Aku Eats Oahu : a closer look : Jang Su Jang, a closer look

Jang Su Jang, a closer look

Pleasantries all!

7/20/08 - My boss Gary has been raving about something called oktom, a fish that comes only from Jeju Island, off Korea. I found out later they also catch it in Japan, but it is far more popular in Jeju and is only known by a few here on the island, even in the Korean community. Quite honestly, no one seems to know what the English, Japanese, or scientific names are, not even Google, so the pronunciation that sounds like a pitcher with swollen cheeks and hyper-stimulated salivary glands is the one that, uh... Sticks.

Though oktom was the biggest reason for the evening's jaunt out to Jang Su Jang, the Korean restaurant that offered it, little did I know I'd soon be feasting through a series of culinary firsts, that much-coveted treasure of new conquests and never-before-experiences in dining gratification. Many of these items weren't even on the menu, so I guess it helps to have an inside source - thanks Boss Gary!

But I'm getting way ahead of myself. First, we had to meet he and his lovely wife Doreen, a good-fun, down-to-earth woman whose casual demeanor put me at ease like one of my very own aunties, at the Waimalu Shopping Center restaurant, next to City Mill. Fearing traffic on the late-afternoon drive from Hawaii Kai, Big Al picked us up and we left early, only to find the freeway relatively free of fellow commuters, thank God. It was early enough, even, that we coulda had a few complimentary drinks at SWAM, a cool little wine bar in the same shopping center that, lucky us, was having their weekly Thursday-night sampling. Though a wine bar, they also have other spirited drinks and a decent amount of specialty beers. Tonight, free samples of Anheuser-Busch selections were made available, with names like Sun Dog Amber Wheat, Shock Top White Ale, and Beach Bum Blonde, along with several wines. Greatly tempted were we all within that 15 minutes of extra time, but having not met Doreen yet and not wanting to slur our hello's, we resisted all urges - only to make up for it and then some later in the evening! Check out their web page to see if free wine and beer interest you - swamwine.com.

Instead of flirting with temptation too long, we walked over and waited outside the restaurant, still about 10 minutes early. By the time Boss Gary's car pulled up and we all exchanged greetings, everyone was starving and ready to gorge!

The colored flourescent lighting in the dining room bathed us all in a dim tint of red, playing tricks with my camera and making me wonder what settings to use. I would have loved a meal in this cozy area, but were instead ushered to a private room off to the side where the lighting was a bit less sensual. I guess that's a good thing, seeing I was seated right next to Big Al.

As all top-shelf Korean restaurants, Jang Su Jang does have certain booths with yakiniku options (table-top grilling), as evidenced by the large air-ducts on the right side.

Starting off with a bang, our beautiful host and owner, Christie, brought us a plate of poke salad that'd make Sam Choy himself envious! She says it is actually very similiar to a Korean dish, but calls it poke because, quite simply, everyone knows the name.

Fresh, plump ahi pieces were tossed in a large mound of organic greens - the good stuff, no head lettuce here - along with onions, julienned carrots, and a light vinaigrette of Asian flavors and Korean-style chili peppers. And I'm not sure what this would mean to a gourmet chef, but small crackles of Hawaiian salt that have not completely melted are, to me and most local bruddah's I know, an indication that this fish was freshly-tossed to order instead of sitting and "cooking" in salt and other flavorings too long - the only way to go! Those bursts of natural-white crystals and bright-red, soft cubes from the sea can't be beat.

Big Al, wifey, and I were all enjoying one of Korea's most famous beers, OB, each of us thinking how great it would be with about five of these poke salads and OB alone! On another side note, it seems that InBev, that Big 'ol Belgian company that rode the plummeting dollar to acquire the American-as-apple-pie Anheuser Busch beers we resisted earlier, also bought the Korean company that makes OB! You never know who owns what these days!

Shortly thereafter came the banchan - side dishes of crispy, spicy, and/or vinegary vegetables and pupu-like concoctions, complements of the house at any Korean restaurant. There were sprouts, tofu, kimchee, seaweed salad, gobo, baby greens, and a type of root called doraji (bellflower root) that is often described as "a cousin of ginseng." It tasted very much like a cross between gobo and daikon, with a pronounced lean towards daikon. Though I've never heard of it before, it is apparently a common item on the Korean palate. Come to think of it, I think it's safe to say I've probably had this dish many times before, unknowingly, thinking it was dried daikon, instead!

Here's a shot of this mystery root.

And here's the rest of them.

Another interesting banchan I had never heard of used before was garlic stems. It is quite literally what you would surmise it is from the name, those hard, thin stalks that pop out of a garlic bulb when left on the counter too long. I tried picking up hints of garlic flavor, but couldn't really, as there was a certain amount of pickling involved, not to mention the spicy red paste covering it all. Wifey and I fell in love with these tart, crispy-firm sticks of green. Under the red, that is.

I tried stealing a taste of Doreen's mandoo soup, but got my hand slapped and ear pinched till I cried uncle. No, not really. I just didn't ask. She did, however, let me take a picture and tell me how good it was!

One of the very popular dishes in Korean dining is the kook soo, a thin noodle flavored with spicy red chili paste and a laundry list of items that vary according to order. Here is a bulgogi kook soo, with thin strips of boneless bbq beef and those delicious organic greens this restaurant loves to use.

I still remember eating skate at a Japanese izakaya house a while back, presented as small portions of dried sheets and coming with a side of aioli dip. The taste was quite phenomenal, with strong flavors that combined smoked fish with salted crustacean, perfect for a drink-friendly izakaya. At Jang Su Jang, we were served sting ray, a close cousin of skate, and it wasn't left to dry in some far-off place out in the sun and shipped over. This was "real" sting ray, a thick slab of white meat cooked up a few steps away in the kitchen, drenched in the traditional Korean fashion of red-hot chili paste. It was accompanied by generous slices of daikon and hot peppers, with a touch of green onion and sesame seeds.

Like the skate, it also had the mystery factor of resembling fish but carrying with it a crustacean-like taste, as well. The texture was firmer than fish but not nearly as firm as shrimp or lobster, and also seemed to have a hint of that silky, dense-but-soft feel of scallop. Analyzing aside, I wonder why these winged creatures of the sea are not more popular in the islands, with its huge steaks of clean, white meat. Yeah, I can see how western taboos may prevent it from mainstream America, but in Hawaii, with its Asian population a clear majority, I'm left scratching my head. This is a delicious and much unheralded source of protein most people have never experienced before. More for me, I guess!

Wifey was craving naeng myun, a Korean-style buckwheat noodle similiar to soba, but dressed differently and having a firmer, more slippery, and more konnyaku-like feel than its Japanese counterpart. This version of naeng myun came in a liquid of tangy cold broth and topped with daikon, cucumber, carrot, sesame seeds, and a hard-boiled egg. It was the perfect complement as a refreshing side-note to all the other fiery-red, kim-chee-like dishes arrayed beautifully around our table.

Before getting to the long-awaited main dish, oktom, there was one other absolutely delicious item to go through. Simple, it was, but fabulous in every way. Giant cross-sections of fresh zucchini were so big I thought them to be, at first glance, large eggplant slices.

They arrived piping-hot, deep-fried to a golden-brown, with a crisp, delicate, tempura-like batter that, like our poke salad earlier, would have made the perfect pupu. The flesh inside was not cooked into oblivion as to feature some abused dish of fried batter, but showcased the slight spiciness and juicy tenderness of the perfectly-cooked vegetable itself. Excellent.

And finally... Oktom!

Awaiting this anticipated dish, i wondered how it would arrive. Would it be with the all-too-familiar red chili paste? Lightly steamed? A miso-based sauce? Vinegar?

When the dish arrived, I must say, I was left at a loss as to how on earth it would stand apart from any other fish. I kinda thought it might come half-raw or just barely done as to appreciate the fish better. To my surprise, however, it was thoroughly broiled through to the point where, almost in the form of karei karaage, much of the bones could be eaten, including parts of the head.

Taste-wise, both Big Al and Boss Gary acknowledged that it was kinda similiar to the yellow corvina so popular at Korean restaurants everywhere, but without the slight "stinkiness" the corvina sometimes carries. Or at least that's what they say - Shame, shame on me, but I've never even tried corvina before! I'll be sure to sound the trumpet and announce triumphantly to the world when I do, though.

There was actually a nice, clean flavor to this fish and a smoky, rustic taste of slight burning around the fins and other areas vulnerable to the heat. No use for sauces at all here - just a sprinkling of lemon and we were all good to go! This was not a gourmet-type foo-foo fish preparation in some five-star restaurant with chefs hailing from Le Cordon Bleu, but just a good, simple, great-tasting fish I can imagine being eaten beside a quiet mountain stream amidst towering bamboo forests, in a village lost somewhere deep in the Korean hillside. Of course, my only experience with Korean hillsides come via Hollywood, with the added luxury of mesmerizing stringed instruments mysteriously playing in the background, wooing me into an exotic, mysterious, Asian sense of romantic disconnection to the real world... I can get into that.....

We left that evening with several styrofoam plates of left-over lunch for the next day, happy stomachs, OB-soaked livers, and contented merriment from being in the presence good friends and great people. Christie is a beautiful, warm, and attentive host with a great set of cooks in the kitchen who serve both very traditional dishes as well as some with local leanings. With the bulk of better, sit-down Korean restaurants situated in town, Jang Su Jang is a welcome extension of the territory. Remember that some of the dishes served are not on the menu, so you gotta ask if you're looking for some of those featured on this page.

As for Boss Gary - he is a true artisan, formerly running a custom fishing pole business with intricately-designed shafts that catered to locals as well as clients in the very heart of fine-crafts country, Japan, where customers pay just about anything if the quality and expertise is there. You'll no doubt hear from he and his wife Doreen again in future pages, probably introducing another set of new and exciting dishes I probably never heard of before. Hey, maybe he'll even take us fishing on the boat one day and cook us up some fresh catch - he's also an excellent cook! Wouldn't you love to see that adventure?

So anywayz, desperate pleads and shameless, indirect proposals aside, you all take care. Be cool and stay positive always!

Easy,

Aku

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