I love Korean food! It’s simple and straightforward cooking. Like most East Asian cooking styles it emphasizes vegetables and grains (RICE), while meats play a supporting role. A proper Korean meal consists of rice, of course, some times mixed with millet or other grains and beans, but usually plain. It’s a medium grain white rice similar (if not the same) as the rice Japanese use. I think Korean rice sometimes has some grains of glutinous medium grain rice mixed in for texture, but I can’t swear to this.
RANT: Americans don’t seem to understand the importance if RICE in an East (or Southeast) Asian meal. Your main source of calories should be rice. All other dishes are condiments for rice. That is why they are often so hot and/or salty. They are not meant to eaten by themselves. Nutritional analysis of many Asian dishes doesn’t account for this, which is why the Center for Science in the Public Interest told people that Thai and Chinese food is unhealthy. Its cause fools eat WRONG. Suppose you went to a sandwich shop and ordered and sandwich, removed all the meat and cheese from the bread and ate that and left the bread behind. Then you would say “sandwich food doesn’t really fill you up, after I eat it 15 minutes later I’m hungry again”. Eat your rice!!!
Anyway, sorry about that rant. A Korean meal is rice, a soup or stew, many little side dishes of seasoned vegetables, raw or just lightly cooked. Side dishes of pickles (Kim Chee), and a few other dishes such as bokkum (stir fry), and/or Chorim (preserved dishes). There are other types of dishes as well, some quite elaborate.
Seasonings are simple; here is a list of the basic Korean seasonings:
Soy Sauce- Koreans use soy sauce similar to the type used in Japanese cooking. In the states Kikkoman is good all purpose brand.
Sesame Oil- the dark “Asian” kind. If you have a small bottle that you bought six years ago to use in one Chinese recipe and then left sitting on your shelf you should throw it out and buy a new one. Sesame Oil is a primary seasoning in Korean cooking and if you use that old-ass oil your flavors will be nasty.
Sesame seeds- Roasted. You can roast ‘em yourself or buy them pre-roasted from an Asian market. They should be a tan color. If ya got pre- roasted ones, I suggest you roast the amount you need briefly before you use them. Grind them coarsely in a mortar with a pinch of salt and use that when it calls for sesame seeds.
Green Onions- Scallions. The primary onion in Korean cooking, used generously, including the green parts.
Garlic- Koreans love garlic, so do I. They use lots of garlic, so do I. It’s good for you!!
Chilies- Fresh chili peppers are used, both green and red, but dried chili powder (Gochu Garu) is a primary seasoning. It comes both course and fine, and is also sold in threads (sil gochu) for mr. fancypants presentations. Korean red chili powder also has the paprika like property of turning stuff a deep red color. Its medium hot (I guess) and has a nice flavor.
Toen Chang- Fermented soy bean paste. Very similar to the Japanese miso, it’s often homemade and can be quite “aromatic”, more so than miso. Koreans claim it has more vitamins than miso. Its saltiness varies, as this is not a standardized product, so always taste and adjust when cooking with Toenchang (or Doenjang). Originally this type of soy product was a byproduct of soy sauce manufacture.
Gochu Jang (gochu jang)- jang (chang) means sauce, gochu means chili (among other things). Gochujang is a fermented paste made from soybeans, glutinous rice, malt, and red chili powder. It’s slightly sweet and pretty hot. I love this stuff.
Fresh ginger, rice wine and black pepper are also frequently used. For rice wine you can use Japanese sake or mirin. Mirin has sugar in it so adjust the sugar accordingly.
A while back I was fortunate enough to get some Korean cooking lessons from my friend Jia. She is a great cook and filmmaker. She has since moved back to Seoul, but luckily for you I wrote stuff down. All these recipes are kind of approximations so always taste as you go.
Jia’s recipes:
Beef Marinade for Bulgogi and Kalbi Gui:
6T soy sauce
4T sugar
4T rice wine (mirin)
¼ cup chopped or crushed Garlic
½ cup chopped Spring Onions (scallions) white and green parts
1 T lightly crushed roasted sesame seeds
2 T sesame oil (dark)
1 tsp. Black pepper
The ratio for the soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine is 3:2:2. The rest of the ingredients are approximations. Just mix everything together in a bowl. Make sure to taste and adjust to your liking. The above amount should work for 1 ¾ lbs. of thinly sliced beef (for bulgogi) or around 4 lbs. of beef ribs (kalbi gui). Korean groceries sell thinly sliced beef (top round or tenderloin) and beef ribs cut into bite size pieces through the bone.
For the sliced beef (bulgogi): Store bought thin slices need to be handled carefully or they will fall apart. Individually dip each piece of meat into the marinade and then carefully layer them into another bowl. Layer them criss-cross so you can remove them for grilling piece by piece. Pour any remaining marinade over the top. With your hands, press down on the meat so that the liquid covers the meat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside (in the refrigerator) for at least 4 hours.
To Grill: Light your coals and get them hot. The meat is thin so you need some sort of screen so the pieces don’t fall through the grates. The screens for grilling vegetables work well, or improvise something. Put the individual pieces on the grill and grill for a few minutes on each side (till their cooked through). Tastes best strait off the grill. Eat with big lettuce leaves (for wrapping) and sesame leaves, garland chrysanthemum, 2” pieces of green onion, sliced raw garlic, and Gochujang (hot bean paste) or samjang (hot bean paste with seasonings). Make lettuce and/or sesame leave sandwiches with the above stuff and some rice and eat. (Meat can also be broiled in the oven for 10 minutes).
For Kalbi : Grill like above (with a screen) for about 20 min or until done. Or broil in the oven for 18 minutes, turn the pieces and cook for 5 min. more.
Toen Jang Chigae
¼ cup of 2” long dried anchovies
3 2” square pieces of kombu (seaweed)
2 ½ T Toen Jang (korean miso)
1 small potato pealed and sliced into 1” pieces 1/8” thick
1 tsp. Chopped garlic
1 small zucchini sliced into 1” pieces 1/8” thick
1 piece of tofu cut into 1” cubes
3 scallions sliced into 1” pieces
Put 3 cups of water in a pot and add anchovies. Bring to simmer and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the three pieces of seaweed and simmer 10 minutes more. Strain the resulting broth through a fine strainer. Put the broth back into the pot. Add the teonjang (bean paste) by pushing it through a fine sieve to break up the chunky pieces. Use the broth to wash it all through. Add the garlic and potato and simmer about 15 minutes (till the potato is done). Add the remaining ingredients and simmer 5 minutes more. Taste for seasoning and serve piping hot.
Nakji Bokkum (octopus stir fry)
4 T Gochujang (hot bean paste)
2 tsp. Soy sauce
1 T sugar
1 T sesame oil (dark)
2 tsp. lightly crushed roasted sesame seeds
2 T chopped garlic
1” piece of fresh ginger crushed to a paste or finely chopped
3 small octopus
1 medium onion cut in half and coarsely sliced lengthwise
4-5 green chilies cut in half (seeded if you want)
1 bunch of white noodles (Japanese kind) cooked according to package directions (optional)
2 T oil
If frozen, defrost octopus and rinse well. Cut tentacles into 1” pieces. Rub pieces with a handful of course salt (vigorously). Rinse well at least 3 times. Mix together the gochujang, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, sesame seeds, 1 T of the garlic, and the ginger and mix the resulting sauce with the octopus pieces. Heat wok and add oil (or heat oil in frying pan) and add remaining garlic when very hot. Let the garlic brown and then add the octopus and sauce. Fry for a couple minutes and then add the onions and green chilies. Fry a couple minutes more and then put in a dish. Fold the noodles into nests and add to the dish if desired.
Young Spinach Salad
1 bunch of young spinach
2T soy sauce
1 tsp. lightly crushed roasted sesame seeds
1 tsp. Sesame oil (dark)
1 tsp. Crushed garlic
1 spring onion chopped
Wash spinach well to remove all sand. Blanch in boiling salted water briefly. Immediately put into cold water. Drain and squeeze out as much of the moisture ass possible with your hands. Put into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix well by hand and taste. Adjust seasoning to your liking. Put in a small bowl and serve with other vegetables and dishes as part of a Korean meal.
Posted by eric at August 26, 2002 02:12 PM