Like so many New York restaurants, Nolita’s Noodlelove had to pandemic-pivot. It once catered to the fast-casual crowd: 9-5 workers looking down to slurp down a quick bowl before scurrying back to the office, or busy go-go-go New Yorkers who wanted something delicious and wanted it now. But the coronavirus upended culture in the city as we know it. And although it certainly isn’t dead—have you seen the line at Via Carota these days?—it is different. With bars, movie theaters, and Broadway closed, dinners are no longer the first stop on a long night out. They’re the main affair.
Owner Natalie Camerino decided to embrace this new reality and transform Noodlelove into Umma, a new, full-service restaurant cooking up Asian-Americana comfort food. (And even that descriptor is diminutive: chef Tabitha Yeh takes cues from Italian and French cuisine as well. It’s a reflection of her own global upbringing—she’s cooked everywhere from Shanghai to Copenhagen, and in illustrious kitchens like Per Se and Noma.) There’s cheeseburger dumplings, KFC bao buns, Korean BBQ flank steak, and matzo ball soup with bone broth and scallions, just to name a delicious few. As the weather gets colder and the times remain uncertain, it’s the type of cuisine that both excites and assuages.
.jpeg?w=1170&ssl=1)
Below, Yeh shares her recipe for Seoul alle Vongole. It was inspired by Camerino herself, whose mother is Korean and father is Italian. “The hybrid dish is our Korean fusion take on ‘linguini with clams’,” Yeh explains. “I knew I had perfected the dish when I made it for Natalie. When she took her first bite, she closed her eyes and smiled. I could tell that it brought her back to her childhood. She said it reminded her of being home and I joked, ‘this is you in a bowl.'”
Seoul alle Vongole
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Serving size: 4
Ingredients:
2 packs thick wonton noodles (Wonton Specialist Inc recommended)
4 tablespoons sourdough crumble (ingredients below)
6 tablespoons Canola oil
4 tablespoons garlic, finely minced
4 tablespoons Gochugaru (hold some to garnish)
2 pounds Manila clams
5 cups napa cabbage, cut roughly into 1” equal squares
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
Kosher salt to taste
Clam Juice Reduction
3 ⅓ cups clam juice
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1.5 tablespoons Gochugaru
Sourdough Crumble
¼ loaf high quality sourdough
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1.5 tablespoons kosher salt