Soup Callenge 2: Claudia Sandoval (El Cochi Dorado / Food Network Judge) - Woomiok
For the second trip of my Soups with Chefs experience, I had the pleasure of hanging out with Chef Claudia Sandoval. I met Claudia at a special event a few years back and we bonded over some whiskey and probably some inappropriate jokes. She invited me to her favorite place for a simple but VERY customizable bowl of oxtail soup from Woomiok on Convoy Street. The Convoy/Kearny Mesa area is well known in San Diego for an abundance of amazing asian restaurants ranging from specialty desserts to dim sum to Korean BBQ and even some damn good sushi if you're in the mood. Holler at me if you want my personal favorites from that area :)
I had never visited Woomiok but knew it had a limited menu as did the first restaurant in my "soup challenge". They actually specialize in bone soup so I was very intrigued. Claudia explained that bone broth is the foundation for so many cuisines around the world and she knew it as a staple in her family as did I. We both ordered the oxtail soup which I was SUPER stoked about since I hadn't had oxtail in a very long time! The server brought out the accoutrements that are usually included in Korean cuisine called Banchan. These included salt/pepper mixture, kimchi, white rice, gochujang paste, stir fried glass noodles and a massive bowl of scallions among a few other things I thoroughly enjoyed.
At first taste I was surprised to get just the bone broth flavors in my mouth and not much else. I then realized it was now my duty to make my bowl my own. I watched Claudia add a few small spoonfuls of salt/pepper that immediately added to the balance of the broth. We started spooning in chili paste, sauces and scallions, tasting the broth over and over until we both stopped and smiled. Now I know I'm a pretty basic bitch when it comes to spice so needless to say my broth was the color of a pale winter tan versus Claudia's late August sexy bikini tan broth. Dare I say it actually complimented her fiery red hair.
She told me that this was a favorite because it reminded her of being comforted and growing up eating pozole. I squinted, looked at my soup, looked back up at her and said, "What?". I dipped my spoon into her broth and when it hit my lips I immediately knew what she meant. The broth mixed with her amazing way of balancing spices and seasonings made the soup immediately remind me of a damn good menudo that my mom still makes. Maybe not the EXACT flavors but still light and viscous, the spoonfuls of rice replacing the handfuls of tortillas. The milky broth, boiled in the bones for 24 hours, made your lips sticky after each bite reminding me of the bones we used to eat the marrow from on Sundays before setting them aside on a small plate. I won't lie, I preferred her version more than mine but knowing now what I didn't know then, I'm excited to create something special the next time I visit Woomiok. Thank you for a lesson in cross cultural comfort cuisine chef!
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