278 recipes. Page 3 of 12
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The mushrooms are wiped clean with a paper towel rather than rinsed. Wet slices release water in the pan and struggle to brown, and that deep browning is where most of the soup's flavor comes from.
Whisking black sesame paste (heukimja) into cream turns the sauce a dusky gray and gives it a heavy, toasty richness close to nut butter. Crisp bacon breaks up that richness with salt and smoke, and the wide rigatoni tubes fill with sauce so each piece tastes of sesame inside and out.
Raw beet cut into very fine shreds keeps its sweetness and crunch, dressed the way a French carrot râpée would be, with olive oil, lemon and whole-grain mustard. A little sugar rounds off the acidity. The shreds need an even thickness so that a short 10-minute salting softens every piece to the same degree. Squeezing out the red liquid afterward keeps the beet crisp; left in, it makes the dressing slide off the shreds and collect at the bottom of the bowl. The fine shreds snap easily and are lifted and turned gently until the mustard seeds and a thin film of oil cling to every strand.
Tortillas wrapped around cumin-seasoned ground beef and cheddar soak up red enchilada sauce in the oven until soft, while the cheese on top melts and bubbles. Cold tortillas crack when rolled, and a quick warming makes them pliable.
Hobak-bokkeum, the stir-fried Korean zucchini usually served as a side dish, goes onto buttery pie dough with the edges folded up roughly around it. Pea-sized bits of cold butter left in the dough make that folded rim bake up flaky, while in the middle mozzarella melts over the zucchini and onion. Top it with a fried egg for brunch, or cut it thin to go with a glass of white wine.
The rice takes seafood stock a ladle at a time, and saffron soaked in a couple of spoonfuls of that stock goes in partway through to turn it yellow. Shrimp and squid wait until the rice is nearly done and come off the heat before they curl up tight.
Flounder fillets are brushed with soy sauce mixed with yuja-cheong, a Korean citron marmalade, so the salty glaze carries a bright citrus note. The fillets are thin and break easily; turn them once, in one go, with a wide spatula. If your yuja-cheong is very sweet, add a little more soy.
Stale baguette soaks up the bean and vegetable broth until this is less a soup than something close to a porridge. The name means reboiled, and true to it, the soup tastes deeper when reheated the next day.
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.
Corn seared in a dry, very hot pan picks up brown spots and a toasty sweetness that the mild black beans need. Lime juice and cilantro give the bowl the bright, sharp edge of a Mexican salsa, while avocado folded in at the end softens the acidity with its richness. Well-drained beans matter too, since leftover liquid dilutes the lime dressing quickly.
Cutting skirt steak across the grain on a diagonal is what keeps such a short, fierce sear tender. Cumin, lime and smoked paprika give the beef a smoky, sharp edge, while the peppers and onion cook first in the same hot pan and come out still crunchy. Everything goes into warm flour tortillas right away, before the vegetables start to weep.
Mashed boiled potato and ground perilla seed are worked into the focaccia dough, and sliced garlic and rosemary stud the top. The first rise is judged by the dough nearly doubling and a fingertip dent springing back slowly, not by the clock alone. When the dough springs back and refuses to reach the corners of the pan, a 5-minute rest relaxes it enough to stretch without tearing.
Peppers turn sweet and soft in the oven, which is why the beef, rice and tomato filling is seasoned a little saltier than would taste right on its own. Mozzarella goes on for the last 10 minutes and melts into a cover over the filling.
Scallops patted bone dry are sprinkled with coarse salt, seared hard, and finished with a few spoonfuls of basting butter. The yuzu marmalade and lemon sauce goes on after the heat is off. Bite in and you hit grains of coarse salt, with yuzu coming through between them.
Thinly sliced garlic warmed slowly in olive oil until pale gold sets the flavor of the pot. Pushed further, it turns bitter and the whole pot tastes of it. Day-old baguette soaks up the chicken stock and partly dissolves, thickening the broth without flour, while smoked paprika tints it red and adds a faint smoky note. Beaten egg poured in a thin stream sets into soft ribbons rather than curds.
Clams opening in white wine release the briny liquor that seasons this pasta, so only a little salt is added at the end. Chili flakes add a slow heat, and buchu, Korean garlic chives, stirred in after the heat is off, gives the dish a grassy, garlicky finish that a classic vongole does not have. Starchy pasta water binds clam juice and olive oil into a glossy sauce that clings to every strand.
Chicken breast rubbed with smoked paprika and seared over medium-high heat brings a smoky, warm counterpoint to cold, crisp romaine. Despite the blackened name, this version skips the usual cayenne and dried herb blend and relies on smoked paprika alone. The Caesar-style dressing is a quick mix of mayonnaise, lemon, Dijon and garlic with no anchovy, while croutons and shaved Parmesan supply crunch and salt.
Sliced paper-thin and dried slowly in the oven, beets turn into crisp chips where their natural sweetness meets rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper. Edges and smaller pieces dry out first, so pulling finished chips early keeps them from tasting burnt and bitter.
Half a kilo of onions, cooked over low heat for more than 40 minutes until jammy, is spread thickly over thin dough and crossed with a lattice of anchovies and black olives for this Provençal tart. Tomato sauce and cheese stay out of it, and the anchovies bring enough salt that the topping hardly needs more.
As the rolls cook slowly over low heat, the cabbage gives up its sweetness and softens the sharpness of the tomato sauce. Pack them tightly into the pot so they hold together while they simmer.
Pen shell scallops never spend more than 4 minutes in the pan. They are seared on both sides in a pan heated until it just starts to smoke, brushed with lemon garlic butter mixed ahead of time, and moved straight to the plate. Thick ones are halved first so they all match.
Canned whole tomatoes go in with their juice and are crushed with a spatula and fried first to drive off water. The cream gets only 3 minutes on the heat, and the soup keeps its bright tomato red.
Ground beef seasoned like bulgogi, with soy sauce, sugar, and garlic, simmers in a tomato sauce, where the sweet-salty soy meets the acidity of the tomatoes. Searing the meatballs first leaves a browned crust that melts into the sauce and deepens it. Breadcrumbs and egg hold moisture, so the meatballs stay tender through the simmer instead of drying out.
Bomdong, a flat, open-leaf cabbage harvested from winter into early spring, has sweet, crunchy leaves that pair surprisingly well with strawberries. The link is a doenjang dressing: Korean soybean paste loosened with olive oil, lemon juice, and honey, salty and nutty without being heavy. Because doenjang varies a lot in saltiness from brand to brand, the dressing goes on in portions, tasted as you go. The leaves are torn by hand rather than cut to keep their natural shape, then dried well, since leftover water thins the dressing. Strawberries sit on top of the greens instead of in the dressing, which would make them weep juice, and walnuts and sesame add a toasty note that bridges the fruit and the paste.