Trying New Korean Dishes

My husband and me both love to eat spicy food and here in Surabaya we found authentic Korean restaurant. What makes it authentic is because the owner is a Korean, so I guess he knows what the food suppose to taste like...

Normally, we like to order the usual stuff such as Bulgogi, Galbi, Jhampong ( Chinese style seafood noddle soup ) etc. But lately I tried to be more adventures and order dishes that I have never tried before. I am not disappointed with them. So far I have not find one that I don't like yet. So I would like to share the recipes on how to make these dishes with you ...


Korean Seasoned Raw Beef ( Yukwe )

This delicately seasoned beef dish is traditionally served with raw egg yolk.

Ingredients per serving:

1/4 lb ( 115g ) beef for tartar steak

1/2 pear
1/2 tsp pine nuts ( optional )
1 egg yolk ( it really taste better to eat this dish with egg yolk so I recommend you to use it! )

2 Tbs Barbecue Sauce A
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp freshly roasted sesame seed ( The emphasize is at the word "freshly roasted" ! )
crushed garlic or for people like me who doesn't like to eat raw garlic too much, you can just slice them thinly on the side.

Barbecue Sauce A:

This is the basic marinade sauce for Bulkogee and Bulkalbee, everything with beef that is. So it pays to make it in large amount, you can always keep them in your fridge and marinade you beef with this sauce and impress the heck out of your friends at your BBQ party! I tried already and I was impress with the result because it does taste like the dishes that I order from Korean Restaurants ( with "s" in plural ).

Ingredients: Makes 4 cups

1/2 medium apple, quartered and sliced ( I prefer Fuji apple )
1 oz ( 30g) ginger root, thinly sliced
1 oz ( 30g) garlic, thinly sliced
2 cups soy sauce
1/2 cup each sake and mirin
1/4 cup water
6 oz ( 170g ) sugar
1 tsp MSG --- this is if you want your dish to taste juuusssttt... like in the restaurant...

How to make the BBQ sauce A:

• Combine all ingredients and cook over high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cook 15 minutes. Reduce heat again and simmer a further 15 minutes: Let stand to cool overnight.
• When ready to use, strain the mixture and add (again) freshly roasted sesame seeds and chopped green onion.
• This plain and mild sauce goes well with simple tasting meats such as beef or chicken.
• Marinate meats no longer than 20 minutes, or they lose tenderness.

How to make Korean Seasoned Raw Beef ( Yukwe ) :

1. Slice beef into 1/8 in ( 0.3 cm ) thickness, then into shreds working parallel to fibers or in other word, make them very thin!!!
2. Toss shredded meat with BBQ sauce A.
3. Cut the pears into fine julienne strips and place on the place. Then top with the meat. It is said that the pears prevent food poisoning when eaten with raw meat. But for me, the sweet taste of the pears does alleviate the sweet taste of the meat! So yes, you can always use more than 1/2 pear for one dish. Use the whole pear if you want ...
4. Make a small heap of meat in center of the plate. Make a "well" on top and pour in egg yolk. You can decorate the yolk with pine nuts or skip it like I do. And if you don't like to eat too much raw garlic you can just use 1/2 tsp of crushed garlic when you mix the meat with the sauce and then thinly slice some garlic for the side.
5. NOTE: Use lean beef such as round steak or sirloin tip. Make sure that it is absolutely fresh.

The other new dish that I tried is Cold Noodle Dish ( Naengmyeon ), what I like about this Korean Restaurant is that they know that Surabaya is soooo hot and everything that at first serve cold will soon turn into luke warm within minutes, so to make sure that the cold dish will stay cold until the last spoon, they make the soup into slushy texture. So for Surabaya's weather, this dish is perfect! Absolute refreshing dish! And if you happen to be pregnant and craving for sour food .... so much the better!!! This dish is sour and cold and not spicy at all. If you like spicier food you can order Korean Cold Noodles With Hot Sauce ( Bibimmyeon ). I tried also and I love it!

The hardest part of making Cold Noodle Dish ( Naengmyeon ) is when you make the broth. It has to be frequently skimmed, strain and then keep it cold first so that you can completely remove all fat! It is easier to just walk to a Korean Restaurant and order it isn't it??? But for you out there who willing to do it, here is the recipe ...

Cold Noodle Dish ( Naengmyeon )
Buckwheat noodles are particularly tasty and refreshing during the hot summer months. They are chewy too so it's fun to eat it.

For 4 serving.

21 oz ( 600g ) dried Korean buckwheat noodles

SOUP:

14 oz (400g ) beef for soup ( Shank, brisket, etc )
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1 oz ( 30g) ginger root, thinly sliced
2 green parts of green onion
1 chili pepper
3 Tbs vinegar
1 1/2 Tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp peppercorns

1 cucumber
salt, 3% weight of cucumber
1 Tbs vinegar
MSG

1/4 daikon radish
Salt, 3% weight of daikon radish
1 Tbs vinegar
1/2 tsp ground chili pepper
1/3 tsp ginger juice
crushed garlic
dash of sugar

2 eggs, hard boiled
2 oz (60g) braised beef ( country style beef )
1/4 apple or pear

Seasoning for soup:

3 tbs vinegar
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp MSG
1 beef bouillon cube

How to make:

1. In saucepan add soup ingredients and 3 quarts ( 3 L ) of water. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat and simmer covered 3 hrs, frequently skimmed. For me, I will use pressure cooker to cut the cooking time in half.
2. Strain through a fine strainer or you can strain the soup with a cloth. The soup has reduced to 7 cups. When it is cooler, keep it cold in the fridge, maybe overnight and then the next day you can take the harden fat out from the soup.
3. Mix the seasonings for soup with the now cleared soup. Keep it very cold.
   
4. Half the cucumber then slice diagonally and sprinkle some salt on the cucumber and let it stand for about 6 minutes then lightly rinse and squeeze out water. Mix in vinegar and MSG.
5. Peel radish and cut into 1/8 in ( 0.3 cm ) thick rectangles. Sprinkle some salt too and let it stand for 6 minutes before you lightly rinse it and squeeze out the water. Then mix in with the remaining seasonings.
6. Cut the apple/pear thinly. Cut the braised beef into 1/4 in ( 0.7cm ) thickness. Halve the hard boiled eggs.
7. In boiling water cook noodles 2 - 3 minutes. Rinse in cold running water to remove gluten, drain. Keep it cold.
8. In a chilled bowl, place noodles, apple, cucumber, daikon radish, sliced beef and boiled egg. Pour over chilled soup, serve with vinegar and mustard on the side if desired.

Information about the Korean Restaurant :

Myeong Ga Restaurant

Sea Master (Food Garden).
Jl. Mayjen Sungkono , Bundaran Tol. Surabaya 60189