Do you miss grilling at this time of year? I do. It can be
difficult to grill with a change in weather and lack of natural
light to help you along the way.
Do you miss grilling at this time of year? I do. It can be difficult to grill with a change in weather and lack of natural light to help you along the way. When I get a craving for something grilled and also want to have a unique experience, I head to Sunnyvale.
At Palace BBQ Buffet, you can satisfy your craving with Korean BBQ. Normally, I wouldn’t talk about a restaurant in this column. However, what makes this restaurant fun and unique is that the customer does the grilling. You can find a variety of Korean barbecue restaurants in the San Jose area, but this one is my favorite.
My family first learned the finer details about Korean barbecue from our neighbors, Richard and Lorene. Richard first learned of the restaurant from a coworker. My family visited the restaurant and it became an instant favorite.
When you walk in, your eyes are immediately drawn to the tables. The granite tables have a cast iron gas grill in the middle of the table. To vent the smoke, each table has a copper hood over it. My family rarely remembers the correct name of the restaurant, so we simply call it the “copper hood Korean barbecue.” The buffet section is located in the back of the restaurant.
Once you are seated and order your beverages, you have a choice to make traditional or American styles of selecting the raw meat. While speaking with one of the restaurant staff, I discovered the either method is accepted. In the traditional approach, one individual visits the buffet and selects a variety of meat for the table and grills it.
In the American approach, everyone from the table visits the meat section of the buffet and chooses their favorites. One word of caution with the American approach: Do not select extra meat that you think someone else may also enjoy. Chances are, they may have done the same for you. This leads to overeating and possible waste. Everyone selects soup, rice and hot entrees individually.
Once the meat is brought to the table, it is placed on the grill. Remember to bring a clean plate that has not touched raw meat for the cooked meat. Use the tongs to turn the meat on the grill. If it seems like the meat is grilling slow, you may need to turn up the gas on the grill. If your grill becomes too heavily coated with burned-on meat, the wait staff will change it for you. Each table has a set of heavy-duty scissors that are used to cut the meat into smaller pieces. If you visit Palace BBQ Buffet during dinner, you will receive lettuce leaves with a few sauces. Wrap the cooked meat into a leaf with some sauce. The results are absolutely delicious.
There is a variety of food to choose at Palace BBQ Buffet and features Korean raw meats and Korean and Chinese entrees. The selection is different during lunch and dinner hours, but there are a few items that remain for both meals. Unfortunately, this is not the place for vegetarians.
Standard white rice is found along with traditional rice and bean mixture. The soups featured during my recent visit include azuki bean soup, pumpkin soup, seaweed soup and clam chowder. I was adventurous and tried the light-in-flavor, but delicious seaweed soup. The hot entree area features fried rice, chow mein, vegetable noodles (vegetables with clear noodles) and Korean style meatballs, to name a few.
The raw meat section also features a large and interesting variety. Beef and chicken with a teriyaki-style sauce is a standard selection. A cross section of beef short ribs is unique and is very simply seasoned.
Pork belly, the same cut as bacon, but not smoked or salted, is also very good. Some of the more unique items include sliced pork tongue, beef tripe and baby octopus.
My friend, Tasha, joined me on a recent visit and both of us convinced ourselves that we were going to try something new, so we sampled the octopus. It tastes about the same as squid, but we accidentally overcooked it and it was a little chewy.
My absolute favorite meat is the featured recipe this week. Daeji bulgogi means “pork fire meat” and is called “spicy pork” at Palace BBQ Buffet.
I adore the spicy and slightly sweet flavor of this pork. I have it every time I visit the restaurant. When wrapped in a lettuce leaf, the spice is perfectly balanced. To make this at home, freeze the pork for 60 to 90 minutes to make slicing easier. The recipe features sambal oelke, a spicy chili sauce, is found in the Asian section of the supermarket.
Daeji Bulgogi (Spicy Pork)
(Adapted from Tri-Food.com; serves 4, 4-ounce servings)
1 pound lean boneless pork, sliced thin
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger root
1 green onion, finely minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sambal oelek (red chile sauce)
2 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Whole lettuce or cabbage leaves, washed and dried
Step 1: Combine all the ingredients for the marinade and mix well. Pour the marinade over the pork and toss the pork until it is thoroughly coated. Marinate for 30-60 minutes.
Step 2: Over a hot fire, grill the marinated pork. About 3-4 minutes per side.
Step 3: Once the pork is off the grill, slice it into smaller pieces. Daeji Bulgogi is traditionally served wrapped in lettuce leaves. Serve this dish with steamed rice or other Asian side dishes.
