Cooking Classes in Pullman: Session 6: Korean Cooking

We were lucky to have a guest teacher who taught us how to make authentic dishes from the Korean cuisine. Myung Joo, our teacher, was wonderful and at the end of the class we not only enjoyed a bounty of Korean dishes but were also inspired to try cooking the dishes at home.

We started with making corn-barley tea. The corn and barley we used was toasted and we boiled it in water for about 20 minutes. You can get toasted corn and barley at a Korean/Asian grocery store and if you do not have a Korean grocery store in your area, use normal corn and barley and toast it in a skillet over low heat until the grains turn quite dark.

Toasted corn and barley

Corn and Barley tea

Here are the recipes for all the dishes we learnt to make.

Pajun (Korean savory pancakes)

For the Pajun (Pajeon):

2 cups Korean pancake mix (if you can't find this use the recipe below to make your own)
2 cups water
1 ½ tsp. sea salt
1 cup shredded potatoes
1 cup shredded carrots
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced julienne
1 small zucchini, sliced julienne
1 bunch green onions, cut in 1 in. sections
Pepper to taste
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Vegetable oil for cooking

For the Dipping Sauce:

½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
¼ cup water
1 Tb. rice vinegar
2 Tb. sugar
1 Tb. sesame oil
1 minced garlic clove
1 tsp. sesame seeds
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper

Directions:

Place all the dipping sauce ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. Whisk and warm in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, just long enough for the sugar to dissolve. Whisk again and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the pancake mix and water. Set the batter aside to rest.
Preheat two non-stick skillets to medium high heat. Slice all the veggies julienne (long thin strips). Add pepper to taste. If the batter still seems very thick, add 2-3 tablespoons of water and mix well.
Now add a little oil to each skillet and swirl around. Ladle enough batter into each skillet to completely cover the bottom. cover the pancake with layers of all the julienned veggies. Put 3-4 T beaten egg on top of the veggies. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the bottom is almost crisp and then flip the pancake. Cook until cooked.
Repeat with remaining batter. *Using two 12 inch skillets, you should have enough batter to make 4 large pancakes.
Cut the Korean pancakes into wedges and serve warm with the dipping sauce.

Tracy enjoys the pancake while Tom waits for her opinion

To make your own Pancake batter, mix the following:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1t baking powder
1 t garlic powder
1t salt
1 ½ cups water
1 large egg

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Kimchi Recipe

Ingredients

· 1 medium napa cabbage (about 2-3 pounds)

· 1/4 cup salt

· 1 bunch green onions (sliced into 1 inch pieces)

· 4 cloves garlic (crushed)

· 1 inch ginger (grated and squeezed to extract the juice)

· 1/4 cup gochugaru (Korean red chili flakes)

· 2 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce for a vegetarian version)

Directions:

1. Cut the napa cabbage in half, remove the core and slice the cabbage into 1 inch wide strips.

2. Place a layer of cabbage into a large bowl and sprinkle some salt onto the cabbage. Repeat until all of the cabbage is in the bowl and salted.

3. Let the cabbage sit in the salt for a few hours. It will wilt considerably and look like this.

4. Rinse the salt from the cabbage.

5. Mix the garlic, ginger juice, gochugaru, and fish sauce in a small bowl and add it to the cabbage.

6. Put on your food-safe gloves and rub the spices into the cabbage.

7. The Kimchi can be eaten at this stage like a salad or you can place the Kimchi container in the refrigerator and ferment for 2-3 days for an authentic experience.

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Japche

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Korean sweet potato noodles

• 2 oz beef, 1t soy sauce, 1 clove garlic

• 1 bunch of spinach

• 1 medium size carrot

• 1 medium size onion

• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms

• 3 cloves of garlic

• 6 green onions

• soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and sesame seeds

1. Soak noodles in water.

2. Soak 5 dried shitake mushrooms in warm water for a few hours until they become soft. Squeeze the water out of them and slice thinly. Cut a carrot into thin matchstick-shaped pieces 5 cm long. Cut the green onions into 1 inch long pieces. Slice the onion thinly.

3. Slice the beef into thin strips. Add 1 t soy sauce and 1 clove of crushed garlic and mix well. Set aside.

4. Boil 2 bunches of noodles in boiling water in a big pot for about 5 minutes. When the noodles are soft, drain them and put in a large bowl.

5. Cut the noodles several times by using scissors and add ¼ cup of soy sauce and 2 Tbs of sesame oil. Taste for seasoning and adjust according to your taste. Set aside.

Myung Joo seasoning the noodles

6. In the boiling water, add a bunch of spinach and stir it gently for 1 minute. Then take it out and rinse it in cold water.

7. Add 1 Tbs sesame oil, 1 clove crushed garlic it in a bowl and add the spinach and mix well.

8. In a heated pan, put a few drops of olive oil and your onion and carrot strips and stir it with a spatula for 30 seconds. Put it into the large bowl.

9. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your green onions. Stir for 1 minute and put it into the large bowl.

10. Place a few drops of olive oil in the pan and add your beef strips and your sliced shitake mushrooms. Stir it until it’s cooked well, then add 3 cloves of minced garlic, ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sugar. Stir for another 30 seconds and then put it into the large bowl.

11. Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 3 tbs of sugar, 2 tbs of sesame oil, and 1 ts of ground pepper to the large bowl. Mix all ingredients, then sprinkle 1 tbs of toasted sesame seeds on the top.

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Korean Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients

3 pounds chicken (boneless, skinless thighs work well)
1/ 4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons pineapple sauce (6 pieces of canned pineapple chunks crushed + 3 Tbs juice)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoons freshly grated ginger squeezed to get juice
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small onion chopped fine
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Whisk together the soy, pineapple sauce, honey, ginger juice, garlic, onion, pepper, sesame oil and garlic in a bowl. Add the chicken, turning to coat. Cover and let the meat marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or up to 8 hours.

Chicken with marinade

Chicken after 6 hours

2. Remove the chicken from the marinade, heat a frying pan over medium heat with 2T oil, and cook the chicken, turning the pieces once or twice, until the chicken is properly cooked and the sauce has formed a glaze.