240 recipes. Page 8 of 10
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Young radish kimchi, yeolmu, and some of its brine are mixed into a tangy gochujang dressing for cold somyeon, letting the kimchi flavor lead rather than plain chili sweetness. Only half the kimchi is tossed with the noodles, and the rest sits on top so the stems stay crisp. Noodles that are not drained well leave the sauce pooling like water at the bottom of the bowl.
Coarse, soft lumps of tofu sit between thin strips of red and yellow pepper and cucumber, and each bite alternates between creamy and crisp. The soy and vinegar dressing is a small amount, and any water left on the tofu or vegetables thins it quickly and pools at the bottom of the bowl.
Eoseuri, a wild mountain herb picked in spring, smells of celery and parsley with a medicinal edge, and it is noticeably more bitter than spinach or bean sprout namul. A blanch of 30 seconds or less leaves the stems with a slight bite.
Toasted in a dry pan until they crackle, the tiny anchovies get just a glaze of soy sauce and oligosaccharide syrup before being mixed into warm rice. Anchovies vary in saltiness from one package to the next, and saltier ones call for less soy sauce. Packed for a picnic, the rice balls taste much the same once cool.
The ingredients match the usual boiled-and-dressed soybean sprout side dish, but here the sprouts go straight into an oiled pan and pick up a faint smoky note. The lid never goes on. Covering the pan traps steam, which turns the cooking into steaming and keeps the raw, beany smell in.
Bellflower root soaks in salt water for ten minutes and blanches for just one, enough to soften its bitterness while keeping its firm crunch. Coated in gochujang, it grills in a pan or over an open flame, and the open flame gives a stronger smoky note.
Burdock root goes into a beef shank broth that has already simmered with soy and garlic, then steams under the lid until the meat juices reach its center. The aromatic, woody note of burdock cuts through the heavy beef flavor and gives the braise a second layer of flavor. The liquid is reduced to less than half, glossy and spoonable over rice, and finished with sesame oil and toasted seeds.
Yuja syrup and lemon juice brighten soy sauce and tsuyu, giving this chilled udon a fruitier, sweet-sour sauce than plain tsuyu. With the sauce already balanced by 220 ml water, any rinse water left between the strands dilutes it directly. Seaweed flakes and sesame turn soggy once they touch the sauce and go on only right before eating.
Glasswort grows near tidal flats and its thin stems already taste salty, which leaves the seasoning to chili flakes, vinegar, plum syrup and sesame oil with no added salt. The stems pop when bitten, and keeping that snap explains the 10-second blanch and the plunge into cold water right after. Mixing it for too long makes the stems go limp and leaves water on the plate. For that reason the chili flakes are soaked in the vinegar and plum syrup first, and a quick toss then coats the greens. Paper-thin onion adds a little sweetness, and the fruity plum syrup rounds off the vinegar's sharpness.
Steamed eggplant, cooled and torn along the grain, comes apart in silky, slippery strands. They are dressed with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili flakes and kept cold, and the more dressing you use, the closer it gets to a chilled salad.
Chilled uni meant for raw eating goes onto rice that has been allowed to stop steaming. Rice that is too hot starts to cook the surface of the roe and changes its texture. There is no gochujang, just a little sesame oil and sesame seeds, with shredded lettuce, radish sprouts and seasoned seaweed flakes.
Take the garlic scapes off the heat while they are still bright green and they stay crisp to the core; longer than that, the color dulls and they turn tough. For anyone who eats less heat, hold back some of the gochujang sauce and add it bit by bit, tasting as you go.
Searing the salmon pieces for about a minute per side firms the surface before the soy sauce goes in, so the soft flesh holds together while the sauce is spooned over it. Ginger powder and cooking wine keep the soy flavor light, and a spoon of rice syrup gives the sauce a thin sheen. Sliced onion under the fish sweetens the sauce and keeps the fillets off the pan.
A brief dip in boiling water firms the surface of acorn jelly, which helps the soft slices survive being tossed in a soy, vinegar and chili dressing. Mixing them takes a few gentle lifts from the bottom rather than stirring, as they still break easily.
Thin, green gamtae seaweed is harvested in winter along Korea's southwest coast, including Garorim Bay near Seosan. This recipe uses plain dried gamtae, not fresh fronds or the kind seasoned with oil and salt. Because it softens fast once it meets liquid, the seaweed is torn into large pieces, the soy and vinegar dressing is scattered widely, and the mixing is a lift rather than a press, done right before eating.
Tuna, rice, chopped pickled radish and cucumber are bound with gochujang mayonnaise and packed tight into seasoned tofu pouches, the kind used for inari sushi. More gochujang makes it hotter; more mayonnaise makes the filling softer.
Bacon cooked slowly over low heat gives up smoky fat, and that fat becomes the base for stir-frying the garlic scapes, with little or no extra oil needed. Since bacon is already salty, the soy sauce is scaled back to taste, and a spoonful of syrup leaves a thin glossy coat that balances the salt with sweetness.
Thin, even slices of lotus root end up with a thin brown soy glaze outside and a crisp, lacy bite inside. Cutting every slice to the same 0.5 cm is what lets them all cook to the same point in the same time. A quick blanch and a rinse in cold water before braising take off the surface starch and astringency, and skipping it leaves that rough edge under the glaze. A tablespoon of vinegar added with the rice syrup near the end keeps the sweetness light despite all that shine. Cooled completely and refrigerated, the slices keep drawing in seasoning and taste more even the next day.
Searing smoked duck briefly renders the surface fat, and what richness remains gets cut by the nose-tingling heat of mustard and a splash of vinegar. Korean chives, cabbage, and bell pepper give it crunch and a garlicky green aroma, while honey and sesame oil round off the soy dressing. Toss the duck with the vegetables while it is still warm, when the meat feels most tender.
Broccoli stems are not wasted: peeled with a vegetable peeler and sliced 3 mm thick, they are cooked along with the florets. Soup soy sauce with a little lemon juice puts a light acidity under the sharp garlic, while the broccoli's mild bitterness stays in the background.
Chewy wild rice is tossed with red cabbage, carrot and edamame in a soy and brown rice vinegar dressing, with seaweed chips on top. The chips go soft as soon as the dressing touches them, so they are added on the plate right before eating.
Garlic scapes taste of garlic without the sharp bite of the cloves, more sweet than pungent, and even people who shy away from garlic tend to keep reaching for them. Their season runs from spring into early summer, when the stalks are at their most tender.
Lotus root keeps a crisp, almost snappy bite even after braising, which sets it apart from soft soy-braised potatoes or burdock. Once the holes in each round have soaked up the soy sauce and the slices turn a translucent brown, a spoonful of syrup over high heat gives them a quick, glossy finish.
Raw crown daisy leaves are bitter and fragrant, and a yuzu marmalade dressing wraps them in sweet citrus while browned tofu adds a mild, savory base. Because the greens stay uncooked, hot tofu wilts them on contact and dulls their aroma; let the tofu cool briefly first. Soy sauce, lemon, and sesame oil balance the sweetness of the marmalade, and gentle folding keeps the seared cubes whole.