Soup

am using the c-pot right now to make Garbi Jim (korean version of a braise short rib).

One thing I used C-pot to do a lot is making stock. Clear great stock everytime with very little fuss.

I have to give props to HKP but my fav still is China Star. Never been dissappointed but I do tend to get similar thing everytime. Stuff I would recommend are Szechuan tofu, fish in with sour mustard green, crystal shrimp, salt and pepper eggplant. One thing that is paculiar is, my wife once asked if they could tone down the heat on the tofu dish. They refused. We still order it, it just burned.

I use the crockpot a lot. braised meats (pot roast and its various ethic cousins, bean/lentil, and stocks). My favorite recently is baby lima beans. Carton of chicken stock, soaked bably limas, garlic, onion, blk peppper. plug on high and in about 5 hours, bean are ready. Served with rice and greens, it is a great veggie meal.

Love beans and lentils and I find that crock pot is the best way to cook them.

Pretty much the same thing happened last night at Gamasot, except it wasn't on the telephone. Our server brought out an iron pot with the caked-on rice clinging to the bottom, then poured what I think was the same smokey, stick-tasting tea we were drinking into the pot - then stirred it around a little bit.

All attempts at trying to find out what it was, and what we were supposed to do with it, failed. After about a minute, we finally figured out we weren't supposed to drink it. Then, about five minutes later, she came back and spooned some into two bowls, and put it in front of us. Another sixty seconds of futile conversation, after which everyone ended up laughing. Spoon? Hands? Now? Later? As I type this, I'm still not sure, but I AM sure that this was pretty much how you clean a pot of baked-on rice, except that they used tea instead of water, and that it tasted like a little bit of rice with tea poured over it.

We already had rice, and we already had tea, so what was this? Palate cleanser? After dinner drink? Regardless, it was a lovely gesture and much appreciated, but to this minute, I remain ...

Stumped,

Rocks.

P.S. Gamasot remains strong at what it does well - soups, stews, and stir-fry - and weak at what it doesn't: BBQ. I also wish they had several choices of salt to accompany their sul leung tang, rather than one big bowl with large crystals (I won't say it) mixed in with the plain white salt.

What you had in korean is called NuRungGi. It is the burnt/toasted crust that forms at the bottom of a rice pot. As a very young kid, I remember my grandmother giving me this with a sprinkling of sugar. Crunchy and sweet. Some resturants (viet Gol and others) that cook rice in stone and iron pots, will take the NurungGi and pour tea or water on it. Let it sit, and you get basically a nutty flovered "rice soup". I love the stuff. I believe other cultures (e.g., persians and portugease) value the rice crust that form when cooking as well.

with the advent of of the rice cooker, people eating the crust has really diminished (no crust form in rice cookers).

At the resturant when they do this for you, wait 5 minutes. Then stir to loosen rice from the pot. Spoon into a small serving bowl (rice and the liquid), add some kimchi or other panchan to flavor (if you want) and eat. Good stuff.

The place is called Go Yang Jip (I think it translates into something like home town or home town house: wish my korean was better) in Chantilly, va. on Brookfield Corporate drive right behind the dullas expo center.

The place is in a strip mall next to a sandwich place and it's pretty easy to miss. Inside, there is absolutely no atmosphere. The menu is very limited (printed on a placemat). They have maybe 15 to 20 dishes. They are mostly the usual of the hardcore korean stuff (e.g., kimchi chigae, do bu chigae, sol lung tang, jungol, soondae). They range from about $8 to about $25 for jongol (which is shared amonst multiple people).

First the banchan. They are really good. They put about 6 dishes on the table, including 3 types of kimchi (including water kimchi). I would have been perfectly happy with making a meal just out of the banchan. The water kimchi is really really good.

I've had soon dae gook (korean black sausage soup). Seoul soondae has the best version. This one came with no seasoning(salt or the red pepper sauce). It was provide on the side and you added to your liking. The soup was very good but not as good as Seoul soondae. I've had soon dubu chigae (soft tofu stew). Really good (not better than Viet gol but pretty darn good).

However, the real star of this place is the GamJa Tang (potato stew). It is a hot spicy stew with dinasour size peices of pigs neck and spine. All made slightly thick with addition of potatos. This is by far the best GamJa Tang I've had (even compared to the stuff I've had in NY and Seoul). I go this place about 2x per month and I don't bother with anything else anymore. I would give this dish a huge thumbs up.

Soup

AJ is one my favorite. The spicy dumplings, menu item 2102 (???) is fantastic. I would love to know how do make that sauce. Anyone have the recipe?