Bowls of bliss at Maru bistro
Cooking the classics in ways that are anything but traditional
If I’d been on the ball, I’d have written this column last month during the Olympic Winter Games in South Korea. Instead, here I am, straggling with a heads-up on delicious Korean food on the North Shore.
Maru Korean Bistro opened about two years ago, and is operated by longtime cooking buddies Bobby Shin and David Jo. Maru was preceded by their Korean catering company, Bap’s Kitchen. At Maru, the food is ever so much more refined than most Korean restaurants I’ve come across. Dishes are bright, fresh, assertive — and addictive.
I interviewed Shin by phone and he’s a most amenable guy. I question bombed him for about 40 minutes, and he responded politely, sharing information about his dishes and his life. At the end, I discovered he wasn’t quite sure who I was and what the questioning was about.
“I’m obedient,” he said with a laugh. Now that’s a trusting soul.
Then I goofed up again. When I went to write this column, I discovered I hadn’t saved the interview notes on my computer. First I lambasted the computer, then shamefully phoned for a re-interview. Shin was a very good sport, especially considering, as he told me at the end, he was really ill that day.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t at my best,” he apologized.
Shin and Jo stick to traditional Korean dishes but tweak and enhance as they see fit, borrowing Western techniques such as sous vide, brining to tenderize meats, and oven-braising. David Chang, the New York chef who made Korean food cool, is Shin’s touchstone.
“In even one noodle dish, he poured his heart and soul. I don’t know how much time he spent on a bowl of noodles, but I’m a cook so I know how much effort he puts into a great noodle bowl,” Shin said.
Of course, Shin has read Chang’s cookbooks, and you’ll find Chang moves in some Maru dishes, like the lunch ramen. Chang uses bacon in the shoyu ramen sauce. “I put a little bacon, too,” Shin said.
Korean chefs don’t brine, but they do at Maru. The pork belly dish and chicken are juicy tender because of it, and the exterior beautifully crispy. Also, Korean kitchens don’t have ovens, but Shin and Jo love to oven-braise.
“It keeps the temperature even compared to stovetop braising,” Shin said.
The KFC ($9) is a Kentucky abduction. They’ve morphed those letters into Korean fried chicken — and for the better, in my opinion. It comes with a choice of gochujang, soy garlic or miso glaze and assorted Asian pickles. And of course, you’ll choose the gochujang glaze, right?
Another dish that demands a return visit is the dolsat bibimbap in a hot stone bowl($18), where you get the heart of South Korea. (Careful you don’t barbecue your fingers.)
Cooked rice goes into the freaking hot stone bowl and it’s blanketed with about seven toppings, including a perfectly poached egg, ground marinated beef and finely slice veg. Mix everything up, I recommend. Dig deep and you’ll find a crispy layer of rice seared by hot bowl. The dish comes with barchan (mini-side dishes) that include a Korean mashed potato salad. Kimchee and pork dumplings ($9) were a good choice with five nicely fried plump dumplings and a fiery sauce.
There’s a category called ssam, or DIY lettuce wrap dishes. I chose the miso-glazed pork toro, torched after a gentle sous vide bath, and served in a cast iron pan with bean sprouts. Sauces and a dip accompany this dish.
Other dishes you might like? The wild mushroom japchae is a chewy clear noodle made from sweet potato. This dish can be easily made gluten-free with allergen-friendly soy sauce. They can also make the Seafood Pancake gluten-free, subbing in rice flour and starch for wheat.
Ddok-bokky are popular Korean rice cakes and here, they’re tossed with gochujang, seasonal vegetables and hard-boiled egg. Shin is proud of the Soy Ginger Brined Pork Belly, which is brined, cooked by sous vide and torched with a miso glaze.
You can, if you wish, opt for a sixcourse tasting menu for a mere $40.
I asked Shin what inspired him to become a chef, expecting to set off a story of a beloved grandmother or mom’s home cooking. Uh, no. It was mom’s not-so-great cooking.
“My mom wasn’t a good cook. That’s why I enjoyed eating out so much,” he said. And that’s what inspired him to go to culinary school in Seoul. “After finishing my first international competition, I decided to be a chef.”
A chef with ambition, it seems.
He’s planning on another restaurant somewhere and with the next one, he’s hinted at unleashing his imagination.