- We are in Koreatown, Los Angeles.
The original Koreatown, here in America.
And we are enjoying what I think is one of the best
overall Korean restaurants,
Kobawoo.
They're packed every night.
They have a huge menu of Korean classics.
But the best thing here is the bossam.
Bossam is this pile of pork belly.
I'm gonna be enjoying it with some
very special guests, my parents.
- [Peter] We've been coming here for years,
and years, and years.
- Yeah, when was the first time we came here?
- I think you were probably about seven years old.
Maybe younger.
- The space is funny, like when I came here
as an adult, I just kept going like,
this is so familiar to me.
This dish is called the Wang Bossam.
And wang, wang is king, right?
- Like a king, yeah.
- I'm gonna ask them for corrections all the time,
'cause they know more than I do.
The most popular dish here, the bossam,
which everybody orders.
It's pretty much on every table.
It is a one special item for 13 dollars.
You get a mountain of meat.
- I'm going to eat with this, mu.
Wah.
- Tell me about this, 'cause you, you would always
tell me to eat this when I was a kid,
or when I was younger.
- You know, with the pork meat,
what you wanna make sure is that this is the
salted shrimp, little baby shrimp.
And we usually put that on pork meat,
so that we don't get sick.
That kind of acts against any kind of
maybe, if it's spoiled, or if it is poisonous,
or anything that's in the meat,
this actually kills it, and you won't get sick.
- But that's not real, right?
- I don't think so.
(Matt laughs)
I think it's a myth, to be honest with you.
- This is the original detoxer, right here,
fermented, salty shrimp.
Like, a lightly pickled radish.
(dance music)
- Mmmm.
- I mean look at that.
It's just like, I mean just, half this thing
is just wobbling with fat,
and the other part is just a perfectly tender,
just gently warm still from the steamer.
So what is this called?
- [Peter] That is mu, the daikon radish, spiced up.
That spicy chili.
- You know, a lot of restaurants make bossam.
I still think that they are either one of the best
or the best.
And why do you think that is?
- It is so tender.
You know, I've gone and eaten a lot of bossam
in different restaurants, but I really like Kobawoo
because it almost melts in your mouth.
- When I eat bossam, I only come to Kobawoo.
I don't go somewhere else.
- It just gives you a smile.
It's so good.
(dance music)
Every bite is just a little bit different.
You know, depending on what mood you're in,
like, what you wanna taste.
- [Peter] It's such a perfect symphony,
because you have that richness of the beef,
and then you have the spiciness of the vegetables.
The sweetness of the radish.
They're all coming together.
And it's so delicious.
You know, I have to tell you a little
story about grandma.
She always used to tell me,
"Look, if you go out on the street,
"and if you eat a lot of dust, be sure to eat pork meat,
"because pork meat will detox all that
"dust out of your lung."
You know, I can't believe she said that.
(Matt laughs)
And I believed it, too.
- So basically, we need the shrimp to detox the pork,
which is gonna detox the dust in our lungs.
(Peter laughs)
Okay.
(slow, grooving dance music)
- [Peter] So this is the pork feet.
- They debone the foot.
They take the meat, and the fat,
and the gelatin, and the skin.
They kinda press it together.
And that's why you get this.
- And when you cook it for a long time,
all that fat drains out.
And there's only like, really skin.
Supposedly really good for the skin, for the,
your face as well. - Yeah, lot of collagen.
- Lot of collagen in your face.
- It's important.
We all need good skin.
Mmm.
So just tasting that pig's foot.
It is, there's this mild soy marinade on it.
It gives it this depth,
and you get all the different textures of
gelatinousness and meatiness.
But the jok bal to me, it gives you complexity,
as you're eating it.
There's textural contrasts.
I almost wanna eat more of that.
- Yeah, because it has got a lot of different
seasonings inside.
And I don't know exactly what all the seasoning
they put in there, but because of those seasoning,
it takes a lot of the pork smell out.
And it tastes so good.
It's kinda lean.
Not as much fat as the actual bossam.
(grooving dance music)
- Now we're gonna transition over to the skate wing,
which they gently steam.
You're not gonna see
this at a lot of Korean restaurants.
- [Peter] This is like a kang jung seasoning.
- [Matthew] The soy?
- It's a soy sauce with - A lot of hot pepper
- Like garlic, and green onions, black pepper.
- [Christina] Mmm. Thank you.
- This is very tender.
- Thank you.
- It's a fish with a lot of meat.
And also, I can taste the garlic.
A little bit of sesame seed.
And also hot pepper.
But all this combination tastes so good.
- It's interesting 'cause the bones
are like these like, cartilage things.
You know, their bone, they're all kind of
lodged in there.
- [Peter] You can actually, if you chew it,
if you have good teeth, you can actually
chew it and eat it.
- You still have good teeth?
- Reasonably good.
Geez, thanks, I'm still young, okay?
(Matt laughs)
Yeah, I'm gonna eat this big piece
all by myself here.
Look at this.
- You have to be careful with the big bones.
- [Peter] Yeah.
- So, the meat of the skate is very flaky.
It has a nice, flaky richness.
- Definitely, very rich.
- The actual flesh of the skate,
just crumbles in your mouth really nicely.
And with this
kind of gentle seasoning,
it's good.
It's a good contrast to the pork, I think.
- Now, I actually ordered
steak and lobster for you.
And I've actually taught you how to use
the fork and knife.
And how to eat a proper dinner
in a five star restaurant.
- That was the first father and son trip.
- I had a very good upbringing.
And I ate very well.
- Yeah, and I take full credit for that.
(laughter)
- Well, thank you so much, Umma, Appa.
- Had lots of fun, yeah.
- This was a good time,
and thank you so much for teaching me
so much about food and about life,
and everything that's good in the world.
Thanks so much for watching.
If you wanna see more of K-Town in Los Angeles,
click right here.
- Yay!
(laughter)
- They're always like,
"When can we be on an episode?"
Wang mandu, my mom used to bring these home
in like, packs of two, in these like,
styrofoam containers.
And man, if I saw them on the counter after school,
I would kill it.