Carrot, Ginger, Coriander Soup

Carrot, Ginger, Coriander Soup. Adapted from Bruce Sherman, North Pond Restaurant (!)

Ingredients:
1 Tb olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 piece (1/2 inch long) ginger, chopped (opt.)
1/2 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 pound carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp Each of salt, pepper, ground coriander
2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth
1/2 stick butter, cubed

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot, garlic, ginger and celery. Cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the carrots, salt, and pepper. Cook until the carrots and fennel begin to soften, about 6 minutes.

Stir in the coriander. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in the chicken broth. Heat to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the carrot pieces can be easily mashed, about 25 minutes.

Puree the vegetable mixture in a blender or food processor. Pulse in pieces of butter, one at a time, until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine-meshed strainer into the saucepan. Heat over medium heat, about 3 minutes.

** To make vegetarian, replace chicken broth with vegetable broth.

Dduk-gook (Rice cake soup)

This soup is traditionally eaten on the first day of the New Year (according, of course, to the lunar calendar.)

Ingredients:
1/4 lb Beef (stew meat)
1/2 onion (optional)
1 clove garlic (optional)
2 scallions (cut at a diagnal)
1 egg, beaten for egg-drop soup
Rice cakes (flat oval-shaped pieces of rice cake, as many as you can eat in one sitting)
5 Dumplings/person (optional-- and could be frozen)
1 sheet of dried seaweed (cut up into small bite-size strips)

In a stock pot, cook the stew meat in a tbsp of sesame oil with the optional onions and optional pressed garlic. Once the meat is cooked through, add water to fill to about 1/2 to 3/4 of pot. Bring water to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Cut up scallions in the meanwhile and beat eggs. Add rice cakes and cook for about 3 more minutes. Then add dumplings and green onions, reserving a handful of the scallions for garnish. Finally add the egg, but be sure to stir vigorously as you drop the egg into the boiling soup base. When the dumplings are floating, they are done. Try a rice cake to make sure that they are ready. Serve in bowls, garnish with the remaining green onions and seaweed. And serve a spicy kimchee to accompany the soup.

If you have more soup than you can consume for the evening, you may want to remove the remaining rice cakes to store separately or toss into the trash. The broth itself will keep for a few days, and may be more flavorful the day after. Bring the soup to a boil again and add more rice cakes, scallions, eggs, dumplings, and seaweed.

Banchan: Carrots (also used for BiBimbap)

Banchan are the small side dishes that accompany every Korean meal.

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium carrots, julienned
1/2 tsp salt

In a skillet, heat oil. Add carrots and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes (until carrots soften, but not lose their color). Add salt, toss.

Set aside for Bibimbap OR eat with steaming rice as banchan.

From _Eating Korean_ (C.H. Lee), slightly modified.

Banchan : Fern Bracken (Gosali Nammol) (FOR BIBIMBAP)

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 lb fern bracken
1 tsp salt


In a skillet, heat oil. Add garlic and fry for 1-2 mins. Add fern bracken and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add salt, toss.

Set aside for Bibimbap OR eat with steaming rice as banchan.

From _Eating Korean_ (C.H. Lee), slightly modified.

Banchan : Korean Zucchinis (Or use in BiBimbap)

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 med. Korean zucchinis julienned (I just use any zucchini I can find).
1/2 tsp salt

In a skillet, heat oil. Add garlic and fry for 1-2 mins. Add zucchinis and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until zucchinis are slightly limp. Remove from heat. Add salt, toss.

Set aside for Bibimbap OR eat with steaming rice as banchan (side dish).

From _Eating Korean_ (C.H. Lee), slightly modified.

BanChan : Soybean Sprouts (in BiBimbap)

for 5.

1 lb soybean sprouts, washed and trimmed
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt

In medium pot, bring 1/2 c of water to a coil.
Add soybean sprouts and cover. (yes, only some of sprouts are in water. they are cooked by steam)
Reduce heat and simmer for 10 mins. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a skillet, heat oil. Add garlic and fry for 1-2 mins. Add sprouts, remove from heat. Add salt, toss. Set aside for Bibimbap OR eat with steaming rice as banchan.

From _Eating Korean_ (C.H. Lee), modified.

Banchan : Mushrooms (for BiBimbap)

for 5.

10 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt

1. If using dried mushrooms, soak them in water for 1 hr. before slicing.
2. In skillet, heat oil. Add garlic and mushrooms, stir-fry for 2-3 mins. Add salt.

Eat as a banchan (side dish) with steaming rice OR in BiBimbap.

From _Eating Korean_ (C.H. Lee)

Banchan : Spinach (Shigumchi Namool), also used in BiBimbap

Serves 5.

Ingredients:
2 bundles of spinach, trimmed and washed
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt

1. Blanch spinach by quickly dunking leaves in boiling water. Rinse immediately in cold water to stop cooking
2. In skillet, heat oil. Add garlic and stir fry for 1-2 mins. Add spinach. Remove from heat. Add sal and toss.

Eat with hot rice as banchan. Or add to Bibimbap.


From _Eating Korean_ (C.H. Lee)

Bibimbap (Mixed Rice Bowl)

For 5.

This recipe is simple. Chop all vegetables used in the banchan before hand. Stir-fry them in same skillet, setting aside each ingredient as they are done. Rice should be served hot, but toppings can be at room temperature.

Prepare Bulgogi (according to blog posting in September)
Prepare the Banchans (Recipes are found in the blog for September) : Spinach, Mushrooms, Soybean Sprouts, Zucchinis, Fern Bracken, Carrots).
NOTE: You don't have to use all these different banchans. It is also possible to add different stir-fried vegetables

Additional Ingredients:
5 c. short grain rice, cooked
5 eggs, fried sunny side up
Seasoned Chili Paste (See recipe for Yangnyum gochujang in blog for September 2007)
Sesame oil and soy sauce to taste (I personally never put these seasonings in separately)

ASSEMBLY AND PRESENTATION

1. Place 1 c rice in each of 5 separate bowls. Arrange vegetables and meat on top of rice in a circle by color. Make sure there are no similar-colored vegetables next to each other. Place a fried egg in each bowl. Serve immediately with Seasoned chili Paste (Yangnyum Gochujang.

For those who can't eat spicy foods, season with sesame oil and soy sauce.
For vegetarians, use tofu instead of meat in the bulgogi recipe.


From _Eating Korean_ (C.H. Lee), slightly modified.

Radish Kimchi Soup (Dongchimi)

The broth from this kimchi is used for Mool Naengmyun (Recipe coming soon). This kimchi is white and does *not* require rubber gloves in preparation.

Makes 4 quarts.
Preparation time: 1 hour
Pickling time: 30 minutes
Curing time: 2-3 days
2-3 weeks to mature

NECESSARY EQUIPMENT : A large glass jar to store kimchi, cheese cloth or coffee filter

2 Korean radishes (Daikon is ok, about 3 inches in diameter, 6 inches long, about 1.5 lbs)
[Use the entire radish, including the green]
2 c. sea salt
6 green onions
1/2 lb. mustard greens
2 cloves garlic, peeled, thinly sliced
2 oz. fresh ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
1 Korean ("Asian" or "Nashi" pear) unpeeled, cored and quartered
2 hot red Korean peppers (any hot asian pepper is fine)
1 green onion, sliced for garnish

1. Wash radishes in cold water and scrub clean. Leave them drenched in water. Sprinkle 1 cup of Salt evenly in a large shallow bowl, and roll each wet radish in it until it is thoroughly coated with salt. Transfer the radishes with water to a sterilized 8 qt jar and cover. *Cure for 2 to 3 days.*
2. Place green onions and the mustard greens in bowl, sprinkling with 1/2 c. of salt, and let sit for 30 minutes. Remove salted radishes from jar and set them aside. Strain the salt water in jar through sieve into 3- or 4-qt saucepan. Dissolve the remaining 1/2 c. salt into 10 c. of water and add it to saucepan. Gently boil for 10 minutes and *let cool*.
3. Place garlic and ginger in cheesecloth pouch (I used a coffee filtered and tied it shut with a green onion) in bottom of jar. Add salted radishes. Place green onions on top of radishes. Then add mustard greens, then pear, red peppers. Pour salt water into jar. Be sure that radishes are completely immersed in juices. Leave 2 inches of space at top of jar (Fermenting will cause gases to be released, leave room or there will be liquid flowing out of your fridge)
4. Close jar lid tight. Let mature at room temperature for 2- 3 weeks (or just put them in fridge to mature). Kimchi soup will stay fresh for several months. Great with a bowl of hot rice for a light dinner.

To serve, slice desired amount of radishes, place in bowl, and ladle out some juice from jar. Taste, then dilute juice with chilled water (a ratio of about 1 c. of original juice to 3 c. water). Add sugar to taste. Let sit for *30* minutes to allow flavor to blend well. Garnish with green onions.

I personally often skip the 30 minutes of sitting time, since I don't drink the juice unless it's summer. Reserve the juice, however, for some tasty mool naeng myun (cold noodle soup).

I loosely followed Hepinstall's recipe in _Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen_