Kimchi Before It Was Kimchi With Peter Jo
Who are you, what do you do and where are you really from?
Peter Jo 조승현. I am from Korea but I was born and raised in Australia. I worked in hospitality from my teens until opening my own restaurant in Melbourne in 2018, which closed after a year.
Hospitality has been my vehicle of self discovery, especially with Korean cuisine. I relocated to Korea in 2020 because I wanted to go deeper down the rabbit hole of identity and Korean cuisine, and I was also done with ‘whiteness’ and not having avenues or networks to really discuss cultural and identity issues. But a homogenous society like Korea has its own ignorance issues and again I am trying to figure out how to navigate a very different environment.
I want to eventually have a small farm and operate a food concept out of the farm where I can continue experimenting and learning about my culture, and sharing and showcasing my thoughts on all worldly matters through food.
Any thoughts on ‘Asian slaw’?
Lazy. There are 45+ Asian countries with vastly different cultures. Does Asian slaw even showcase elements of all these cultures?
Eaten any memorable slaws, Asian or otherwise?
Korean fried chicken slaw? Cabbage, tomato ketchup, mayonnaise. I mean, it’s not a great slaw but it’s vaguely nostalgic.
Chim Chae recipe
Zha cai may have been the predecessor of kimchi which we had called ‘chim chae’. My first thought was exploring what may have been the first version of kimchi before Korea was introduced to red chilli, today’s common garlic and Napa cabbage. There are records of sancho being our first ‘pepper’ to spice kimchi.
From my research thus far it involves a beef bone broth, sancho pepper and it was either an eggplant or lettuce varietal base. I played with this idea a few times at my restaurant and it worked well with kohlrabi.
Salt the vegetable first, and then marinate and preserve in a ‘sauce’ made from ginger, sancho and beef bone broth.
Tell me about the ingredients and why you chose them for this recipe.
I have chosen this recipe as I believe it shows how little we know of our cuisine. It was very humbling for me to know how little I knew about the history of our culture and cuisine. I believe still to this day that I have only scratched the surface, and it’s helped me acknowledge that I myself as a Korean am unable to be an authority on my own cuisine.
What will you serve your slaw with (dishes, drinks)?
Bowl of white rice, some gim (dried laver sheets) and a dried anchovy based broth with egg.
Who will you invite to eat your slaw?
Chef Lim Ji-Ho (1956-2021). I think he is the only chef that made me question my cuisine and has had a huge impact on how I look at my cuisine. I never got the chance to meet him and really just want to say thank you!