Text size:

A Korean dish for the New Year

By Daisy Carrington | dcarrington@am-ny.com

3:38 PM EST, February 5, 2008

Saerie Yoo Park poses with an array of Korean vegetables, which go into her vermicelli dish.

Saerie Yoo Park sorted through a pile of her favorite traditional Korean ingredients.

"This is Korean radish," she said, holding up a white behemoth the size of a newborn baby. "It is a very unique ingredient. I can only get it in Asian markets." She cut a piece to demonstrate the vegetable's strong fennel smell. Park is the chef-owner of the seven-month old Moim in Park Slope -- one of Brooklyn's few thriving Korean restaurants. In honor of the Korean lunar new year, we asked Park to create a traditional Korean dish. In response, she offered us a steaming bowl of japchae, a noodle dish often served with meat and vegetables (though in this case, it was just vegetables).

Though Park has only worked in kitchens for six years (previously she was a graphic designer), you wouldn't know it from tasting her food, which is rich and flavorful.

After taking some recreational cooking courses at the French Culinary Institute, Park fell in love with working in the kitchen. In spite of her late start, she's worked at some of the city's best restaurants, including Spice Market and Café Grey, opening her own restaurant in short order.

"Because this is my second career, I didn't have time to hop around and figure out what I was going to cook. I knew I was gonna cook Korean food."

Though she's worked to invigorate the cuisine with different flavor combinations, she still relies somewhat on the traditional elements of Korean cuisine.

"The way we talk about food in Korea is always: 'this is really good for your eyes' or 'this is really good for your something,'" she noted. "A lot of traditional Korean recipes, when they combine different ingredients, they are about the flavor, but they are also about the medicinal purposes."

Part of Park's inspiration was the lack of imagination she felt in other Korean restaurants in New York.

"For some reason, in Korea the modern cuisine is much more advanced" she notes. "Unfortunately, in Korean Town and in Queens, I feel like it's stayed in the 1970s; like it never really progressed."

Q&A Saerie Yoo Park

How is lunar new year celebrated in Korea? My memory of the day is all about the celebrations, and getting together with relatives. Though the most fun thing was in the morning, we would bow to our elders and they would give us money. I think I spent it all on candy.

What are some new year traditions that are uniquely Korean? The new year for us wasn't only about celebrating the new year, but also celebrating with our ancestors. We put some of the food that we prepare that day on an altar and bow to them in respect.

Do you still celebrate now that you live in the U.S.? Not as much. I've been here a really long time, and my kids were all born here and are more into following what's mainstream, in the traditional American way. We still call my parents in Korea and say 'happy new year' and things like that. But we don't bow and we don't get the money. We're kind of losing the tradition.

Recipe
Jap-Chae: Vermicelli Noodle Salad for Vegetarians

Ingredients:
1/4 cup spinach
2 tablespoons dried mushrooms, preferably black ear mushrooms
1/2 pound dang-myun (vermicelli noodles)
Vegetable oil