With the grain
Su Scott is a Korean-born food writer living in London and has just had her first recipe book published. Here Su guides you through her modern Korean larder with three tempting courses.
Tofu with buttered kimchi
Serves 4. Ingredients: 1tbsp vegetable oil, ½ onion, thinly sliced, 200g minced pork, ½tsp black pepper, 20g unsalted butter, 2 garlic cloves, minced, 350g overripe kimchi, chopped, 2tsp golden granulated sugar, 1tbsp mirin, 1½tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes), 1tbsp soy sauce, 200g tinned chopped tomatoes, 396g block of firm tofu, sea salt flakes. To finish: 1tbsp toasted sesame oil, ½tsp toasted white sesame seeds, 1 spring onion, thinly sliced, a pinch of black sesame seeds
Heat the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and fry for two minutes to soften. Add the pork and the black pepper and stir frequently for 10 minutes until lightly browned.
Lower the heat and melt in the butter with the garlic, add the kimchi, sugar, mirin and gochugaru. Stir, then sauté gently for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the soy sauce, ensuring it is completely incorporated, before adding the tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Bring a pan of well-salted water to the boil. Slice the tofu into two long blocks about 4cm wide. Gently drop them into the boiling water and poach for five minutes over a low heat. Carefully drain and cool slightly. When cooled enough to handle, cut each block into 2cm thick slabs.
The kimchi should be ready. Check the seasoning. Stir in the sesame oil and white sesame seeds. Reserve some spring onion for garnish, and add the remainder. Transfer the sliced tofu slabs onto a serving platter, along with the sauteed kimchi. Top with the black sesame seeds and reserved spring onion.
Korean fried chicken
Serves 4. Ingredients: For the chicken: 600g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3cm cubes, 2tbsp sake, 1tsp golden granulated sugar, ½tsp celery salt, ½tsp freshly cracked black pepper, vegetable oil, for frying. For the glaze: 60g jocheong (Korean rice syrup), 2tbsp tomato ketchup, 2tbsp water, 1tbsp golden granulated sugar, 1tbsp soy sauce, 1tbsp gochujang (Korean red chilli paste), 3 garlic cloves, minced, 1tbsp vegetable oil, 1tbsp gochugaru, ground to a fine powder. For the batter: 50g plain flour, 70g rice flour, 20g cornflour, 150ml cold water. To finish: toasted white sesame seeds.
Place the chicken in a mixing bowl with the sake, sugar, celery salt and black pepper. Massage well to combine, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for one hour.
For the glaze: combine the jocheong, ketchup, water, sugar, soy sauce, gochujang and garlic in a bowl. Mix well and set aside. Remove the chicken from the fridge, so it comes back to room temperature before you cook it. Put one tablespoon of vegetable oil and the gochugaru in a cold wok over a low heat, stirring constantly. The oil will change colour to a deep red and the gochugaru will start to bloom. Swiftly
add the glaze mixture and increase the heat to rapidly bubble for two minutes to thicken. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Prepare the wet batter by combining the plain flour, 30g of rice flour and the cornflour. Add the water gradually and whisk to break up any lumps. Toss the chicken thoroughly with the remaining 40g of rice flour then add the chicken to the batter. Prepare a cooling rack set over a roasting tray.
Fill a saucepan suitable for deep-frying with vegetable oil. Heat to 160C. Carefully lower in a few of the battered chicken pieces and fry for two to three minutes until the chicken is cooked through but only pale golden, transferring onto the cooling rack when done. Continue until you have cooked all the chicken.
Once the first fry is done, increase the heat to 175C and fry for the second time for two to three minutes until they’re golden and crispy. Work in batches to prevent overcrowding the pan. When the batches are ready, transfer them onto the cooling rack, so any excess oil drains off.
Put the wok with the sauce over a medium heat to warm up. As soon as the edges start to bubble up, toss in the fried chicken while energetically moving the pan around to glaze. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Sweet rice doughnuts
Makes 20. Ingredients: 250g glutinous rice flour, 50g plain flour, ½tsp baking powder, ½tsp bicarbonate of soda, 40g golden caster sugar, ½tsp fine sea salt, 30g unsalted butter, melted, 80ml warm full-fat milk, 150ml hot water, about 80C, vegetable oil, for deep frying. For the cinnamon sugar: 2tbsp golden caster sugar, ½tsp ground cinnamon.
Sift both flours, the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and salt. In a pourable and heatproof jug, combine the melted butter and warm milk. Stir into the flour mix, using a wooden spoon. In stages, gradually pour in the hot water and continue to mix until it resembles rough crumbs. When the dough is cool enough to handle, start bringing the ingredients together by gently kneading until the dough feels supple and the surface is smooth. Place in a reusable plastic bag and rest in the fridge for at least one hour or overnight.
After the dough has rested, divide it into four portions. Work one piece at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered. Shape the dough roughly into a log, then divide it into five small golf-ball-sized pieces.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Have another plate ready lined with some kitchen paper. Fill a saucepan suitable for deep-frying with vegetable oil. When it reaches 160C, turn off the heat and carefully lower a few of the dough balls into the pan. Keep the heat off for two minutes. After two minutes, the dough will start to move and float a little.
Turn the heat back on and maintain the temperate at 160C. Fry the dough balls for five minutes, making sure to gently push them down with a heatproof sieve or wire skimmer, as they will continuously float up. After five minutes, the doughnuts should appear golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to the plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. Continue with the remaining dough balls.
When all the batches are cooked, roll them in the cinnamon sugar while hot and serve immediately.