Kimchi Calling

Restaurant Shik fills a gap in Melbourne for smart, switched-on Korean, writes MICHAEL HARDEN.

- Michael Harden

Coriander can be controversial in Korea. Peter Jo mentions this while delivering a platter of glistening wagyu intercostals. The meat, marinated with soy, garlic, ginger and an intense dried-fish and mushroom stock, is buttery and assertive. It’s served with soy-pickled onions, perilla leaf, ssämjang, cos leaves for wrapping, and the coriander, shiny with a soy-vinegar dressing shot through with sesame oil, gochugaru and salted krill.

Many Koreans reject coriander as a non-traditional ingredient, says Jo, but he’s done his research and found historical precedents, so it gets the nod at his restaurant, Shik. And because its sharp, red-flecked dressing works seamlessly with the rich, fatty beef, it’s a decision we can all be happy about.

This is the way Jo gets the job done. There’s a kind of free form observation of tradition at his first permanent solo venture. It reflects a career that includes working in his family’s restaurants, a series of pop-ups under the alias Kimchi Pete, and stints at high calibre Sydney eateries such as Momofuku Seiobo and Berta. Jo is enthusiastic about traditional Korean technique, but he’s also a true believer in the cuisine’s ethos of focusing on what’s available locally.

His version of the Korean tartare yukhoe, for example, mixes roughly chopped Rangers Valley tri-tip with cubes of Korean pear and cucumber, sweet mayo and a scattering of crisp fried salt bush.