I don’t know if I am a David Chang fan, per se, but there is no question that he is a controversial figure in the cooking scene. I hate drawing lines, like, “I dislike the fact that he cusses so much,” or “I think he is over-rated, and I am going to avoid super-exposed ‘it’ celebrity chefs.” No, I wanted to go to Momofuku Ko, and I finally got to taste the $175 3 hour lunch course. I am still dying to try to Ssam Bar Pork Butt, the family style dish for $200, which is only available for reservations for 6 or more people. I tried Momofuku Noodle bar 3 years ago and, frankly, I disliked the ramen. The ramen is salty, not porky enough, and not greasy enough with the “umami” of “koku.” It’s all about the “Koku,” with me and ramen. Don’t try to do a pork ramen without doing it Tonkotsu style. Bitch, please… I’m from Kyushuu. Still, Hitachino beer and the pork belly buns at Noodle Bar almost made up for it all. I thought, he doesn’t know ramen, but it still didn’t keep me from wanting to try the Ko. To add insult to injury, THE GUY FUCKING HATES CUPCAKES! WHAT IS UP WITH THAT? How can you wage a war against something so deliciously perfect? We obviously CANNOT be BFFs. Sorry, David. So, I will admit, though, that on the other hand I really admired his fresh outlook. He also reminded me of what my father was trying to do, as a chef, with his cooking. He also kind of reminds me of the way my dad looked, and not because all Asian people look the same. ; ) (Ok, I might as well admit it right here, I might have a bit of a Daddy Complex with David Chang – except he is decades still younger than my dad.) Hrm. Ok, this is where I will stop being creepy. Sorry David!

That all being said… I loved this book. It’s a cookbook and autobiographical hybrid, that’s fresh, sincere, and filled with momofuku recipes. Seriously. I mean, put aside the fact of whether you can do it as well as the restaurant types… you like his ramen broth? (uh…) You can make it with this book. You want to make his signature frozen foie gras dish from Ko? YOU CAN WITH THIS BOOK! For reals:

You need a scale for this recipe, but I’m thinking that if you’re going to shell out the cash for a lobe of foie gras, that isn’t a problem–and you definitely don’t want to fuck it up.

But, seriously, I really have no idea why anyone would try to make a torchon of foie gras at home. I could write a million words about doing it–Thomas Keller’s got a longer recipe than we do in his French laundry cookbook–but cleaning foie gras is ineffable. Track down a torchon from a specialty foods shop, freeze it, and then go to town. But for those who won’t be deterred by common sense, here’s our recipe…

There are many accessible recipes. Then, there are things like the above, where I appreciate his frankness. It’s ballsy to put the recipe of all his signature dishes in this book. I suppose if you are known enough, it’s pretty hard to see a shaved frozen foie gras with riesling gelee and not think, David F-ing Chang. I mean, if another restaurant “steals,” the recipe, well… it’s obviously lame.

So, getting back to the recipe at hand, Ryan and I decided to make Spicy Pork Sausage & Rice Cakes, Roasted Rice Cakes (Dok Boki), and (poached) Cherry Tomato Salad w/ Soft Tofu & Shiso. Ryan was in charge of the first dish, while I concentrated on the second (vegetarian dish) and the last dish.

I will feature what I did for the Dok Boki and Cherry Tomato Salad.

“Korean Red Dragon Sauce”

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 ssamjang
• 2 tablespoons soysauce
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (which I didn’t have, so I used cider vinegar)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

This makes way TOO much sauce for the dok boki alone. However, this can be kept and added to other things. After using the above recipe, I would honestly cut the sugar to 1/3 of a cup or less. This is just my preference.

Bring the water and sugar to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the ssamjang, making sure it is dissolved. Then add the rest of the ingredients to taste.

• 1/4 cup mirin
• I can vegetable broth reduced to 1/4 cup (leave boiling)
• 1/2 cup Korean Dragon Sauce
• 1/4 cup slow roasted onions (until very tender)
• 2 tablespoon grapeseed oil
• 1 package rice sticks
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup sliced scallions

Combine mirin and vegetable broth in saucepan large enough to accomodate the rice cakes. On high heat, wait 2-3 minutes until thickened. Add the red dragon sauce and turn the heat down to medium, and reduce the sauce to a glossy consistency, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in the slow roasted onions.

“In a cast-iron skillet,” heat pan under medium high heat until hot. Add the oil to the pan, and right before it smokes, add the rice cakes. Once they sizzle, you can drop the heat down to a medium. Sear the rice cakes on each side for a few minutes until lightly golden.

Bring the sauce back to a boil and mix the rice cakes in. Evenly coat and serve with sesame seeds and scallions on top.

Cherry Tomato Salad

• 1-2 packages of cherry tomatos OR a bag of mixed cherry tomatos (I believe the more colorful the better – it would be beautiful)
• 1/4 sherry vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• olive oil (the recipe calls for 1/2 cup grapeseed oil)
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• silken tofu
• shiso leaves (I couldn’t find it in Portland, so I used Taiwanese Basil instead… it was really interesting)

So, after Sarah’s party, I was all about the cooked tomatoes. When I found this recipe, I was excited about poaching tomatoes! Seperate around 15-20% of the tomatoes for use later. The rest, draw a small “X” at the end of the tomato. This is going to make peeling the tomato after poaching, easy. Just lightly break the skin of the tomato with the “X” with a paring knife. Boil some water with salt, and poach the tomatoes in there for 20-30 seconds. Drain the tomatoes and run some cold water over them, and peel. Cut the poached and raw cherry tomatoes in half.

I diced the tofu, after slightly draining and patting dry. The recipe itself calls to mold the tofu… uh eh. The idea of this dish is the serve the tomatoes with (with two types of texture and flavors) in a soy vinegarette over tofu, where the tofu takes on the precise qualities of a mozzarella. I was skeptical of the tofu mozzarella transubstantiation, and was looking to get mozzarella for this recipe instead. In the end, I went with the tofu and was surprised at the creamy texture it showed. I am usually accustomed to the silky slippery nature of tofu.

Mix the rest of the ingredients to taste. I think I added a bit more vinegar and sesame oil in the end, but do it to your liking. Drizzle some olive oil on top and pour tomatoes on top of the tofu generously with a matching generous glaze of the vinegarette. The variation of the cooked and uncooked tomatoes is great.

It was a little labor intensive, but the results were well worth it. Sprinkle some shiso on top, and you’re done. This accompanies hot dishes well… which characterizes Ryan’s dish perfectly. It asked for nearly 2 cups of dried red chile peppers, among other spicy ingredients. I think he toned it down a notch, but it still burned hot and strong. LOOK AT HOW MANY CHILE PEPPERS I GOT IN MY PLATE! I really liked the heartiness of the ground pork, but Ryan seemed to think that pork belly would go nicer.

Also, on a more general note, he thinks the cookbook isn’t descriptive enough to follow. I didn’t find this to be the case, yet. Still, this book is awfully chatty with tons of tangents. I kind of like it. I think he needs strict instructions, and instead the methods seem like an oral dictation, and not scientifically noted.