636 recipes. Page 27 of 27
Everyday Korean side dish recipes
Three full tablespoons of ground perilla seed turn the broth thick and creamy. Even pre-boiled taro stems have a tough outer layer to peel, and the thick ones are split lengthwise; prepared that way they bend softly and keep a little chew.
Hijiki toughens with long cooking. The shrimp go in first, and the seaweed joins when they are about 70 percent done and is mixed through within 2 minutes. Perilla powder is scattered over low heat so that it clings to the hijiki instead of clumping.
Thin burdock matchsticks cook down in soy sauce and grain syrup until the outside is a glossy brown while the inside keeps some bite. Near the end, when the bubbles get large and the liquid is almost gone, the sugars catch on the pan very quickly, and that is when the bottom needs frequent scraping.
Ugeoji, dried outer napa cabbage leaves, have thick ribs that stay tough unless they are boiled until a finger presses in easily. They are then simmered down in anchovy-kelp stock with doenjang and finished with perilla oil and ground perilla seeds.
Carrot, onion, bell pepper and shiitake go in one after another, firmest first, and all of them finish crisp, with a single tablespoon of oyster sauce added only in the last 20 seconds for gloss.
A tablespoon of doenjang and some chili flakes are loosened in 30 ml of water ahead of time and poured around the rim once the cabbage edges turn glossy. Because doenjang varies in saltiness from brand to brand, the amount stays modest at first and the cabbage is tasted just before it is done.
Cabbage cut into 1 cm strips and tossed briefly over high heat wilts at the edges while the center stays crisp and sweet. Sesame oil starts the cooking, and perilla oil plus partly crushed toasted sesame are added after the heat is off, layering two kinds of nuttiness.
Soy sauce with mirin and a little oligosaccharide syrup gives it a faint sweetness. The chicken breast never cooks through on its own: as soon as the outside turns white the lotus root and onion go in, and that timing is what keeps the chicken from drying out.
Lotus root is dense and soybean sprouts are delicate, and cooked for the same length of time one of them gives out. The lotus root gets a head start, and the sprouts go in only once the soy glaze is bubbling, for a short final toss.
Smoked duck gives off a lot of fat as it cooks, and all but a thin film is poured off. The duck brings plenty of salt of its own, and soy sauce waits until a taste just before serving.
Wet lotus root and shrimp give off water instead of frying, and that water thins the soy glaze. Lotus slices are done when the edges are translucent and the middle still crunches; cooking longer to soften them only overcooks the shrimp.
The 2.5 tablespoons of soy sauce are split: one seasons the beef up front, and the rest goes in with syrup at the end to glaze the lotus root as well. Only a thin cut of beef will cook in about the same time as the lotus.