Baby Chicken and Ginseng Soup (Samgyetang)

http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=13317

Yield 2.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup glutinous rice well rinsed
2 piece fresh ginger - (each 2" long)
1 x scallion sliced thin
6 x jujubes (Korean dates)
2 x garlic clove halved lengthwise
1 sm chicken or cornish game hen (abt 1 lb)
2 cup water
1 tsp sesame seeds toasted
1 tsp Korean sesame oil
1/8 tsp freshly-ground black pepper

Method:

• Mix the rice, ginseng root, scallion, 3 of the jujubes and 1 garlic clove together and stuff the chicken. Sew up the opening.
• Put the chicken in the "tukbaege" or in a heavy pot with a cover that is just a bit larger than the chicken. Add the 2 cups water, the other 3 jujubes, the other garlic clove, the sesame seeds and sesame oil and the pepper. Bring to a boil, cover the pot and reduce heat to low. Simmer over low heat for 1 hour.
• The soup will develop a thick, cloudy consistency and the chicken will soften enough to melt away from the bones. Serve hot in the "tukbaege" if you have one, or transfer the chicken and broth to a large serving bowl.
• This recipe serves 2 with a variety of side dishes.
• Comments: This Samgyetang is a celebrated soup from the island of Cheju, and deservedly so since the prestigious, almost mystical, ginseng root is cooked and eaten like a vegetable with the chicken. The Samgyetang is cooked in a tukbaege and brought still bubbling to the table. It is considered to be a summer dish in restaurants and homes.
• Koreans will break up the chicken and rice in the pot so that it becomes a gruel. I prefer that each person helps himself out of the pot, taking something of all the ingredients and spooning the rich, thick broth over all. It seems to me more aesthetic without altering the taste.
• The jujubes prove a touch of contrasting sweetness to the chicken, rice and ginseng. Ginseng, or "insam" as it is also called in Korea, tastes to me like a slightly bitter parsnip. Its properties are alleged to be strengthening and bring about rejuvenation.

Abalone in Shell (Chonbok Naengchae)

http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=1010

Yield 6.

Ingredients:

18 x Abalones
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Cabbage
1/2 x Lemon
Parsley

Catsup Sauce:
3 tbl Tomato catsup
1 tsp Red pepper oil
1/2 tsp Minced garlic
1 tsp Sugar
1/3 tsp Salt

Method:

• (1) Select medium-sized abalones and scrub shells with brush. Wash slippery surface of abalone meat and slide knife into shells to free meat Parboil abalone meat in salted, boiling water for 5 minutes and return to shells. (3) Shred cabbage finely, dip into cold water for 20 minutes, and drain. Cut lemon into thin rings, and cut rings into half- moon shape. (4)
• Add red pepper oil, minced garlic, sugar and salt to tomato catsup to make sauce. (5) Place shredded cabbage in bottom of dish and top with abalones in shells. Garnish with lemon and parsley in middle of dish. Serve abalones with catsup.
• by Sook Joung Ha
• Note:
  *Red pepper oil is made from red pepper powder dissolved in sesame oil and boiled once over low heat. Drop 1-2 drops into stuffing for dumplings and other sauce dishes to enhance the flavor.

Korean Spicy Fish Soup (Mae Un Tang)

http://www.recipezaar.com/23269

Some of the ingredients and directions are unusual, so trial & error may be in order here!

Ingredients:

10 ounces firm white fish fillets(cut into chunks)

4 large shrimp(peeled & deveined)

8 ounces daikon radishes(Chinese white radish)

1 chili pepper

1 green onion

10 clams

dried kelp(dashima 2"x3")

2 tablespoons ground red pepper

1 tablespoon red bean paste

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1/2 tablespoon ginger juice

sugar

salt

parsley(chopped)

Directions:

1. Cut daikon into 1"x1" x 1/4" pieces.
2. Deseed chili pepper& cut diagonally into 1/4" slices.
3. Cut green onion into 2" pieces.
4. Mix red pepper, bean paste, soy sauce, garlic, ginger juice& sugar.
5. In soup pot, bring four cups of water to a boil, add clams and boil until they open.
6. Take clams out of pot, add kelp to pot& boil 2 minutes.
7. Put daikon pieces into seasonings& mix well.
8. Add this mixture to pot& boil until daikon is cooked.
9. Add fish& shrimp, boil until cooked.
10. Add clams, green onion& chili pepper slices.
11. Add salt to taste, chopped parlsey, and serve.
    

Korean Pumpkin Soup

http://www.recipezaar.com/75538

Ingredients:

8 cups pumpkin, gutted and peeled

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons rice flour, mixed with a little cold water

Directions:

1. Boil pumpkin in a large saucepan until soft.
2. Place pumpkin, sugar and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.
3. (Add a little water to bring consistency to that of unset pudding, if necessary).
4. Return pumpkin to saucepan, add rice flour, and stir over medium heat until thickened.

Spinach (Korean Sigumchi Namul)

The Korean Cookbook, by Judy Hyun

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Fresh spinach
• 3 tb Soy sauce
• 2 tb Sesame oil
• 1 tb Sesame seeds
• 1 ea Clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tb Sugar
• 1 tb White vinegar
• Dash pepper

Directions:

1. Wash the spinach. Steam until just tender and still green. Strain and squeeze out as much water as possible. Cut spinach very coarsely.

2. Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, garlic, sugar, vinegar and pepper. Mix into the spinach.

Variation: Season the spinach with Chang (meat sauce for vegetables).

Kim Chee (Made With Nappa Cabbage)

jkwak@inforamp.net (June Kwak)

Kim Chee is a pickled salad/condiment type food served at virtually every Korean meal. It is often compared to saurkraut. It can be made not only with nappa cabbage, but with types of raddishes, greens, or cucumbers. It is salty, (spicy) hot, temperately cold, garlicy and tangy. Here is a short cut version. My mom usually makes a bushel at a time. If you are new to kim chee, I doubt you would want to deal with that much on the first try. It is a short cut version for a second reason which has to do with how the pepper paste/sauce is added to the cabbage. In the long version, not given, the pepper mixture is layered between whole leaves of quarted cabbage pieces. In this version the mixture is tossed like a salad instead. The seasonings are the same. THERE ARE THREE MAJOR STEPS TO MAKING KIM CHEE: 1. Salting the cabbage 2. Making the pepper paste/sauce. 3. Combining the pepper with the cabbage and putting it into jars.

Ingredients:

• 1/2-1 c pickling salt
• 1 ea Head Nappa Cabbage
• 1 ea daikon raddish (one third to one half the size of the cabbage)
• 1 ea head of garlic, minced
• 1-2 Tb ginger, minced
• 2-8 Tb Korean red pepper flakes, or fresh hot red pepper to taste, or a combination.
• 2 ea green onions, julienned
• 1 tb sugar
• X A new pair of latex gloves are handy for handling hot pepper mixture.
• X A large bowl for soaking the cabbage in brine solution.
• X Large glass containers to put the finished kim chee into.
• X Especially handy for large batches is a food processor and/or a contraption for shredding vegetables into julienne strips.

Directions:

First, the cabbage must be salted in brine solution. Cut the cabbage in half lengthwise. Then cut a second time lengthwise to form quarter cabbage chunks.

Mix the salt with enough water to cover all the cabbage in a large bowl.

Soak the cabbage in the brine solution, making sure that all parts are submerged. If they are not, you can restack the cabbage half way through the soaking process, moving bottom chunks to the top, and vice versa.

Leave the cabbage for 2-4 hours. At the end of this time, the cabbage should be wilted, supple, limp and salty in taste. (optional: A trick from my grandmother is to lightly salt each stalk of each leaf which is much thicker than the leafy part in order that the leafy part and stalk are evenly seasoned. So to do this you must rub pickling salt sparsely on each of the stalks. This is done midway through the soaking when the leaves are manageable wilted. )

Reserve some of the brine solution. Rinse the cabbage and then cut into bite size pieces about an inch and a half long and drain the cabbage. Discard the centre core.

In the mean time, prepare the daikon raddish and the pepper sauce/paste.

The daikon must either be shredded into julienne strips. Add to the daikon: red pepper flakes, red pepper, minced garlic, minced ginger, julienned green onion, salt to taste (1 Tbsp) and sugar, then toss. If you are using your hands, beware of the the hot pepper. This is where gloves come in handy.

Finally, thoroughly mix the pepper mixture with the cabbage by tossing. Then check for salt and red pepper and seasoning in general and adjust if necessary. Then pack into glass jars. The mixture should have a liquid sauce in the jar and more will form as it sits. It is important that the mixture is in a sauce. Should you need to add more liquid, take some reserved brine and rinse the final mixing bowl and add to bottles so that all the cabbage pieces are just submerged in liquid. You can keep a bottle outside for a day to help it ripen more quickly, otherwise store in the refrigerator, tightly capped.

The taste changes as it ripens. It is initially like a salad and then ferments to taste more sour. Kim chee compliments meals served with rice. It is a Korean staple. It is also good fried with butter or sesame oil, or stir fried with pork and tofu.

Bulgogi

http://asiarecipe.com/

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 lb Beef sirloin, lean
4 T Light soy sauce
2 T ;water
2 T Scallion; minced
1 Garlic clove; minced
3 T Soy sauce, dark
1 T Sesame oil
1 ts Black bean paste
1 T Sugar
1/4 ts Cayenne pepper
1/2 ts Ginger; freshly grated
1 1/2 ts Sugar
1 T Sesame seed, toasted*
1 T Oil

Bulgogi sauce:

Tabasco; to taste
Salt; to taste
1 Garlic clove; crushed
1 ts Sesame seed, toasted*
1 ts Scallion; minced
1 T Oil

* TOASTED SESAME SEED:

Place 1 cup sesame seed and 1 teaspoon salt in a skillet, brown seeds slowly until they are toast-colored and puffed. Stir constantly while toasting. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Pulverize seeds in a mortar or a blender. Store in a tightly capped bottle.

Directions:

Cut beef into very thin strips and pound to flatten; then cut into medium size squares. Combine all the other ingredients. The marinade, as the name of the dish implies, should be quite fiery. Mix meat and marinade and set aside for 4 to 5 hours, or longer if refrigerated. Broil very quickly over hot charcoal, dip in Bulgogi sauce (next recipe) and serve immediately with white rice.

NOTE:

The marinated beef can also be fried in hot peanut oil for just a few minutes. Crush garlic with sugar and salt to make a smooth paste. Combine with remaining ingredients. Dip broiled or fried beef slices in the sauce.

Kuljon (Oysters Fried in Egg Batter)

http://asiarecipe.com/kormain.htm

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

2/3 lb. oysters
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
10 gingko nuts
ginger juice
salt
black pepper
parsley
MSG (optional)

Directions:

1. Buy fresh, large oysters. Wash them in salt water, remove the shells and drain.

2. Sprinkle the clean oysters with the black pepper and ginger juice.

3.Dip the oysters into flour and then into the beaten egg. Fry them in a hot oiled pan.

4. Stir-fry the shelled gingko nuts with salt and peel off the skin.

5. Arrange the fried oysters in a dish and garnish with the ginko nuts and parsley.