Pair It Up: Kalbi And Tofu Soup At Lighthouse

The table of food you get with a single combo order of kalbi and soup at Lighthouse Tofu

Our new toddler means that we need to be efficient, so this week's posts will be two items to try in a single meal.

First stop: Lighthouse Tofu, one of my favorite Korean restaurants in Ellicott City.  It's a casual place that specializes in a tofu soup called soondooboo.  Very friendly place.  A great spot to expand your Korean eating if you have only done barbecue before.

And my Lighthouse recommendation is a two-part order that lets you enjoy a little barbecue and expand into soondooboo.

Mushroom soondooboo

That's the combo order of kalbi and soup.  You can pick your soup -- mushroom or meat, spicy or mild.  I heard mild ordered as "white" because the basic soup looks white and the spicy pepper sauce turns it red.

Lighthouse's soup is a spectacular winter meal.  Piping hot broth with deep, earthy flavor on its own.  Spicy if you want it.  Thick like a stew with mushrooms or meat and vegetables, then the silky tofu throughout.  I didn't grow up with tofu, so I lack the vocabulary to really capture the pleasure.  It holds its shape, but goes down without the chewing that you'd need for meat or pressed tofu.  It's a delicious, filling bowl.

Then you get a small platter of kalbi as well.  That's beef rib meat, marinated and then cooked tender and full of flavor.  I often pass on kalbi because it can be pricey, but Lighthouse gave me exactly what I want -- rich and flavorful like I don't get from just vegetables, but even better because it was reasonably sized and paired with the soup and side dishes.

Lighthouse Tofu is a terrific restaurant -- casual, kid-friendly, and reasonably priced at $10-15 a person.  I'm highlighting the kalbi and soup here, but you won't do badly ordering anything.  In February, I wrote about Lighthouse as an alternative for Korean Food 101.  That post has step-by-step instructions about going to Lighthouse and ordering some basics.  In Step Two, you could order kalbi instead of the pork belly that I  mentioned there.

I highly recommend Rte 40 and its Korean restaurants for anyone who wants to try great food in Howard County.  I posted a Korean Food 101 that explained how to try barbecue at Shin Chon.  I'm currently infatuated by the noodle soups at Hang Ari, which is in Catonsville but still on Rte 40.  You could also scan down all the posts about Korean food.

Korean 101: Take Two For Winter Warmth; Or "I Try Again To Entice Howard County Explorers"

Pork belly and a tofu stew -- a great way to try Korean food

Two years ago, I made a pitch for people who would want to try Korean food -- a step-by-step guide for trying barbecue at Shin Chon Garden.

That's still one of my favorite meals in Howard County, but I'm back with a second "Korean 101" pitch -- this time aimed at folks who might want to try something warm this winter.

Soon doo boo is a basic Korean stew made with tofu.  You can get all kinds of variations -- from mild to spicy, from mushrooms to beef to seafood.  Your key first step is going to Lighthouse Tofu BBQ on Rte 40 to try it out.

Lighthouse is an outpost of an Annandale restaurant that serves up a delicious food and offers newsbies the benefit of a limited menu.  As I wrote a few years ago, it's a simpler place than Shin Chon Garden.  But it is casual and friendly, and the food made Washingtonian's 2013 "Cheap Eats" list.

My big pitch for trying Korean food is that Howard County offers so many options that you can get more variety than almost any other cuisine.  But the virtue of Lighthouse as a starting point is that you'll be guaranteed warmth and flavor with just a few decisions.

Soon doo boo has a base of pepper-tinged broth filled with vegetables, firm slices of tofu, and your choice of mushrooms or meat.  The tofu alone makes the dish filling with a terrific texture.  They're firm enough to hold their shape, but soft enough to cut with a spoon.  Respect the spiciness.  They'll make soon doo boo from mild to super-spicy, and the top level is seriously fiery.

The meat provides a nice contrast.  Neither the beef or pork are as crispy as the grill-in-yourself meals at a barbecue speciality restaurant.  But they come marinated and cooked with onions.  Both bulgogi and pork belly have provided a meaty, toothsome match to the spoonfuls of stew.  Alternate with bites of kimchi and other panchan, and you can enjoy a full Korean meal in an easy setting.

Here's step-by-step to enjoy all the secrets of a friendly restaurant:

Local Restaurants Get Some Pricey Real Estate On Washingtonian's 2012 Cheap Eats List

Bon Fresco makes Washingtonian's Cheap Eats list

Local restaurants represent a serious slice of new Washingtonian's Cheap Eats edition -- getting the nod for everything from Mexican to Cuban to sandwiches.

The list includes praise for Red Pearl and Bon Fresco in Columbia, Cuba de Ayer in Burtonsvile, and R&R Taqueria in Elkridge.  It also highlights a few local restaurant chains without noting the Howard County locations, including BGR The Burger Joint in Columbia and Honey Pig Gooldaegee Korean Barbecue and Lighthouse Tofu BBQ in Ellicott City.

The Washingtonian critics write short blurbs about each place, and they give practical suggestions -- lots of ideas about what to order and what makes a place special -- like the chilaquiles that they recommend at R&R.

One spot that I'd love to be considered for this list would be Mango Grove in Columbia.  They were closed while this list was being assembled, but I think the Indian there and spots like House of India compete with any "cheap eats" level Indian that I have every had.

The June 2012 edition is really worth your $5 to pick up at a grocery store.  It's not on line so far, and I think it's great to have around.  You could definitely flip through to see what inspires you.  There are some great-looking places within striking distance like Rockville, Beltsville, and Silver Spring.

Lighthouse Tofu BBQ in Ellicott City

Korean restaurants continue to pop up on Rte 40 in Ellicott City, and the new Lighthouse Tofu BBQ offers a casual, focused menu perfect for a weeknight or people learning about Korean food.

Lighthouse Tofu is a branch from an established Rockville restaurant just like Honey Pig came from a Virginia original.  It's a deceptive storefront -- a tiny sign at the end of a shopping center with a Jerry's subs.    The door opens into a bright, spacious restaurant that was packed last Saturday night.

The menu -- at least the one that I saw -- was only three pages long.  There are many variations, but you basically choose between savory pancakes as an appetizer and between tofu stews, grilled meats and octopus/noodle dishes for the main courses.

The prime dishes are the stews called soon doo boo.  They're tofu stews.  You pick your level of spiciness and whether you want beef, oysters, others seafood or kimchi as the flavoring.  The stew comes out still simmering from the kitchen, and the waitress cracks an egg that you stir into the stew where it basically disappears among the other ingredients.  The medium soon doo boo with beef and pork made a perfect winter dinner, warm and luscious in way that filled us up but didn't leave us stuffed at all.

Link: Lighthouse Tofu On HoCo Rising

The beauty of blogging is that you can have a sense of humor.  HoCo Rising writes about dinner at the new Lighthouse Tofu in Ellicott City, and the post encourages you to go -- without making the same mistakes.