Recipe Market Place: Korean Jhun and Kim Chee
Beef and Vegetable Jhun (Korean Pancake)
My holiday feasts are a collision of eastern and western cuisine when I celebrate Christmas and the New Year with my German grandmother and Korean grandfather. Bratwurst nestles next to jhun in perfect harmony, and kartoffelknodel form tidy rows alongside mounds of bulgogi. Perhaps it is weird, but my childhood palette was so accustomed to this unusual combination of dishes that I once asked a fifth grade classmate, “What?! You don’t eat Korean Pancake for Christmas?” It didn’t seem to me a ridiculous question at the time.
I will focus on the centerpiece of our holiday meals: the beef and vegetable jhun. Our family calls this Korean Pancake, and it is one of our favorite New Year’s dishes, together with mun doo. There is no greater culinary accomplishment in our family than a perfectly-executed batch of jhun. All of us in the family are self-proclaimed experts at tasting the subtle differences between one batch or another, and the preliminary taste-testing of the batches was as big an event as the eating of the final product. “A little too much salt,” we would say, or “needs a wee bit more flour.” Corrections would be administered, and the finished jhun would never fail to bring gustatory bliss and acclaim for the chef.
The best part is that almost all the ingredients can be found at your farmers’ market or vendor of local foods (compromises are unavoidable with soy sauce). The meal preparation can be time-intensive if you are particular about how finely cut you want the ingredients or how sensitive you are to the taste. But jhun can be quick and easy, and made with a variety of ingredients. In Korea, jhun is similar to pizza in that there are hundreds of varieties, and it can range from very simple to downright ornate. This can be a great vegetarian dish if you omit the sirloin.
3/4 lb. sirloin tip steak
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 C. watercress, cut into 1 inch lengths
4 stalks green onion, cut into 1 inch lengths
2 stalks celery, sliced thin diagonally
1 to 11/2 c. kim chee, rinsed, drained and chopped coarsely (see recipe below)
3/4 c. flour
3 eggs, slightly beaten
Vegetable oil for frying
Cut beef into very thin strips about 1 1/2 inches long. Season with soy sauce, sesame oil and garlic. Let stand for atleast 20 minutes and up to two hours.
Parboil watercress for a few seconds, drain well, cool. Cut green onion and celery into thin strips. Soak in salt water for a while to soften vegetables, then rinse under water very well (otherwise the jhun will be too salty). Rinse and drain the kim chee very thoroughly.
In large bowl, mix meat with watercress, green onions, celery, and kim chee. Add flour and mix into meat and vegetable mixture. Add eggs and mix well. (If too thin, add a little flour. If too salty, add another egg and flour). Heat oil in frying pan and pour batter by 1/2 cupfuls. Spread batter in pan with fork. Fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Cut into small squares and arrange on a platter. Serve with vinegar soy sauce.
Kim Chee (Auntie Angini’s recipe)
Kim chee, also spelled as gimchi or kimchi, is uniquely Korean and it is known as the national dish of Korea. Kim chee is a staple side dish at every Korean meal, and it consists of an assortment of fermented vegetables (usually dominated by cabbage) known for its spicy flavor.
The fermentation process allows the kim chee to be stored for long periods of time. Traditionally, it was fermented in pots buried in the ground, to serve as a winter subsistence staple when fresh vegetables were not available. Even today, it is an autumn ritual to make kim chee to be stored for the winter months. Modern day refrigeration in households allows for milder versions of kim chee to last for 6 to 8 weeks.
Kim chee has been recognized as a very healthy food for decades ever since its benefits were presented to the world at the second International Conference of Food Science and Technology in Warsaw, Poland in August, 1966. Kim chee as prepared below has vitamins A, B, and C, but its biggest benefit may be in its “healthy bacteria” called lactobacilli, found in fermented foods like kim chee and yogurt. This good bacteria helps with digestion, plus it seems to help stop and even prevent yeast infections, according to a recent study.
Kim chee is so important to the culture and diet of Korea’s people that there is a Kim Chee Museum in Seoul, Koreans say “kim chee!” instead of “cheese!” for photos, and a bride and groom ceremonially share kim chee juice before a wedding. It seems that each Korean family has its own distinctive way of making kim chee, and recipes are passed down through generations. This recipe is from my grandfather’s sister, Auntie Angini as we affectionately call her.
2 3/4 lb Chinese cabbage (known as won bok or Napa cabbage)
1/2 c. regular salt in 5 c. water
Seasoning:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 slice ginger, minced
2 stalks green onions, cut into 1 inch lengths
3 slices onion, cut into strips
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 to 3 tsp. chili pepper powder or fresh ground chili peppers
Cut cabbage lengthwise into fourths, then cut across into 2 inch lengths. Cabbage leaves may be separated and left whole. Discard core. Soak cabbage in solution of salt and water. Keep cabbage submerged by placing a weight over it. Soak 5 to 6 hours. Turn cabbage over frequently during the first 3 hours of soaking period.
At end of
soaking
period, rinse stem portion of cabbage and taste if it is salty enough. The cabbage should not be too salty but must be salted through. The salting process is the critical part of making kim chee to taste right and to pickle properly. If cabbage is too salty, rinse several times and soak in water 5 to 20 minutes or however long it takes to remove excess salt. Keep testing for saltiness during this period. When cabbage is properly salted, rinse cabbage thoroughly and drain in colander.
In another container, combine seasoning and mix with well-drained cabbage. Pack into jars. This will make 1 quart plus a scant pint. For whole leaves, coat each leaf with seasoning pack into jar, a leaf at a time. Add water if needed to cover cabbage. Let stand 1 to 2 days, then refrigerate. Kim chee will keep for 6 weeks.
Note: After 1 day, taste kim chee. If not salty enough, remove contents in jar and add 1 to 3 teaspoons salt dissolved in about 1/2 cup water. Add more salt only if needed. If kim chee is too salty, add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup water.
Angini’s note: She has better results with a longer soaking period as follows: For 4 pounds cabbage, make a solution of 1/2 cup salt and 7 cups water. Soak for 8 to 9 hours. This makes about 1 1/2 quarts.