58 recipes. Page 1 of 3
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Cleaned monkfish liver is rolled in foil with the ends twisted tight like a sweet wrapper, then steamed, chilled firm, and sliced into rounds. Before that, every vein and bit of membrane comes off and the liver sits in sake with a little salt. It is a cold starter, served with ponzu, lemon, scallion, and grated daikon mixed with chili powder (momiji oroshi).
Thin batter poured into a blazing cast-iron pan puffs up the sides into a tall, browned bowl while the middle stays soft and custardy. Lemon juice and powdered sugar are the classic finish for this German-American pancake; berries or cream turn it into a brunch main. A pan that is not hot enough is the usual reason the edges stay low.
Hairtail is sliced thin, about 0.3 cm, and eaten wrapped in lettuce with raw garlic, green chili, and ssamjang or chojang. The silvery coating on the skin does not need to be scraped off.
Raw beet, apple and carrot are blended whole with water and drunk unstrained, pulp and all, which makes it thick. Apple and lemon cover much of the beet's earthy taste, which is why the honey goes in only after tasting, and only if needed.
Winter yellowtail carries a thick layer of fat under the skin, enough that coarse salt is the only seasoning it needs. That fat renders in the pan and crisps the skin, so the skin side gets most of the cooking time and the fish is turned just once.
Butterflied flat along the belly, the shrimp cook evenly and hold a thin flour-and-egg coat better than whole ones would. The trap with saeu-jeon is color: the coating turns pale gold and the surface turns pink well before the thickest shrimp are opaque at the center. Translucent flesh in the middle means more time in the pan, while firm, opaque shrimp should come out right away so they do not toughen. Lemon wedges on the side add a bright finish.
With no seasoning beyond salted steaming water, snow crab tastes only of itself, which also means mistakes have nowhere to hide. Crab set over weak steam turns soft and watery, while crab left too long goes tough.
Twenty seconds in boiling water, then straight into ice water: that short blanch fixes the bright green and keeps a clean snap in every spear. Bending each stalk until it breaks on its own finds the point where the woody base ends, so nothing stringy ends up in the jar. Pickled in soy, brown rice vinegar and sugar, asparagus keeps a grassy, almost herbal note that radish or cabbage pickles never have. Thin lemon slices tucked between the spears add a citrus edge, though too much white pith turns the brine bitter. The aroma and acidity peak somewhere between days 2 and 5, and the sharpness works well beside rich grilled meat.
Chicken thigh goes into the pan first, and the fat and juices it releases carry the carrot and cabbage through a quick, high-heat toss. Water or stock is added only a spoonful at a time, so the egg noodles drink it up along with the soy and oyster sauce and no broth is left in the pan.
Sweet crab meat and bright lemon ride on a garlic-scented olive oil sauce that stays clean rather than greasy. Butter and starchy pasta water emulsify the oil into a thin coating on the spaghetti, while a splash of cheongju, Korean rice wine, takes the fishy edge off the crab. Crab picked fresh from whole blue crabs tastes noticeably sweeter than frozen meat.
Thin chicken cutlets in a Parmesan-laced crumb crust are shallow-fried in olive oil and finished with a squeeze of lemon while still hot. An even thickness matters, because a thick spot stays underdone in the middle while the crust overbrowns.
Holes poked into a hot lemon loaf let a sharp lemon syrup soak right through, and as it cools a thin layer of sugar crystals sets on top with a slight crunch. In Britain it is a plain, undecorated afternoon tea staple.
The slices go on a bed of onion and minari (water dropwort), with chojang, soy sauce, wasabi, and lemon kept on the side for dipping piece by piece, each one differently. The fillet has to be sold for raw eating with a stated parasite-control freeze, and even then it stays at 4°C or below while it is prepared.
Thin lemon slices are tucked between the ice, then fresh lemon juice, simple syrup and a tiny pinch of salt go into the glass before the sparkling water. The sparkling water comes last and is barely stirred.
Butterfish has such fine, soft flesh that it falls apart easily when turned. The fillets go skin-side down and are left alone for a good while, then flipped once with a wide spatula. The gochujang paste, loosened with plum syrup, is brushed on very thinly, and a little lemon is squeezed over once the fish is plated.
Steamed in the shell, oysters keep the briny liquor that pools around the meat, so they taste of the sea with no added salt. It is a quick way to cook winter oysters from start to finish, and a dip of soy sauce, vinegar and chili flakes puts a sour edge over the salt.
Celery's raw sharpness puts some people off, but a soy pickle softens it into a cool, herbal crunch. Pulling the tough strings off the stalks and blanching for thirty seconds takes away the grassy edge while keeping the scent. Skin-on lemon slices and whole garlic cloves sit between the pieces, adding citrus and a mild bite. It is ready cold from the second day and tastes fuller after four to five days.
Crumbled gamtae, a fine Korean seaweed, gives a butter and lemon sauce the smell of the sea. Scallops are seared hard one side at a time and set aside, then white wine lifts the browned bits they leave in the pan into the sauce. The scallops never simmer; they go back on top of the noodles at the end.
Lemon juice and briny capers cut through a butter pan sauce, giving thin chicken cutlets a bright, sharp finish. The base of that sauce is the browned layer left in the skillet; white wine loosens it so none of that flavor is wasted. The lemon juice is added off the heat, because boiling dulls its fresh aroma. Cold butter swirled in at the very end emulsifies the sauce so it clings to the light flour coating instead of pooling. Mashed potatoes or pasta make good company for the extra sauce.
Each side of the tuna gets only 20 to 30 seconds. In a pan hot enough to send up a wisp of smoke, that is long enough for a dark brown crust, and when sliced the center is a vivid, nearly raw pink. A gray cross-section means it stayed on too long.
The shrimp steam on a bed of onion, green onion, and garlic, and the rising vapor carries those aromas in between the shells. Apart from a splash of rice wine and a squeeze of lemon there is no seasoning, which puts the shrimp's own sweetness at the center. The steaming stops within 8-9 minutes, before overcooking can shrink the flesh and make it stiff.
Hot brine would drive off chamnamul's fresh, herbal fragrance, so the soy and apple-vinegar mixture cools for about 5 minutes and goes on lukewarm. Apple vinegar has a rounder acidity than plain vinegar and lets the greens stay grassy, while a squeeze of lemon added after boiling sharpens the finish. The stems are packed loosely and kept fully under the brine in the fridge so aroma and seasoning spread evenly. Stirred into rice or tucked into a lettuce wrap with pork belly, the greens cut through the fat. It is ready after a day, and the scent lasts about five days.
Anchovy fillets melt into garlicky olive oil until they disappear, leaving salt and savor with no fishy edge, and gochugaru, Korean chili flakes, adds a warm heat to that oil. Broccolini cooks in the pasta pot during the last minutes so it stays crisp and slightly bitter, and pan-toasted breadcrumbs give the soft, ear-shaped orecchiette something crunchy to play against. The crumbs are kept aside and scattered on just before serving so they stay crisp.
Sealed in parchment, the cod steams in its own trapped vapor and stays moist from edge to center. White wine and lemon perfume that steam, while thyme brings out the sweetness of the zucchini and cherry tomatoes. Opening the packet at the table releases all of the aroma at once, which is part of the point. Foil works in place of parchment, and carrots, asparagus, or spinach can stand in for the vegetables.