Today's meal was, once again, made with what I had on hand. That being, a piece of beef, part of a daikon radish, new potatoes from my garden and onions. Plenty for a meat to go with the kimchee I made a few weeks ago. I apologize that I have not had pictures to go with the last few posts, camera is under the weather.I hope to have things back in order very soon. 'T'il then, I hope the recipe will suffice.
This meal is a collaboration of Korean and Japanese foods. In the past, these two countries has serious issues with one another. But their foods can compliment one another.
Cabbage Kimchee
I have tried, and have in my possession, a number of Kimchee recipes. I had never tried this food until a young woman of Korean background lived with us. Purchased Kimchee she found OK but not like she remembered. Her Grandmother always made Kimchee in fall, and stored it in the ground over winter. I do not have that "luxury". The first recipe I made was too vinegery and wasn't very spicy. I finally found a recipe at Saveur.com. Following is my version of their recipe - my version because my son at U of I frogot to bring me the Korean ingredients needed. Still, it is not a bad version. And it is not so vinegery.
1/2c Kosher salt
1 medium Napa cabbage, quartered lengthwise. Leave core intact and discard the outer leaves.
1/2 lb Daikon radish
1/3c dried red chili powder - or to taste. I used New Mexico chili powder and my Kimchee is not very hot, even for me.
1T fish sauce
(recipe calls for salted shrimp, which I did not have. I omitted them and I am sure final product suffers.)
1/2tsp sesame seeds
10 Korean chives cut into 1" pieces. (I did not have chives, let alone Korean chives, so I used Green onions)
5 cloves garlic chopped and mashed into a paste
(3 scallions are called for, I omitted)
(3 sprigs Korean watercress called for. I had no watercress of any kind, so omitted. I did add 1/4tsp peppercorns to give a peppery flavor)
1 11/2" piece ginger finely chopped and mashed.
1/2 large carrot peeled and julienned
1 Asian pear cored and julienned. I had no Asian pear, so I substituted a regular pear - still fairly hard
In a large bowl. combine salt and 3/4 gallon water, stirring until salt dissolves. Add cabbage and massage salt water into the leaves. Be careful not to tear the leaves apart. Drain. Rub an additional 1/8c salt into the leaves all the way down to the root. Put into a large, clean bowl and allow to sit several hours until leaves soften. Rinse well and drain. Set aside.
Beat all remaining ingredients together. Beat well. Take a bit of seasoning paste and rub into leaves.Start with inner leaves and work outward. Repeat with a dash of salt between each layer. Reserve about 1/5 paste. Put cabbage into a very large bowl (a good size jar is recommended. I did not have one to fit the length of the cabbage, and so used a large bowl) Press down on the leaves. Top with reserved paste. Cover with 2 layers of plastic wrap and let kimchee sit at room temp 4 days. NOTE: This recipe does not call for any liquid to cover cabbage. All other reciped I have do. I departed from the Saveur recipe here and added filtered water and vineger (3:1) at the end of the 4 day period.. As a result, my kimchee has a bit of a vinegar flavor. ALSO: remember, this is a fermented product. The reason for the plastic wrap is to allow gasses to escape.
At the end of the 4 days, uncover to release gas. This is where I added the vinegar water. Original recipe does not say to do this . It says to recover and refrigerate 4 days longer before eating. According to Saveur, their version of recipe will keep 6 months. I have had my version in 'fridge 6 weeks now, and flavor id not too sharp yet.
Above are the cabbages,cut. The daikon and spices and the cabbages with spices added.
Korean BBQ Beef
6T say sauce, reduced salt if you prefer
2T vegetable oil
1T seasoned rice venegar
at least 2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
2tsp sesame oil
3/4 lb beef, sliced very thin
Mix liquid ingredients together for marinade. Add sliced beef and marinate at least 1 hour up to 3 hours.
Heat a skillet over high heat. Add beef in single layer. Cook about 2 minutes per side, or to your taste for doneness. do not over cook.
Remove beef to a heated boel for serving. If preferred, add a bit of cornstarch mixed with water and add to leftover marinade along with 1/4tsp salt to make a sauce. Pour over beef.
New Potatoes in a Sauce
This recipe is a take on one from The Japanese Kitchen by Hiroko Shimbo found on p.248
Clean, but do not peel about 12 small new potatoes. Dry well. In order to cook evenly, either be sure all potatoes are the same size, or cut so they are Melt 2T butter in a pan and heat to moderately high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add potatoes and fry, with stirring about 10 minutes until almost tender.
Meanwhile, make a glaze using: 2T saki or a white wine
3T mirin (do not substitute or omit)
1T sugar
11/2T say sauce
Add glaze to potatoes and stir often until potatoes are tender.
Add salt if you prefer. A Japanese garnish might include minced shiso. I have never seen this herb, but it is easily grown from seed. I use parsley, if I really want to garnish.
Sweet Onions
Slice 1 large onion into very thin rings. Saute, over fairly low heat, in 2T butter in a covered pan. Shake pan occasionally. After about 15 minutes, remove lid, stir well and raise heat to medium or medium high. A bit of sugar or wine (maybe 2T wine or 2tsp sugar) can be added to help the carmelization process. Cook about 10-15 minutes until a deep golden brown. Be careful not to burn.
To serve this meal, serve meat and potatoes side by side. Top with grated daikon radish, onions and sauce( if using). This is not a heavy meal, but filling. I have served green beans along with this, also.
