Latest news with #Gochujang
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- The Guardian
The worst thing about AI? That stupid Samsung ad where the guy adds ‘way too much sugar' to his pasta sauce
At a time of intense, bitter division, it's heartwarming when something brings us together. No, not 'briefly becoming experts in lawn tennis', or 'being too hot' – that stupid Samsung advert where the guy 'added way too much sugar to my gochujang pasta sauce' and asks his phone for help. If, by the greatest good fortune, you have managed to dodge it, Google Gemini (an AI 'assistant') suggests he makes 'tasty cookies' out of his sugary sauce. Instead of throwing his phone out of the window in holy rage, the youth seems inexplicably enthused ('Sweet!') and follows its frankly inadequate instructions – add butter, mix, bake for 10 minutes – before wandering off with a cookie, apparently happy with this bizarre outcome. It gives me a rage-powered eyelid twitch, so I was relieved to realise everyone off- and online feels the same ('Googled 'sauce advert stupid' and then made a Reddit profile just so I could find someone saying this and agree with them,' one commenter wrote). We differ only in what offends us most. Many are furious the 'advice' is so unfit for purpose, with comments such as 'It's SO ANNOYING – like what is he having for tea then????????' and 'For dinner I'm having plain spaghetti and flourless gochujang cookies', while anyone who has ever cooked anything is shouting: 'Just scoop the sugar out like a normal human!' People have noted other problems: adding butter to a bowl of sauce is not a cookie recipe, for starters. Some protested that pasta sauces typically contain onions and garlic; not ideal cookie flavours. Others pointed out the eggs, flour, cubed butter and vanilla extract handily out on the worktop – why? He's making pasta sauce! My husband is specifically offended because baking requires precision, and the hapless youth and his phone have no idea what 'way too much' is in grams. I've always avoided badmouthing AI – it seems like a simple commonsense survival tactic to keep the robots on side at this point. But when it starts disrespecting dinner and baked goods in this cavalier fashion, a line has been crossed. It's time to start a gochujang-flavoured fightback. Emma Beddington is a Guardian columnist
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- The Guardian
The worst thing about AI? That stupid Samsung ad where the guy adds ‘way too much sugar' to his pasta sauce
At a time of intense, bitter division, it's heartwarming when something brings us together. No, not 'briefly becoming experts in lawn tennis', or 'being too hot' – that stupid Samsung advert where the guy 'added way too much sugar to my gochujang pasta sauce' and asks his phone for help. If, by the greatest good fortune, you have managed to dodge it, Google Gemini (an AI 'assistant') suggests he makes 'tasty cookies' out of his sugary sauce. Instead of throwing his phone out of the window in holy rage, the youth seems inexplicably enthused ('Sweet!') and follows its frankly inadequate instructions – add butter, mix, bake for 10 minutes – before wandering off with a cookie, apparently happy with this bizarre outcome. It gives me a rage-powered eyelid twitch, so I was relieved to realise everyone off- and online feels the same ('Googled 'sauce advert stupid' and then made a Reddit profile just so I could find someone saying this and agree with them,' one commenter wrote). We differ only in what offends us most. Many are furious the 'advice' is so unfit for purpose, with comments such as 'It's SO ANNOYING – like what is he having for tea then????????' and 'For dinner I'm having plain spaghetti and flourless gochujang cookies', while anyone who has ever cooked anything is shouting: 'Just scoop the sugar out like a normal human!' People have noted other problems: adding butter to a bowl of sauce is not a cookie recipe, for starters. Some protested that pasta sauces typically contain onions and garlic; not ideal cookie flavours. Others pointed out the eggs, flour, cubed butter and vanilla extract handily out on the worktop – why? He's making pasta sauce! My husband is specifically offended because baking requires precision, and the hapless youth and his phone have no idea what 'way too much' is in grams. I've always avoided badmouthing AI – it seems like a simple commonsense survival tactic to keep the robots on side at this point. But when it starts disrespecting dinner and baked goods in this cavalier fashion, a line has been crossed. It's time to start a gochujang-flavoured fightback. Emma Beddington is a Guardian columnist
Hindustan Times
04-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: K-drama on our plate
It was Viraj Bahl who put it best: The two big rages in India right now, he told me, are wellness and chilli. Chilli crisp is a pantry staple in Korea. (ADOBE STOCK) {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} I am sure Viraj is right about wellness, though I don't know much about the subject. But he is certainly bang on when it comes to the chilli craze. And he has put his money where his mouth is. Veeba, the condiment company he founded, has invested heavily in a new range of hot sauces and they are flying off the shelves. {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} It's a trend that has spread. Maggi, a well-respected brand with no distinctive record of risky innovation in India, is also launching new products, most of which seem to include the word 'spicy' in the name: Spicy Garlic Noodles and Spicy Pepper Noodles are just two examples. Viraj, who also runs a noodle brand, says that the formula for success in today's market is to make it spicy. 'India has fallen in love with chilli all over again,' he explains. 'There is a new generation that just wants spice and chilli.' {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} Gochujang is used in many Korean dishes, but less so for Korean food in India. (ADOBE STOCK) {{^usCountry}} The trend is not restricted to India. In the UK, some supermarkets report that sales of hot sauces are up by 20%. At the Tesco chain, Sriracha is selling so well that sales are up by 65% over last year. Ocado, the online UK retailer, says that sales of chilli sauces have increased by 10% and searches for Korean hot sauce are up by an astonishing 850%. The US is experiencing a similar boom with new hotter sauces being launched each year. {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} The trend is not restricted to India. In the UK, some supermarkets report that sales of hot sauces are up by 20%. At the Tesco chain, Sriracha is selling so well that sales are up by 65% over last year. Ocado, the online UK retailer, says that sales of chilli sauces have increased by 10% and searches for Korean hot sauce are up by an astonishing 850%. The US is experiencing a similar boom with new hotter sauces being launched each year. {{/usCountry}} Read More {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} You can tell when a market is red hot (in this case, literally) when celebrities want a piece of the action. Ed Sheeran had the UK press excited when he launched his Tingly Ted's hot sauce in 2023, and now the trend has reached such a level that even Brooklyn Beckham has launched his own sauce. Oprah Winfrey has a sauce that combines spiciness with synthetic truffle flavour, a combination that sounds so disgusting that you can see why Kim Kardashian has invested in the product. The vintage rocker Alice Cooper has a whole range of hot sauces named after his greatest hits, though it is not clear whether these sauces are best enjoyed when you are biting the head off a live chicken as Cooper was once rumoured to have done onstage during a concert. (He now denies the story.) {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} Because of K-pop and K-dramas, dishes such as tteokbokki have became all the rage. (ADOBE STOCK) While the global boom has many different origins Viraj is clear where the current Indian craze for spice has come from. 'It's because of the younger generation's fascination with Korea,' he says. 'Because of K-Pop, K-Drama and the rest, young people love anything that tastes like Korean food. And that means lots of spice. That's how this boom took off.' {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} He has a point. McDonald's India has introduced a range of Make It Korean burgers and products with a Korean Spice Mix that you can add to all products. (I have no idea what they would make of the Korean McSpicy Paneer Burger in Seoul, though.) Burger King has its Korean Spicy Fest featuring Korean burgers, and Domino's has a new Cheese Burst range featuring Korean flavours. I would call it a Korean food boom, except that despite the names, none of the flavours is particularly Korean. Hardly anyone uses Korean chillis or gochugaru, the distinctive Korean chilli powder, or gochujang, the fermented red chilli paste that is characteristic of many Korean dishes. This is Korean food for people who have never eaten Korean food but have seen it on TV or the internet, and are in love with the idea of Korean food rather than the cuisine itself. For Indian food companies, that translates as adding lots more mirchi, and it doesn't matter if you use our local chillis for the tang. {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} Corn Yuzu Hot Sauce is made with roasted corn and yuzu. (ADOBE STOCK) We have been here before. This is exactly how the Sichuan boom took off 40 years ago. Indians never really took to Mala, the mix of Sichuan pepper and chilli that epitomises Sichuan flavours, or even to Sichuan pepper itself, because it puckered the mouth and made it tingle. {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} Even so, we created a make-believe Sichuan flavour of our own with chilli and masala, and it has become a staple of Indian-Chinese restaurants and kiosks. Viraj's Veeba makes Sichuan sauces and stir-fry seasonings, which sell well. But my own sense is that younger consumers see them as flavours that belong to their parents' generation and have no particular affection for so called Sichuan. The truth is that in today's world, flavour trends move swiftly. Take the example of Huy Fong's Sriracha, the American take on the Thai sauce, which became a global rage over a decade ago. It was hailed as the beginning of a new era of hot sauces that would transform the American palate. It is still around and still sells very well, but it has lost its trendy cachet and is now routinely described as being very mild compared to today's hot sauces. {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} Brands such as Maggi have launched new products with the word 'spicy' in the name. (ADOBE STOCK) Sriracha damaged the market for Tabasco (a far superior sauce with a great heritage ) that had to survive by launching product variants and even making its own Sriracha. (The name is generic; it's not a brand, so anyone can make Sriracha.) And something similar is now happening to Sriracha itself as newer sauces take over. At the top end of the market, there are excellent small-production sauces that put the industrial hot sauces to shame. The one I use at home is the Corn Yuzu Hot Sauce, a blend of habanero chillis with roasted corn and yuzu, made by Noma Projects (available on the net) that demonstrates how good a hot sauce can be if you put care and precision into its making. Even in India there are small production condiments that are outstanding. Varun Tuli of Yum Yum Cha makes an excellent chilli crisp and I have written before about the Pickle Shickle brand whose chilli products have been a staple of my kitchen for three years now. But regardless of which hot sauce you use, the chilli trend is here to stay. And ironically enough the impetus to add more chilli and call everything 'spicy' comes not from our own gastronomic heritage as the home of spice but from Korean popular culture. From HT Brunch, July 05, 2025 Follow us on SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
GOPIZZA bets big on India: Introduces 2 new brands, puts in Rs 25 cr fresh investment to hit 100 stores
Korean-headquartered global brand GOPIZZA , which has so far invested Rs 100 crore in the India business, plans to invest additional Rs 25 crore to take the total store count from 65 to 100 by the end of this CY, Jaewon Lim , founder and CEO of Global GOPIZZA, told ETRetail. It has launched its newest venture, Gochujang , a Korean street food restaurant in Bengaluru. With this opening, GOPIZZA has added a third brand to its umbrella, along with Dalkomi - a K-dessert cafe and GOPIZZA. The company aims to open 100 outlets of all three brands together by the end of this calendar year. Both brands - Dalkomi with 2 outlets and Gochujang with one outlet - pilot first in India before going global. 'India is a key market in our global growth strategy. We're actively seeking a master franchise partner and aim to launch 100 outlets across GOPIZZA, Gochujang, and Dalkomi by FY 2026. Our focus is to create integrated spaces where customers can enjoy all three brands under one roof — delivering a complete Korean food experience with operational efficiency,' he said. "Now that we have successfully built a working business model, and by the time we operate 100 stores in India, we will be able to roll out franchising options to master franchises," he further added. The brand, which has a presence in 3 cities - Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru, plans to expand its presence to Delhi NCR, Pune, and Ahmedabad by this CY end. It was planning to touch 100 outlets by CY 24, but couldn't. "We firmly believe that we will be able to meet our targets to open 100 stores by the CY end as now we have three different brands opening in different locations," he said. "We were finding it difficult to meet our previously set targets as it was difficult to find the right spots for our pizza brand, but now with two other brands, we aim to meet our targets. Secondly, the global economy had a downturn in Q3 and Q4 everywhere else but India. So, we were a bit careful on what we were rolling out in each country," he further added. The outlets of the brand, which span between 50 to 2,000 find a sweet spot at 500 Mapping Global Presence The brand, which has a presence in 8 countries - Korea, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and the US - plans to enter 2-3 more by the end of this CY. Globally, it operates 1,400 stores. "Going ahead, we plan to give the master franchise of the brand in other countries as well, like Malaysia, and will be opening soon in Mongolia," he said. So far, Korean and Indian markets have turned profitable for the company. "We're betting big on profitability while diving deep into various countries. We consider India as the biggest growth engine for the company," he said. "To turn profitable in Korea, we expanded our portfolio in the B2B space to become a pizza solution company. It really took off and contributed to our bottom line heavily, whereas in India, growth is directly proportional to the number of stores we open," he explained. At present, 75 per cent of the revenue of the brand comes from dining, and the remaining 25 per cent is contributed by delivery. Tapping Growth Currently, the same store growth of the brand stands at 15 per cent and EBITDA profitability at 10 per cent. "By adding new brands to our portfolio, we plan to take our EBITDA profitability to 20 per cent in Q2 CY 26 as multiple brands under one roof will help us maintain the same OpEx and higher top line," he explained. The brand, which plans to double its revenue numbers from Rs 50 crore last CY to Rs 100 crore this CY end, expects India to contribute 30-40 per cent of its total revenue by this CY end.
Boston Globe
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Finding a bar for every taste is a tough task, but Somerville's Tall Order lives up to its name
Tall Order serves cocktails, non-alcoholic drinks, and an eclectic menu. Will Faraci The pair had long been on the prowl for a standalone space close to Swisher's home near Union Square, which is indeed a tall order. But the effort paid off: They opened in March, enlisting Juan Pedrosa (The Glenville Stops, Yvonne's) to craft a menu that would complement their drinks. Advertisement 'We wanted a welcoming and approachable neighborhood cocktail bar. We have domestic and local craft beer on tap. We have Guinness on tap. We want to be the kind of place where you can stop in for a beer, have dinner out with your friends, have a more involved cocktail if that's what you're looking for, but also just a vodka soda or a High Noon,' Swisher says. Pickled mushrooms at Tall Order. Will Faraci The food : If you can't decide between onion dip, a massive scoop of pimento cheese with a side of Saltines, pickled button mushrooms, or steak tartare, this is your place. Get wild with crispy blocks of tofu glistening with honey and Gochujang (my recommendation), or play it safer with roasted cod over saffron rice, a dish that's simple enough to be spa-like. Swisher recommends the grilled broccoli with pecorino Romano and breadcrumbs, perhaps not a typical bar offering, but that's the point. Advertisement Bar snacks top out at $9 and are generously apportioned; share plates are $19 and under; entrees are in the $25 range. At Tall Order, low-ABV cocktails are creative and affordable. Will Faraci The drinks : 'We really just want to compose drinks that we think are tasty and compelling, from standard cocktails to low-ABV drinks to cocktails without any alcohol in them, in interesting flavor combinations,' Swisher says. That's the nice thing about this place: There are plenty of booze-free options, including a 1,2,3,4, which tastes like a citrus-fueled vanilla milkshake dolloped with a cloud of mango foam. The low-alcohol Little Panda is an aromatic elixir of vermouth, sherry, lime juice, and a quarter-ounce of Rhum Agricole, stirred up with an olive. 'It's really crisp and refreshing. It's got a lot of character, especially for a drink that's kind of on the lower-ABV side,' he says. Drinks are about $14. And there's also $5 Miller Lite, with casual (but prompt) service to match. The takeaway : A welcoming refuge when your date wants chips, dips, and beer, but you require an elegant bespoke cocktail accompanied by steak tartare or a proper plate of pork, peppers, and potatoes. Oh, and they take reservations. At Tall Order, larger dishes like pork and potatoes offset a long roster of bar snacks. Will Faraci Tall Order, 70 Beacon St., Somerville, 857-214-0678, Kara Baskin can be reached at
