KOREAN TREATS, WESTERN-STYLE
Add a little bit of that ‘kapow’ into your diet, Laura Brehaut writes.
“Korean food is that ‘kapow’ in the mouth,” author Kim Sunée says with a laugh. “It has such bold flavours — there’s nothing subtle about it.”
In her third book, Everyday Korean, Sunée and co-author Seung Hee Lee illustrate how they incorporate Korean flavours into daily cooking. They offer original interpretations of traditional dishes and creative uses of leftovers.
Inspired by their respective travels and dishes they’ve enjoyed together, these are the foods they like to cook and eat.
Leftover kimchi fried rice becomes arancini (Sicilian fried rice balls). And scraps of roasted salmon with gochujang (fermented chili paste) mayo become a savoury Dutch baby.
“It’s a thrifty cuisine — you can reuse a lot of your banchan and make (excellent) leftovers,” Sunée says, referring to the Korean table’s trademark small side dishes and condiments. “It’s esthetically very beautiful, but it’s also hearty and rustic.”
Fragrant notes of chili — central to “Korean mother sauce” gochujang and gochugaru (chili powder) — bring depth to dishes but not unbearable heat, Sunée emphasizes.
“It’s not necessarily always spicy. I think that’s one of the misconceptions,” she says.
Many of the recipes in the book are based on Lee’s family favourites, “but with a modern twist using fresh, seasonal ingredients.”
Lee, a cooking instructor and epidemiologist in Atlanta, Ga., was born and raised in South Korea.
A nutrition expert, she also studied Korean royal court cuisine with an emphasis on cultural preservation and adapting historic recipes for today’s kitchens.
In some ways, Everyday Korean was a decade in the making. Born in South Korea, Sunée was brought up by her adoptive family in the southern United States.
The co-authors met in 2008 during Sunée’s book tour for the Korean edition of her memoir, Trail of Crumbs. Lee was her interpreter, but the two quickly bonded over a shared love of food.
Having grown up in a different food culture, Sunée writes that while fascinated by Korean cuisine, she found the idea of cooking it intimidating.
She now regularly cooks with ingredients from the Korean pantry and makes dishes from the book several times a week.
“Seung Hee and I wanted to honour this cuisine and culture that is becoming more and more popular … We wanted to encourage the home cook to get in the kitchen … and make it their own.”
Recipes excerpted from Everyday Korean: Fresh, Modern Recipes for Home Cooks by Kim Sunée and Seung Hee Lee, Countryman Press.
GREEN ONION AND SEAFOOD PANCAKES (HAEMUL PAJEON) Serves: 4 as an appetizer
3 cups (750 mL) loosely packed green onions, or combination of green onions and chives
1 cup plus 1 tbsp (265 mL) all-purpose flour
1 cup (250 mL) water
1 large egg
1 tsp (5 mL) fish sauce, or
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) fine sea salt Neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed, duck fat, or beef tallow, for pan-frying
1 pint (500 mL) fresh raw oysters, drained, or fresh raw shrimp or bay scallops (optional)
1 to 2 red or green chilies, cut into thin slices (optional) For serving: soy-vinegar dipping sauce or gochujang vinaigrette (recipes at right)
1. Wash, trim, and pat dry the green onions. Cut into 2-inch (5-cm) long pieces and then into thin matchsticks; place in a large bowl. Add the flour, water, egg, and fish sauce. Mix gently just to combine, preferably using your hands to carefully incorporate the ingredients and to not overwork the batter.
2. Heat about 1 1/2 tbsp (22.5 mL) of the oil in a heavybottomed skillet over mediumhigh heat; the oil should dance and sizzle. Scoop one-half of the batter into the very hot skillet and press down with the back of a spoon or spatula to make an even pancake. If the pancake is steaming and not sizzling, increase the heat and add another drop of oil.
3. If adding seafood and chilies, lightly dust them with flour (as they’ll adhere better to the pancake) and then stud the pancake with them. When the bottom turns golden brown, about 4 minutes, flip and press gently with the spatula. Lower or increase the heat depending on whether they are browning too quickly or not sizzling enough. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes until crispy around the edges and golden all over.
4. Transfer to a wire cooling rack or wooden cutting board and let cool slightly. Slice with a knife or kitchen shears into wedges before serving.
5. Serve with soy-vinegar dipping sauce or gochujang vinaigrette. Reheat any leftovers in a dry skillet.