Got guts? Korean eatery serves lots

At Han Yang Restaurant in Kalihi, they have a secret menu of sorts.

The restaurant features all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue for $24.95 with more variety of meats than most places.

Besides the kalbi, chicken and pork, you can also get tongue, tripe and — this is not on the menu, but if you ask for it they’ll give it to you — beef intestine.

Han Yang owner David Cho goes through about 60 pounds of intestine a week, 240 pounds in a month, more than a ton of innards every year. The restaurant is known for its gopchang chige, or intestine stew.

“The old generation, they love to eat intestine. They like the yakiniku. They like the soup,” Cho said.

That might be because intestines were cheap and available in Korea during hard times. Or if you believe what you read on the Internet, intestines are high in collagen and good for your complexion, making the dish popular among young women.

Intestines used to be on the all-you-can-eat menu at Han Yang. Then the price went up.

“The intestines are more expensive than chicken,” Cho said.

But he’ll still serve it for yakiniku if asked.

The key to the dish, and keeping customers happy and coming back for more, is to make sure the intestines are clean.

“If you don’t do that, it’s going to come out stink,” Cho said. “You don’t want stink intestines.”

Cho demonstrated his elaborate washing process, which involves rolling the intestine over a kitchen faucet, running water through it to wash out impurities, and washing the intestines several more times before boiling and slicing them.

Sometimes the intestines have sand in them, which could lead to complaints about grittiness, Cho said. “So far, no one’s complained.”

And how does it taste?

In the stew, the texture of the intestines is soft, almost like tofu. The taste is covered up by the spiciness of the chige and the tang of shiso leaves, which are added at the end.

The grilled intestines have a milky, creamy taste with a little bit of sweetness, probably because of the fat in and around the intestine. The texture is soft with a little bit of chew.

When grilled, it’s best when brown and crisp. Dip it in Han Yang’s special sauce or sesame oil with salt and pepper, and enjoy.

Best of all, there’s no poop taste and no grit.

Web producer Craig Gima tries out new foods in a video and print series every other Wednesday. Dare him to try a really scary food: cgima@staradvertsier.com.