Most of the time, when people write me, it's because they want a recipe.

But every once in a while, a reader spontaneously shares a recipe with me — and I love it when that happens.

Clayton Kaneda, who now lives in New York but was home visiting at Thanksgiving, had written to ask me where he could find soup dumplings, a Northern Chinese dish in which pasta wrappers are filled with gelled or frozen soup, then heated. When you pierce them, the broth flows out.

(Readers recommended Ming's in the Waiakamilo Shopping Center, and Mei Sum Dim Sum and Legend Seafood Restaurant in Chinatown.)

Kaneda wrote to say the rage in New York right now is Korean fried chicken. The New York Times did a piece in October about all the different types of fried chicken — Southern, Japanese, Chinese, Korean — comparing and contrasting them. Kaneda highly recommends this recipe for Korean fried chicken, which comes from www.MasterCook.com. It would make a great party dish and can be eaten at room temperature, if you want to make it ahead.

Kaneda says this is 'ono.

KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN

• 1 small yellow onion, coarsely grated

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for coating

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for coating

• 8 skinless boneless chicken thighs or quarters, or 24 wings

• 3 tablespoons ko chu jang (Korean red chili sauce)

• 3 tablespoons ketchup

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds and more for garnish

• Juice of 1/2 lemon (about a tablespoon)

• Oil for deep frying

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 2/3 cup cornstarch

In a medium-size bowl, combine grated onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat well. Cover and set aside to marinate for about 1 hour.

In a large bowl, stir together ko chu jang, ketchup, sugar, sesame seeds and lemon juice. Taste and adjust flavors to get a spicy-sweet-tangy finish. Set aside.

Pour oil into a large, heavy pot to a depth of 1 1/2 inches. Heat to 350 degrees. Combine flour and cornstarch in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Working in batches to avoid crowding, lift chicken from marinade, dredge lightly in seasoned flour and cornstarch, gently drop into oil and fry for 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining chicken, checking oil temperature between batches.

For wings only: When all pieces are done, increase oil temperature to 375 degrees and refry in batches for 30 to 60 seconds, until very crisp. Drain once more on paper towels.

For all chicken: While chicken is still hot, brush thickly with chili sauce. Serve hot, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Per serving (excluding unknown items): 398 calories; 8 g fat; 30 g protein; 51 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber; 115 mg cholesterol; 524 mg sodium.

Kaneda also told me about another pheno-menon, this one in Los Angeles. It's Kogi BBQ, founded by Seoul-born, chef-trained Roy Choi.

It began with a Choi invention, a Korean-American-Mexican taco: boneless kal bi in a taco with fresh veggies, sold off the back of a lunchwagon. Now there's a restaurant and multiple trucks that park in popular nightspot areas in the wee hours of the morning, as well as serving the lunch and dinner crowds in various locations around L.A. Fans visit their Web site to find out where and when the trucks will be parked and to check out their blog. And, naturally, they use Twitter: 48,000 people follow them on that social networking site.

Here's the description of their signature short-rib taco from their Web site:

"We get the best trimmings of short ribs we can find, let it swim in our own special marinade, and chop it nice and small so the flavors just dance on your taste buds. Once on the grill, the fat melts away to create that soft and tender texture everyone loves, and the sugars just caramelize to give the meat that deep and savory flavor. This is the Kogi crowd favorite.

"All our tacos are topped with: sesame-chili salsa roja, julienne romaine lettuce and cabbage tossed in Korean chili-soy vinaigrette, cilantro-green onion-lime relish, crushed sesame seeds, sea salt, garnished with lime wedge, orange wedge and red radish wedge."

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get on a plane. See pictures and a video at www.kogibbq.com.

"The Koreans are very interesting," Kaneda said in his e-mail to me. "I'm sure because of the influence of American military bases in Korea, they have adapted all these interesting versions of 'American foods.' "

P.S. on Paradise Pie: Trudy Azeka of the Kaua'i Hyatt wrote to say Paradise Pie was featured at the now-gone Camphouse Grill in Kaläheo; they also made a version with mac nuts, pineapple and coconut (I'm gonna try this); both pies are similar to pecan pie but with macs. "Marilyn from Kaua'i" e-mailed to say a recipe from "Cooking from the Heart with Sam Choy" for macadamia nut pie is identical to one I published a couple of weeks ago.

Kaua'i must be on people's minds. Jacqueline Wade wrote to ask for the recipe for Hanapepe Cafe's double-crust mango pie and double-crust banana pie. I'm going to try to get these, and if I can, I'll share.