Around six years ago, before doing one thing really well was hip in Toronto’s food scene, The Fish Store opened in Little Italy as a closet-sized purveyor of fish sandwiches and fresh raw seafood. It’s now a neighbourhood fixture, and its original formula has changed little. So it was a bit odd to venture into the store this week to find that beef bulgogi, a Korean specialty dish — and clearly, a departure from tradition for the place — has been added to the menu.
Owner Phillip Hwang says he has long admired his wife’s bulgogi recipe, and was urged by family and friends to put the dish on the market. Hwang wasn’t about to be completely limited by his store’s moniker, so he eventually took the advice and put bulgogi on the menu earlier this month.
Hwang’s family hails from Seoul, where everyone has their own take on bulgogi, he says. Here, it’s done with rib eye beef, trimmed of fat and sliced razor thin. The beef is marinated for 12 hours in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, onions, sesame oil and other ingredients. Afterwards, it’s sautéed on a flat top grill with green and white onions. It’s then topped with sesame seeds and comes with cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, house-made kimchi and The Fish Store’s signature brown rice.
At regular price, the dish goes for $9.95, but for the rest of the month, The Fish Store is offering it for $5.99.
The Fish Store, 657 College St. 416-533-2822