ROK Korean Meal

This meal comes from South Korea officially called the Republic of Korea. Rice is the Korean staple, the rest of the meal is built around it. Korean meals are usually served with a lot of side dishes.

The main dish today is bibimbap which could be called a complete meal in itself. A bed of rice is laid in a stone bowl and topped with a variety of flavored toppings like, spinach, mushrooms, sprouts, carrots and squash. In the center is placed a fried egg (I skipped that). All the flavors are mixed together when eaten.  I decided to make a few side dishes to go along with the meal. Buchu namul or garlic chives is a salad. Dubu Buchim Yangnyeom jang is pan fried tofu topped with spices. Gamja Jorim or braised potato is a soy sauce and garlic flavored pan fried potato. Korean meals do not include desserts. Sweet dishes are served on their own or with tea. I made dan pat bbang or bread stuffed with the sweet paste of red azuki beans. All the dishes tasted great but I have a confession. We enjoy meals without gravy or dal but we found this meal too dry. So we mixed in some plain yogurt with the rice.

The new ingredients I used for this meal were Chinese chives and azuki beans. I had never heard of azuki beans before I found the stuffed bread recipe. They are red beans and taste great in sweet dishes. We liked it a lot. The other ingredient Chinese chives did not go down too well. I have used chives before but they are the small ones used as garnish not as the main ingredient. The dish failed miserably. We simply could not eat it. It may have been the recipe or it may have been the way I prepared them. Unfortunately, I had already clicked pictures of the meal with it so I am posting those. But I will not post the failed recipe.

As they say in Korea, mat`ike`deseyo!

Here are the recipes for the dishes on the menu

• Bibimbap (Rice with Carrots, Spinach, Zucchini and Mushrooms) 
• Dubu Buchim Yangnyeom Jang (Spiced Pan Fried Tofu) 
• Gamja Jorim (Braised Potatoes) 
• Buchu Namul (Garlic Chives) (Failed - no recipe)

And for dessert

• Dan Pat Bbang (Bread Stuffed with Red Bean Paste)

Dan Pat Bbang (Bread Stuffed with Red Bean Paste)

Dan Pat Bbang is a sweet Korean stuffed bread. The filling is made from sweetened Azuki beans. This sweet bread was on my wishlist for a very long time. The pinwheel shape of this bread was what I found very attractive so I had to try my hand at making it.

I decided to make it as a dessert with this meal even though Korean meals traditionally do not include desserts. Sweet dishes are served with tea or on their own in between meals.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup red bean paste
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup warm milk
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
Sesame seeds to garnish
Butter to brush on

To make the bean paste soak half a cup of Azuki beans overnight. The next day pressure cook the bean until tender. I pressure cook for 10 minutes, if your pressure cooker has a whistle then cook for 3 whistles. Grind the cooked beans to mash them completely. Combine with a quarter cup of sugar in a pan. Cook the mixture in the pan until it comes together and is almost dry. At this time you should be able to roll it into a ball.

To make the dough combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour the wet ingredients and form a soft dough. Knead the dough well until it is elastic and springs back. Cover keep aside for at least an hour until the dough doubles in volume.

Divide the risen dough into four portions. On a floured surface flatten one portion of dough. Place a forth of the paste in the center.

Fold the edges over the filling to seal it. Flatten the ball of dough with filling and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

When all the portions are stuffed with the filling score each portion with eight cuts. Sprinkle some black sesame seeds in the center. Keep aside for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Brush the tops with butter and bake the bread for 15-20 minutes until the tops are slightly browned.

Enjoy!

Gamja Jorim (Braised Potatoes)

Gamja Jorim is a braised potato recipe that is surprising flavorful. It has the perfect balance of sweet and savory. I made this dish as part of a Korean meal.

This is the dish that my daughter absolutely loved. The potatoes have a sweet and savory taste and are very flavorful. I found the dish a little too sweet.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
2 large potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp black pepper

Dice the potatoes into even cubes. Soak in water for 10 minutes to remove the starch.

Heat oil in a pan and add the cubed potatoes. On medium heat stir infrequently to ensure they do not get brown spots or stick to the bottom. Cut the onions in slices about an inch long. Add onions and minced garlic to the potatoes.

Saute for a few minutes until onions are tender and translucent. Combine the rest of the ingredients and add them to the hot potato mixture. Cook until the sauce coats the potatoes.

Turn off heat.

Dubu Buchim Yangnyeom Jang (Spiced Pan Fried Tofu)

Tofu has gotten a lot of attention in the last decade, some good and some bad. In the countries where tofu is part of the traditional cuisine it is generally eaten in small quantities as part of a meal. I try to keep it that way in my house too. Spiced pan fried tofu is a delightful side dish. If you like tofu then you should try it. I made it as part of a Korean meal but you can make it as a side to noodles.

This dish tastes best when hot.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
7 oz. extra firm tofu
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. honey
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. pepper flakes
2 tbsp. chopped scallion

Cut the tofu into 2 inch cubes. Heat oil in a pan and place the tofu slices in the it. When browned turn over and brown the other side. Drain on a paper towel and keep aside.

Combine all the other ingredients. When you are ready to plate arrange the tofu on the plate and sprinkle the topping all over.

Bibimbap with Carrot, Spinach, Zucchini and Shitake Mushrooms

Bibimbap is a very nice looking and a very tasty main dish. A bed of rice is made in a stone bowl on which are arranged all the mix-ins like carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and spinach. The idea is to mix it all together and eat. I made this dish as part of a Korean meal. As luck would have it this was picked as the recipe for the Daring Bakers challenge for the month of July. Since I had it ready I posted it as is even though it was the star dish of my Korean meal.

This dish was very tasty especially when eaten with some soy sauce and spicy sesame sauce.

To prepare the carrots
You will need
1 carrot
1 tsp. sesame oil
salt and black pepper to taste

Peel the wash the carrots. Heat oil in a pan and saute the carrots until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.

To prepare the zucchini
You will need
1 zucchini
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. scallion greens, chopped
1/2 tsp. sesame seeds
salt and black pepper to taste

Peel and chop the zucchini. Heat oil in a pan and saute the zucchini until cooked through. Season with garlic, scallion, sesame seeds, salt and pepper.

To prepare the mushrooms
You will need
10 shitake mushrooms
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. scallion greens, chopped
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Wipe the mushrooms clean and cut into slices. Heat oil in a pan and saute the mushrooms with the other ingredients until cooked through.

To prepare the spinach
You will need
10 leaves of spinach
1/4 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. scallion greens, chopped
1/2 tsp. sesame seeds
salt and black pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil in a pan. Blanch the spinach for a minute. Drain the water from the spinach. Squeeze the water out of the spinach using a paper towel. Season with the rest of the ingredients.