Bulgogi Brothers: A Seoulful food trip

MANILA, Philippines - So, have you found your soulmate yet? I cast a loving, longing I’ve-got-to-have-you look at the Korean delight in front of me and know for sure that I’ve found my Seoulmate!

My Seoulmate is a hefty steaming pot of Korean shabu shabu now cooking at Bulgogi Brothers Korean BBQ Restaurant, which recently opened a new branch at the 3rd level, Glorietta 2, Ayala Center, Makati.

But what does shabu shabu really mean? We pose this question to the dashing 25-year-old Filipino-British chef Josh Boutwood over a shabu shabu feast at Bulgogi Brothers in Greenbelt 5. Chef Josh googles the word on his iPhone and tells us, “In Japanese, shabu shabu means the sound of the movement of swishing (when the meat is swished in boiling water).”

Korean-style shabu shabu is really an ancient method of cooking — it dates back to the Genghis Khan period in the 13th century. To feed his starving army in the most time-saving and nutritious way possible, while conserving their limited resources, the leader of the Mongolian Empire devised a method of cooking comforting and filling food served in a large pot of steaming soup. Today, shabu shabu, cooked following a certain ritual, is meant for sharing.

Like students taking a crash course on how to cook Korean shabu shabu, we’re shown the three-way shabu shabu, Korean style:

1) Pour broth onto the pot to enjoy Korean shabu shabu stew.

2) Add the noodles to have a steaming pot of Korean shabu shabu noodles.

3) End your Korean shabu shabu feast with a serving of rice porridge. 

There are many delicious ways you can fall in love with Korean shabu shabu at Bulgogi Brothers. Let me count ’em: Beef and Vegetable shabu shabu (leeks, peppers, cabbage, bean sprouts, mushroom, topped with beef); Ham and Sausage shabu shabu (ham, sausage, and vegetables infused with Korean flavors); Mixed Seafood shabu shabu (clams, blue crab, mussels, squid with Korean red pepper sauce for a spicy kick). All are good for four, served with noodles and rice porridge, and provide nearly complete one-dish meals.

Noodles and rice in one dish? Now, this is not for those watching their diet. But as they say, never say diet, so go ahead and indulge! Or you can always just eat the noodles and let the others eat the rice or you can eat the rice and leave the ramen for the others to demolish.

American ham and sausage in Korean cuisine? A bit of history goes into this unlikely combination, as explained by chef Josh, “The Ham and Sausage shabu shabu was influenced by the Americans when they came to South Korea during the war. The Americans brought provisions of ham and sausages with them. The Koreans needed to use these provisions to feed the American soldiers so they created a hot pot of ham and sausage.”

We treat ourselves to all three shabu shabus and find each one quite unique. If the Beef and Vegetable shabu shabu tastes slightly sweet, it’s because it was marinated in pear and apple, with red pepper thrown in to give it a spicy kick.

Chef Josh comes fresh from his multiple victories at the Philippine Culinary Cup of the World Food Expo where he was adjudged Chef of the Year 2014 with a medal haul of five golds and five silvers (besting his Wofex performance last year, where he bagged Chef of the Year 2013 with two gold and five silver medals). But this unassuming chef will tell you, “I do not profess I cook Korean, it would be a shame if I said that. We have a fantastic chef with our international group, Bulgogi Brothers Korea. Without that partnership, we wouldn’t be able to create these dishes for the Philippine market. It’s the fantastic understanding between them and us that made possible the localization to our palate of these dishes and so forth.”

We ask chef Josh: What makes Korean food so popular worldwide? What’s the secret to Korean cooking? “Everything is fresh, very fresh,” chef Josh is quick to reply. “You start with great ingredients and work your way up to the color, the presentation, etc. There should be five colors in every dish — each color is a reference to set the elements of the dish. I love that ethic about Korean food, that is why it’s very salable.”

As we take a slurp of the shabu shabu broth, chef Josh shares, “We use anchovy extract and kelp, which is very healthy, to get the umami flavor (a taste sensation that is meaty or savory), which technically they call Ajinomoto, but this is natural dried kelp.”

Korean cuisine uses a lot of healthy herbs, like mugwort (Damong Maria), which is claimed to treat a wide range of disorders/diseases, from gastrointestinal problems to neurosis, infertility, and cancer.

Korean food is also known for its spiciness. So, for those who shrink at the sight of chilies (like me), can the spiciness of the food at Bulgogi be toned down? “I wouldn’t say we can adjust the level of spiciness, but if the guest desires that the level be turned down, we can work our way around that for sure,” chef Josh assures. “But we always want the most authentic experience to be showcased, that’s why we don’t announce if you want it mild or what.”

So, what else is Bulgogi Brothers cooking up?

There are more new dishes to spice up Bulgogi’s menu. Like the new bulgogi (fire-grilled meat dishes) offerings: Pork bulgogi (pork belly blended with kimchi slices); Beef Brisket bulgogi (thin rolls of US Angus Beef Brisket with crisp bean sprouts); Mushoom bulgogi (Seoul-style bulgogi with generous portions of enoki, oyster, black fungus, shiitake, and king oyster mushroom). There are more new meat treats: Beef Belly BBQ (thin slices of beef belly seasoned with a twist of Bulgogi Brothers’ bulgogi sauce); King Galbi Tang (a bigger and bolder version of Bulgogi’s signature beef ribs soup); Korean fried chicken (crispy fried chicken leg quarter served with Korean sweet chili and honey dips).

Surely, it’s easy to get addicted to (hot) pot and all things nice and spicy at Bulgogi Brothers.

* * *

Brought to the country by The Bistro Group of Restaurants, Bulgogi Brothers has branches at Greenbelt 5, Alabang Town Center, Mall of Asia, and the new Glorietta. Soon to open is an outlet at Newport Mall, Resorts World.