It's no news by now that the Korean kitchen has officially made landfall in the United States. The signs of culinary conquest are everywhere. Bulgogi has entered the food-lovers' lexicon, up there with umami and bao. Korean barbecues have become staples in most major cities, joining the ranks of hibachi grills and sushi bars. Korean burgers and tacos are a whole genre of American fast food (you can now get them at T.G.I. Friday's). Kimchi is the new miso.
The rise of Korean food in America is the latest in a string of East Asian influences on the American diet. And, like every great food awakening, it began with baby steps but is just now taking its place among more established immigrant cuisines. What took so long?
If you go by the numbers, Korean cuisine's influence far outpaces its immigration patterns. Chinese immigration to the U.S. skyrocketed after quotas were removed in 1965, accelerating the generations-long process of food assimilation. The same goes for Japan, as its "Lost Decade" in the 1990s, a time of economic and cultural stagnation, pushed its food culture westward, introducing mainstream America to its future sushi obsession. But the Korean cuisine boom of the past few years can't be explained the same way.