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Hollywood meets Wichita for barbecue tacos

Photo by JADEN HAIR

Kogi barbecue combines standard fare with a Korean-style sauce and puckery Asian cucumber relish.

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By JADEN HAIR

Tribune correspondent

Published: July 16, 2009

My parents live in Los Angeles and until recently, so did my brother. About three times a year, I visit to hang out with the family, get my In-N-Out Burger fix and get the very important big dose of smog and traffic.

The latter's important because it gives me that fantastic talking point when the Los Angelenos ask me, "Why the heck did you move to Bradenton, Fla.?"

Hmmm ... Let me cough the reasons.

A few days ago, my brother, Jay, packed his bachelor belongings in a moving truck and moved to Wichita, Kan., to start a fancy new job. At first I was like, "Are you crazy? Giving up Beverly Hills for Kansas?"

Not that I have anything against the good state of Kansas, it's just that it's a totally different lifestyle than the diamond-studded city of angels.

Last night, Jay called. He'd just arrived at his new home, "Hey sis, you must come and visit. FOR THE BARBECUE!" He described pulled pork and smoked ribs he had already begun sampling.

That was reason enough to commit one of the most important holidays of the year, Thanksgiving, to haul my family to Wichita for a week. It got me thinking. Take award-winning barbecued pulled pork and combine it with a Korean-style barbecue sauce and a puckery Asian cucumber relish. The result is something you'd find on the street corner of Cahuenga and Sunset boulevards in Hollywood, the Kogi BBQ truck.

Kogi is the hottest thing to hit the streets of LA (literally!), smashing standard taco truck fare with the zing and spice of Korean flavors. The Kogi folks use Twitter to announce the evening's route, and serve hundreds of people at each stop. Sometimes, the lines form an hour before the truck arrives and snake carelessly around cars, fire hydrants and benches.

I haven't sampled Kogi's fare, but I did ask co-owner Alice Shin whether Chef Roy Cho would create a special sauce for us. It matches the deep smoky flavor of traditional barbecue pulled pork.

This recipe is Midwest meets Los Angeles. Good luck with your new adventure, my brother.

Find more of Jaden Hair's culinary adventures at www.steamykitchen.com.

KOREAN-STYLE PULLED-PORK TACOS

You can use your favorite pulled pork recipe or purchase it cooked from the joint down the street. I've also used store-bought rotisserie chicken in place of the pork, shredding the chicken and tossing it with this sauce. You can find the Korean fermented hot pepper paste at most Asian supermarkets.

1 to 2 large cucumbers, very thinly sliced (about 1 cup sliced)

1 teaspoon minced fresh chili (or to taste)

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 pound cooked pulled pork

12 corn or flour tortillas

For the Korean barbecue Sauce

2 tablespoons Korean fermented hot pepper paste (gochujang)

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons sesame oil

To make the Korean barbecue sauce, whisk all ingredients together until sugar has dissolved and mixture is smooth.

In a bowl, toss together the cucumber slices, fresh chili, rice wine vinegar and the sugar.

Put the pulled pork into a large bowl and toss with enough of the sauce to coat. To assemble tacos, layer a big spoonful of the pulled pork onto a corn tortilla and top with a few slices of spicy cucumber relish.

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