiments and use it as a dressing.



Korean Ground Beef

Ingredients

1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 - 1.25 lbs. ground beef
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 scant cup brown sugar
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced (I just use my microplane)
1 heaping teaspoon gochujang
salt and pepper
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds

Instructions

1. In a large non-stick skillet, heat up your sesame oil over medium heat. Add your garlic. Cook until fragrant. Add your ground beef. Cook, stirring to break up the crumbles. When it's no longer pink, drain the fat.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together your brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger and gochujang.

3. Add the mixture to the beef. Simmer for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste.


4. Sprinkle in green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Stir. Remove from heat.

5. Serve over rice, with lettuce leaves or with tortillas.

9545 Folsom Blvd., Suite #2, Sacramento, CA 95827. (916) 363-8505.

About a week ago, my friend Rose and I found ourselves headed to a local Korean restaurant that we've dined at before for lunch. En route, for some unknown reason we decided to make a U-turn and pull into a squat strip mall and check out a (new to us) restaurant called Mo Du Rang (loosely translated to mean, "With Everyone"). I was a bit apprehensive at first about eating there as there was a big sign proclaiming, "Teriyaki and Korean Cuisine." (I tend to be a bit skeptical of places that arbitrarily pair different Asian cuisines together, my past experiences haven't been too great). Additionally, the area was a bit sketchy but the restaurant proved me wrong. It turned out to be a delightful little neighborhood joint. It was clean and family friendly. The decor was simple and the dining room was separated into sections by small decorative screens to give some privacy and there was no K-pop blaring from the TV or sound system (thank god). Our waitress double-dutied as the hostess and sat us at a nice spacious table for 4, even though there was only two of us. As we settled into our table, we were handed large laminated menus. Large, very extensive and intriguing menus. Mo Du Rang has the traditional Korean dishes of galbi (Korean BBQ ribs), bulgogi (marinated BBQ beef), doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) and Jaengban Guku (cold noodles with veggies in a spicy sauce) but it also has some more daring dishes like Gopchang jeongol (a fiery guts and tripe casserole), golbaengi muchim (a hot and spicy sea snail salad with noodles) and hong au hwe (raw skate and veggies mixed with hot sauce). The menu was a pretty interesting read.


Choosing what to eat was hard. I love Korean food, I would eat it more often if I could drag Mr.S. to eat it more. Korean food--- spicy, stinky, sweet---I've been working my way through it for decades now. I've eaten masochistic Korean food (so scorching hot, I felt it burn it's way through my digestive system), amnesic Korean food (where I drank so much soju, that I couldn't recall anything I ate at the restaurant), mediocre Korean food (aka what I like to call McKorean food) and of course good ol' amazing Korean food. After some lengthy pondering, I finally decided to play it safe and ordered my favorite Korean comfort food dish- dolsot bibimbap. I know it's not very exciting, but I figured it'd be a good barometer (and I could seriously eat this dish every week, year round). It's simple, tasty and for the most part pretty healthy. I love the mélange of seasoned veggies (in this case carrots, mushrooms, sautéed greens, mung bean sprouts and gosari), bulgogi and an over-easy egg atop a mound of steamed rice-- all nestled in a hot stone bowl with a little sesame oil mixed in. Throw in a hefty squirt of the gochujang (spicy pepper) sauce and I'm good to go. My favorite part though of dolsot bibimbap is the faan jiew (the bits of crispy rice nestled at the bottom of the bowl).  It's like rice cracklin's! Mo Du Rang's version of dolsot bibimbap was delicious, my only beef was with the bulgogi. It was tender, just not very flavorful. Next time, I think I might skip adding the meat and just opt for some tofu or go sans supplemental protein.

My friend Rose ordered a dish I wasn't familiar with- mool naeng myun. In all honesty when it came to the table, I thought it kind of looked like a bowl of dirty dishwater. Rose was kind enough to give me a taste and it tasted great!  Mool naeng myun turned out to be long buckwheat noodles mixed with sliced beef and a smattering of vegetables in a slightly tangy, chilled broth. The broth itself is very light and the sharpness of the vinegar is tempered with a whisper of sweetness and spiciness. It's served in a chilled stainless bowl and is quite refreshing. A great summertime dish!



Mo Du Rang also turned out to have some great banchan (small, free side dishes). Everything from your customary kimchi and pickled spicy radishes to stir-fried fish cakes. I think when we went at lunchtime we had 8 or 9 small plates but I heard they give out a bigger array at dinnertime.

Now visiting Mo Du Rang isn't going to be some transcendental dining experience but they do provide a good spread and offer up some wonderful, authentic Korean dishes for the gastronomic adventurer and for the traditionalist. Their food is definitely better than some of the other popular Korean eateries I've visited on Folsom Boulevard. Also, the service we had when we popped in there was fantastic. Our waitress was absolutely terrific- something I usually don't say when I dine at Korean restaurants where getting ignored or getting a cranky server is the norm. It usually goes with the territory. This waitress though was super friendly, happy to answer any questions we had about the dishes on the menu and attentive to our dining needs. It made for a pleasant dining experience to not be getting the stink-eye from across the room.


Note: The restaurant is in a rougher part of the Rancho Cordova-Rosemont corridor (Folsom Blvd. between Butterfield and Bradshaw), so just keep that in mind if you're going after dark. When we were leaving the restaurant we passed a woman of the meth-head persuasion who was screaming into her phone, "I'm going to beat that baby out of you!" Um...yeah...we got in the car pretty quickly.

3631 Southport Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95826. (916) 368-2277

Just over a year ago, my buddy Jeff (who's my go-to-guy for Korean restaurant recs) introduced me to Sarang Bang and somehow it's become one of my favorite Korean places in town despite it's drawbacks...and the place does have some major drawbacks- it's seedy location and limited hours of operation mainly. First off, it's located off of Kiefer in a Rosemont strip mall, next to The Mushroom dive bar...not the safest part of town for a girl and her fork to be roaming about. Add to that, it's only open at night. But hey the good part is, it's open late...really late--like 2am late. In fact, Mr. S. and I have often subbed in Sarang Bang as our late night "Korean Denny's" when we've needed some midnight chow after attending a party or event.

Make it in from the creepy parking lot and you're golden. The establishment's weathered wooden booths covered in graffiti illuminated by dimly lit lanterns gives the place a cozy, comfortable feel like you've stumbled upon some odd little out-of-the-way pub. Two little old Korean ladies usually run the show...sometimes they chat with you; other times, you merely get a slight nod and a request to take your order...it's the luck of the draw. Mr. S. and I usually have a good time watching and discussing the Korean music videos or variety shows while we sip our barley tea and wait for our meals. It tends to be pretty quiet in there, but sometimes some soju-soaked revelers stumble in post-karaoke and things get a little noisy.

The restaurant's menu is pretty extensive (and includes many photos) and they serve the whole menu up to closing. On my first visit with friends, I tried the yangnyeom (spicy/sweet fried) chicken, haemul pajeon (seafood pancakes), dukbokki (stir-fried rice cakes) and all were tasty but on my return visits, Mr.S. and I have gotten into the routine of ordering the bulgogi and omurice. (Now, I know what you're thinking omurice isn't Korean...but at 12am...it's the perfect midnight snack, don't you know? And hey, it's on their menu!) Anyhow, their bulgogi I think is some of the better bulgogi I've had in Sac. Tender and not fatty or too sweet. One order of bulgogi, one order of omurice and the banchan and we're good to go.  Way better than any other eatery burning the midnight oil in the River City and quite filling.

*soju, rice/plum wine, beer only
*$20 minimum purchase to use plastic
*if business is slow, sometimes they close early

Did you spend the first Saturday of December raking leaves?


We didn't! We were busy eating korean tacos from Seoul on Wheels at SactoMoFo #3. Mmmm! (Both Mr. S. and I loved the meat in the tacos but agreed there should have been less lettuce...I would have preferred to have seen some kimichi or asian slaw in it's place but they were quite good nevertheless.)


Hope you too were able to stop by and catch some of the tasty delights offered at the mobile truck festival located under the W Street freeway yesterday.

9205-D Folsom Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95826. (916) 366-3323

For some reason, everytime I go to mention Pine Tree House (a Korean restaurant) I get mixed up and call it Pioneer House (an old folks home...um, senior living community in Midtown) which inevitably earns me a confused look from whomever I'm speaking to.  The food there is anything but slow or old, so I'm not sure what the deal with my early onset Alzheimers is. Name issues aside, Pine Tree House located in Sacramento's "Little Korea" (the portion of Folsom Blvd that runs from La Riveria to Zinfandel that houses several Korean restaurants and shops) is a solid place to grab Korean fare. It's clean, the service is friendly, prices are reasonable and the food is remarkably good.
 
On my first visit, I went with a friend that spoke fluent Korean and he took the helm. He ordered us some bulgogi, a seafood-tofu stew and some pajeon. We started with the pajeon (a Korean pancake made of eggs, rice flour and scallions served with a dipping sauce), which was good. It was light and fluffy and a nice dish to balance out the highly flavored entrees we ordered. The bulgogi (tender bits beef marinated in a soy-based sauce served on an iron plate) was tender, well marinated and not overly fatty like at some establishments. And our last dish, the seafood-tofu stew warmed us up quickly-- it packed some heat and had an ample amount of juicy claims and mussels, which made me happy.
 
My second visit to Pine Tree House was with a friend, who like me, spoke absolutely no Korean. We decided to go with three appetizers and one entree so we could get a nice variety of dishes. Our waitress smiled at our order...little did we know, the appetizers we chose were huge. We ended up with enough food to feed the Korean army and then some! (Side note: Since we used the point and order method at dinner, I had to ask one of my Korean friends afterwards what the names of the dishes I had were called.)  
 
Our meal started with about a dozen banchan dishes (an assortment of fermented vegetables and custards). Our waitress was kind enough to explain what all of them were and cut our kimchi up (with kitchen scissors) for us. We then moved on to some kimchi pajeon and jap chae. I liked this version of pajeon better than the plain version, the kimchi gave it more flavor. The jap chae (cellophane noodles tossed with sesame oil, soy sauce and mushrooms) was delicious. The noodles stuck together in a giant clump but the taste was smooth and clean. We then fumbled through the special of the night - a platter of yangnyeom gejang (miniature crabs served cold with sliced jalapenos and a spicy/sweet chili powder sauce). The sauce was good but the crabs were a bit difficult to contend with (even after we asked the waitress what the proper way to eat it was). I'm sure the staff had a good chuckle when one of the crabs went rogue and tried to escape by exploding all over my friend's sweater.These incidents must happen fairly regularly as the waitress was over pretty quickly with wet napkins to help sop up the mess. Our last dish, was the traditional bulgogi...which was just as tasty as my last visit. Our waitress concluded our meal with a cup of complimentary sujeonggwa (a punch made from dried persimmon, ginger, peppercorns and cinnamon, served cold and garnished with ice) which was wonderful. I'm definitely going to have to learn how to recreate that drink for the summertime...maybe even an alcoholic version.
 
Overall, a messy but pleasing meal. If you haven't hit up "Little Korea" or are just looking for a new Korean restaurant to try, I strongly urge you to stop by Pine Tree House. Just a bit of advice-- don't wear white if you plan to eat the crab, those things are slippery!


March 2012

I've returned several times since my initial visits to Pine Tree House and each time the staff has been courteous and the food fresh. I've also found that they prepare the best dolsot bibimbap in town and it's become my go to dish when I visit there.

3343 Bradshaw Rd, Sacramento, CA 95827, (916) 362-9292

It was a dark and stormy night, when... Ok, ok, maybe it wasn't stormy but it sure as heck was dark (and cold) tonight; when my buddy J., my hapa partner in crime M. and I decided to get together for some tasty Korean cuisine and catch up on our lives. J. brilliantly suggested a Korean BBQ restaurant by his home. As I turned off of Hwy 50 on Bradshaw and was preparing myself to drive at a granny's pace and squint through my windshield to find this Korean eatery, I was surprised to find myself suddenly confronted by a mammoth of a building (perhaps a Ho-Jo's in another life?), bedecked in miles of twinkle lights ... welcome to Oz , folks. Like a beacon in the dark, it's hard to miss.

As you walk up to the behemoth structure, you're enveloped in a wonderful heady aroma of garlic, sesame and soy. Just follow this delicious scent to the foyer. You'll find yourself in a spacious lobby decorated in muted earth tones with walls that are inscribed with short poems about the glory of Tahoe. There's plenty of benches and even a large table to wait at in the lobby but there was no need to tonight. My resourceful friends had already secured a table up front. I was the last to show, but within milliseconds of me sitting our server David materialized to take my drink order and drop off some tasty banchan (small side dishes) to be shared. Yelp Tip: During the week (Monday -Thursday nights), Oz offers an all you can grill and eat special for $16.99 per person, served family-style. This is a great deal! Seriously, I love meat as much as the next person and can tear it up like a T-Rex but I ate ridiculous amounts of meat tonight (although I think my dinner companions still out ate me). The food just never stopped coming. The first platter of raw meat that was brought out is a carnivore's dream- a potpourri of marinated galbi (beef short ribs), brisket, pork belly (bacon) and chicken. Once you finish that platter, you can request more of any of the meats specifically. Hands down our favorite was the juicy brisket and we requested encores of that several times. Now I myself dislike what I have dubbed "fatty" meat, but my dining companions chowed happily on the chewy pork belly. In fact, M. quipped, "Everything's better with bacon!" Condiments are graciously provided and consist of whole garlic cloves, fiery sliced chilis, crisp ssam (lettuce leaves) and a salty red bean paste. We were also armed with a pair of large tongs and heavy duty scissors to assist us with our dining adventure.

Dinner was wonderful. Our server, David, provided top notch, impeccable service. There was never a want for anything. More meat-poof, it was there! More water-poof, it's filled! Dirty dishes- poof, they're gone! We never had to ask for anything, as though he was ESP-driven David anticipated our every want. Also, since he was training to bartend David offered our table a free "house" drink each to sample if we'd take a short survey afterwards. Being the lushes that we are, we eagerly volunteered to be his guinea pigs (yeah, like you really have to twist my arm when it comes to accepting a free drink).The sample drink turned out to be a full sized cocktail that tasted like a day at the beach... seriously...it could best be described as a coconutty mojito. It was oh, so tasty and the sweetness balanced the garlic-infused meal perfectly.

Filled to the gills with a delicious meal, my only last desire was a fluffy pillow so that I could curl up and take a nice nap by the warm grill. Like a content cat, I was purring after my dining experience at Oz and dreaming of my next visit.