(DDUKBOKGI)
(GOGI JEON)
(PA JEON)
(BUCHU BUCHINGAE)
(GIMCHI BUCHINGAE)
(GGAE JOOK)
(OJING-UH TWIGIM)
(GOOL JEON)
THE DISHES IN THIS CHAPTER CAN BE EATEN WITH YOUR FINGERS, shared with your friends at a party, or made for your kids when they get home from school. I grew up eating all of this food, and each recipe is filled with memories. The Rice Cake Stick Snack (page 33) was an after-school favorite of mine and is still a favorite street food throughout the alleyways of Seoul. Any one of the pancakes in this chapter makes a great snack, appetizer, or light lunch. I’ve also included one porridge (jook) dish, the Black Sesame Porridge (page 39). A comfortable and healthful food, porridge comes in both sweet and savory varieties. I could write a whole chapter on porridges, but there just wasn’t enough room in this book for it. The porridge makes a lovely breakfast on a cold morning or a stick-to-your-ribs afternoon snack.
The rest of the batter-based dishes in the chapter are traditional Korean janchi (party) food, since you can whip up a big batch and fry enough for you and dozens of your guests. Instead of the usual large quantities made for parties, I’ve whittled the recipes down to a manageable size. Of course, feel free to double or quadruple the amounts for your next weekend fiesta. Or make some for you and that special someone. You can have your very own party any night of the week.
Ddukbokgi is one of the many wonderful street foods you can buy as an after-school snack or to have with your beer after work. If you don’t like it spicy, leave out the chile paste and add a little more soy sauce and sugar to suit your taste. If using refrigerated or frozen rice sticks, separate them and soak them in cold water to soften for at least an hour, but fresh rice cake sticks are, of course, the best. The malt syrup, fish cakes, and rice cake sticks can be found at any Korean grocery store.
MAKES 5 OR 6 SERVINGS AS A SNACK
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
2 pounds rice cake sticks (ddukbokgi dduk)
1 tablespoon Korean chile paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar or Korean malt syrup (mool yut)
2 fish cakes, cut into strips
2 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish
In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrot and stir-fry for a couple of minutes, until the carrot becomes a bit soft.
Add the rice cake sticks (make sure they are separated first), chile paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar (or malt syrup), and fish cakes. Continue stir-frying for another 5 minutes or so. If the rice cake sticks are still hard, lower the heat a bit, cover, and let steam for a couple of minutes to soften.
Increase the heat (if you’ve lowered it), add the green onions, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, if you wish, and serve immediately.
VARIATION:
Koreans put everything from vegetables to ramen noodles in this dish. Instead of fish cakes, you can add boolgogi (page 83) or any type of mushroom, which you would cook with the onion and carrot.
Traditionally enjoyed during a celebration, this dish makes an excellent appetizer or side dish. Get the boolgogi (sliced rib-eye) cut of meat at your Korean grocery, or ask your butcher to slice a lean cut as thinly as he can. When cooking the beef, I like to use wooden chopsticks to dip and fry the meat, but a spatula works just as well for flipping.
MAKES 3 TO 4 APPETIZER SERVINGS
1/2 pound beef, sliced thinly
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
All-purpose flour for dusting
1 large egg
Vegetable oil for frying
Cut the beef into 2- to 3-inch pieces. Lightly salt and pepper the beef on both sides.
Pour enough flour onto a plate to cover the plate. Then flour the meat on both sides, leaving the pieces stacked in the flour.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg until lightly beaten. Set aside.
Preheat a large, nonstick pan over medium-low heat, adding just enough oil to thinly cover the pan. Dip the floured beef into the egg, making sure it is well-coated on both sides and carefully place onto the hot pan. Repeat until all the beef pieces are in the pan. Let cook on both sides until the meat is browned completely, but the egg is not too browned. Add more oil as needed.
Serve warm with a side of Seasoned Soy Sauce (page 155).
This vegetarian dish can be eaten as a snack, appetizer, or light meal. Rice flour gives the flat cakes a slightly chewier, stickier texture. If you can’t find that, feel free to add more all-purpose flour instead, although your pancakes won’t be as chewy. If there are any left, refrigerate or freeze them but reheat in a skillet (not the microwave) to keep the edges nice and crispy.
MAKES 6 TO 8 FLAT CAKES, SERVING 4 TO 6 AS AN APPETIZER
11/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of freshly ground black pepper (optional)
2 cups cold water, plus more as needed
6 green onions, cut into 11/2-inch lengths
2 Korean or Italian zucchini, coarsely grated or julienned
1 carrot, coarsely grated or julienned
Vegetable oil for frying
Seasoned Soy Sauce (page 155)
Combine the flour, rice flour, salt, and black pepper, if using. Add about 2 cups cold water and stir. Stir in more water if needed, a little at a time, until the mixture is the consistency of thin pancake batter.
Add the green onions, zucchini, and carrot to the batter and mix.
In a large skillet or on a griddle, add just enough vegetable oil to thinly cover the surface. Turn the heat to medium-high. After the oil is heated, spoon enough batter into the skillet to make a large flat circle 6 to 8 inches in diameter.
Cook on one side until golden brown, then flip the pancake and cook the other side. Reduce the heat as necessary to prevent burning. Remove the pancake. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more oil as needed. Serve them fresh off the griddle with Seasoned Soy Sauce.
VARIATION:
For a little color and different flavors, add julienned red bell pepper, mushrooms, onion, and/or Korean leeks (found in Korean groceries, they look like bunches of long grass but have a mild leek flavor). You can even add ham, shrimp, or leftover turkey to the batter, too.
Korean leeks look like a bundle of long grasses but have a bit of a chive flavor. You can find them in the produce section of Korean groceries. I’ve provided a vegetarian version of this pancake for you, but feel free to add bits of shrimp or other types of meat if you wish. Instead of red bell pepper, you can add a red jalapeño if you want it to have some kick. Although these flat cakes are traditionally made for special feasts, they make a nice snack or appetizer any day of the week.
MAKES 5 TO 10 APPETIZER SERVINGS
11/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 large egg
2 cups cold water, plus more as needed
2 bundles Korean leeks, cut into 2-inch lengths
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
Seasoned Soy Sauce (page 155)
Combine the flour, rice flour, egg, and water in a mixing bowl. The consistency should be that of thin pancake batter.
Add the leeks, red pepper, salt, and pepper and combine.
Heat about 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. With a ladle, spoon about a cup of the batter into the pan and spread it thin and wide into a large circle about 8 inches in diameter. Cook until the edges get slightly brown and the center starts becoming slightly translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the pancake and cook on the other side for 3 to 4 minutes. Place the cooked pancake on a cutting board.
Repeat until all of the batter is used, stacking the pancakes on top of each other. Carefully cut the pancakes into wedges or other manageable pieces and serve immediately with Seasoned Soy Sauce for dipping.
This is a great dish to make when your leftover baechu (napa cabbage) kimchi is past its prime. In fact, the riper your kimchi, the tastier the pancakes will be. You can use any other meat (beef, chicken, shrimp, squid/calamari), but pork seems to taste best. It’s faster to make your pancakes large and then cut them for serving. However, if you wish, you can make them into smaller (about 6-inch) rounds.
MAKES ABOUT 4 LARGE PANCAKES, SERVING 4 TO 6 AS AN APPETIZER
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
11/2 cups cold water, plus more as needed
1 large egg
1 cup baechu kimchi, coarsely chopped (page 107)
2 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 ounces uncooked pork, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil for frying
In a large bowl, combine the flour, rice flour, water, and egg and mix lightly. The mixture should be the consistency of pancake batter but doesn’t have to be smooth. Add a little more water if necessary but remember that the kimchi will add liquid as well. Stir in the kimchi, green onions, pork, and salt.
In a large skillet, heat about 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Ladle batter into the skillet and spread it out to an 8-inch circle. Cook until the edges turn brown and crispy, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip it over, add a little bit more oil around the pancake, and cook for another 3 minutes or so until cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding oil as needed. Serve the pancakes hot out of the skillet. Cut into wedges or serve whole.
Rice porridges (jook) are a popular part of Korean cuisine. Eaten as a light breakfast, a warm snack, or what Koreans call “well-being” food, porridge comes in both sweet and savory varieties. The basic way of making porridge is explained here. Feel free to try variations of your own. You can make sweet versions with red beans or pumpkin, and savory porridges with abalone, clams, or whatever you like. This elegant porridge makes a lovely appetizer for a dinner party or a hearty breakfast.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1 cup short-grain rice
About 4 cups water, plus more as needed
1/2 cup black sesame seeds
Toasted pine nuts for garnish
Sugar or honey for serving
Salt for serving
Soak the rice in water to cover for at least 2 hours or overnight. Drain.
In a blender or food processor, grind the rice with 1 cup of the water, adding more water a tablespoon at a time if needed. Add the sesame seeds and process until the mixture becomes a chunky paste, adding more water if needed.
Put the black rice mixture in a medium pan and stir in about 3 cups water. Let simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up any lumps as needed. Reduce the heat and let simmer an additional 10 to 15 minutes, stirring more frequently as the porridge thickens. It should be the consistency of oatmeal.
Divide the porridge among 4 individual bowls and sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve warm with sugar or honey and salt on the side.
NOTE:
If the porridge seems to be taking a long time to thicken, add a teaspoon or two of rice flour to thicken.
This is the Korean version of fried calamari, but the squid is cooked in strips rather than rings. Another popular street food, it makes a good snack, appetizer, or finger food. Double or triple the recipe for a big party.
MAKES 3 OR 4 APPETIZER SERVINGS
8 ounces cleaned squid
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup cold water, plus more as needed
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Vinegar Soy Sauce (page 155)
Prepare the squid by peeling off the skin and cutting into 1/4-inch- wide strips.
Combine the flour, salt, pepper, baking powder, and 1/2 cup water in a medium bowl. Add more water if necessary, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is the consistency of thick pancake batter.
In a deep heavy pan, heat about 1 inch oil to 375° F. Depending on the size of your pan, dust about half the squid pieces with flour, dip in the batter, then carefully place in the preheated oil. (I like to use long wooden chopsticks for this part, but you can use tongs or any other tool that works for you.) Let cook until golden. Repeat with the remaining squid.
Serve immediately with Vinegar Soy Sauce for dipping.
I love oysters raw, cooked, barbecued—pretty much every which way. Fried in this traditional egg batter, they make a flavorful start to any dinner party, a nice afternoon snack, or a good anju (drinking snack) to go with an ice-cold beer. For this recipe, I like to use frozen oysters available in most Asian markets, since they are already shucked and ready to go.
MAKES 8 TO 12 APPETIZER SERVINGS
1 pound shucked oysters
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
Vegetable oil for frying
All-purpose flour for dusting
Seasoned Soy Sauce (page 155)
Drain the oysters and sprinkle with the ginger, black pepper, and salt. Let sit.
Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl.
Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Pour some flour onto a plate and dust the oysters. Dip the dusted oysters one at a time in the egg and carefully place in the hot skillet. Cook until they are golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes on each side, adding more oil and adjusting the heat as needed.
Serve immediately with Seasoned Soy Sauce for dipping.
