Sae-woo Chae Juk (새우채죽) Rice porridge

This thick porridge is perfect for those cold winter nights when you need something hearty to warm you up from the inside out.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups soaked rice*
100g minced shrimp
1/2 onion diced small
1/5 carrot, diced small
1/3 pumpkin, diced small (호박)
2 shiitake mushrooms, diced small
2 spoons sesame oil
1.5 spoons cheong ju (청주)
8 cups sardine broth**
Pinch of salt

For frying with rice:
1 spoon sesame oil
1/2 spoon minced garlic.

Steps:

1. In a big pot, fry sesame oil and garlic.  Add rice, fry until rice grains become transparent.
2. Add onion, carrot, pumpkin, mushrooms, and fry until onions are clear.  Add shrimp and cheongju.
3. pour in broth.  Heat to boiling, reduce to low, simmer 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
4. When the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, add salt, sesame oil to taste.

Notes:

* To make soaked rice, soak rice in water for 3-4 hours.  That's it!

** To make sardine broth, throw 7 small, headless dried sardines and a 10cm square sheet of dried kelp into 5 cups of boiling water for about 10 minutes then add 1 spoon cheong-ju (청주).  Strain.

- You can substitute ground or small chunks of meat for the shrimp, or use a different broth if you want.  Also, feel free to add whatever veggies you want or have in the back of your fridge.

Ddeok guk (떡국) Rice-cake soup

This simple, yet delicious soup is traditionally served at the Lunar New Year.  It is said that the thin, flat rice cakes resemble coins, and so by eating it, you ensure a prosperous new year (or so I heard).

Ingredients: (2-3 people)
100g beef
Pounded rice cakes for soup - ddeok (떡국 떡)
1 egg
1 big leek
1/2 spoon miced garlic
1/2 sheet seaweed (김), sliced thin.
1 spoon soy sauce
5 cups kelp broth
salt, pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Separate the egg into white and yolk.  Poach both.  Slice thin.
2. Soak beef in cold water to remove blood.  Cut into bite-sized pieces.  Brown in a soup pot.  Add broth, boil.
3. When beef is cooked, add rice cakes.
4. When the ddeok is cooked (it should be soft, but a little chewy), add leeks, soy sauce, garlic, and salt/pepper to taste.  Serve garnished with seaweed and egg slices.

Notes:

- I know, I know, it says to separate the egg, poach it, slice it thin, and then use the slices to garnish the soup.  Or you could just crack an egg into the soup and stir it up in step 4.

Pae-suk (배숙) Pears with Honey and Ginger

So I've never actually had this, but it looks so good and fairly simple to make, that I had to translate the recipe. Plus, the photo in my cookbook looked so darn beautiful.

Ingredients: (2-3 servings)
1 Asian Pear (~800g) (배)
2 pieces whole ginger, peeled and sliced
24 black peppercorns
1/3 cup honey
6 cups water
1 small spoon pine nuts

Steps:

1. Put the ginger and water in a pan.  Heat over medium heat until boiling gently.  When the ginger has fully infused (10-15 minutes I'd guess), remove with a strainer.
2. Peel the pear.  Cut into 8 equal parts and remove the seeds.  With a paring knife, round all the corners.
3. Push 3 peppercorns into the back of each pear slice, evenly spaced.  Put honey and pears in with the ginger-water.  Boil slowly until pears are semi-transparent.  When everything is finished, chill.
4. Serve the pears in a bowl, floating in the ginger-water.  Garnish with pine nuts.

Beosot Bokkeum (버섯 볶음) Stir-fried mushrooms

This is a delicious side, and one that's very popular in restaurants all over Korea.  The recipe calls for oyster mushrooms, but you could probably use almost any kind, or even a mix.

Ingredients:
120g oyster mushrooms
1/4 green bell pepper
1/4 yellow bell pepper
1/4 red bell pepper
1/2 spoon sesame oil
1 small spoon sesame salt
pinch of salt, pepper
dash of cooking oil

Seasonings:
1 small spoon each: sesame oil, minced garlic
1/2 small spoon salt

Steps:

1. Slice the peppers thinly lengthwise.  Do not wash the mushrooms, but tear (not cut) them apart.
2. Add a pinch of salt to a little bit of boiling water.  Stir in mushrooms with wooden chopsticks a few times.  When finished, gently rinse mushrooms in cold water and squeeze out extra water by hand (gently!).
3. Mix mushrooms with seasonings.
4. Add cooking oil to a pre-warmed pan.  Slightly stir-fry the mushrooms with wooden chopsticks.
5. Add the peppers, briefly stir-fry.
6. Finally, add the sesame oil, sesame salt, and a pinch of pepper.  Scramble briefly.

Notes:

- You can eat these warm or cold, though I've usually had them cold or at room-temperature.

- For best results with the mushrooms, cook them for a very short time, and use only a little bit of water.  This will help preserve their flavor.

- If you use different mushrooms, slice them in step one.

Shi-geum-chi namul (시금치 나물) - Spinach and herbs

This is one of my favorite sides, and I never hesitate to eat a fistful when it's served at school.  It's also really easy to make.  Besides, it'll make you strong like Popeye!

Ingredients:
350g baby spinach
1/4 carrot
1 spoon salt

Spices:
1 spoon each: soy sauce, minced garlic, sesame salt
2 spoons each: sliced scallions, sesame oil
1/3 spoon salt
pinch of pepper

Steps:

1. Julienne the carrot.  Cut the roots off the spinach and discard.  Break up bunches, wash.  Boil water with a pinch of salt and briefly cook the spinach.  Remove and rinse a couple of times in cold water to stop cooking.
2. Gently squeeze the moisture from the spinach.
3. Mix soy sauce, garlic, leeks, salt, and carrots in with the spinach.  At the end, add sesame oil, sesame salt, and pepper to taste.

Dak Kal Guk-su (닭갈국수) Chicken Noodle Soup

Down a side alley in Busan's main shopping district, there's a row of gregarious old women squatting on short plastic stools, and serving noodles from a steaming vat of broth to hungry shoppers.  It's one of my favorite places to eat in all of Korea, and the ajumma's surprise at our skill with chopsticks, our tolerance for spicy foods, or our meager Korean skills makes me feel like I'm eating lunch with a proud aunt.  Though they also serve Jap-Chae (잡채), this is my favorite meal there.  Add the chives in at the end instead of salt.

So Good!

Ingredients: (2 servings)
1 whole chicken (~1kg or so)
1/2 Asian squash (ho-bak, 호박)
1/2 onion
1/4 carrot
3 shiitake mushrooms
1 handful (~80g) Asian Chives (부추)
Guk-su noodles for 2 people (~240g)
1/2 spoon soy sauce
pinch of salt and pepper



Chicken Broth:
1/2 onion
1 big leek
10 pieces whole garlic
1 piece ginger
3 spoons cheong-ju (청주)
1/2 small spoon peppercorns
3 liters water

Spices:
5 spoons soy sauce
1 spoon crushed chilies
1 spoon cheong-ju (청주)
1/2 spoon each: minced garlic, sesame oil, sesame salt
pinch of pepper





Steps:

1. Chill, clean the chicken.  Slice onion, squash, carrot, and mushrooms thinly.
2. In a pot, add the whole chicken and the broth ingredients.  Heat to a boil.  When it boils, turn to medium and simmer for ~1 hour.
3. When the chicken has cooked, remove, let it cool and tear into bite-sized strips.  Strain veggies from broth.
4. Mix spices with cut Asian Chives.  Let stand.
5. Heat the chicken broth from Step 3 to a light boil.  Add noodles and cook.
6. When the noodles are nearly done, add the chicken and vegetables from Step 1.  Boil a little.  Add soy sauce, salt, and pepper to taste.  Serve with chives on the side (mix it in for a little salty, a little spicy).

Notes:

- Ho-bak, the Korean squash, is a bit like a fat zucchini.  You can substitute in whatever squash-like vegetable you have, or skip it entirely.

Yoo-boo cho-bap (유부초밥) - Bean curd dumplings

This makes for a nice snack or side dish.  Inside is a mixture of rice and meat.  Outside is a tangy bean-curd skin.  Yum!

Ingredients: (1 serving)
8 pieces seasoned, fried bean curd for cho bap (조미유부)
1 bowl warm rice
1 handful shredded carrot
50g ground beef
dash of sesame leaves
1 handful seasoned burdock (우엉), shredded

For the rice:
1 spoon vinegar
1/2 spoon sugar
1/3 small spoon salt

Beef Spices:
1/2 spoon soy sauce
1 small spoon each: sugar, cheong ju (청주)
1 clove minced garlic
splash of sesame oil
dash of pepper

Steps:

1. Soak shredded burdock in water 10-15 mins.  Drain.
2. Mix beef, spices in a hot pan.  Stir with wooden chopsticks until cooked.
3. Mix vinegar, sugar, and salt with the rice.  Add beef, carrot, burdock.  Stir with chopsticks until mixed.
4. Carefully, fill bean curd triangles with a spoon.

Pickled onions (양파장아찌)

Another delicious side.  This one goes great with grilled meats in the lettuce wraps.  I've also heard you can drink the juice as you eat the onions up.

Ingredients:
8 onions, sliced
6 green chilies, sliced
3 red chilies, sliced

Sauce:
2.5 cups soy sauce
3 cups water
1.5 cups each: vinegar, sugar

Steps:

1. Put the sliced onions and chilies in a clean, dry, airtight glass container.
2. Slowly boil sauce ingredients in a pot.  When it starts to boil, remove from heat immediately.  Skim off any scum that has gathered at the top.
3. Pour the still-hot sauce over the onions.  Do not cool.
4. Let cool to room temperature with the lid open, then seal and keep in the fridge.

Notes:

- You can eat the onions immediately, or they'll keep for a while in the fridge.

Gamja Jolim (감자조림) - Boiled Potatoes

One of our favorite dishes at school: boiled potatoes in a sweet soy sauce.  I think technically it's a main course, but it seems to go best as a side.

Ingredients:
4 big potatoes, cut into big pieces (~800g)
1/2 onion, quartered
2 green chilies, sliced thin
1 red chili, sliced thin
1 cup kelp broth
1 spoon each: sesame oil, sesame seeds
pinch pepper
dash of cooking oil

Jolim Sauce:
4 spoons soy sauce
2 spoons cheong ju (청주)
1 spoon each: crushed dried chilies, red pepper paste (고추장), minced garlic, sugar, corn syrup/honey

Steps:

1. Soak potatoes in cold water for 30 mins to remove starch.  Prepare Jolim sauce.
2. Put cooking oil in a heated pan.  Fry potatoes until half done.  Add onions.  Fry until transparent.
3. Pour in kelp broth and jolim sauce.  Mix until evenly covered.  Boil over medium heat.  Reduce heat and simmer.
4. When broth has reduced to 1/3 of the original volume, add chilis.  Cook lightly.  Add sesame oil, sesame seeds, black pepper.  Stir.

Notes:

- To make kelp broth, boil 1 10cm square dried kelp in 5 cups of water for 10 minutes.  Remove kelp sheet and add 1 spoon cheong ju (청주).  Or you can probably cheat and use whatever broth you have on hand.

Jap-chae (잡채) - Stir-fried noodles

A great dish for Westerners, this noodle dish is a little sweet, a little savory.  This recipe makes a ton, so put it in some Tupperware and eat it all week.

Ingredients: (7-8 servings)
300g sweet potato noodles (당면)
250g beef butt
100-200g baby spinach
2/3 carrot
1 onion
6 shiitake mushrooms
100g wood ear mushrooms (목이버섯)
dash olive oil
pinch of salt and pepper

Beef Spices:
2 spoons soy sauce
1 spoon each sugar, cheong ju (청주)
1/2 spoon minced garlic
1 small spoon sesame oil
pinch of pepper

Spinach Spices:
1 small spoon each: salt, sesame oil
1/2 small spoon sugar

Mushroom Spices:
1 spoon soy sauce
1 small spoon each: sugar, chopped garlic, sesame oil

Noodle Spices:
5 spoons soy sauce
2 spoons sugar
1/2 spoon each: sesame oil, sesame seeds
pinch of pepper

For Tossing:
3 spoons each: soy sauce, sesame oil
2 spoons each: sugar, sesame seeds
pinch of pepper

Steps:

1. Cut thin the beef, onion, carrot, shiitake mushrooms.  Put wood ear mushrooms in a bit of warm water.
2. Mix beef, beef spices together.  Fry
3. Blanche spinach in slightly salted water.  Drain, rinse with cold water.  Mix with Spinach spices.
4. Blanche shiitake mushrooms.  Drain and mix with mushroom spices.
5. Add olive oil to a heated pan.  When hot, fry the onion, beef, carrot, and all mushrooms.  Let cool
6. Boil noodles 8-9 mins.  Rinse with cold water 2 or 3 times until cool.  In a pan, add noodles, noodle spices.  Saute until they're the color of soy sauce throughout.
7. Mix noodles with spinach, beef, mushrooms, Tossing ingredients.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Notes:

- I haven't made this dish yet, mostly because every time I think about making it, we have it for lunch at school.  Let me know how it goes!

- I imagine you can leave out the mushrooms, or substitute in others if you find shiitake and wood ear mushrooms difficult to find.

Bo Ssam (보쌈) - Boiled Pork

This is without a doubt one of my favorite meals in Korea.  Cooked correctly, the meat is moist, tender, and full of flavor.  It's also an excellent introduction to Korean cooking for the Western palate, since it's not spicy at all.  Delicious!

Ingredients (4 servings)
1 kg pork belly*

To boil with meat:
1 big leek
1/2 onion
8 cloves garlic (whole)
2 spoons doenjang (된장)
2 spoons sugar
7 spoons soju
1 small spoon whole black peppercorns
1 spoon coarse-grain salt

Steps:

1. Soak pork in cold water for 1 hour to remove blood.  Change water after 30 mins.
2. Put meat, boiling stuff into a big pot of cold water.  Heat on high until it starts to boil.  Turn to medium for 5 minutes.  Reduce to low, simmer for 50 minutes.
3. Meat is finished when you can poke it with a chopstick and no blood runs out.  Remove meat from the broth, let it cool, then slice it 0.4cm thick.
4. Serve by making wraps with lettuce, ssamjang, sliced garlic, and Bossam Kimchi.

Notes:
* If you want something a little less fatty, try the pork shoulder, or even the tenderloin.  Whatever you use, you want a whole slab of meat to boil.
- We also have made sandwiches with the sliced meat.  To be sure, when served this way, the dish is in no way Korean.