Seollontang at Flushing’s Gahwa.
For the longest time Korean and many other cuisines were all about fire for me. Creamy curds of tofu in bubbling angry bowl of red soondubu was my go-to lunch order at K-Town’s Seoul Garden.
Lately I’ve been embracing the mellower side of Korean cuisine; and there’s nothing more comforting than a steaming bowl of seollongtang, a long-simmered ox bone soup. I’ve been told that’s it’s good to eat when feeling sick. Recently I’ve had the good fortune to be sick enough begun to appreciate just how good.
A month ago I found myself in Tang out on Northern Boulevard. Dehydrated and spent after having a chemotherapy port in my chest checked out I slumped into a seat and gasped, “Seollontang.”
Season your seollontang with green onions, salt, and pepper.
“It’s good with the kimchi,” the waitress said as I seasoned the broth with the holy trinity of salt, pepper, and green onion. For a moment I thought of seasoning it with my tears.
“Thanks I have a bad stomach,” I said weakly in response to the kimchi suggestion. I drew the spoon to my mouth with a shaky hand. The broth was salty, buttery and soothing, just what I needed.
Long before anyone ever uttered the words “bone broth,” Koreans were making this restorative soup. The star of the dish is really the milky white broth, even the noodles and beef can be thought of as condiments.
“Oh, they have the best seollongtang,” my friend Yen Yen Woo raved to me about Gahwa a Korean spot in Flushing last week. So last week I gave Gahwa a go. It sports a decidedly more homey dining room than the ultramodern Tang. I don’t know if Gahwa’s seollontang is better than Tang’s, nor do I care. I do know that, for the moment at least, I was better and able to enjoy the kimchi as well a plate of Korean crudités with kicky ssamjang. And sometimes that’s all that matters.
Gahwa, 29-32 Union St., Flushing, 718-886-3223
Tang, 196-50 Northern Blvd, Flushing, 718-279-7080
Thanks for all your tips. I hope you survive. It’s the first I’m seeing of you being sick, I dont know if it’s been common knowledge to your readers. Cancer truly sucks. Stay strong and keep doing what you are doing. Don’t get down or lonely. Keep writing. Try to eat. Please tell us if you need something. Maybe we can do something to help.
Hey thanks for your comment and support. It is by no means common knowledge to my readers; this is my first mention of it. Cancer and its treatment are an inconvenience; I’m fortunate that my prognosis is as good as the universe is abundant. Just knowing you guys are here is enough.
Joe D.
P.S. today’s eating includes a bowl of thick congee
Joe — Really sorry to hear about your cancer but glad to see in your comment that your outlook is good. I LOVE reading your posts and have many friends that do too. We are all pulling for you and eating extra seollongtang in your honor. Keep up the fantastic work!
Thanks Adam!
Vegetarian fan of your posts. Terribly sorry to hear about your illness. May you be blessed with complete healing and the strength to continue to share your stories with your grateful readership for many years to come.
Thanks Deborah, and I am always heartened to learn I have vegetarian fans!
Dear Joe: I’m sorry to hear about your illness, but am so glad to read that your prognosis is good. I’m glad that the delicious foods of Queens are helping to sustain you, just as your explorer’s spirit helps to inspire those of us who follow your work.