Japchae (potato starch noodles stir-fried with vegetables)

Japchae (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Japchae is a dish of potato starch noodles mixed with various stir-fried vegetables. Japchae is served without fail on holidays and traditional ceremonial days. The name japchae, or sundried vegetables, came about because it is mixed with various vegetables.

Ingredients
● 50g beef (top round), 10g (2 sheets) brown oak mushrooms, 3g Jew’s ear mushrooms

● Seasoning sauce ①: 1.2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp minced green onion, 1/4 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp sesame salt, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 0.1 g ground black pepper

● 1/3 ea cucumber, 1/2 tsp salt, 30 g carrot, 1/8 tsp salt

● 30 g skinned bellflower roots, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 onion

● 30 g mung bean sprouts, 2 cups water, 1/4 tsp salt

● Mung bean sprout seasoning : 0.5 g (1/8 tsp) salt, 2 g (½ tsp) sesame oil

● 60 g (1 ea) egg, 0.5 g (1/8 tsp) salt

● 60 g potato starch noodles, 400 g (2 cups) boiling water

● seasoning sauce ②: 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds, 1/4 tsp salt

● 2 tbsp edible oil

Clean blood off the beef, shred the meat into 6 cm-long, 0.3 cm-wide and thick (45g) portions, then season them with half of the seasoning sauce ①.

Soak the mushrooms in water for about 1 hour, remove stems of brown oak mushrooms and shred it into pieces 0.3 cm wide and thick (28g). Separate Jew’s ear mushrooms by sheet (18g), season them with the remaining half of the seasoning sauce ①.

Wash the cucumber, cut 5~6 cm long and 0.3 cm-thick around, shred 0.3 cm wide (23g). Wash the carrots and skin. Cut and slice them 5~6 cm long and 0.3 cm wide and thick (20g), marinate with salt for 5 min. and dry.

Cut the bellflower roots into the same size as the cucumber (26g), wash it with salt by fumbling for 1 min. to draw out bitter taste. Skin and wash the onion, and shred it to the same size as the cucumber (100g). Remove the heads and tails of mung bean sprouts (26g).

Panfry egg as yellow/white garnish, cut it into 4 cm long and 0.3 cm wide/thick.

Preheat the frying pan and oil. Stir-fry the beef, brown oak mushrooms and Jew’s ear mushrooms for about 2 min. on medium heat.

Preheat the frying pan and oil. Stir-fry the cucumber and carrot respectively for 30 sec. on high heat. Stir-fry the bellflower roots and onion for 2 min. on medium heat.

Pour water in the pot, heat it up for 2 min. on high heat. When it boils, scald mung bean sprouts with salt for 2 min., drain water through a strainer (24g), mix it with mung bean sprout seasoning.

Pour water in the pot and heat it up for 2 min. on high heat. When it boils, add potato starch noodles and boil it for 8 min. Take out the noodles and drain water, cut strands into 20 cm long and mix with seasoning sauce ②.

Preheat the frying pan and oil. Stir-fry the noodles for 2 min. on medium heat.

Mix everything together and top with yellow/white garnish.

Tips
● To get the better quality and better color, all ingredients for this dish should be fried quickly on high heat.

● Pork, spinach and oyster mushrooms may be used as substitute ingredients for this dish.

(Adapted from the Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Chuseok planner

Pairing Chuseok dishes with green tea and handling leftovers


With a mere week left till the nation celebrates one of South Korea’s biggest annual holidays, the time has come to start gathering the necessary ingredients needed to prepare traditional dishes for the ancestral “jesa” table next Sunday morning.

By now, Chuseok gifts have begun to trickle in. Generally food-related and seasonal, these packages range from precious rows of pine mushrooms redolent of early autumn to neatly arranged slabs of much-coveted hanwoo (Korean beef) to near-translucent orbs of dried persimmons covered in a white, sweet frost.

Most of these delectable offerings will be used to whip up those Chuseok goodies. Yet, what to do with the remaining bits and pieces?

Haap owner-chef Sin Yong-il and Lotte Hotel Seoul’s Korean restaurant Mugunghwa provide simple recipes for those precious leftover ingredients, while Ujeon Green Tea master Kim Dong-gon pairs teas with Chuseok delicacies.

Brew match

In Korea, tea generally refers to the green version of the brew made from Camellia sinensis leaves.

The cultivation of tea first began when it arrived from Tang Dynasty China around 1,000 years ago, during the Unified Silla Period, and Hadong County in South Gyeongsang Province, was one of the first regions where tea was planted.

Ssanggye Tea Company CEO Kim Dong-gon ― appointed the 28th Korean Food Grand Master by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries ― hails from the region, where he grows and produces around 50 varieties of tea and tisanes.

Kim is most famous for his mastery of ujeon green tea. Ujeoncha (“cha” means “tea” in Korean) is made from the first flush (earliest leaves of the tea plant) and is traditionally roasted in a cauldron over an oak wood fire. The tradition of making ujeoncha has been passed down to Kim and it is his expertise in the precious brew that has earned him the Grand Master title.

“This is the earliest, when tea leaves are their most fragrant and delicious,” said Kim, 64, in a phone interview, adding that the resulting ujeoncha is “soft, aromatic and lingers long on the palate.”

Ssanggye Tea Company CEO Kim Dong-gon conducts a tea ceremony. (Ssanggye Tea Company)

For pairing with dried persimmons, Kim recommends jakseolcha as a reasonably-priced match. Harvested when still tender, after ujeoncha during the same period as “sejak” tea, the leaves of jakseolcha are believed to resemble the shape of a sparrow’s tongue.

Kim suggests pairing jookro with songpyeon (filled rice cakes served during Chuseok). Jookro, according to Kim, is made from leaves that have been raised on the dew of bamboo and harvested in mid-May.

For meat and jeon (Korean pancakes), Sejak tea ― which is harvested and made after Ujeon ― is a recommended accompaniment.

‘Haap’-style tteok galbi

Owner-chef Sin Yong-il of tteok cafe Haap says tteok galbi is a good way to use up leftover chestnuts, jujubes and meat from Chuseok. Even if the peeled, raw chestnuts served during the holiday have browned a bit, it is okay, says Sin, because everything gets minced and mixed together and spiced up with some tasty seasonings.

Ingredients for tteok galbi:

- 400 g beef from the ribs (or any kind of leftover beef)

― 25 g Asian pear juice

― 4 finely chopped chestnuts

― 4 finely chopped jujubes

― 5 g sticky rice powder

― Tteok for the center

Ingredients for seasoning:

― 2 tbsp soy sauce

― 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic

― 2 tbsp finely chopped green onions

― 2 tbsp sugar

― Honey to coat the tteok galbi

Directions:
1. Finely chop the chestnuts and jujubes.

2. Prepare the Asian pear juice.

3. Make the seasoning by finely chopping the garlic and green onions and mixing it with soy sauce and sugar.

4. Trim about 80 percent of the fat off the rib meat and mince.

5. Mix together with seasoning sauce, kneading it like dough.

6. Make globe-shaped patties, putting nubs of rice cake in the center and then molding it over, ideally so that the tteok sticks out of the side of each patty a little bit; 400 grams should make approximately 8 patties.

7. Coat each patty with a little bit of honey.

8. First cook the outside of the patties over medium heat in a frying pan before transferring to the oven and baking at 170 degrees Celsius for about 7 to 8 minutes, adjusting as needed depending on the size of the patties.

9. Coat patties in remaining honey and serve.

Pine mushroom rice in stone pot
Lotte Hotel Seoul’s Korean restaurant Mugunghwa serves up rice cooked in stone pot, topped with fragrant slices of the autumnal delicacy ― pine mushrooms. The rice is paired with a special pine mushroom soy-based sauce that is meant to be mixed in with the rice and enjoyed.

Ingredients for the pine mushroom rice:

― 200 g soaked white rice

― 170 g water

― 2 g pine nuts

― 4 g peeled gingko biloba nuts

― 5 g cleaned pine mushrooms

― A little sesame seed oil

Directions:
1. First make the pine mushroom sauce by mixing four parts water to two parts soy sauce and one part sugar. Ratio-wise, you will need one stalk of large green onion, one peeled onion and black pepper to taste for approximately three liters of the sauce (should you choose to make that much). Bring all ingredients to boil in a pot and then lower to medium heat and let cook for about five minutes. After the sauce cools, strain out the onion and green onion, and add finely chopped stems of pine mushrooms. Allow the sauce to pickle for a day in the refrigerator.

2. Put all ingredients for the pine mushroom rice, except for the pine mushrooms, in a stone pot and then boil at high heat for 12 minutes. Then cook at low heat for five more minutes. Turn off heat, add chopped pine mushrooms, close lid again and let the mushrooms steam for an additional five minutes.

How to pick prepare pine mushrooms:
Mugunghwa chef de cuisine Chun Duk-sang provides tips on selecting and washing pine mushrooms.

Chun recommends looking for mushrooms with small, closed caps, a sign that it has retained its moisture, he says.

When prepping the mushrooms, Chun says to gently trim off the outside of the lower two-thirds of the stalk, which have been in the dirt, and then to chop off a bit of the bottom of the stem. Then he says to take a kitchen towel and gently wipe the top of the mushroom and the remaining upper, untrimmed part of the stem. Finally, rinse the pine mushroom lightly in running water.

Details
Haap, which opened a new cafe near the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Itaewon-dong, is selling boxed tteok. Owner-chef Sin Yong-il says tteok packaged in boxes made with wood from the royal foxglove are popular Chuseok gifts. A new addition to the menu is injeolmi, which Sin makes super-soft, then cuts and coats it in various flavors to order.

Haap Namsan Cafe; 2F, 231-36 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul; (070) 7532-4819; www.haap01.com; open noon to 9 p.m. daily (call in advance)

Mugunghwa will be open during Chuseok and is currently serving special pine mushroom dishes.

Mugunghwa; 38F, Lotte Hotel Seoul, 30, Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul; (02) 317-7061; open 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)

Chuseok planner

Pairing Chuseok dishes with green tea and handling leftovers


With a mere week left till the nation celebrates one of South Korea’s biggest annual holidays, the time has come to start gathering the necessary ingredients needed to prepare traditional dishes for the ancestral “jesa” table next Sunday morning.

By now, Chuseok gifts have begun to trickle in. Generally food-related and seasonal, these packages range from precious rows of pine mushrooms redolent of early autumn to neatly arranged slabs of much-coveted hanwoo (Korean beef) to near-translucent orbs of dried persimmons covered in a white, sweet frost.

Most of these delectable offerings will be used to whip up those Chuseok goodies. Yet, what to do with the remaining bits and pieces?

Haap owner-chef Sin Yong-il and Lotte Hotel Seoul’s Korean restaurant Mugunghwa provide simple recipes for those precious leftover ingredients, while Ujeon Green Tea master Kim Dong-gon pairs teas with Chuseok delicacies.

Brew match

In Korea, tea generally refers to the green version of the brew made from Camellia sinensis leaves.

The cultivation of tea first began when it arrived from Tang Dynasty China around 1,000 years ago, during the Unified Silla Period, and Hadong County in South Gyeongsang Province, was one of the first regions where tea was planted.

Ssanggye Tea Company CEO Kim Dong-gon ― appointed the 28th Korean Food Grand Master by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries ― hails from the region, where he grows and produces around 50 varieties of tea and tisanes.

Kim is most famous for his mastery of ujeon green tea. Ujeoncha (“cha” means “tea” in Korean) is made from the first flush (earliest leaves of the tea plant) and is traditionally roasted in a cauldron over an oak wood fire. The tradition of making ujeoncha has been passed down to Kim and it is his expertise in the precious brew that has earned him the Grand Master title.

“This is the earliest, when tea leaves are their most fragrant and delicious,” said Kim, 64, in a phone interview, adding that the resulting ujeoncha is “soft, aromatic and lingers long on the palate.”

Ssanggye Tea Company CEO Kim Dong-gon conducts a tea ceremony. (Ssanggye Tea Company)

For pairing with dried persimmons, Kim recommends jakseolcha as a reasonably-priced match. Harvested when still tender, after ujeoncha during the same period as “sejak” tea, the leaves of jakseolcha are believed to resemble the shape of a sparrow’s tongue.

Kim suggests pairing jookro with songpyeon (filled rice cakes served during Chuseok). Jookro, according to Kim, is made from leaves that have been raised on the dew of bamboo and harvested in mid-May.

For meat and jeon (Korean pancakes), Sejak tea ― which is harvested and made after Ujeon ― is a recommended accompaniment.

‘Haap’-style tteok galbi

Owner-chef Sin Yong-il of tteok cafe Haap says tteok galbi is a good way to use up leftover chestnuts, jujubes and meat from Chuseok. Even if the peeled, raw chestnuts served during the holiday have browned a bit, it is okay, says Sin, because everything gets minced and mixed together and spiced up with some tasty seasonings.

Ingredients for tteok galbi:

- 400 g beef from the ribs (or any kind of leftover beef)

― 25 g Asian pear juice

― 4 finely chopped chestnuts

― 4 finely chopped jujubes

― 5 g sticky rice powder

― Tteok for the center

Ingredients for seasoning:

― 2 tbsp soy sauce

― 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic

― 2 tbsp finely chopped green onions

― 2 tbsp sugar

― Honey to coat the tteok galbi

Directions:
1. Finely chop the chestnuts and jujubes.

2. Prepare the Asian pear juice.

3. Make the seasoning by finely chopping the garlic and green onions and mixing it with soy sauce and sugar.

4. Trim about 80 percent of the fat off the rib meat and mince.

5. Mix together with seasoning sauce, kneading it like dough.

6. Make globe-shaped patties, putting nubs of rice cake in the center and then molding it over, ideally so that the tteok sticks out of the side of each patty a little bit; 400 grams should make approximately 8 patties.

7. Coat each patty with a little bit of honey.

8. First cook the outside of the patties over medium heat in a frying pan before transferring to the oven and baking at 170 degrees Celsius for about 7 to 8 minutes, adjusting as needed depending on the size of the patties.

9. Coat patties in remaining honey and serve.

Pine mushroom rice in stone pot
Lotte Hotel Seoul’s Korean restaurant Mugunghwa serves up rice cooked in stone pot, topped with fragrant slices of the autumnal delicacy ― pine mushrooms. The rice is paired with a special pine mushroom soy-based sauce that is meant to be mixed in with the rice and enjoyed.

Ingredients for the pine mushroom rice:

― 200 g soaked white rice

― 170 g water

― 2 g pine nuts

― 4 g peeled gingko biloba nuts

― 5 g cleaned pine mushrooms

― A little sesame seed oil

Directions:
1. First make the pine mushroom sauce by mixing four parts water to two parts soy sauce and one part sugar. Ratio-wise, you will need one stalk of large green onion, one peeled onion and black pepper to taste for approximately three liters of the sauce (should you choose to make that much). Bring all ingredients to boil in a pot and then lower to medium heat and let cook for about five minutes. After the sauce cools, strain out the onion and green onion, and add finely chopped stems of pine mushrooms. Allow the sauce to pickle for a day in the refrigerator.

2. Put all ingredients for the pine mushroom rice, except for the pine mushrooms, in a stone pot and then boil at high heat for 12 minutes. Then cook at low heat for five more minutes. Turn off heat, add chopped pine mushrooms, close lid again and let the mushrooms steam for an additional five minutes.

How to pick prepare pine mushrooms:
Mugunghwa chef de cuisine Chun Duk-sang provides tips on selecting and washing pine mushrooms.

Chun recommends looking for mushrooms with small, closed caps, a sign that it has retained its moisture, he says.

When prepping the mushrooms, Chun says to gently trim off the outside of the lower two-thirds of the stalk, which have been in the dirt, and then to chop off a bit of the bottom of the stem. Then he says to take a kitchen towel and gently wipe the top of the mushroom and the remaining upper, untrimmed part of the stem. Finally, rinse the pine mushroom lightly in running water.

Details
Haap, which opened a new cafe near the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Itaewon-dong, is selling boxed tteok. Owner-chef Sin Yong-il says tteok packaged in boxes made with wood from the royal foxglove are popular Chuseok gifts. A new addition to the menu is injeolmi, which Sin makes super-soft, then cuts and coats it in various flavors to order.

Haap Namsan Cafe; 2F, 231-36 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul; (070) 7532-4819; www.haap01.com; open noon to 9 p.m. daily (call in advance)

Mugunghwa will be open during Chuseok and is currently serving special pine mushroom dishes.

Mugunghwa; 38F, Lotte Hotel Seoul, 30, Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul; (02) 317-7061; open 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)

Eobok-jaengban (boiled meat platter)

Eobok-jaengban (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Eobok-jaengban is a dish made of clear beef broth with pressed brisket, ox tongue, vegetables such as mushrooms, and buckwheat noodles on a brass platter. This dish is served and eaten while simmering. Originally, eobok-jaengban used cheap cuts of meat instead of lean meat in the northern area of Korea.

● 600g gristle (from knee bone of cattle), 200 g ox-tongue, 4 cups precleaning water

● 200 g beef (brisket)

● 17 cups boiling water

● fragrant seasoning : 1 head green onion, 1 head garlic

● 15 g clear soy sauce, 2 g salt

● 25 g brown oak mushrooms

● 150 g agaric mushrooms : 2 1/2 cup water,1/2 tsp salt

● seasoning :1 tsp salt, 2 tsp sesame oil

● 2 eggs, 5 cups boiling water, 1 tsp salt

● 1/4 ea pear, 1 tbsp pine nuts

● 100 g buckwheat noodles, 4 cups boiling water, 1 cup additional boiling water

● seasoning sauce:

- 2 1/2 tbsp clear soy sauce, 1 tsp coarse red pepper powder

- 1 tbsp minced green onion, 1/2 tbsp minced garlic

- 1 tsp sesame salt, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1. Soak the gristle and ox-tongue in water for 3-4 hours to draw out the blood.

2. Clean the beef. Trim the green onion and garlic, wash and make fragrant seasoning.

3. Soak brown oak mushrooms in water for 1 hour, remove the stems, wipe dry and shred.

4. Remove tops of the pine nuts and clean them.

5. Blend the seasoning and prepare the seasoning sauce.

6. Pour the precleaning water in the pot and heat. When it boils, add the gristle and ox-tongue, boil them for 5 minutes. Discard the boiling water and pour fresh water into the pot. Heat it up for 10 minutes. on high heat. When it boils, lower the heat to medium and simmer for 3 hours While simmering, skim off the foam and fat that floats to the top. Add fragrant seasoning and beef, simmer for another hour.

7. Take the beef from the pot, slice it finely, and season with half of the seasoning. Cool down the broth, filter through a cotton cloth, skim the fat off, season with diluted clear soy sauce and salt to make the broth.

8. Pour water in the pot and heat it up for 2 minutes. on high heat. When it boils, put the agaric mushrooms and scald for 1 minutes tear into 1cm pieces and season with the remaining seasoning.

9. Put water, salt and eggs in the pot, heat it up for 5 minutes. on high heat. When it boils, lower the heat to medium, boil for another 12 minutes. Put the eggs into cold water, and then peel off the shell, cut into 1 cm-thick rounds. Peel the pear, shred it into 0.5 cm-thick.

10. Pour water in the pot and heat. When it boils, add the noodles. When it boils again, add 100 ml of water. When it boils again, add 100 ml of water. After additional boiling for 30 sec. take the noodles out, rinse them in cold water using your hands to ensure they are thoroughly rinsed.

11. Place seasoned meat, mushrooms, eggs, pear, pine nuts and noodles in the simmering pot, add the broth. Heat it up for 3 min. on high heat. When it boils, lower the heat to medium, simmer for 10 min. Serve with seasoning sauce.

Tips

This is a dish to enjoy while still bubbling.

(Adapted from the Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Tteokjjim: (braised stuffed rice cakes)

Tteokjjim (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

“Tteokjjim” is a dish of rice cakes, beef and vegetables braised with seasonings. It is said that in the olden days, the court kitchen ladies prepared tteokjjim for the king, who lacked physical exercise and sometimes suffered from indigestion, because it was thought to ease stomach troubles.

Ingredients

● 300 g bar of white rice cake, sesame soy sauce: 1/2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil

● 40 g beef (top round)

● 100 g beef (shank), 4 cups water

● seasoning sauce ①: 1 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp, minced green onion, 1/4 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp sesame salt, 0.1 g ground black pepper, 1 tsp sesame oil

● 60g carrot, 2 cups water, 1/4 tsp salt

● 4 ea chestnut, 1 sheet brown oak mushrooms

● 1 tsp pine nuts, 4 ea jujube, 12 ea gingko

● 1 ea egg, 15 g watercress, 1 tsp wheat flour, 1 tsp edible oil

● seasoning sauce ②: 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tbsp minced green onion, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp sesame salt, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

Cut the white rice cake into 6 cm long pieces, and put four deep slits in each, taking care not to cut all the way through. Season with sesame soy sauce.

Clean the beef, mince finely and season with half of seasoning sauce ①.

Cut the carrot into 2.5 cm squares and trim the edges. Skin the chestnuts. Stir-fry the gingko and skin. Soak brown oak mushrooms in water for about an hour, remove stems, wipe dry and cut it into 2-4 pieces.

Remove tops of the pine nuts, wipe the nuts clean with a dry cloth. Clean the jujube, cut the flesh and roll up.

Fry the egg for a yellow and white garnish. Fry watercress after coating with wheat flour and beaten egg, then cut into 2 cm pieces.

Insert the seasoned beef into the slits of the rice cakes.

Put the shank and water in the pot and put on high heat. When it boils, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30 min. Take out the meat and cut into thin 2 cm slices. Mix with the remaining half of the seasoning sauce ①. Strain the broth through a cotton cloth.

Pour water in the pot and heat it up for 2 min on high heat. When it boils, add salt and scald the carrot for 2 min.

Put the shank, carrot, chestnuts, brown oak mushrooms, broth and half of the seasoning sauce ② in the pot. Boil it for 5 min on high heat, add the rice cakes, jujube and remainder of seasoning sauce ②, reduce the heat to medium and boil for 13 minutes. Add the gingko and pine nuts.

Place in a dish, garnish with strips of egg and fried watercress.

Tips

● If the rice cake has dried hard, scald it in boiled water to soften it.

● Do not put the rice cakes in the pot from the beginning, or they may disintegrate.

(Adapted from the Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Trendy in Beijing, mala xiangguo

Restaurant serves fiery, fragrant Sichuanese dish

Mala xiangguo ― a Sichuanese dish that is all the rage in Beijing ― lives up to its name.

According to Mala Xiangguo owner-chef Ko Young-yun, “ma” means “tongue-numbing.” “la” means “spicy.” “xiang” means “fragrant” and “delicious;” and “guo” means “pot.”

In short, mala xiangguo is an incredibly fiery, delectable jumble of ingredients served up in a large pot.

Mala xiangguo — a Sichuanese dish that is popular in Beijing — combines chilies, peppercorns, medicinal herbs, long strips of bean curd skin, chewy noodles, vegetables and other ingredients for a fiery, fragrant experience. (Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald)

The version served at Ko’s hanok-housed Chinese restaurant in Tongin-dong, Seoul, achieves an addictive combination of fire and fragrance with Sichuan peppercorns, various dried chili peppers and 18 Asian medicinal herbs.

A total of 14 ingredients ― long strips of bean curd skin, glassy, chewy noodles, lotus root and more ― form the base of this hodge-podge dish.

The dish is available mild, medium or hot (mild is recommended for newcomers), and if the basic 14 ingredients are not enough, meat, vegetables and other ingredients can be added for an additional charge.

Once all the decision-making is over, two to three (one order is huge) can gather round the table with bowls of glistening, white rice and dig in. Chopsticks work nimbly to remove peppercorns and chili peppers from fried shrimp (all tangy and chewy), cloud ear mushrooms and cabbage.

Any attempt to avoid the inevitable numbing, burning sensation that envelops one’s tongue is futile. It is all part of the experience, and though the spiciness of the dish might give one reason to pause, it is so delicious that one cannot help but continue to dip into that big pot at the center of the table.

The furnace-like blast of the chilies and peppercorns, the pungent fragrances of star anise and cinnamon, coupled together with the crunch and chew of noodles and vegetables are what make mala xiangguo such a pleasure to eat.

Mala xiangguo fever first hit Beijing about five to six years ago, according to owner-chef Ko, who was staying there at the time.

A restaurant chain opened in the city and people would line up for a taste of the dish. Ko wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

“It was so tasty,” the 37-year-old chef said of the first time she tried mala xiangguo.

After completing her culinary studies in Beijing, Ko ― armed with a certificate in Chinese cuisine ― headed home to open Mala Xiangguo in Seoul with her sister.

Located in Tongin-dong, Seoul, Mala Xiangguo serves up its namesake Sichuanese dish in a quiet, serene hanok. (Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald)

The restaurant opened last year.

Business was slow in the beginning, but “some people who had been to China and missed mala xiangguo” found out about the place and started coming.

Now, customers gather in pairs or trios around tables, adding an order of lamb to the dish or some other delicacy, a huge bottle of beer to help stave off the heat, and bowls of rice.

The spiciness of the dish makes long, relaxed meals a must, as patrons slowly eat, chatting and cooling off before taking another bite.

Under the dwindling rays of the sun, in a quiet corner of street, it all works: the good food, good company and good conversation.

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)

Mala Xiangguo; 147-15, Tongin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul; (02) 723-8653; open from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily; mala xiangguo costs 28,000 won

Cookbook author bends the rules of eating raw

Amber Shea Crawley knows she is eating in a gray area.

While her cookbook “Practically Raw” (Vegan Heritage Press; $19.95) extols the virtues of eating a plant-based diet, she refuses to get wrapped up in the ethical, moral or political aspects of a strict raw vegan diet.

“Eating raw food is not a black-or-white decision, but rather a matter of proportions,” Crawley states in the introductory chapter. “Every raw snack, side dish, or meal you add to your day will benefit your body.”

“Practically Raw” by Amber Shea Crawley features raw recipes for anyone, including this zucchini hummus. (Kansas City Star/MCT)

A more relaxed approach is catching on as a growing number of raw vegans embrace an “80/20” diet ― 80 percent raw and 20 percent cooked foods. “I kind of cheat on the whole idea of raw, but the point is you’re using unprocessed ingredients,” Crawley says in an interview. “And I don’t see anything wrong with using a conventional oven.”

While vegans avoid all animal byproducts, including eggs and dairy, vegan raw foodists also avoid cooking their food. That means consuming fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts in their unprocessed state with the goal of preserving maximum nutrition.

There is disagreement as to whether foods that are not heated above 118 degrees Fahrenheit contain more enzymes and are therefore healthier, but even mainstream nutrition experts agree that adding more whole foods to the American diet is a good thing.

There’s a fair amount of rigidity over what constitutes a vegan diet. Crawley declares in her book that readers are entering a judgment-free zone with plenty of flexibility.

“Who am I to say that locally or organically raised meat is wrong if someone has gone about it in an ethical way?”

Crawley, 27, graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in linguistics. She started eating a raw diet when she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, a disorder that affects the thyroid. Since 2008, Crawley has been blogging about her culinary journey at almostveganchef.com. In 2010, she graduated from the Matthew Kenney Academy in Oklahoma City as a certified raw and vegan chef.

Today Crawley considers herself 99 percent vegan, but she doesn’t expect everyone to eat the way she eats, nor is she offended by people who occasionally eat meat, eggs or dairy. She insists her flexible approach is attracting a more mainstream audience interested in eating for health and longevity.

Still, eating more raw foods can be a time-consuming proposition that includes straining nut milks, mixing alternative flours and sprouting seeds to make bread. The 140-plus recipes in “Practically Raw” ― everything from Flaxjacks With Miso-Maple Butter to Mushroom-Nut Burgers to Almond-Butter-Banana Ice Cream ― are designed to be quicker, easier and more affordable in terms of time and money.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, used to “bake” or evaporate liquids from foods, look for recipes in her cookbook marked “CO,” or made in a conventional oven.

If you’re in a rush to get food to the table in 30 minutes or less, choose a recipe marked “<30.” Those recipes take shortcuts like using cooked whole grain noodles instead of “spiralized” zucchini, a type of faux noodle made by turning zucchini or other vegetables through an inexpensive gadget known as a spiralizer.

If you don’t have macadamia nuts on hand or can’t afford them, substitute cashews or another nut listed in the substitution list that follows each recipe.

Recently, Crawley walked me through a few introductory recipes, starting with Zucchini Hummus. Surprisingly, Crawley is not a big fan of the summer squash, which she describes as “slimy.” But when she pulverizes it in a high-speed blender or food processor, the texture she finds off-putting is transformed into a creamy dip.

Instead of raw tahini, Crawley prefers the flavor of roasted sesame seed paste, even though it has been processed. The texture is creamy and smooth, but also lighter than traditional hummus made from chickpeas. Agave nectar is the only ingredient that might seem the least bit foreign to the average supermarket shopper. It can usually be found in the health food aisle.

Next Crawley spoons chia porridge that has been setting up in the refrigerator overnight into a bowl. The gray mixture resembles tapioca. Chia seeds are one of nature’s super foods, packed with protein, fiber, omega-3 essential fatty acids, protective antioxidants and phytonutritents.

A former marathon runner, Crawley first read about chia seeds in an article on the 2009 book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. McDougall researched and wrote about Aztec long-distance runners who relied on chia seeds for fuel.

“Somebody said something about it ... probably Dr. Oz,” Crawley says. “It’s just funny how it started suddenly flying off the shelves, but there’s nothing else like it.”

Chia seeds have taken over where flax seeds’ popularity left off. Flax seeds contain phytoestrogens, a compound that has been associated with breast cancer. When the chia seeds are mixed with water, they turn into a gel-like paste that can be used as an egg or fat substitute in baking.

Crawley combines almond milk, 2 tablespoons chia seeds (“it blows up when it gets in contact with liquid. A little goes a long way”), pitted dates, cinnamon and a pinch of sea salt in a high speed blender or food processor then places it in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day the porridge has a loose consistency, but it’s cold, not typically what I think of when I hear the word porridge. I can’t help but wonder aloud how it would taste hot. Crawley says the almond milk would probably break down and affect the overall flavor profile.

Crawley is working on a manuscript for her second book, “Practically Raw Desserts,” also by Vegan Heritage Press. “Sweets are one of my favorite things,” she says.

She originally developed her Famous Five-Minute Blondies for a recipe video contest. For her efforts, she won $5,000, and the recipe has become her most popular blog post ever, she says.

Traditional blondies are made from wheat flour, milk and eggs. But Crawley combines macadamia nuts, walnuts and coconut palm sugar in a food processer to create a coarsely ground mixture. She adds vanilla extract, salt and dates, pulsing until the mixture is sticky but well-incorporated. She transfers the mixture to an 8-inch square pan and packs it down tightly before storing in the freezer.

Before serving, Crawley garnishes the just-from-the freezer blondie squares with raw cocoa nibs and fresh raspberries.

Crawley is proud that “Practically Raw” has received 38 five-star reviews on amazon.com., but a month before her nuptials she is still looking for someone who can make the multi-tiered raw vegan wedding cake of her dreams.

“My fianc is more vegan than me now,” she says, “and he ate meat when we met.”

By Jill Wendholt Silva

(The Kansas City Star)

(MCT Information Services)

Sujeonggwa, (cinnamon punch with dried persimmons)

Sujeonggwa (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Sujeonggwa is a cinnamon punch made by soaking cinnamon and ginger in water. The liquid is mixed with sugar and boiled, then garnished with dried persimmons and pine nuts. Sujeonggwa means ‘cookies in water.’ To enjoy the real sujeonggwa taste, drink it as you would sweet honey and cold ice.

Ingredients

● 200 g ginger, 10 cups water

● 120 g un-spilt cinnamon, 10 cups water

● 1 cup light brown sugar, 1 1/3 cups sugar

● 5 ea dried persimmons, 10 ea walnut

● 5 g pine nuts

1. Skin the ginger (160 g) and cut it into 0.3 cm pieces. Wash unspilt cinnamon, cut it into half if it is too long.

2. Remove stalks of dried persimmons, slit one side with knife and make it flat strip (185 g).

3. Soak the walnuts in warm water for 5 min, skin (45 g). Put the walnut on the flat dried persimmons and roll it up, cut it into 1 cm-thick. (200 g, 20 pieces).

4. Remove tops of the pine nuts and wipe the nuts.

5. Put water and ginger in the pot, heat it up for 9 minutes on high heat. When it boils, reduce the heat to medium, boil it for 1 hour, strain through a cotton cloth.

6. Put water and cinnamon in the pot, heat it up for 9 minutes on high heat. When it boils, reduce the heat to medium, boil it for 1 hour, strain through a cotton cloth.

7. Pour ginger liquid and cinnamon liquid in the pot, add light brown sugar and white sugar, heat it up for 12 minutes. on high heat. When it boils, reduce the heat to medium, boil it for another 10 min. Cool it down, and top with persimmons and pine nuts.

Tips
● Ginger and cinnamon may be boiled together, but separate boiling will save each taste and smell.

● Un-spilt dried persimmons may be topped, instead of chestnut wrapped in persimmons.

(Adapted from the Institute of Traditional Korean Food)