Momofuku

Reality Cooking

The Korean American chef David Chang's cookbook, Momofuku, is not a typical cookbook. It talks about his struggles to open a restaurant in New York City, and contains lots of "F bombs" and recipes with exotic hard-to-find ingredients and time-demanding complex preparation. To the surprised (or even shocked) American readers, I would like to draw attention to deeper meaning of Mr. Chang's message.

Modern consumers (in the West but also increasingly in affluent Asian countries) still cook a lot of meals themselves and enjoy the time in the kitchen. We use highly processed ingredients and follow recipes with a focus on simplicity and quickness. Other than deer hunters and vegetable gardeners, we live in a sanitized world detached from the food sources.

Momofuku's language and demanding recipes force us to recognize that preparation for food can be a hard, hot, and grueling process, that restaurant is an "ugly, nasty business." This is exactly what every other cookbook wants to cover up. We eat animal corpses and eat plants alive. Reflection of this fact makes us uncomfortable. We want to avoid this reflection sitting at the dinner table. We much prefer thinking about how nice the Almighty is in creating these animals and plants for us as rulers of the world to enjoy. But here is the advantage of the Eastern way of realistic thinking about human nature, which could provide deep motivation for changing it.

I have long wondered, as Mr. Chang does, why there is no pig head for sale in supermarkets. He includes the recipe for a pig's head torchon (a cylindrical pâté) with instructions to "grasp that fact" that "pigs have heads." You may have tasted pig tongues and ears. Let me assure you, the other parts of the pig's head are just as delicious, with different flavors and textures. And by the way, the cheek muscle is one of the most tasteful parts of a fish. Read on at www.2cobe.com

5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

David Chang:Up Close, Personal & the Recipes!

I bought this book for my husband, a chef (we own & operate a restaurant ourselves) because we were hoping to repeat the magic that David Chang creates in his unique restaurants. If you don't live in NYC or don't read the food critics, you might not know about David Chang. He has won countless awards for his creativity & innovation. He's been featured in countless food shows & magazines. But perhaps the greatest accolades come from the NYC chefs who flock to his restaurant after they finish their shifts. His food is sublime,simply delicious & totally satisfying! We savored his Pork Buns, among other treats, when we were in NY last year & we wondered how he did it. How great to find a cookbook to let us in on the secrets! My husband just made David's Pork Belly... the buns are yet to be created since we live in Vermont & don't have a local Asian purveyor but the pork is so wonderful! It's been rendered so that a lot of the fat is gone & only the wonderful flavor remains...similar to duck confit...it's like bacon confit. I can't tell you how fantastic it is! I'm not a cook but I thank my stars for marrying one...but I do believe these recipes are possible for most food-loving people. The book itself is full of anecdotes, fantastic photos & easy instructions about how to do things. I love a cookbook with photos because they make me want to have that item & this book is so full of mouth-watering photos that you come away drooling. It's also a book for people in the restaurant business because David discusses the the work of feeding his customers & the process of creating & building his restaurants...the ideas, ideals, menus, glitches, etc. It's a great read even if you're not a cook.AND the photos will leave you salivating. I feel fortunate to have tasted David Chang's food at his Noodle Bar & Ssam Bar because it has given us the desire to re-create his magic here in Vermont. Buy this book! It will inspire you!

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Makes me want to eat noodles

This book is seriously inspiring. Not just a compendium of great recipes, but also a very entertaining read on the history of Chang's business. Reading it made my mouth water and made me want to eat more noodles.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Definitely not just a cookbook!

Not only does this contain very detailed recipes of some of my favorite dishes from the Momofuku empire, but it is also a behind-the-scenes look of the stories behind the venues in which they are served.
David Chang's rise to become one of the hottest new chefs on the scene is told in a gritty, honest and raw account. This book is both incredibly entertaining and informative. It is amazing how long the prep times are on many of his dishes, and some of the ingredients may be a little bit of a hassle to obtain- but it is all worth it. I would not recommend this for the beginner cook, but for those who are intermediates, or interested in challenging themselves, the result can be quite satisfying.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Fun; tasty

Interesting and fun to read, and the recipes I've tried are great. Some ingredients can be hard to find. Lots of cursing, so be warned.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Fun food porn

Insight into his creativity. Great food porn.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Great!

I found Momofuku cookbook to be an interesting read. David Chang shares his wisdom and experience on creating great exciting foods! I gave it as a gift to several foodie people this christmas in hopes they will enjoy it as much as I have!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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