Unlike many other cuisines, Korean food isn’t just about going to a restaurant and ordering food. It’s an experience of sorts, a celebration – full of convivial dining and people getting together sharing and enjoying a good meal.
You make your way to a low communal table, get comfy on the floor, sit and chit-chat as fresh meat is grilled on the barbecue at the table. Every bite is accompanied by copious amounts of Soju (South Korea’s most popular and mega-delish hooch), while the spice kicks in the back of your throat, all in the midst of enjoying a hearty bowl of Ramen or the sizzle & spice of a good barbecue. This is why many find it surprising that it took this long for the cuisine to catch momentum in Delhi, a city known for its love for bonhomie and food. One would think that the many similarities Korean and Indian cuisine share, compared to other Asian cuisines like Malay or Japanese, would also tip the scale in Delhi’s favour, but strangely, that hasn’t been the case.
Kim Jim Bum, owner of Gung the Palace, one of the most popular and authentic Korean restaurants in town tells us, “Authentic Japanese and Chinese food is quite unlike Indian food tastes. It has light, simple flavours with little or no chilli. In Korea, however, we love our chilli as much as Indians do, and use it generously in our food. Our food extensively uses herbs and spices, much like Indian food. That’s why, unlike, say, Japanese cuisine which is more of an acquired taste, Indians almost always end up liking Korean food from the word go”.
Culturally too, there are many similarities between Indian and Korean dining practices. The experience of sitting around the table with family is a dining custom in India, and the Koreans also believe that dining is as much about the food as about the company. Koreans in fact have ritualized the practice of community eating, and a meal at a Korean restaurant is as much about the food, as it is about sharing it with others. Koreans also love variety in their food and like us, enjoy having rice (bap) and side-dishes (banchan). While rice is the mainstay of any home-style Korean dish, no meal is complete without a side of kimchi. “Like Indians have vegetable salad, we have the Kimchi, simple fermented cabbage is an essential in every meal” Kim adds.
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A humble side-dish it may be in Korea, but the mouth-puckeringly sour Korean pickled cabbage or Kimchi can be credited for single-handedly popularizing the cuisine in the capital. “The Ramen bowls and Bibimbap (a dish of mixed rice and vegetables) are very popular, but Kimchi has remained our fastest moving item”, says Tenzin Chang, who manages the the popular Korean outlet Kori’s.
Gradual discovery of these similarities in food and culture, coupled with the city’s evolving palette and appetite for experimentation, seems to have done wonders for the Korean food scene in recent years. The city that for the longest time associated Asian cuisines with Chinese food, now finds itself warming up to the refreshingly simple flavours of Korean cuisine. In the last one year alone, the Capital has witnessed opening of five new eateries celebrating the cuisine- a fact that only underlines the Delhi’s growing love for Korean flavours.
No other place reflects the city’s change of heart towards the cuisine more than the Shim Tur, one of the oldest Korean restaurants here. Started more than a decade ago by a Korean expatriate who loved India, but also missed food from his own country, Shim Tur’s journey is instructive in understanding the journey of the cuisine itself and just how it steadily built loyalists in the capital. “When we started out 13 years ago, we just had Korean tourists and expats visiting the restaurant. Six years later, students from the Northeast who were more aware about the cuisine because of exposure to Korean pop music started visiting the place. Delhiites took much longer to discover the place, but now we have a regular Delhi clientele coming in too,” says Anil, who manages the restaurant.
Delhi NCR got its first authentic taste of this unique cuisine with a large Korean community living in the city on account of the influx of South Korean MNCs setting up shop in Gurgaon. Soon, Golf Course Road was delightfully dotted with Korean stores selling everything from crab claws to Korean instant noodles, and food joints serving delicacies like rice cakes & kimchi stew. With Korean expats doing rounds to dine over servings of Kimchi and Soju, and the local population discovering the authentic tastes, this hub is practically Gurgaon’s own mini-South Korea.
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If kimchi reflects the city’s growing love affair with the cuisine, Kimbap and the traditional Korean barbecue definitely represent its future. The Korean answer to the Japanese sushi, Kimbap is already turning out to be a favourite amongst Delhiites, a seaweed roll that goes beyond the raw fish filling and offers a variety of stuffing like eggs, vegetables and meat. For a night out with friends, filled with roaring laughter and boozy conversations, nothing complements better than the authentic Korean barbecue or gogigui- cuts of meats grilled on order accompanied with such delish accompaniments as pickled vegetables, spicy egg rolls and a variety of sauces and dips. “The Korean barbecue is actually the perfect party meal- it is easy to do, communal, everyone can tailor their meal to their needs, and the side dishes keep flowing. Accompanied with drinking games like the Koreans love to do with their barbecue, a night of fun and games is guaranteed,” says Chang.
Weekend dinners at many Korean eateries are becoming just about the barbecue, Kim says, “Initially, we had to ask people to give the barbecue a try. Now many walk into the restaurant and ask for it on their own. It has really been a remarkable change from days when people entered our restaurant and asked us for manchurian chicken”.
So is the Korean food trend here to stay? From a small restaurant to spacious, sprawling ones, authentic restaurants like Gung the Palace, Shim Tur and Restaurant de Seoul have only seen business numbers spiking upwards. Recognizing the potential of the cuisine, many luxury hotels have added Korean food to their menu. “I believe if your food is good, people will come to your restaurant. Good taste and healthy ingredients are the heart and soul of Korean cuisine. Since we have opened, the number of people visiting us has only increased. I see no reason for this trend not gaining momentum in the coming year,” Chang says.
From Chinese to Japanese, Thai to Vietnamese, varied Asian cuisines have had their day in the sun in the city. It appears that the city has finally decided to give Korean cuisine a chance and is keen to give it a spot on the Capital’s culinary map.
Featured Image Courtesy: taste.co.au
