the backitchen

November 15, 2014 sarah lee

The Supper Club...

One week to prepare, 3 seatings, 6 courses...

Why a Korean gluten free supper club? We wanted to share our interpretation of Korean cuisine. The menu was created from our hearts, offering gluten free locally sourced ingredients. This all happened on a cold January evening. Folks from all over New York trekked out hungry+filled with excitement+was ready to dive into new flavors.

It just felt right...

We wanted to share our childhood food memories with everyone. Things may change over the years, but the food memory always remains. My personal favorite? The 'Quinoa bibim bap' with stir fried anchovy, butternut squash, watercress, red cabbage, quail egg, sesame oil, with a brush of red pepper paste. Our first supper club together was just sensational! So stay tuned for more exciting projects to come:)

Thanks again for all those who came out to support the event, and for those who rooted for us from afar! We could not have done this without you~

With gratitude,

Sarah & Chef Lee

The Backitchen is a food lifestyle + film blog about food journeys.

The pilot unravels traditional Korean fare at a supper club in Williamsburg, offering an all gluten-free menu! It premieres tonight at KAFFNY film festival, Wythe Hotel Cinema and online (click here for vimeo link).

www.thebackitchen.com site coming soon!

toronto

September 29, 2014 sarah lee

Feelings come from all different places.

Food can fulfill your feeling of hunger…it could heal the feeling of sadness…it could even provide feelings of bliss.

Food to me is all of those combined. When I correlate 'my feelings' with food, I associate it with different moments…different memories. When I seek comfort, good food always entertains me.

So when I travel to different cities and I spot that one 'to-die-for' Chinese dumplings, or that one Thai dish that I never knew existed, its a pretty great feeling. Really. I'm sure most of you guys can relate, or you have your list of favorite foods.

the back kitchen-brooklyn

December 26, 2013 sarah lee

For one night only...

Traditional Korean fare meets modern flavors and styling. A Gluten-Free Menu meets a Brooklyn Pop Up. Acclaimed Seoul Chef Wonil Lee meets Seoul in the City’s Sarah Lee.

This collaboration promises an innovative, beautiful, and flavorful dining experience. Don’t miss out on this truly unique interpretation of Korean cuisine!

Come with friends, bring your favorite bottle of wine or spirits, and grab a seat by purchasing tickets in advance! Tickets can be purchased via pay pal or credit card (see link below). Please inquire about dietary restrictions or general questions to sarah.lee25@gmail.com

An all gluten-free Korean menu:

'Pyogo Juk'

Shiitake mushroom cream porridge, topped with dates, perilla seeds, chili oil

'Gochori'

Korean salad made with fresh seasonal greens, tossed with perilla seed dressing, silk tofu, crispy rice bits

'Saewoo Nangchae'

Steamed shrimp tossed in creamy mustard, brown rice, ketnip (Korean sesame leaf) & coriander pesto

'Samhap'

Combination of three: bulgogi beef + two variations of tofu + washed kimchi; tofu cream infused with black sesame and garlic

'Bibim Bop'

Quinoa, stir fried dried anchovy, spinach, butternut squash, watercress, red cabbage, quail egg, red pepper paste

'Gokam mari & Dduk gochi'

Walnut wrapped in dried persimmon, fried rice cakes with yuzu glaze

Saturday, January 11th 2014

There will be 3 seatings, 20 seats/per seating.

Brunch-12:30-2:30pm ($25/person)-SOLD OUT!!!

Dinner 1st seating-5:30-7:30pm ($45/person)-SOLD OUT!!!

Dinner 2nd seating-8:30-11pm ($45/person)-SOLD OUT!!!

Location:

Nha Toi Restaurant in Williamsburg

160 Havemeyer St. (between 2nd and 3rd street)

Brooklyn, NY 11211

*street parking available, nearest metro is L train 'Bedford Ave stop' or J/M ‘Marcy Ave Stop'

Please click here to purchase tickets throughBrown Paper Tickets

the still life-hudson valley new york

December 6, 2013 sarah lee

Cows at Sprout Creek Farm-Poughkeepsie, NY

“Memory lives in the body. Just like taste does. Food is not simply about finding ingredients-it’s something that runs parallel to life, politics, gossip and histories…it’s something that we re-create every time we gather with our friends to grow and eat our foods. And we create new memories.”

-Aruna D’Souza

The quote above pretty much sums up my life vision…my everyday vision. Some of you may remember my previous posts about my farm experiences: Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Bean Table, salt farms in Korea, and visiting any farm for that matter. So today I'll be sharing about the Hudson River Valley.

countlan magazine feature-korean salted mackerel

July 22, 2013 sarah lee

Thanks to Sarah Lambersky & staff at Countlan Magazine for the recent feature on my Korean Salted Mackerel Recipe! Countlan based in Denmark, is a quarterly online magazine that explores how people entertain at home all over the world. Captured with gorgeous photos, Countlan really helps you see the beauty of individual stories through their lens.

Perfect recipe for summer if you love fish, hope you all enjoy this as much as I do~

take 31 new york

July 8, 2013 sarah lee

Fried + Stuffed Anaheim Peppers (고추 튀김)

Confession. This is my first post on a Korean restaurant in New York since I moved here. Definitely not the first Korean spot I've hit, but I realized I would be too selfish NOT to share~

I was originally introduced to this cafe/bunshik/restaurant/bar (ok wait, what exactly is it???) by chef friend Jung Sik Yim from Jung Sik Dang. It was supposed to be a quick stop over to say hello to staff/owners, and we were just coming from dinner prior. I was beyond stuffed & sad that I wasn't able to dive into the food that they served right before my eyes. Yes, this girl sometimes cannot fit more food in her tummy after packing in a 10-course meal. So I made it a point that I had to return. Return I did. Uh, like 3-4 more times. Each time with different friends so that I could see their reaction. Is this weird? Actually, I just wanted to come here like every week. Most of these friends were foodies and hard-core critics, but guess what? It ended up being on their list of favorites in New York by the end of the evening!

So honestly guys-this is no fancy restaurant or a romantic date spot. It's your comfort zone. The place you definitely want to be when you need a drink, and eat food that will give you some serious pleasure. The interior is great (for New York) and you will feel like you're in some cafe in Korea. Strange. You'll end up craving some of the dishes the very next day. Is this a good thing? Hell yes. I'm just thrilled that there is place in NY where the bar/bunshik food resembles a lot of my favorites from Seoul. Except this is all under one roof.

Take 31 offers a pretty extensive menu, and could be confusing at first glance. However, asking the staff to recommend their faves is usually the way to go. Or just look at my list below! Plus, this is not on the main 32nd street in Koreatown (which is great) so you don't see the crazy foot traffic of tourists. Maybe a bit hard to spot with all the construction around it, but well worth the effort to navigate if you are looking for a good find.

By the way-if you're bilingual (Korean/English), just note the whole staff speaks English! I keep embarrassing myself sometimes speaking full on Korean at these Korean restaurants, and they respond in English. Haha...but I'm sure they'll appreciate the attempt^^

farm to table goodness

January 3, 2013 sarah lee

Fresh picked baby carrots from the garden

I guess I can't stop talking about this farm-to-table spot a little ways from Seoul. Bean Table. It's time for a revisit. Need to keep sharing the love...

I had an opportunity to stage for Bean Table my last month in Korea before taking off to the states. Good friend and chef Wonil Lee welcomed me as part of his staff, after some serious convincing. Let's just say, this restaurant is on the top of my list for folks visiting Seoul!

The real deal...

*Authentic Korean flavors + modern presentation.

*Non-GMO soybeans (for those who care about this like me).

*Homemade tofu made with natural sea salt coagulants (this part could get pretty technical if you break it down).

*Fresh and organic produce.

*No MSG or preservatives.

I had a real difficult time finding Korean restaurants in Korea that didn't use preservatives. Dining at Bean Table to me is like eating in my moms kitchen-you can feel and taste the love with each dish. Every bite is well balanced, and the variations of the banchan (side dishes) are seriously endless...

chef beverly kim

December 16, 2012 sarah lee

Beverly, Johnny & Matty

The initial contact...

Summer of 2006, I caught up with my ex-college roommate Paula, and had a quick chat about food.

Paula gave me the lowdown about her sister Beverly, and mentioned that she was in Seoul for a few months. So what do I do? The usual crazy Sarah move. Called up Beverly in Seoul (please note that I have I only seen her once before at this point, and we barely knew each other), and asked her if she would like to possibly partner up with me on a restaurant project in Chicago!

So the story began…

andong

September 10, 2012 sarah lee

Jars of hwangari at Hahoe village.

Food tour in Andong. Start time 7am. 3.5 hours.

Actually it was more than just a food tour. More like 'Korean style oriental herb healing tour,' as it's actually titled. The tour was led by 'Big Farm', which is a creative hub for agriculture here in Korea, alongside Ongo Food communications. They teamed up to lead this tour for mostly foreigners in Korea who were interested in diving into the world of farming.

korean royal cuisine-days 5-10

July 16, 2012 sarah lee

This spread is considered 'anju' or food that's paired with drinking.

You can achieve quality taste without msg in royal cuisine.

You may think that the quote above is pretty random or weird. The sad truth is, is that so many Korean restaurants (I will boldly say majority) in Korea, use a lot of msg. When I first moved here a few years ago, I struggled with indigestion for a year! Only to find that it was the Korean food that caused it. Not to say that there aren't restaurants who do it the proper way and leave msg out of the picture all together. During this course, after carefully learning how to marinate and season food without any additives, everything was quite clean and authentic! So you can achieve the quality taste at home by using natural ingredients to prepare amazing Korean dishes.

korean royal cuisine-days 3 & 4

July 5, 2012 sarah lee

Theme for day 4- '궁중상추쌈' or royal lettuce wraps.

Day 3 & 4. I just have to say these past few days were a lot of fun. Not only were the things we had to make challenging, but the history portion of the class was quite interesting. For those who live in Korea (mainly speaking to ex-pats, foreingers) you may ask yourselves when eating Korean food why everything is pickled, marinated, and you don't see a whole of just 'fresh' veggies. Well, a bit of history that I learned. During the days when the King ruled the land, everyone had to produce items for 'the palace' or '궁'. However, since it took days to have the items delivered to the palace, you never found raw fish, fresh veggies, and even some fruits. Everything had to be dried and preserved before it entered the palace. Therefore once it entered the palace grounds, the chefs had to create dishes soley upon what they received. So when studying royal cuisine recipes, everything is marinated, fried, cooked all the way trough, etc. This explains a lot as to what we know of Korean cuisine today. However, the farmers & peasants ate the most fresh vegetables & fruits, and 'bibim bop' gave birth in that very comnumity (thus I hear they live for a long time). Interesting how this dish is one of the dishes that is most recoginized today when it comes to Korean cuisine!

korean royal cuisine-days 1 & 2

July 3, 2012 sarah lee

Alas, the Korean royal cuisine course that I have been waiting for has begun this week. I was hoping to do a daily post, however I think I'll update every few days (my friend Tom from tomeatsjencooks will so not forgive me for this!). Normally this course is offered in a span of 4 months, but for folks like me who is too impatient to endure the 4 months, we do a 2 week intensive 'crash' course instead, haha. So where exactly am I taking this course you may ask?

ghetto gourmet: dining in the rough part 6

June 4, 2012 sarah lee

Steamed pork 'bossam' 보쌈 론 빌라쥐

I am embarrassed to admit that the two plus years I have been in Seoul, I have yet to take Korean cooking classes. Although I have been cooking Korean for some time now, never really got around to learning the authentic Royal cuisine courses offered in Korea. Aside from the usual excuses like 'no time, no money, not sure where to go, blah blah blah' I have finally committed to signing up for classes this summer! I've got real hopes...

ghetto gourmet: dining in the rough, part 5

April 21, 2012 sarah lee

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We had our ghetto gourmet dinner 5 back in January, sorry for the late posting! For this dinner, it was my turn to cook. Let's just say, I think it took some time to get my gears going when I cooked this meal. However, all of our friends were so patient and helpful with making this dinner as smooth as it was! Sid Kim is our guest writer for this post. I met Sid over a few years ago, first when I made a guest appearance on his TBS food program 'Seoul of Asia' (back in the day when I was working for Edward Kwon). Then from what I remember, the next few times we met, it involved wine in social settings. Now we're food buddies. Sid is one of those guys where you just want to give him a big hug when you see him! Always a smile on his face, and for some reason if you're having a bad day, just chatting with him for a few minutes will make you feel better. He's like the big brother you want to have. Not to mention his food palette and knowledge is something else. Perhaps Eunji's amazing cooking has 'spoiled' his taste buds, hahaha.

A bit of info about Sid: He is the director and founder of Wise Education, an educational consulting company that prepares students for entry to prestigious U.S. schools. "I love to eat, travel, eat, write, eat, drive fast cars, eat, ride motorcycles, and eat."

Thanks Sid for sharing your story on this dinner!

mugunghwa-무궁화

February 28, 2012 sarah lee

As strange as it sounds, even though I am currently residing in Seoul, I have not quite scoped out all the greatest Korean restaurants here yet. It seems like it's a continuous hunt, trial and error, or MSG overdose. Then when you do find one where you want to give your own Michelin star rating, I tend to 'hand pick' these favorites and tuck them away in my back pocket. Yeah, I am kind of revealing my bad tendencies, hahaha. However, from this point forward I decided to start unraveling those very places that deserve to be noted for. I would like to begin with Mugunghwa.

gamrodang 감로당

November 3, 2011 sarah lee

King oyster mushrooms, lotus roots, chinese yam on a bed of pine needles

When it comes to all things vegetarian, I'm definitely in. Well, mostly. One would think that vegetarian cuisine would be an easy find in Seoul, but guess what? Not really. When I first got here early 2010, every time I ordered the 'veggie kimbop' (Korean maki rolls) at restaurants, ham would always be included! Ugh...so I continuously make it a point in asking them to take it out.

I'm not quite a vegetarian, although I took a shot at it for a year, prior to my arrival to Seoul. If you're familiar with Korean food, you may know that a lot of their 'banchan' (side dishes) are mostly vegetables. However, vegetarian spots are a hard find in Seoul. Especially the ones to be noted. I do have a few fave's, but I'm always in search for some more...

bean table 두둑한상

October 4, 2011 sarah lee

Bulgogi with their homemade tofu served with white kimchi was perfect...

So when you first see the name 'Bean Table' what immediately comes to mind? To be honest, tofu wasn't it...hahaha. Good friend and Chef Wonil Lee opened the doors to his tofu haven early this May. When he first tried to explain the concept of his new place, I was like 'uh what? what was that again?' Traditional Korean served on beautiful earthenware with modern presentation...hmm. I seriously questioned this at first, because to be honest, there are tons of amazing Korean restaurants in Seoul. Lee has a background in contemporary European, but has an impressive palate for Korean cuisine. Thus, this is his true ambition.

weeknight affair series: cham sut gol

July 18, 2011 sarah lee

I am honored to introduce fellow food lover-Sue Park from Seoul, as a guest blogger with Seoul in the City's 'weeknight affair series'! Sue-one truly spirited, sweetheart, and a close friend...is a dj on Seoul's TBS EFM (English) radio 101.3, 'M-Town' show. When it comes to food, you'll be in good hands with this foodie. 'My Seoul' will not be complete without Sue...

Ask a non-Korean what their favorite Korean dish is and there is a high probability that bibimbap will land in the top 5 of the list alongside galbi, bulgogi, samgyeopsal and samgyetang. Yes, Koreans do love their meat!

Unlike some of the more pungent dishes that constitute a typical Korean meal, including bubbling hot spicy stews eaten straight out of a communal pot like kimchi jjigae and doenjang jjigae which, due to the fermentation process of their core ingredients, may not be instantly appealing to first timers, bibimbap is easy—a mound of steamed rice (hot or cold) placed at the bottom of a bowl topped with an assortment of namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables), sliced or minced beef (cooked or raw) and a single egg placed on top (fried, sunny side up, or raw). The entire concoction is mixed with gochujang (red chili paste) which is usually served

on the side and a dribble of fragrant toasted sesame oil! It is delicious, hearty and nutritious – the meal is complete in itself with, at most, a bowl of hot broth on the side and kimchi. The dish is even airplane-friendly, served as a popular in-flight meal on major international carriers.

chef im jiho's 'sandang'

July 6, 2011 sarah lee

'Food is art and holistic medicinal science...'

A bohemian artist from his earlier days, Chef Im Jiho learned food medicine through his parents. His inspiration for food and art comes from nature itself. It wasn't until his 40's, did he amalgamate the two worlds, and Sandang (mountain village) was established. Creating a 'natural menu' for Sandang was when the inner artist of Chef Im Jiho came out...

Absolutely no waste in the kitchen...every ingredient is utilized to it's fullest, composted, or given to the dogs...

In their kitchen, you will hardly see any packaged waste (almost everything is made in house), and they take to heart of using every single item. This to me, is what a real chef who participates in 'being green, and defining sustainability' is. It's not just about using natural and organic ingredients, but taking it a step further and living it out. Sandang exhibits the Chef's philosophy and lifestyle that rest upon health & healing through food.

woo lae oak

June 17, 2011 sarah lee

Family. Tradition. Legacy.

One of the most recognized names in Seoul. Woo Lae Oak. 'Come, Again, House.'
Their story began in 1946.

Good friend Kathy Paik's great grandfather 장원일 (Chang Won-Il) opened their doors to share their Pyongyang Naengmyun (North Korean cold noodles). His son, 장진건 (Chang Jin-Gun), succeeded the business and has spread Woo Lae Oak around Seoul and the U.S. The family originates from Pyongyang, and for generations have passed down their culinary love. Woo Lae Oak is tucked away in the back alleys of Euljiro 4-ga, which stands in their original home, and over the years have been converted into a restaurant. Back in the day, Euljiro was the main hub: socialites came out, business was done, and lovers first met. The rich history behind this Euljiro area is joined by the neighborhoods of Jongno, Myungdong, Dongdaemun, City Hall, and the Chenggye stream.