Borit-Gogae (보릿고개)
Borit Gogae, located in Los Angeles, serves authentic Korean menus including Banchan, which is a variety of small side dishes, usually served along with rice in Korean cuisine. Banchan has a wide range of flavors, textures, and ingredients that complement the main course. I ordered a banchan combo menu with barley rice and spicy marinated crab.
After you order the menu, you are provided with appetizers: sungnyung, sweet pumpkin porridge, and deep-fried seaweed. Sungnyung, also known as scorched rice tea, is a drink made from the lightly roasted crust of rice that forms at the bottom of the rice pot. Water is added to this crust until water absorbs the essence of scorched rice. Sweet pumpkin porridge is made with sweet pumpkin and rice. It is very sweet and creamy and often lightly seasoned with a pinch of salt on top. Deep-fried seaweed is a crispy and thin seaweed sheet deep-fried and seasoned with sesame oil and salt.
More than 17 banchan and barley rice.
Some of my favorite banchan were stir-fried eggplant, sauteed mushroom, and stir-fried zucchini. Eggplants had very strong smoky flavor from stir-frying soy sauce and eggplant together. Mushroom sauteed over sesame oil was very savory. Uniquely, the restaurant sun-dried zucchini for their stir-fry dish. This brought out the umami flavor and was perfectly balanced with a little bit of garlic. The texture of barley rice was also very unique, with a very soft texture that cannot be found in regular white or brown rice.
Marinated crab is considered a delicacy that is also enjoyed as banchan. It is made by marinating raw crabs with a spicy paste, which allows the meat to absorb flavors. Generally, people prefer balancing out its strong flavors with a bowl of rice. In addition, sesame seeds or chopped green onions are used as a garnish to give an extra feeling of freshness. The meat was umami-rich and creamy, the perfect banchan for barley rice.
The dessert was dried persimmon and sujeonggwa, a cool drink of simmered ginger and cinnamon sweetened with honey. These two types of desserts are very classic desserts for Korean cuisine. Dried persimmon was very sweet and buttery, while sujeonggwa was tangy and clean.
Comments
The price is $30 per person, and you can ask for more banchan and rice without any additional charge.
Recommended for people who want to visit classic Korean cuisine in Los Angeles.
