“People say this is inspired by Buddhist temple cuisine. I try to reflect and put that spirit into what we are doing.” Today, Bon Appétit spends a day on the line with Chef Kwang Uh, co-owner of Baroo in Los Angeles. After gaining a loyal following during their first iteration in a mini mall, Baroo has returned after a few years away with a sophisticated tasting menu and a much bigger venue, earning the title of LA Times' best restaurant of the year during their first year back.
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00:00Baru is a modern Korean restaurant.
00:05People say this is inspired by Buddhist temple cuisine.
00:09I try to reflect and then I try to put that spirit into what we are doing.
00:16Fermentation is really integral part of cooking in Baru
00:20because all the dish has at least one fermented ingredient.
00:26As a restaurant chef and owner, having tasty menu restaurant is all the time my dream.
00:32I try to keep it inspiring for everyone, including me and our team and our guests.
00:43Hello, my name is Kwang and this is my wife Mina Park.
00:47We are running the restaurant together, Baru, in LA.
00:51We have a lot of things to do today, so let's get going.
00:56So this is Baru and to me it's very luxurious than previous restaurant right next to 7-Eleven,
01:03which had only three people working and then very small space.
01:08When people from the old Baru come, they say, oh, this is so different.
01:13Yes, it's so different.
01:15It's 8.30 in the morning.
01:17As head chef, I'm the first to arrive here.
01:20When I first come in the morning, I check everything is in place and then make it tidy.
01:25People say, like, control freak.
01:27Yeah, it used to happen now.
01:29I kind of try to let it go.
01:31Just checking the working cooler.
01:33So this is produce.
01:34This is cold, hot, and family and this fermentation.
01:39Sometimes it's a little bit messed up, but today is pretty good.
01:43So this is service station.
01:45This is kind of my time to wake up for the day.
01:49Also, Buddhist monk said, every part of your life is kind of meditation.
01:53So to me, it's not really matter.
01:55I really prefer like this way.
01:58All the leftover neck in.
02:01We are doing laundry at home, Mina and me.
02:05So we have whiteboard.
02:07We write down something we need and then we go shopping.
02:10There wasn't too much stuff, just a few things today.
02:13We got Korean melon with this.
02:16We are making dongchimi, which is kind of Korean radish kimchi.
02:21We got some beef shrimp.
02:23When you go to Korean market, there are a lot of scrap and then you can get really cheap price.
02:28So shop, this is kind of urgent.
02:30So we need to take out all the blood.
02:32So we need to put some sugar and then cold water.
02:35We need to soak it and then this is just kind of family meal.
02:38And then also we have kid.
02:40This is his paper he did last night.
02:43So he asked, please put this one in his desk.
02:47Everything looks good and tidy.
02:49So now it's the time to see our AM team.
02:53In the morning, they are usually doing all kinds of sauce, all kinds of prep,
02:58which takes a lot of time and labor.
03:01There's only two people.
03:03So now we are making bugak.
03:05Bugak is kind of Korean traditional snack.
03:08This is a very expensive seaweed imported from Korea.
03:12We are spreading the rice porridge and then we have giant fan setting up there.
03:17And then we're going to dehydrate.
03:19Once completely dehydrated, we deep fry and then that rice porridge is popped up.
03:25And then it's going to make crispy snack.
03:28He's the master of doing this.
03:30So I don't even need to check.
03:32So this is inventory list.
03:34And anything we need to order, we put it here.
03:38There's a condiment and then farmer's market.
03:41And then prep list, we also put it here.
03:44Most important part is actually communication with each other, with AM and PM.
03:49Did you guys talk last night to PM team?
03:52Yeah.
03:53So what do we have?
03:54We're doing EXO, beef stew, and then we're doing the almond cream as well for dessert.
04:00Did you guys check today's reservation?
04:02Yeah.
04:03How many vegetarian?
04:04Oddly, there's one.
04:05Just one?
04:06One vegan?
04:07Yeah, one vegan.
04:08Okay.
04:09Now it's 9.40 and I'm checking the reservation and then email.
04:13So today our cover is 68.
04:16Since we are selected Restaurant of the Year of the LA Times, we book pretty much every single night.
04:23Yeah, I think tonight...
04:25And also I talked to Mina about today's plan.
04:28So we run the restaurant together.
04:30He takes care of the culinary side.
04:32Metaphorically, she's the mother of the restaurant.
04:35I'm a pretty quiet boy, quiet guy.
04:38So all the important job is what I'm not really good at.
04:43She's doing actually the most important job.
04:46So I can see the cod being delivered.
04:50We have live lobster.
04:52We don't usually get, so it's just for R&D.
04:55And then this one is the sole and scallop.
05:00And then also we have a black cod.
05:02Our sous-chef, Matt, he's checking the quality and the freshness.
05:06When there's a head, he can see the eyes and the gills.
05:10And I check all the invoice, quantity and price.
05:14And today, everything looks really good.
05:19Matt is going to butcher.
05:21And then we're going to make soy-braised black cod.
05:24This is actually one of the people's favorite.
05:27It goes with chameh dongchimi, which is Korean melon kimchi.
05:32The papaya chip and citrus form.
05:37It's 10 a.m., so my job is checking fermentation.
05:42So this one is part of our rice dishes.
05:45We pickle watermelon, radish, rose, and shiitake peppercorn inside.
05:51Texture should be crunch from the freshness.
05:53And then taste-wise, between over-ripened and then ripened.
05:59So I can taste a little bit funkiness.
06:01This radish is done, so I think it's done.
06:04It's summertime, so it's pretty good condition to grow beneficial bacteria and the microorganisms.
06:09And the second thing is lemon verbena kombucha.
06:13We strain it and then make some kind of foam.
06:16And then we put on top of the watermelon and tomato gazpacho.
06:21I'm going to just check it's going to be ready.
06:24It's good.
06:26So this is basically you try to squeeze out the moisture from the tofu and then cover with ssamjang.
06:34We use this tofu as kind of backbone of our vegetarian vegan menu sauce.
06:39If it's kind of really aged well, it tastes like blue cheese.
06:43It tastes really savory umami.
06:45And a little bit of sour, good sour.
06:47That's what I'm looking for.
06:49One thing I found really strange when I first entered the United States,
06:54people think fermentation is a very strange thing.
06:57But because I'm from Korea, it's just kind of natural.
07:01When I start at Noma, they really open and awake my perception about fermentation.
07:10They try to do everything, like roasting, deep-frying, and then dehydrating,
07:15and then ground it, and then make it even some kind of water.
07:19They are trying to apply all kinds of cooking technique,
07:23interpret it into totally different culture of people.
07:27And I want to make these fermented condiments,
07:31because these ingredients are the most important part of the Korean cooking.
07:36Doenjang, fermented soybean paste, ganjang, soon-to-be soy sauce,
07:41and then this one is gochujang. This one looks also good.
07:45I open the lid. Sun is going to shine.
07:49It's really good for all the fermented condiments.
07:52So we are done with the fermentation check.
07:55At least once a week, when I go to farmer's market and then see something interesting,
08:00I try to do some kind of fermentation.
08:03We got golden nectar plum, and mirabelle, and green gage plum.
08:08This strainer is very typical Korean.
08:11Every household who's making kimchi have this one.
08:15Once it's drained, we're going to cut it.
08:17We're going to seed it, stem off, and then we're going to make fermentation.
08:21There are two different kinds.
08:23One is just covered with sugar. Let it sit.
08:27So all the sugar is going to melt, and then it will turn into liquid.
08:32It's like a syrup, but it has microorganisms.
08:35They have some kind of grill of the seasonal vegetables.
08:38We can just marinate in this syrup.
08:40And the second is lacto-fermentation, mixed with salt, without oxygen, and then let it ferment.
08:47And it's going to be done, usually this weather, I can say two, three days.
08:52I'm going to wrap up this fermentation.
08:55Our PM team is arriving now.
08:58It's around noon.
08:59So now it's going to be seven people.
09:01When PM cooks arrive, I usually check everything's going properly.
09:05But every day is pretty good.
09:07Big difference is the length of time.
09:09So what AM do is more time-consuming and labor-intensive job.
09:14But what PM do is more like maybe two, three hours job.
09:18Cutting, shredding, picking up the herbs, and then be ready.
09:22While they are doing preparation for the service,
09:25I just check every single component of dishes, and then I taste.
09:30So this is the aeobak, which is a kind of baby squash.
09:34We use for the rice dishes in bansang for vegetarian.
09:38Bansang is kind of tray with a lot of the side dishes and then rice and soup.
09:44This is radish.
09:46And then naengi-namul.
09:48Naengi is a shepherd's purse.
09:50Tasting looks great, so we can move on.
09:53Now it's three o'clock, so now we're going to work on the R&D.
09:57We really try to change the menu as much as possible, but it's been a year.
10:01As head chef, the researching and menu development is really important.
10:06Yesterday I kind of marinated pork neck.
10:09I'm going to just grill and then check how's the texture and how's the seasoning.
10:14This one is the jam lettuce.
10:16We're going to grill this one.
10:18This jam lettuce can be solo or it can be garnished.
10:22So now I'm going to try to use this next dish as appetizer.
10:26We are making lobster bisque in Korean way.
10:29Made with fermented soybean paste and with the grain.
10:33So this is already cooked lentil and then buckwheat.
10:37We're going to cook it down a little bit more.
10:40I'm trying to think about kind of hybrid way of the maybe Italian risotto
10:45and then our version of the fermented soybean stew.
10:49I try to think about all different kinds of the flavor.
10:53Saltyness, sweetness, bitter, sweet, sour, umami.
10:57And then also I'm trying to think about what other fermented goods
11:02in the working color are going to be well paired with this.
11:05For the protein side, I'm going to make a fried lobster.
11:09The batter is typical, but we put it in the nitrogen charger.
11:13It also really make fluffy, aerated batter.
11:17So we're going to deep fry the lobster.
11:24Actually, it's better than I expected.
11:27Anyone want to try this one?
11:30We can increase the salinity.
11:33Yeah, increase the salinity.
11:35The sweetness is good.
11:38Actually, I like this one more.
11:41I'm thinking about to glaze with some kind of fermented fruit or vegetable juice
11:46and then glaze it.
11:48And then it can go well with the solo,
11:51but it can also go well with any kind of protein, I think.
11:54So this one, try to have it all together,
11:57like a grain, and then soup, and then the pickle, radish.
12:01I accent it with the lovage oil,
12:04but I'm thinking about something in my mind is kind of lemongrass,
12:07but we are using lemongrass in the black cut.
12:09We can use a liquid.
12:11Yeah, that's also a great idea.
12:13We make a lighter idea. Yeah, that's a good idea, too.
12:15We had a great tasting menu session with our team, part of the team.
12:19So everything was good, but there are absolutely more things to work on it.
12:24And then now it's 4 o'clock.
12:26It's almost about to have family meal.
12:30It's 5.15.
12:32Everyone is back from the break,
12:34and then we have 15 minutes to open.
12:37So we're going to have a pre-shift meeting now.
12:39So tonight we have 69 covers.
12:42We have 11 birthdays, one anniversary.
12:44We have one vegan at 7.30 and no other vegetarians tonight.
12:49Have a good service, everyone.
12:53Right now we are about to start the service.
12:55So my role today is expo.
12:58Manage all the tickets and also dispense all the dishes to the right table.
13:05And then I need to make sure also dishes clean.
13:08This is just wipe the plate.
13:10I mean, I don't mind to do the expo,
13:12but sometimes kind of joke.
13:15They don't like me in the expo.
13:17Sometimes I made a mistake.
13:19So first guest is about to arrive.
13:23Thank you so much.
13:25We need to be ready.
13:26So you guys need to be out now.
13:30Bye.