A group of us met up for lunch at Sogong-Dong Tofu House just as a snowstorm hit Markham. While the fluffy flakes fell outside, it was comforting to sip on the hot and spicy tofu stew inside. Sogong-Dong is located in First Markham Place where parking is always a challenge. The restaurant itself was quiet that day (people who heeded snow warnings and stayed home?) and our group of 7 was seated comfortably along one wall.

A friend and I shared a lunch combo that included a full size bibimbap and an adorable sized tofu stew (about half a full order). Both dishes were well seasoned and arrived sizzling/boiling hot. There was plenty of nice burnt rice on the bottom of the bibimbap bowl and the spicy sauce provided was strong. Overall the food was pretty standard to above par and had great flavour. Service was kind of meh. While it was a slow day, our table was still pretty much ignored. Only one server was working the dining room, but there were only at most three groups eating at a time. We didn’t get any drinks or side dishes refilled.

If you’re craving tofu stew and in Markham, Sogong-Dong will satisfy it.

Oh Geul Boh Geul is one of the staple Korean restaurants in North York. The fact that it’s taken me two years to visit is a testament to the volume of great Korean food in the neighbourhood.

Atmosphere: The restaurant is casual and has both booths and tables. Pictures of menu items decorate the walls and the TV was tuned to a Korean channel. I liked how the tables were more spaced than other restaurants in the area. The menu is full of pictures, which was super helpful with placing our order and stirring up an appetite.

Service: One feature I do like in casual restaurants is the “call service” bell. It’s a great tool when the restaurant is busy and usually makes service a bit smoother. I do however always feel a bit guilty using it when the restaurant isn’t busy, but I guess the feature is there to be used. Our server was very friendly, lots of smiles and double checked dishes as we ordered them. The food arrived quickly and she rearranged the many plates on the table to make sure everything fit comfortably. We had ordered a dish that is cooked at the table and our server came periodically to check on its status.

Food: I ordered too much food. This time though, it was on purpose as I needed lunch the next day. A nice excuse to order more dishes and not feel pressured to finish everything. Between my (pregnant) friend and I, we split an order of Spicy Rice Cake, Jokbal (cold sliced pork hock) and Budae Jjigae. We managed to finish the stew, ⅔ of the rice cakes, all of the side dishes and half of the jokbal, not bad. Of the nine side dishes, I really liked the cold tofu, pickles and potatoes. The kimchi was spicy, sour and well fermented.

The texture of the rice cakes was perfect, soft and chewy. I loved the japchae that was included, which soaked up the spicy sauce. The dish was spicier than other restaurants and I enjoyed the kick. I first had Jokbal at Song Cook’s and the dish quickly became one of my favourites. Each slice has a great ratio of chewy to meaty, all held together with natural gelatin from the hock. The flavour was very light and refreshing for a meat dish, great for hotter days and with a bottle of Soju. Served alongside the sliced pork is raw garlic, jalapenos and a fermented shrimp sauce. The poor Fiance had to deal with some mighty garlic breath that night.

At Oh Geul Boh Geul, the Budae Jjigae included spam, sausages, tofu, enoki mushrooms, green onions, ramen, flat rice cakes and watercress. All of the ingredients came together to make a hearty and delicious stew. This is a great dish to share, comforting and full of flavour. It is on the saltier side so I tend to drink a lot of water along with the meal. Once the noodles are cooked, the rest of the ingredients are ready as well.

Cooking goat or lamb has always been daunting for me. While I love the eat the gamey protein, it is still a foreign ingredient in my kitchen. This stew recipe, adapted for a slow cooker from allrecipes was a great first step into cooking goat with minimal risk of screwing it up. Also, it’s delicious.

Irish Goat Stew

2014-06-26 18:50:06

Serves 8

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Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

4 hr

Total Time

4 hr 30 min

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

4 hr

Total Time

4 hr 30 min

Ingredients

1. 1 pack of bacon (~1lb)
2. 3lbs of goat belly (shoulder cut will also work, belly makes the stew very fatty)
3. 4 medium potatoes, diced
4. 2 onions, cubed
5. 1 onion, minced
6. 3 carrots, diced
7. 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
8. 3 gloves of garlic, minced
9. 1/2 tsp salt
10. 1/2 tsp black pepper
11. 1 tsp thyme
12. 2 bay leaves
13. 2 tsp white sugar
14. 4 cups of beef broth
15. 1 cup of white wine
16. 1/2 cup of water (if needed)

Instructions

1. Cut up the bacon and cook in a pan until crispy, set the bacon aside and leave the oil in the pan.
2. Place your goat pieces in a large bowl, add in the flour, salt and pepper and coat each piece evenly. Once coated, brown the goat in the bacon oil until the outside is crispy and set aside.
3. In the same pan, sautee the minced garlic and onions until the onions soften. Deglaze the pan with water and transfer all the drippings to your slow cooker.
4. Add the browned goat pieces, cooked bacon and beef stock to the slow cooker and set on high for 2 hours.
5. After the 2 hours, add in the wine, thyme, bay leaves, diced onions, carrots and potatoes and set to high for another 2 hours.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Adapted from allrecipes.com

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble ingredients

Bacon and goat pieces cut into pieces by the butcher

Chop up the bacon

Cook the bacon and set aside, saving the fat

Bacon, diced potatoes and onions

Flour the goat

Brown each goat piece

And set aside

Saute the minced garlic and onions, add the bacon, goat and broth to the slow cooker, cook on high for 2 hours before adding the remaining ingredients

Adding the final ingredients, cook on high for another 2 hours

During the winter months one of my favourite meals is Korean Tofu Stew and my favourite place for Tofu Stew (soondubu) is Buk Chang. I was a frequent visitor of their Christie location during university and have been to their Mississauga location several times as well. Now being a resident of North York, I’m at the Yonge and Finch location monthly, regardless of the temperature outside.

Atmosphere: Whenever I go Buk Chang, there’s almost always a line at 7:00pm. Turn over at tables are quick so it’s rarely a long wait. Customers range from university students to families having dinner. It’s a casual spot that’s great for quick dinners or catching up with friends over a delicious meal.

Service: The service is efficient. Food arrives quickly and it’s usually not too hard to flag down a server. It gets harder to get someone’s attention when they’re busy but it’s never become a pain point. I do love how menu items are priced so it’s a round number when tax is added.

Food: The menu is concise and consists of only 9 items, 6 of which are tofu stews. Yum. The 3 non tofu stew items are also served in a stone pot, the classic bibimbab and two beef soups. Every table is served an order of complimentary side dishes that include kimchi, sweet soy beans, lightly pickled bean sprouts and radish kimchi. I always polish off the soybeans before my soup arrives and need a refill. Each bowl of Tofu Stew can be customized for the level of spiciness and you’re basically picking your topping between the 6 menu choices such as dumpling, seafood, beef or vegetable.

I always get the regular spicy combination, which comes with beef, shrimp and mussels topping the silken tofu. A stone bowl of steamed purple rice and a raw egg is served with each bowl of still boiling stew. Cracking the egg into the bowl as it’s set down results in a perfectly poached egg. The server scoops the rice (a mixture of black and white rice kernels are mixed, which causes the purple hue) into a bowl and pours hot water into the stone one. This makes a light rice soup from the burnt on rice, a perfect cleansing end to a meal full of strong flavours. The tofu is like butter and can be slurped up almost like a fine custard. The stew itself is on the saltier side but rich and savoury. The Star did a nutritional analysis on the meal and, yes it’s a lot of salt. I just drink more water the next day and acknowledge that the scale will be a few pounds heavier in the morning, it’s worth it.