During one visit to see the parents back home in the ‘burbs of DC, I had dinner at the food court inside Lotte Plaza in Aspen Hill, MD. (Technically Silver Spring but this area is more commonly known as Aspen Hill.) Lotte Plaza is part of a chain of Korean grocery stores in the US. The great thing about Lotte is that they have food courts inside the store. (Hello, genius! I love how you can eat and shop in one location.) These food courts are a great place to go if you want something tasty, filling, quite casual and reasonably priced.
If you go inside Lotte Plaza, you can order hwe dup bop from the storefront all the way on the far right of the food court. Hwe dup bop is a fantastic, delicious bowl of raw fish with sliced vegetables over rice dish that is absolutely perfect in the summer heat. This is a deceptively simple dish. By that I mean that the basic components of the dish – hot rice, cold shredded daikon, julienned cucumbers, shredded lettuce, crown daisy leaves (Korean: ssukgat), seaweed, sesame seed oil, sesame seeds and fresh, cold cubes of tuna, salmon, white fish, flying fish roe and krab stick – come together and blend into something that you’ll swear is more complex than the relatively basic ingredients in the bowl. Maybe the secret ingredient is the care and pride the owners take in making this terrific looking tray below:
All this yummy goodness for under $10. Mom & Pop establishments FTW!
Let’s take a good look at this bowl of tasty treats before I mix it up with the magic that is gochujang. (Note: if you do not have gochujang in your pantry, run, do not walk to the nearest Korean grocery store and get some. It is an extremely useful condiment to have in the kitchen. You and your pantry will thank me. Along with your taste buds.)
I love how they use a chilled metal bowl to keep things cool.
Let’s take a real look-see, shall we?
A mountain of greens, tasty raw fish and goodness!
And here’s how it looks after I mix in the gochujang.
Hmm. Sir Mix-A-Lot I am not.
Yes, I know it looks like there’s no gochujang in the bowl because everything is barely colored. Confession: I’m a lightweight when it comes to the gochujang. Before you label me “weak sauce”, I want you to know that I prefer to add a little at a time and then more as I go along. Remember that you can always add but never subtract when it comes to cooking and make-up. Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way in both areas. Oy.
Even with this great hwe dup bop, I have to admit that for me, the best part about Korean cuisine is the banchan. Banchan are the side dishes that are served alongside the meal and are meant to accompany rice. I love getting banchan when I go to a Korean establishment. It’s like getting little edible party favors for your meal. All those delicious tastes, textures, and temperatures come along with your meal like happy surprises.
Alright, they’re not surprises per se but just go with me here. Gosh darn it, tiny bowls of banchan makes me happy.
What did I get for banchan? Dried anchovies in a sweet-tangy dressing, pickled daikon & carrots and KIMCHI! Yay, kimchi! I also got a nice bowl of miso soup as well. All this for under $10 – what a bargain!
Part of the banchan and the bottle of gochujang. I guess I was too excited to take a good shot!
So I was just too hungry to get the shot. Eh, we’ll just blame the banchan instead for moving on the tray too much. Naughty banchan!
See, told you the naughty banchan wouldn't stay in place.
It was a GREAT dinner! As in “I really don’t want to share with you even if I liked you” kind of great. This one bowl of hwe dup bop contained a fantastic contrast of temperatures and textures between the hot rice, cold fish and cool veggies along with the tastes of spicy, tangy, salty, mild and sweet. Normally, I pace myself but this was so delicious and everything complimented each other so well that I could not stop eating this huge bowl. Along with the banchan, which was great too! The kimchi was young, not too fermented with a nice slightly pungent spiciness. The pickled daikon had a mild, sweetness that went well with its crisp-tender texture. The dried anchovies were pleasantly chewy bits of savory-sweet goodness. I prefer my miso soup with a stronger flavor than what was given to me but it was solid, decent bowl of soup with a generous amount of scallions, which I like very much.
If you’re in the area, why not stop by and try it. With the heat wave this week, this gives you the perfect excuse to stay out of the hot kitchen!
Lotte Plaza
13625 Georgia Ave
Silver Spring, MD
(301) 962-3355
I’ve seen some people eat by adding sauce to each bite/spoonful instead of mixing sauce into the whole dish.
I wouldn’t have the patience for that method!
I can’t do that! That totally defeats the purpose of the dish. You’re supposed to mix it around. That’s too tedious and time consuming. It’s like putting drop of catsup on a french fry with every bite. Gah!