Soju

Soju is currently looking for 2 people to join our kitchen team! One of the things I love about kitchen work is that it is one of the last jobs left that is truly inclusive. I really believe there is a place for everyone working in a kitchen somewhere, you just have to find where you belong. It’s rare that spots open up in the kitchen at Soju because those that find that they belong here usually hang for quite awhile. I truly want the best for my team and my goal is for Soju to be the best for you until I see you on to something better. Soju is a skeleton crew which means you will be trained to work all stations and prepare everything in the restaurant. We all work with one common goal, to provide great food and more importantly to support one another. We don’t call each other chef in the kitchen but we do treat each other with all the respect and dignity that chefs deserve. We say please and thank you. As a team member at Soju you will never be spoken down to. Compensation is negotiated based on experience but Soju also has an equitable bonus structure based on hours worked. Also Soju is closed on Sunday and Monday and we often host pop ups to which team members have priority. So if you are someone who is looking to open up your own spot one day, this is a great launching pad. Ideally I am looking for full time but if you have other responsibilities I am willing to work with you. How I like to handle new hires is have you in to work a paid stage. This will allow both of us to see if it is a good fit. If you are interested please dm me and send your resume to [email protected]. I look forward to working with you!

This dessert I came up with is 🔥! From start to finish it came from my brain. I began with buying a few cases of Ataulfo mangos because they looked ripe AF and are in season. Then I’m thinking back on my trip to cdmx so I thought I would make my own chamoy to dress them with. So I made a signature chamoy with dried persimmon, Hawthorne fruit, and tamarind, then marinated the mangos in it. After that I’m thinking there has got to be a better way to put this on the plate so I pressed it into a terrine and froze it. Came out very beautiful! Topped it with some yogurt and mint because I thought that’s what it needed to make it a composed dish. We will still have some going into next week and I am certainly going to rock it a few more times until mangos go out of season again. Hope yinz enjoy!

Meet my grandmother Ursula Chough! This picture was taken a few months ago on her 90th birthday while she was licking off her candles proving that we all remain children at heart. She is the true matriarch of the Chough family. The wisdom and knowledge she holds behind those kind eyes is truly immense. When someone tells me they have seen some s**t in their life, I think to myself, not like grandma. This lady has truly been through it all! She was born in North Korea, survived the Korean War, Japanese occupation, and immigration to the United States. She once described to me hanging onto the outside of a train as a child fleeing war, watching people loose their grip and fall to their deaths. After the war she had no home to go back to so she wound up in Seoul where she met my grandfather a member of the Korean upper class. I remember her telling me how his family looked down on her to the point where they would tell others that her children belonged to other members of the family in order to hide her. One of those children being my father Simon Chough for whom I share my name. He was their first boy and that’s a big deal in a Korean culture on some real sexist s**t (but that’s a story for another post lol). They immigrated to the United States with my father, in his early teens in tow. They left his older sisters in Korea for a few years to stay with family (see Korean sexism). She proudly raised six children here in Pittsburgh. They grew up to be doctors, priests, musicians, family court advocates, and long time employees of CMU. All having children of this own, creating more grandchildren and great grandchildren than I can count. After settling down here she even helped her parents immigrate here. I actually lived with them (my great grandparents) in the same apartment, above the Seoul mart in Oakland for years when I was a child. Her life could and should be made into a movie with Soju as a small footnote towards the end. The scene would be her walking through my dining room asking every Asian person if they were Korean and bringing me out to tables and scolding me in front of guests. Her cooking is my inspiration. Soju is really just my love letter to her!

I had a doctors appointment yesterday so I want able to make this traditional Korean Lunar New Year soup called Mandu Ttokguk. But better late than never. So today I present to you one bad mamma jamma of a soup! This starts days ahead of time when we make house beef stock with all the trimming from your bulgogi. Then I take that mega flavorful stock fortify it with some dry anchovies and kombu, and braise some beef in it. For service I cook coin shaped rice cakes in there to symbolize the money you will make in the year of the horse. Finally it get hit with six handmade Mandu which are Korean dumplings house made with beef, pork, kimchi, tofu, and aromatic filling. All said and done this is one of my favorite things to eat, especially on a great rainy day such as this one. So please come celebrate a belated lunar new year with me.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Didn’t make reservations tonight…good cause we don’t take em! But please do come in with those you love and celebrate with us.

In celebration of all things pink and sexy we are rocking two delicious features today.

Langoustine toasts- this dish begins with a smooth langoustine mouse (Langoustine, sesame oil, soy, green onion, cilantro, garlic, ginger, patis, egg whites, potato starch) slathered on thick cuts of Hawaiian sweet bread, then rolled in sesame seeds. We drop those beautiful babies in the fryer garnish with some gotchugaru and lemon. Think lobster roll but better!

Chips n’ dip- spicy mayo ahi poke with a fat dollop of trout roe served with garlic shrimp chips. They quietly snap crackle and pop sweet nothings into your ear as you enjoy them!

And last but not least I made some of my signature Mandu with beef, pork, tofu, and kimchi filling. Served steamed only tonight because we think they are sexier that way! 🥰

Holy mackerel it’s whole mackerel! We have two fresh fish specials today.

The first is a whole mackerel stew with a two types of in house kimchi, onions, potatoes, zucchini, and jalapeño all in a fiery spicy fish stock.

The second buldak cod is a panko breaded cod filet covered in a sweet and spicy buldak sauce. Served with a side of grilled veggies and rice

So swim on in to Soju today and enjoy some delicious fish!

We love you…we are here for you!

Ok folks Soju is open today for takeout, dine in, and … wait for it… delivery! If you live a reasonable distance away I will personally deliver you hot soup and your other Soju favorites. I’m doing 3 delivery windows one I will depart at 6pm, 7:15pm, and 8:30pm. Please make sure a clear path to your home or apartment is shoveled if you are getting delivery. We are also rocking all 3 of Sojus famous soups tonight!

Kimchijiggae- hearty kimchi stew with 2 types of house made kimchi (radish and Napa cabbage), braised pork, and tofu. This one’s a spicy mamaja!

Chicken egg drop- just like I used to eat at Manchu Wok in the Monroeville Mall minus the corn starch. Rich chicken stock fortified with shoyu and fish sauce, shredded chicken thighs, and free form egg ribbons, garnished with lots of green onions and a lil cabbage kimchi

Dak Guk- rich beef broth, onions, braised beef and rice cake medallions. Also garnished with green onions. This time around it will not include the beef Mandu as it did last week because I don’t have enough time to make them today. I am going to run it again tomorrow with the Mandu if yinz want to hold out till then. And if the deliveries go well tonight I’m also going to offer them tomorrow.

All soups are $18/quart and are sold with a side of rice!

Hope to see yinz tonight! Even if it’s at your front door!

Soju will be closed today Tuesday 1/27 in order for our staff to dig out their cars and safely get into work. If you are walking by Soju today notice that I personally shoveled a walking path because the three buildings to the left of us our now vacant. I also helped another neighbor dig their car out. If you are able bodied maybe check on your neighbors that might not be able to dig themselves out and give them a hand. And maybe just take a second and admire the beauty of our city covered in snow. We will see you tomorrow with a special announcement about the Soju delivery!