Le Kim Chi, Ottawa

My favorite Ottawa Korean joint, for non Korean BBQ dishes, is Le Kim Chi. This is our go-to place if we are craving something easy, casual, fairly healthy and something with an Asian twist that is not a pho noodle house.

The wait staff at Le Kim Chi is extremely friendly, and helpful with the menu. They've made it a pleasant experience everytime we've dined here.

When CK and I come here, we pretty much order the same thing everytime. I have my dish and he has his. I hmmm and hawwww everytime debating whether or not I should try something different, but why fix it if it ain't broke, right?

Every meal always starts with a salad with strawberries, and the house special pineapple dressing. It's a little sweet and a little tangy, a unique taste.

Salad with Pineapple Dressing

Like any traditional Korean meal, you also start with a selection of small side dishes. The kim chi and pickled radish is pretty much what you see everytime but the third dish varies. This time, we had salad with corn and mild creamy dressing. You can ask for more of any of these dishes free of charge.

Korean Small Side Dishes

My go-to dish is the dooboo kim chi chi ge: tofu kim chi stew stewed with aged kim chi and served in a hot pot. I absolutely love kim chi, love tofu, and love anything spicy! What can be more perfect? If you're not a tofu fan, you can get this stew with pork or tuna. The stew is served with a bowl of rice that you mix in with the stew.

Dooboo Kim Chi Chi Ge

CK loves bibimbap, so that is what he gets. Bibimbap is a lot of fun to say, but it is also very tasty! It's basically a hot stone bowl filled with rice, seasonal veggies, beef, and an egg yolk cracked on top. A dish of blended red chili sauce is also served on the side. While the bowl is hot, stir everything together to further cook the yolk and rice and enjoy! By the time you get to the bottom of the bowl, you get bits of crunchy rice (from the heat from the bowl) that is a lot of fun to eat. The texture change is something that appeals to most Asians.

Bibimbap

The bibimbap comes with a bowl of miso soup.

Miso Soup

For dessert, CK and I shared the ggae gwa ja, Korean sesame cookies. They are simply toasted black and white sesame seeds rolled in honey, and they taste just like sesame snaps.

Korean Sesame Cookies

If I were to try something different, I would go for the galbi jjim: a braised beef short ribs stew seasoned with sake ginger soy sauce...a dish highly recommended by one of the waitresses!

Le Kim Chi
420 Preston Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Telephone: 613-233-2433

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Asian Glass Noodle Salad

It amazes me how some people can throw a huge dinner party and make it seem like it was a cakewalk. That is exactly what my cousin did. She had a house warming party, and cooked enough food for 40 people. We were only a party of 20, but not only was everyone stuffed, but there was enough food for everyone's dinner the next night.

It was undoubtedly impressive. When I asked her how long it took to prepare everything, she coolly said a few hours. Everyone was stunned. We officially declared her super mom.

She prepared everything from chicken to pork to beef to seafood. One dish I particularly liked was a cold Asian glass noodle salad. It was inspired by Korean japchae, which is a dish consisting of sesame oil, dangmyeon, and veggies.

Dangmyeon is a clear noodle made of sweet potato starch. It has a similar taste to Asian rice noodle, but I find it is less starchier. Dangmyeon can be found in the noodle section of most Asian grocery stores.

Here is my rendition of my cousin's Asian glass noodle salad. This recipe yields 6-10 servings.

Asian Glass Noodle Salad
- 500g of Dangmyeon (cellophane noodles made with sweet potato starch)
- 2 medium carrots, cut into match sticks
- 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
- 4 cups of bean sprouts
- 4 cups of napa cabbage, roughly chopped
- 10 dried shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced into long pieces
- 1 cup of cilantro, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/8 tsp of sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Sauce for Noodles
- 1/4 tsp white vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp of mushroom flavored dark soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp of soy sauce
- 1 tsp of sesame oil

Method
1. Soak the shiitake mushrooms for at least 2 hours in lukewarm water. Wring the water out of the mushrooms, and slice them thinly (approx 1/8 inch thick). Set aside.

2. Stir fry the veggies. Start by heating the garlic, on high heat, with the olive oil for approx 30 seconds. Add in the scallions, carrots, celery, shiitake mushrooms, 1/4 tsp of the sugar, and 1 Tbsp of oyster sauce and continue to stir fry for about 4-5 minutes. Add in the napa cabbage, bean sprouts, and the rest of the oyster sauce, and stir fry for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the dangmyeon noodles for 7-10 minutes. Drain the water, and rinse the noodles in cold water. Set aside.

4. Create the sauce for noodles. Combine the vinegar, sugar, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a bowl and mix until the sugar dissolves. In a large serving bowl, combine the noodles with the sauce and ensure that it is evenly distributed. Add in the stir fried veggies, fresh cilantro, and toasted sesame seeds. Mix well and serve.

This dish can be served warm or cold. You can also add meat to your stir fry, but I'm trying to eat less meat these days.

I'm heading to San Diego next week. After that, I'll be back in Ottawa for a few days, and then I'm off to Sydney, Australia....woo hah! Can't wait to see my darling husband! It's been way too long.

To make sure you aren't too lonely, I'll be posting some of my overdue San Diego posts next week. Tah for now.

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