Korean meal - We had so much fun making Hansik Set A.
So we’re back today with Hansik Set B!
For set menu B, I wanted to include a variety of ingredients – a mix of seafood, pork and vegetables.
So what’s in our Korean meal today?
Eomuk Soup
Eomuk (fishcake) soup bring nostalgia. If you’re raised in Korea, you grew up eating this it at pojang machas (street-side food vendors).
Customers can pour themselves a cup of hot fishcake broth for free. I don’t know why its tastes so good. Perhaps it’s the MSG … Or perhaps because its free?
I think a little bit of both heh 😆
We’ll replicate that flavor today - but we’ll skip the MSG. We’ll also throw in fresh vegetables to make the soup more nutritious & hearty
Shopping tip: I recommend buying Eomuk that’s made in Busan (assuming you have a selection). Busan is a coastal coast that’s famous for their Eomuk.
Note: This soup will expire quickly – it’s not something you can simply leave overnight on the stovetop. Rather, empty the leftovers in a bowl and store it in the refrigerator. Then reheat the next morning.
Ingredients
Stock Broth
- 6.5 cups of Water (1.5 Liters)
- 2 Anchovy-Kelp Broth Bags
Soup Ingredient
- Large handful of Eomuk (Fishcakes) (100 grams)
- 2 Shiitake Mushrooms (or use any mushroom)
- 1 Stalk of Spring Onion
- 2 Small Potatoes (each about size of your palm)
Soup Seasoning
- ½ Tablespoon Minced Garlic
- 1.5 Tablespoons Soup Soy Sauce (Or use regular Soy Sauce)
- 6-7 cracks of Black Pepper
- Small pinch of Salt (optional, add if slightly bland)
Instructions
Make Stock Broth
- Take out a large pot. Place in 1.5 liters (~6.5 cups) of water. Place in 2 Anchovy-Kelp Broth Bags. (Or alternatively, add-in 15 dried anchovies + 5 dashima squares). Bring the pot up to boil on high heat. Once it is boiling, reduce the heat to a medium-low and let the broth gently simmer away for 10 minutes.
- While you wait, let's prep fresh ingredients: Chop 1 Spring Onion stalk into small pieces. Then cut 2 Shiitake Mushrooms into thin slices. Then peel and chop 2 potatoes into rough bite-sized pieces. Also cut your eomuk (fishcakes) into bite-sized pieces as well. Mince 2 cloves of garlic and measure ½ Tablespoon worth - set aside for now.
- Once the timer hits 10 minutes, use a soup ladle and skim off any residual foam that's floating on top of the broth.
- Now raise the heat to a medium. Add in the diced potatoes. Let it boil first for 3 minutes - as it takes longer to cook
- Then add in the fishcake pieces. Next, let's season the soup with Minced Garlic (½ Tablespoon), Soup Soy Sauce (1.5 Tablespoons), Black Pepper (6-7 cracks).
- Now add in the Sliced Shiitake Mushrooms & Chopped Spring Onion Pieces. Let it boil for a final 1-2 minutes.
- Before you plate, sample the soup. If it tastes slightly bland, you can add a few pinches of salt!
- Bon Appetit ya'll!
Korean Eggplant Muchim
I love this eggplant muchim! My mom made it frequently for the family when I was growing up. It has a soft texture, slight saltiness from the soy sauce and a nice kick of garlic.
It’s an easy dish to add to any meal – as its very healthy and simple to make.
Next time, you’re stuck on how to pair banchan with a meal, simply throw in eggplant muchim. (That’s what my mom did!)
P.S. You can also check my mom's eggplant muchim recipe here.
Ingredients
- 3 Eggplant
- 1 Tablespoon Soup Soy Sauce (Regular Soy Sauce is okay too)
- ½ Tablespoon Minced Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Crushed Sesame Seeds
- Small handful Chopped Green Onion (For garnish)
Instructions
Prep Eggplant
- Carefully wash 3 whole eggplants. Trim off the stems and cut each of them into thin long strips (reference video). Afterwards, cut the long strips in half. Place a steamer basket in a large pot and pour in a small layer of water. Wait until the pot comes to boil and releases steam. Then add in the eggplant pieces - place a lid onto the pot - and let it steam for 4 minutes.
- After 4 minutes, use a chopstick (or fork) to poke into the eggplant. It should go through easy. If it does, turn off the heat and carefully take the steam basket out. Then use your hands and thoroughly squeeze the water out of the eggplant pieces. We want to get as much water out as we can (but don't go too overboard with it).
- Now place the squeezed eggplant pieces into a mixing bowl. Season it with: Soup Soy Sauce (1 Tablespoon), Minced Garlic (½ Tablespoon), Sesame Oil (1 Tablespoon). Then crush some sesame seeds in a bowl. And add 1 Tablespoon of the Crushed Sesame Seeds into the mixing bowl. Give it a nice stir with your hands.
- Give it a taste - and if it tastes slightly bland to you - add-in a small pinch of salt (optional). (FYI: We didn't need any when we made it)
- Finish by sprinkling-on a small handful of the chopped green onions (gives a nice color contrast). Place the banchan in the refrigerator and wait till it turns cold (tastes better when served cold). Once its cold, serve alongside a bowl of hot rice.
- Bon Appetit ya'll!
Samgyeopsal Jeyuk Bokkeum
Samgyeopsal (Thinly Sliced Pork Belly) has to be hands-down my favorite cut of meat! In fact, if I had to choose between a premium cut of steak or a fat cut of Samgyeopsal… 8/10 times, I would go with the pork belly!
(I think spending 10+ years here in Korea has changed my preferences!)
With Samgyeopsal, you really can’t mess up. Simply pan-frying it with salt and pepper would be enough.
But if you’re craving that Korean spice, this is a great recipe to take Samgyeopsal to the next level.
The key flavor in this dish is that scorched flavor. If you have a gas stovetop, lean your frying pan on its edge and turn the flames to a high so it can kiss the soy sauce.
But important, let it kiss for just a few seconds! Too long and it will burn!
If you do it properly, you’ll get a delicious charred flavor. Bringing a smile to your face rather quickly 😉
Ingredients
- 300 gram Thinly Sliced Pork Belly (~¾ lb) (Samgyeopsal)
- 3 stalks of Spring Onion
- 3 Cheongyang chili pepper (Jalapeno ok too!)
- 8 cloves Garlic
Stir Fry Seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1.5 Tablespoons Gochugaru
- ¼ cup Water
- ½ Tablespoon Sesame Oil
- Few cracks of Black Pepper
Instructions
Prep Ingredients
- Cut Samgyeopsal (Pork Belly) into bite-sized pieces. Use a knife to split Spring Onion Stalks (use the white portions) in half. Then cut them into pinky-finger length pieces (reference video).
- Cut 3 chili peppers into small pieces. Chop 8 garlic cloves into thin pieces as well.
- Before we start stir-frying, pre-measure our seasoning ingredients into small bowls as we need to add quickly: Soy Sauce (2 Tablespoons), Sugar (1 Tablespoon), Gochugaru (1.5 Tablespoons), Water (¼ cup), Sesame Oil (½ Tablespoon), Black Pepper (5-6 cracks).
Make Jeyuk Bokkeum
- Take out your frying pan. Place in the pork belly pieces while the frying pan is cold! After the pieces are laid-on, put it on a medium heat. (If the meat starts in a cold pan, it releases more grease - which is what we want)
- Season each pork belly piece with a sprinkle of Salt and Black Pepper. Once the bottom-side is slightly crispy, give each piece a flip. Now add-in the chopped garlic pieces. Let it cook on the other side - with the garlic - for 1-2 minutes.
- At this point, you'll see a good amount of grease accumulated in the pan. Carefully discard the grease by emptying it out into a mixing bowl. Or you can mop it up with a few paper towels.
- Now, lets continue. Add-in the Sugar (1 Tablespoon). Stir-fry it around for ~10 seconds.
- Next, add-in Soy Sauce (2 Tablespoons). If you're cooking on a gas stove, tilt your frying pan so that the flames can slightly scorch the soy sauce - do this for only 4-5 seconds! (Don't do it for too long - or the Soy Sauce will burn).
- Aftewards, immediately add in the Chopped Spring Onion, Chopped Chili Peppers and Gochugaru (1.5 Tablespoon). Stir-fry it around for 10-15 seconds.
- Now, add in ¼ cup of water. This will turn the mixture from oily to slightly saucy. Stir-fry everything for a final 10-15 seconds. Turn off heat.
- Crack in some Black Pepper (4-5 cracks) and finish with Sesame Oil (½ Tablespoon). Give it a final stir!
- Garnish with a few shakes of Sesame Seeds.
- Serve with a bowl of hot rice! And Bon Appetit 😉
-Daniel out 🕺
Karen says
I made only the eggplant muchim. It was as good or even better than my mom used to make it, very good.