Seoul searching

Illinois is home to the third-largest Korean population in the country, but this community’s cuisine remains largely undiscovered by American diners. While Chinatown restaurants are packed with non-Chinese and pad thai is available on every corner, Korean eateries are generally supported solely by the Korean community. That’s unfortunate, because beyond the more accessible 24-hour Korean barbecue houses, an interesting world of flavors exists.

For an opportunity to explore this Asian land’s specialties, this weekend’s Chicago Korean Festival is ideal. The DJ battle, fashion show and karaoke contest may be universal attractions, but deciphering what’s what on the food front may keep nondaring diners at bay. We’re breaking down each booth’s offerings to get you in the loop—bring cash and an open mind.

Bakersville
8357 W Golf Rd, Niles, 847-966-0404
The family behind this restaurant is getting experimental for the fest with their take on a “gourmet” hot dog, complete with fried bread-crumb bun, cabbage, cucumber, sliced apples and ketchup. For the sweet fiends, they’ll offer fresh strawberries and pineapple slices dipped in chocolate, while the traditionalists will likely line up for the patbingsu (shaved ice). The colorful summer treat is a mountainous combo of ice shavings, sweet jelly, tiny bits of duk (rice cakes), canned fruit cocktail, and fresh strawberries, bananas and kiwi.

Dal Paeng Yi Korean Noodles & Snacks
3236 W Bryn Mawr Ave, 773-588-0305
Snacks, sweets and fried goodness are this storefront’s forte, so prepare to come back to their equally addictive stand again and again. Ojingeo pokkum (fried squid) may not be for everyone, but calamari lovers should give this take a shot. Fans of the ubiquitous Asian potsticker in all its forms will love the savory beef-filled mandoo (dumplings). We’re saving room for our favorite Korean carb—duk bokee (spicy rice cakes). Before the literal translation conjures images of Quaker diet aids, know that these are delicious gnocchilike rice-flour dumplings, sautéed with goh choo jahng (chile paste), soy and scallions.

Joo Joo Korean Restaurant
720 Chauncey Ave, West Lafayette, IN, 765-743-5566
For homesick Korean Purdue students, this eatery is a return to Mama’s kitchen. The heralded Korea-born restaurant crew will make the trek all the way to Chicago to offer its signature dish, dak bulgogi (Korean-style barbecue chicken). One of the most popular homestyle Korean dishes, the chicken’s flavor comes from its overnight soak in a marinade of soy sauce, golden syrup (dark corn syrup), ginger, garlic and chile paste. The sticky bird is then grilled to sweet-spicy-salty perfection.

Song Do Galbi
4918 N Lincoln Ave, 773-878-0999
Though this restaurant is known for the DIY tabletop grilling synonymous with Korean barbecue, the cooks will do the work for you at this weekend’s fest. Follow the smoky smell of grilled meat to the heaping plates of kalbi (short ribs) and bulgogi (thinly sliced beef). The latter is marinated in a sweet, garlicky sesame oil–and–soy sauce mixture, and both are plated on a pile of white rice. Traditionally these grilled meats are served with an assortment of banchan (side dishes) that includes pickled radish, seaweed salad, dried anchovies and kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage), the last of which you’ll get with your grilled-meat plate.

Alchemy Kitchen
First-generation Korean chef Eddie Hwang has been riffing on the cuisine of his ancestors since he left his post at the high-end NoMI to start his own catering company. In addition to offering a “shaker of Korean flavors” (garlic, red chile flakes, black pepper, salt and onion powder) for festgoers to spice up his grilled corn, Hwang will make his take on pajun (egg pancake). Adding a bit of milk to the rice-flour, egg, and scallion batter makes for a fluffier pancake, and cutting the thickness in half gives crêpelike results. Get yours filled with either shrimp or barbecue pork (pictured) that are marinated in a spicy sesame oil and folded in along with sautéed cabbage and red onion.

Mirim Rice Cake
3100 W Lawrence Ave, 773-279-1595
This Korean bakery specializes induk (rice cakes), glutinous cakes that take many forms, from savory to sweet, and are ceremonial markers of each New Year. Here you’ll find the dessert form, sweetened with everything from honey to red-bean paste. Duk production has become increasingly mechanized, but for the festival, visiting professors from Korea will demonstrate the laborious process on-site, as well as explain the symbolism behind various elements of the revered staple.

Seoul Supermarket
1204 W Dundee Rd, Buffalo Grove, 847-870-8830
This massive market will get in on the fest action by offering plenty of classics like kalbi and bulgogi, but the dishes unique to this stand are the reason to wait in line. Noodle fans should try the chapchae (sweet-potato noodles), thin pastalike strands derived from potato starch that are stir-fried with bits of beef, fresh spinach and carrot slivers. For a Korean take on maki rolls, there’sgimbap (seaweed rice), in which pickled radish, carrot, spinach, beef and omelettelike strips of cooked egg are rolled with rice in dried seaweed paper and finished with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. We’re guessing it’ll take some coaxing for non-Koreans to dig intojokbal (pig’s trotters), but the adventurous will be rewarded with delicious slices of pork that have simmered for a couple of hours in a broth seasoned with soy sauce, ginger and a few other secret ingredients. It’s typically eaten with ssamjang, a mixture of chile paste and fermented soybean paste, and soju, a vodkalike liquor that will be sold at the drink tent.