Into the Melding Pot

In Koreatown is Jeon Ju, known for casseroles. Many of them are served in heat-retaining stone pots set over blazing high heat. Their contents are still boiling and roiling at the table, but their wooden frames shield diners’ hands from the intense heat. In North Korea, where winters are bitingly cold, this system keeps food warm throughout the meal. Jeon Ju is justifiably famous for its bibim bap — rice topped with — whatever. The whatever in Jeon Ju’s case is carefully selected itsy-bitsy seafoods: tiny mussels, octopuses smaller than a thumbnail, baby squid and shrimp and more, along with steamed spinach, several other vegetables and a fried egg, all arranged in an artistic pattern over the rice; a thin, crisp layer of crunched rice at the bottom of the pot adds appeal. Vegetarians will appreciate young-yang dol sot, a purple rice scattered with a rococo blend of half a dozen bean varieties, plus chestnuts, gingko nuts and jujube dates.

Couscous is the pasta of Morocco. Steamed over meat and vegetables, it will absorb their flavors beautifully, but the cooking process can be tricky. It takes the hand of experience to get the right fluffy texture. I always know I can get a perfectly prepared couscous at Koutoubia in Westwood. Unlike many Moroccan places, Koutoubia offers six couscous versions à la carte. You’re not obliged to order a multicourse tourist dinner to get it. In winter, Koutoubia’s kitchen usually prepares Berber-style lamb tajine with root vegetables, the ultimate Moroccan one-pot meal. The meat, butter-soft, fragrantly perfumed with ginger and cumin, is cooked to the falling-from-the-bones stage, yet the fennel, turnips and other vegetables stay shapely.

Location Info

Map

Chili My Soul

4928 Balboa Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 91436

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: San Fernando Valley

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Dae Sung Oak

2585 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90006

Category: Restaurant > Barbecue

Region: Mid-Wilshire/ Hancock Park

Deerfield Garden

130 S. Atlantic Blvd.
Monterey Park, CA 91754-2727

Category: Restaurant > Asian

Region: Monterey Park/ Alhambra/ S. Gabriel

Har Lam Kee Restaurant

150 E. Garvey Ave.
Monterey Park, CA 91755-2906

Category: Restaurant > Asian

Region: Monterey Park/ Alhambra/ S. Gabriel

Hop Woo

845 N. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Category: Restaurant > Chinese

Region: Chinatown/ Elysian Park

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Jeon Ju Restaurant

2716 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90006

Category: Restaurant > Asian

Region: Mid-Wilshire/ Hancock Park

Kingston Cafe

333 S. Fair Oaks Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91105-2541

Category: Restaurant > Caribbean

Region: Pasadena and vicinity

Koutoubia

2116 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025

Category: Restaurant > Moroccan

Region: West L.A.

Photos

Mimosa

8009 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-4503

Category: Restaurant > Bistro

Region: Melrose/ Beverly/ Fairfax

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• Victoria Garden
• Hop Woo
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• Foods

Lately I’ve been reading Chili Nation, by Jane and Michael Stern, a cookbook devoted to America’s chili recipes, from Alaska to Rhode Island to Cincinnati. I find it amazing that cooks have taken this consummate chuck-wagon one-pot staple, originally forged from dried beans with salt pork, and created so many sophisticated permutations: line-camp chili and biscuits, chicken chili and cornmeal parsley dumplings, and even one layered with spaghetti noodles and a garnish of oyster crackers. The book gives some quirky insights into America’s tastes. However, if you prefer eating chili to reading about it or cooking it, you must go to Chili My Soul in Encino. At first, browsing the list of 28 chilis gave me pause (only a dozen are served at any one time). I was skeptical: Would this be yet another hot-dog/pineapple pizza? But after tasting the fusion pepper-beef chili, made with Szechuan peppercorns and red-chile broth, the blanco y verde chili of white beans in a mildly spicy tomatillo sauce, the roasted-garlic/chicken chili and the poblano-turkey chili, I became a true fan. All are cooked with defatted meats, beautifully balanced and rated on the menu as to spiciness. There are also several low-oil vegetarian chilis available (and free tastes help you decide). Here, I thought, was the one-pot meal for today, the one-pot meal for 2001.

Chili My Soul, 4928 Balboa Blvd., Encino; (818) 981-7685.

Dae Sung Oak, 2585 W. Olympic Blvd., Koreatown; (213) 386-1600.

Deer Garden, 130 S. Atlantic Blvd. (Deerfield Plaza), Monterey Park; (626) 284-3867.

Golden Duck, 20951 Devonshire St., Chatsworth; (818) 341-2791.

Har Lam Kee, 150 E. Garvey Ave., Monterey Park; (626) 288-7299.

Hop Woo, 855 N. Broadway, Chinatown; (213) 617-3038.

Itana Bahia, 8711 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 657-6306.

Jeon Ju, 2716 W. Olympic Blvd., #101 (in mall), Koreatown; (213) 386-5678.

Kingston Café, 333 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena; (626) 405-8080.

Koutoubia, 2116 Westwood Blvd.; (310) 475-0729.

Mignon, 1253 N. Vine St.; (323) 856-9900.

Mimosa, 8009 Beverly Blvd.; (323) 655-8895.

Mini Shanghai, 712 W. Las Tunas Drive, San Gabriel; (626) 289-6656.

Restaurante Café Colombia, 222 S. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank; (818) 558-3985.

Seoul Garden, 1833 W. Olympic Blvd.; (213) 386-8477.

Tsukuba Restaurant, 2210 W. Artesia Blvd., Torrance; (310) 538-4828.

Victoria Garden, 4271 W. Beverly Blvd.; (323) 913-3551.