Tang-Su-Yuk Sweet & Sour Pork Or Beef With Vegetables

Tangsuyuk is another popular Chinese delicacy in Korea, which is more familiarly known to Westerners as sweet and sour pork/beef with vegetables. This dish is more of a crowd-pleaser, consisting of a pile of battered, crispy fried pork or beef strips in a sweet, tart apple & vinegar based sauce. The dish is also laced with pickled snippets of cucumber, carrot, and sometimes cubed pineapples that offer a variety of color as well as taste. It is usually eaten as an  appetizer, ample enough for a quartet of diners to share.  When eating, the meat is usually dipped in soy sauce mixed with vinegar and crushed or powder red pepper flakes which will add some spiciness to each bite.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS: SAUCE

1½ cup water ½ tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp rice vinegar 5 tbsp sugar ¼ tsp salt

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

12 oz pork or beef (lean, grilling part) 1 egg, lightly beaten ¼ onion, sliced ¼ carrot, sliced ¼ cucumber, sliced 1 cup corn starch 1 cup water 1 teaspoon vegetable oil Vegetable oil for deep-frying meat Salt & pepper

COOKING DIRECTIONS: SAUCE

Mix 1 cup corn starch and 1 cup water, stir well, and let sit for 1-2 hours. After the corn starch and water are separated, carefully drain water. Heat oil in a large pot to fry. Don't fill more than a half way. Cut beef into thin strips, add 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/16 teaspoon pepper and egg, mix well. Put meat in a corn starch batter, mix well with hands. Once you are done consistently coating the meat with batter, deep-fry it in oil until golden. *The key for crispy meat is to fry twice, so before serving it, fry once again.

COOKING DIRECTIONS

Add 1 tsp of vegetable oil to a hot pan and sauté vegetables briefly for about 1-2 minutes. Add sauce ingredients, stir to dissolve sugar and bring to a boil. In a separate bowl, mix 2 tbsp of corn starch and 2 tbsp of water to make slush. Then add the slush to the boiling sauce and stir until it gets thick. Important thing is to put corn starch mixture to the boiling sauce. The slush may not mix well if you put in lukewarm sauce. Continue boiling for 4-5 minutes. Once the sauce is complete, pour it over onto the meat and serve hot.

Daeji Bulgogi Spicy Marinated Pork

Daeji Bulgogi is another popular Korean meat dish similar to bulgogi. However, instead of using beef, thin sliced pork loin is marinated  in a specially blended red chili pepper paste with various assortments of vegetables. The meat is marinated with a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, sugar, ginger roots, rice wine and kochujang which  is the base sauce for this dish. It is marinated for 30-60 minutes to bring out the depth and intensity of flavors. Daeji bulgogi can be grilled or pan-cooked and it is usually served with a side of lettuce, spinach, or other leafy vegetable,  which is used to wrap a slice of cooked meat.  It is often times wrapped along with a dab of ssamjang, kimchi, or other side dishes, and then eaten as a whole. Korean 101: Daeji means pork in Korean and bulgogi is the word for fire meat, therefore, it translates into pork fire meat. Since kochujang is the base sauce to this dish, it can get spicy in taste.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

1 lb thinly sliced pork (lean & boneless preferred) 3 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp crushed garlic ½ tbsp crushed ginger root 2 tbsp brown sugar 2 tbsp kochujang (red chili pepper paste) 1 tsp red pepper flakes 2 tbsp rice wine (sake) 2 tbsp sesame oil 1 onion

COOKING DIRECTIONS

Combine all the ingredients except pork to make its base marinating sauce. Stir in a large mixing bowl. Add the pork and marinate for 30-60 minutes. Grill or pan-fry and serve with steamed rice.

Buldak Hot & Spicy Chicken

Buldak is a spicy chicken dish that is becoming very popular amongst the younger generation of Koreans everywhere. Its popularity has been attributed to both its unique flavors and spiciness. Keep in mind, the term bul means fire in Korean and dak is chicken, so it can get quite spicy in taste.

Many restaurants that specialize in buldak have been created due to the growing popularity as this dish is considered fairly new. Also, most restaurants that serve this dish offer various levels of spiciness that one can choose from and there are usually fresh vegetables served with this dish to blend in the taste. Cubed-cut sweet radishes along with salad and onions are usually popular.

An order of buldak can be served on a platter of bite-sized morsels of chicken breasts or sometimes in combinations of wings or drumsticks. While the flavor and degree of hotness differs a little from place to place, it is marinated with a hot & sweet sauce, grilled over an open fire, and then served over a sizzling skillet, topped with cheese as well as various herbs. It’s usually enjoyed as an appetizer while drinking a cold mekju or soju at popular bars or restaurants.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS: CHICKEN PREPARATION

6 chicken drum sticks (de-boned) or 2 chicken breasts 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp traditional corn syrup (substitution honey) 2 tbsp cheong ju (clear rice wine similar to Japanese sake) 1 stalk green onion Black pepper ground to taste Olive oil Roasted sesame seeds (optional)

RECIPE INGREDIENTS: MARINATING SAUCE

3 tbsp kochukaru (red chili pepper flakes) 2 jalapenos ½ cup Korean pear (substitution Asian pear) ¼ onion 3 cloves garlic 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp spicy yellow mustard 1 tbsp sesame oil 1 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp mul yut (substitution honey) 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp sugar

COOKING DIRECTIONS

Rinse chicken drum sticks in cold water and de-done meat with a sharp knife. Cut into 4 even pieces per leg drum -OR- rinse chicken breasts in cold water and cut into bite-size pieces In a large bowl, mix chicken with soy sauce, sugar, mul yut (substitution honey), cheong ju and ground pepper. Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Puree all marinating sauce ingredients together in a blender. Once completed, leave aside for later use. On a non-stick frying pan or skillet, cook prepared chicken over medium heat until meat is just short of desired completion. Take out chicken only and leave excess ingredients in frying pan or skillet. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix chicken with blended sauce from steps 2 & 3. In the same frying pan or skillet, add olive oil to taste and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes in medium high heat. Serve hot on plate.

Gim-Bop Korean Style Sushi Roll

Gimbop is considered one of the most popular and nutritious Korean meal. It consists of rice and strips of vegetables, egg, and meat, rolled in laver (dried seaweed) and sliced. This is a popular snack or lunch that can be made with infinite variety of ingredients, using different kinds of meat and/or vegetables. Popular ones include bulgogi, spinach, pickled radish, and eggs. At first glance, gimbop often resembles a Japanese maki or a sushi roll. However, there are a few differences between the Japanese sushi roll and the Korean-style gimbop. The main difference is that Japanese sushi rolls are rather minimal in ingredients. Sushi rolls usually consists of just tuna or salmon within the roll whereas gimbop contains a variety of ingredients as mentioned earlier. Also, while the Japanese use raw fish (sashimi) in their sushi rolls, Korean gimbop do not contain any raw fish. Lastly, Japanese sushi is often dipped in wasabi while gimbop usually has sesame oil. Korean 101: Gim refers to the sheets of dried seaweed, and bop is the Korean word for cooked rice.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

1 bunch spinach, steamed 2 carrots, cut in long thin strips 1  yellow pickled radish, cut in long thin strips 2 tbsp vinegar 1 tbsp sugar 1 piece thick sliced ham or Spam, cut in long thin strips and fried 1 egg, fried like omelet and cut in long thin strips 3 cups of cooked rice 1 tbsp sesame seeds 2 tsp sesame oil 1 package roasted seaweed sheets

COOKING DIRECTIONS

Stir fry carrots with salt and pepper. Mix radish with vinegar and sugar. Mix rice with the sesame seeds and sesame oil. Place one seaweed sheet on a bamboo sheet.  Put rice on half of the sheet and add 2 pieces of spinach, 1 carrot strip, 1 radish strip, 1 ham strip, 1 egg strip on top of rice.  Roll in a log and squeeze tight.  Use some rice to stick the seaweed together to keep it rolled. Place a little sesame oil in your hands and rub it on the seaweed roll. Put a little sesame oil on knife to cut roll.