Best vegetarian-friendly korean restaurant in LA?
July 3, 2014 6:01 PM Subscribe
What are the best Korean restaurants for vegans/vegetarians in LA, preferably but not necessarily in Koreatown, which are not exclusively vegan/vegetarian?
Yeah I am a vegetarian and there are a few places that have some veggie food, but not all the food you are served is vegetarian even if you make it very clear ( you get many tiny dishes standard with any order and 90% have fish sauce, or fish, or meat. Including all kimchi). Koreans are kind of baffled by vegetarianism as a concept in my limited experience (korean sister in law). Be specific about what you eat or dont- yes eggs, yes seaweed, no fish, no seafood, no shellfish, no pork, no beef, no chicken, no other fowl is what I say.
BCD Tofu House has vegetarian be bim bop and plenty of meat foods. Some bbq places where you grill your own food have a veggie platter ( I have never been, its mostly mushrooms I hear and I hate mushrooms). My tip is that if the bbq rstaurant in LA has any sort of English language Web presence beyond yelp, it's likely to cater to Americans and have one vegetarian dish.
posted by holyrood at 9:49 PM on July 3, 2014
BCD Tofu House has vegetarian be bim bop and plenty of meat foods. Some bbq places where you grill your own food have a veggie platter ( I have never been, its mostly mushrooms I hear and I hate mushrooms). My tip is that if the bbq rstaurant in LA has any sort of English language Web presence beyond yelp, it's likely to cater to Americans and have one vegetarian dish.
posted by holyrood at 9:49 PM on July 3, 2014
Our go-to Korean place is Gang Nam Tofu in West Hollywood (Melrose and Orange, near Highland). I like their mushroom soon, and last week I got the dolsot bimbimbap with panfried tofu, no egg, no problem. I can think of two specific instances in the past month where someone in my party ordered vegetarian without an issue.
Be warned: it's a small place and there is almost always only one server working. We really enjoy the food and have learned to eat there off-hours.
posted by ovenmitt at 10:01 PM on July 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Be warned: it's a small place and there is almost always only one server working. We really enjoy the food and have learned to eat there off-hours.
posted by ovenmitt at 10:01 PM on July 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
This is not a restaurant, but if you really want veg korean food, go to a farmer's market. There is a stand that sells kimchi, noodles, prepared tofu, etc and it's all meat (and egg)-free. I'm spacing on the name, but they're at the hollywood market on sundays.
Otherwise, make peace with the idea that even your bibimbap sauce has some fish in it. Or order soy milk noodle soup (http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kongguksu).
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 8:49 AM on July 4, 2014
Otherwise, make peace with the idea that even your bibimbap sauce has some fish in it. Or order soy milk noodle soup (http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kongguksu).
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 8:49 AM on July 4, 2014
I'm a little confused by some of the answers here; it's not that hard to eat very well as a vegetarian in Koreatown in my experience — at least by the less-than-100%-strict standard that one generally applies to Korean food; you'll certainly go nuts trying to ensure that you only eat kimchi made without a single trace of shrimp paste somewhere deep in the seasoning. (But check out the fantastic Kae Sung Market for many strictly-vegetarian kimchi options!)
Basically, just go to soondubu restaurants. The tofu- and stew-centric places in general can be easily persuaded to make a vegetable or kimchi soondubu or a kimchi jjigae for a vegetarian, even if one isn't on the menu to start with. My favorite is Beverly Soon Tofu.
posted by RogerB at 10:22 AM on July 4, 2014
Basically, just go to soondubu restaurants. The tofu- and stew-centric places in general can be easily persuaded to make a vegetable or kimchi soondubu or a kimchi jjigae for a vegetarian, even if one isn't on the menu to start with. My favorite is Beverly Soon Tofu.
posted by RogerB at 10:22 AM on July 4, 2014
Again I point out that the korean cultural definition of what is meat is different. Broth made of meat or fish is vegetarian to a korean, because there is no actual meat in it. So asking for a tofu soup is fine, but if you do not want meat broth, be prepared to have a detailed convo with the waiter, who will usually have go ask the cook.
To prove my point, here (http://imgur.com/JqKfEtO) s a card my korean sister in law made for me to carry around korea and show waiters. It works in ktown too. It states exactly what I consider meat (fish, shellfish, pork, beef, chicken, plus broth or paste of any of the above) and the things koreans consider meat but that I eat (eggs and seaweed). It also states that i consider spam to be meat. It is considered a vegetable in korea. You can see the red and green text she used to emphasize the bizarre things that made no sense in korean culture that I was requesting.
I have tried this card and talking to chefs in countless places in LA and never ever found vegetable only broth at any korean restaurant. Kimchijigae soup is beef broth and fish-sauce kimchi (the name literally means old kimchi soup). Soondubu is seafood broth and vegetables. Since they have no meat pieces unless specially ordered, people in korea and some koreans outside korea consider these vegetarian, although again restaurants in ktown catering to americans have wised up some on this and are better at labeling as per american standards. Maybe adding tofu to those broths makes it veggie for you, but not for me.
maybe I am being picky and you have different standards, OP. I just get frustrated when as a vegetarian I am told to just compromise my ideals and that less meat is the same as none. So I wanted to correct some misconceptions about the actual ingredients of the foods common in ktown so you can make an informed choice to eat or not eat what you want.
posted by holyrood at 11:27 AM on July 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
To prove my point, here (http://imgur.com/JqKfEtO) s a card my korean sister in law made for me to carry around korea and show waiters. It works in ktown too. It states exactly what I consider meat (fish, shellfish, pork, beef, chicken, plus broth or paste of any of the above) and the things koreans consider meat but that I eat (eggs and seaweed). It also states that i consider spam to be meat. It is considered a vegetable in korea. You can see the red and green text she used to emphasize the bizarre things that made no sense in korean culture that I was requesting.
I have tried this card and talking to chefs in countless places in LA and never ever found vegetable only broth at any korean restaurant. Kimchijigae soup is beef broth and fish-sauce kimchi (the name literally means old kimchi soup). Soondubu is seafood broth and vegetables. Since they have no meat pieces unless specially ordered, people in korea and some koreans outside korea consider these vegetarian, although again restaurants in ktown catering to americans have wised up some on this and are better at labeling as per american standards. Maybe adding tofu to those broths makes it veggie for you, but not for me.
maybe I am being picky and you have different standards, OP. I just get frustrated when as a vegetarian I am told to just compromise my ideals and that less meat is the same as none. So I wanted to correct some misconceptions about the actual ingredients of the foods common in ktown so you can make an informed choice to eat or not eat what you want.
posted by holyrood at 11:27 AM on July 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
Roy Choi recommends Jeon Ju, which we've gone to. It was still a negotiation, and they don't serve booze (or veggie banchan) but it was pretty tasty.
That's my sister-in-law too, so I know how easy it is to be vegetarian in Korea versus how easy it is here; the LA Koreans tend to be more well off and more Christian than ones back home, so they have more meat (luxury) and less vegan foods (Buddhism).
I've been meaning to call around to some temples to see if they serve food — Korean Buddhist temple food is always vegan.
posted by klangklangston at 11:57 AM on July 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
That's my sister-in-law too, so I know how easy it is to be vegetarian in Korea versus how easy it is here; the LA Koreans tend to be more well off and more Christian than ones back home, so they have more meat (luxury) and less vegan foods (Buddhism).
I've been meaning to call around to some temples to see if they serve food — Korean Buddhist temple food is always vegan.
posted by klangklangston at 11:57 AM on July 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
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