480 recipes. Page 17 of 20
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Once the shells go red and the doenjang (Korean soybean paste) broth has worked its way into every crack, the crab meat gets picked out and eaten over rice. The radish lining the bottom of the pot soaks up the crab too, so it is worth fishing out alongside.
Drying concentrates the radish's sweetness, and the rehydrated strips keep a chew that sets them apart from fresh radish pickles, as long as the soak in lukewarm water stops at 20 minutes, when the centers bend but before they turn floppy. The chili flakes are stirred into the brine after it has cooled completely, so the color spreads evenly through the jar.
Jumulleok means meat kneaded by hand with its marinade, but thin duck slices tear if squeezed, so here the gochujang sauce is folded through them gently. Perilla leaves add their scent to the spicy coating.
The broth is a ruddy brown, nutty from doenjang and spicy from chili flakes. The outer cabbage leaves (ugeoji) soak it up the longer they simmer, so each soft spoonful of greens comes up full of seasoned broth.
Eight frozen kimchi dumplings go in side by side and are left unstirred for the first two minutes, since nudging them while they thaw tears the wrappers. The kimchi inside meets the sour kimchi in the broth, and the stew tastes of kimchi twice over. The dumplings come seasoned, which is why only half the soup soy sauce goes in before tasting.
Dried pollock strips turn pleasantly chewy as they absorb a soy and gochugaru glaze, while the potatoes go soft and floury around them. That chewiness depends on a short soak: five minutes in lukewarm water is enough, and anything longer leaves the fish limp and stringy in the pan. The potatoes get a head start for the same reason, so the pollock only needs a few minutes in the sauce. A little oligosaccharide syrup rounds off the saltiness, and the dish holds up well in the fridge for the next day's lunchbox.
Thick, fibrous radish green stems grip the seasoning and keep their chew long after the leaves soften. The stems get a ten-minute head start in the salt before the leaves join them, so both end up evenly seasoned. Cooled glutinous rice paste holds the chili mixture in place as the kimchi ripens, and sliced onion tempers the heat with sweetness. Longer cold fermentation softens the fibers and deepens the sour aroma, which makes older batches good for chopping into doenjang stew or soup.
Osam takes its name from the first syllables of squid (ojingeo) and pork belly (samgyeopsal). The pork belly is cooked first until plenty of fat has rendered, and the squid and gochujang sauce go into that fat, so no extra oil is needed.
Simmering the whole rockfish, bones and all, gives the broth a body that fillets alone cannot. Its many fine bones call for care at the table, but they are also where the broth gets its flavor.
Ribbons of perilla leaf sit on a broth made from stir-fried bulgogi beef, and their fresh, faintly minty smell comes through clearly over the meat. It is seasoned with soup soy sauce, which keeps the taste clean.
Gizzard shad, a small fish at its fattiest in autumn, stays moist even when braised in a soy and gochugaru sauce. Three deep scores along the back let the sauce reach the thick part of the fish without a long cook. Thick slices of radish packed across the bottom of the pot keep the fish from scorching and turn sweet as they soak up the sauce; the thicker the slices, the sweeter they get. Basting with a spoon takes the place of flipping, which would break the delicate flesh apart. The reduced sauce left in the pot is spooned over steamed rice.
Radish sprouts are so thin that any pressure squeezes out water and a grassy smell, which keeps the tossing down to about 20 seconds with the fingertips, and the vinegar is added last for a brighter tang. Eaten right away, before the sprouts wilt, it is light and crisp; leftovers keep, chilled and sealed, for a day or two.
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.
Chewy beef tripe, soft blood curd and soybean sprouts share a doenjang-seasoned bone broth, and the bowl is heavy with them. The green onion and chili oil wait until after the 20-minute simmer, leaving the red oil floating on top.
Gochugaru and soup soy sauce are used lightly here, and twelve sliced perilla leaves go in right before the heat is cut, letting the herb come through ahead of the chili. For a richer broth, add a teaspoon of perilla seed powder.
Baby octopus, at its best in spring, spends only a short time in a gochujang and gochugaru marinade before steaming on a bed of cabbage and onion. Ten minutes is enough to coat the pieces before they start giving up water. As the vegetables soften, their juices mix with the marinade into a small pool of spicy sauce at the bottom. The cabbage keeps the octopus off the steamer and takes the edge off the heat. The steamer should be at a full boil before the octopus is added, and the lid stays shut so the steam stays strong. The window between springy and rubbery is narrow, and the moment the pieces curl up plump is the moment to stop.
The salt is kept at twenty percent of the anchovy weight, and the jar stays in the fridge for the whole cure. The jar stays shut until brine rises over the fish, and only then do garlic, ginger, chili flakes, and rice wine go in, their aroma sitting on top of an already mellowed, salty base. A little stirred into kimchi paste adds savory depth, and a spoonful over hot rice works as a side dish on its own.
Pork shoulder goes red with gochujang and chili flakes, and summer yeolmu (young radish greens) keeps its slight bitterness against that heat. For a milder plate, leave the other seasonings alone and cut the chili flakes to half a tablespoon.
Simmered in doenjang broth, summer young radish greens (yeolmu) see their stems lose the raw, grassy taste and turn tender. Rice-rinsing water makes the broth smoother than plain water would, and a small amount of chili flakes adds a mild warmth under the soybean paste.
One can of Pacific saury, liquid and all, flavors the whole pot, so no separate stock is needed. The canned fish is already cooked with softened bones, so it needs no prep and is eaten bones and all, while a little doenjang tones down the canned-fish smell.
Soft, mild yellow croaker with little fishiness needs nothing more than a simple sauce of soy, gochugaru and garlic. Some croaker is sold already salted and needs less soy sauce. Taste before adding the full amount. Sliced radish under the fish keeps it from sticking and turns sweet and tender in the liquid. Korean families often put this on holiday tables, and the saucy braising liquid is meant to be spooned over rice.
Pollock roe sacs tear easily, and every stage of this jeotgal, from rinsing to coating, comes down to handling them lightly enough to keep the membranes whole. A 30-minute salt cure with a piece of kelp firms the surface before rice wine and a thin red coat of chili flakes, garlic, and sugar go on. During the cold cure the eggs tighten and pop when bitten, with the chili warmth staying behind the salty sea flavor. Slices of it go on hot rice.
Cumin and chili flakes are held back until the final minute so their aroma stays sharp. Before that, thin slices of lamb are spread in one layer in a very hot wok and left untouched for the first 40 seconds to brown.
Instead of stirring chili straight into the broth, this spicy beef soup seasons each strand of shredded brisket with chili flakes, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil, so the heat clings to the meat itself. The clear brisket broth turns red as the seasoned beef simmers in it, with fernbrake (gosari, a chewy dried fern), bean sprouts, and plenty of long-cut green onion filling the bowl.