SOYBEAN SPECIALS

Korean cuisine

Jang fermented sauces or pastes are the life force behind Korean cuisine – a tradition that makes the food from this wonderful part of the world so significant and unique in flavour. It can be made from many different ingredients such as fish (eojang), meat (yukjang) and also soybeans (dujang).

Dujang is probably South Korea’s most popular food export and it’s a traditional culinary ingredient that’s prepared mostly by women.

There are four main types of soybean jang in Korean cuisine, which vary in complexity of taste and texture. The simplest is chungkukjang. It’s prepared by leaving boiled soybeans to ferment over a few days at a temperature averaging 30°C.

The three other soybean jangs undergo a more complicated and time-consuming process that results in a final product that is complex, extremely nutritious and full of umami. The base of these jangs is developed from a fermented soy block called meju. And it’s made at different times of the year depending on the region and what it will be used for.

It is prepared by boiling and crushing the soybeans, shaping them into a large brick and hanging them with rice stalks for a month or two, so that the meju has time to ferment, dry, and grow bacteria and mould.

Ganjang (soy sauce) is classified by its application in food and how it’s processed. Guk-ganjang is the traditional Korean soy sauce using only meju, water and salt. The flavour variances of this soy sauce will depend on the ageing process. Usually, this is used for soups.

Yang-jo-ganjang is a soy sauce that’s naturally processed with the addition of wheat, resulting in a more Japanese style soy sauce that is slightly sweeter.

Jin-ganjang is a mixed soy sauce made of a naturally produced yang-jo-ganjang and a chemically produced ganjang. Though it’s less expensive, the flavour profile is not as complex.

Doenjang (soybean paste) is the byproduct of soy sauce production. The broken-down meju is added to an earthenware pot and allowed to ferment for a minimum of six months.

Doenjang has a similar texture to miso but has a more savoury taste and can be used for soup bases. Doenjang in its purest form contains only the fermented soybeans and a small amount of brine. Chillies and jujubes (Chinese dates) may also be added.

Koji or wheat is sometimes added to the fermentation process in more commercial varieties of doenjang, resulting in a sweeter flavour. In addition to being used for culinary purposes, it has also been taken as a medicine from as early as the 1600s to reduce blood pressure and ease allergies.

Gouchujang (soybean chilli paste) is a spicy sweet red pepper paste made from a combination of Korean chilli powder, glutinous rice and ground meju, salt, kanjang and sometimes malt water. Gochu, which is the Korean chilli, is grown only in the Korean Peninsula.

The meju in gochujang accounts for 80-90 percent of the final product and contains a small amount of wheat, giving a slight sweetness to the sauce. The gochujang meju is fermented for around two or three months before it’s ground into a powder.

All the gochujang ingredients are mixed together thoroughly before being placed in earthenware pots to ferment for about six months or more.

I have used gochujang in this recipe, which is far from being a traditional Korean dish. Gochujang is an extremely versatile ingredient that can be added to more than soups and marinades.

INGREDIENTS

FELAFELS 2x250g canned chickpeas 3 tbsp gochujang 2 tsp minced garlic 120g medium-size onions (finely chopped) 3 tsp sesame oil

4 tbsp ganjang/soy sauce 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar 160g plain flour

Salt to taste

Handful of chopped coriander

Handful of chopped spring onions

Fine sea salt Vegetable oil

(for deep frying)

YOGHURT GARLIC SAUCE

240g thick Greek yoghurt 2 tbsp lemon juice

2 cloves finely (crushed garlic) salt to taste

CABBAGE SALAD

½ small purple cabbage 1 nashi pear (or green apple, sliced into matchsticks) 2 tbsp sesame oil ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves ¼ cup finely chopped green onions

Sea salt to taste

PITA BREAD POCKETS

10 pita bread pockets

RECIPE

FELAFELS

Drain the chickpeas (you can reserve the aquafaba, which works as a great vegan substitute for egg white). Place the chickpeas, garlic, onion,

ganjang, gochujang, sesame oil and rice wine vinegar in a food processor. Blend it until the mixture is well incorporated and smooth.

Add the plain flour in three parts (you may add more if needed). The flour binds the ingredients, enabling the felafels to be shaped and fried easily. Lightly blend in the coriander and mix the spring onions by hand. Taste the mixture and add some fine sea salt if needed. Allow it to set slightly in the fridge while you make the garlic sauce and cabbage salad.

YOGHURT GARLIC SAUCE Combine all the ingredients, taste it and adjust the seasoning. Leave it in the refrigerator until it’s ready to serve.

CABBAGE SALAD

Mix all the ingredients before serving. Add more oil or salt if needed.

PITA BREAD POCKETS Cut the pita bread in half and slice it to create an opening. Place the cabbage salad in the half pitas and add the felafels, drizzle with yoghurt garlic sauce and top it off with sesame seeds.

NOTE This recipe serves 4-6 people. The preparation time is 30 minutes. And the cooking time is 15 minutes.