KOREAN: Yang Nyum Jang

My friend’s Korean mother-in-law had a little cooking school for us last weekend, and this sauce was my favorite part of the day. Yang Nyum Jang is a flavorful sauce that can be used on tofu, chicken, or even simply mixed with rice.

2 TBSP minced garlic
2 TBSP chopped green onions
2 tsp roasted sesame seeds
toasted sesame oil
Korean red pepper powder (gochu garu)
soy sauce (Korean soy sauce will taste better in this recipe–it’s not as salty)

1. Mix the garlic and green onions together.
2. Crush the sesame seeds and mix them with the vegetables.
3. Stir in enough sesame oil to get everything wet but not liquefied.
4. Add the red pepper powder.
5. Mix in the soy sauce bit by bit until you reach the desired consistency for the sauce.

KOREAN: Sujaebi

I love, love, loved this dish when I was in Korea. It’s usually made with shellfish in it, but I got the cook at my favorite restaurant to give me her recipe which was made without the little creatures. I finally got around to trying it out this week, and it was fabulous. This recipe is not suited to leftovers though. I apologize to you, Inyoung. When I sampled the leftovers for myself, they didn’t even compare to the fresh bowl I had on Tuesday.

7 cups anchovy or beef broth
1 pound of store-bought sujaebi flakes or torn-up pieces of homemade dough (mix flour and water and make a dough out of it)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 carrot, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 medium potato, sliced
2 green onions, chopped
2 eggs
kim OR nori flakes (seaweed)
sesame seeds

1. Bring the broth to a boil. Drop in your flakes of dough if you’re using homemade ones. If you’re using store-bought flakes, add them after the vegetables have cooked for 10 minutes.
2. Add all of the vegetables and simmer until cooked.
3. Whip two eggs in a small bowl and gently mix them into the soup, not breaking them up too much. Cook until firm.
4. Top with seaweed flakes and sesame seeds and serve.

KOREAN: Ddukbokgi

The person who gave me this recipe told me that I could never make it as good as she does, but I’ve tried. She didn’t give me ratios of ingredients, so I’ve had to work that out on my own. This version of the recipe is still a little spicy for me. I couldn’t find my pictures of ddukbokgi from Korea, so I had to borrow this one.

1 pound of ddukbokgi dduk
1 tsp Korean red pepper powder (gochu garu)
1 1/2 tsp barley malt
4 tsp garlic powder
1 TBSP Bragg Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
2 tsp honey or sugar
1 tsp Korean red pepper paste (gochujang)
2 TBSP chopped green onion or leek
water

1. Boil the dduk in water for 10 minutes. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, mix together the red pepper powder and barley malt. Heat in a warm skillet.
2. Add garlic, Bragg’s or soy sauce, honey or sugar, red pepper paste, green onions or leeks, and dduk. Add a little water to mix all ingredients together. Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly.

Variations: Add all kinds of deep-fried extras–hard boiled eggs, dumplings, kimbap, sweet potatoes….