I can imagine that it is not always obvious what food or drink is meant for which Big Siggi dish. Especially when your not familiar with Korean cuisine. For that reason I will post recipes of food that I prepare myself for the ceramics I make. It usually starts with me craving Korean food (which is almost always) and with the food that I am craving comes a design for a dish. First I make a prototype and than I'll prepare the food to check if my design is good.
Since I am definitely not a chef and possibly a little lazy (or usually too peckish to take my time) some of the recipes are adjusted to my cooking style (and forementioned laziness) and to ingredients that are commonly found in small Dutch towns with no Asian supermarkets around.
Pickled garlic is one of my favourite side dishes with Korean meals. If you go out for Korean food you will not get it as much as kimchi or pickled radish, but I think you cannot go without it with Korean BBQ.
When you pickle the garlic it will loose most of it's pungent spiciness and will become a little sweet and tangy.
Preparing this dish will take to phases. The first phase will require a vinegar brine and the second a soy sauce based brine.
For my first batch I bought fresh garlic at the produce store to get the best flavour. Next time I will try the 'regular' dried garlic bulbs to see if it makes a lot of difference. It does in price though, fresh garlic is a lot more expensive.
Korean name: 마늘장아찌
Romanisation: maneul jangajji
Category: 반찬 (banchan) - bijgerechten
Total pickle time: 21 dagen
Source: Korean Bapsang
Vinegar brine phase 1:
Soy brine phase 2:
Phase 1
1. Separate the garlic cloves from the bulbs. Soak in hot water for about 30 minutes. This will help the skins to come off easily. In the meantime prepare the vinegar brine. Make sure the salt is dissolved completely.
2. Peel the cloves and remove the roots. Rinse and drain well. Add the cloves to a jar and add the vinegar brine. Make sure the cloves are completely covered. Close the lid.
3. Store the jar at room temperature and without sunlight and forget about it for about 7 to 10 days.
Phase 2
1. Bring the soy sauce, sugar and water a boil, and gently boil for a minute over medium heat. Put the pan aside and add the vinegar. Stir well. Pour in the vinegar. Drain the vinegar brine from the jar. Pour the soy brine, while still hot, over the garlic cloves.
2. Drain the vinegar brine from the jar and pour the soy brine over the garlic cloves, while it is still hot. Make sure the cloves are fully covered.
3. Close tightly with a lid, and let stand at room temperature without exposure to sunlight. After two weeks of waiting patiently you can finally eat the garlic, though the longer you wait, the better they taste. After opening the jar you can keep it in the fridge for a few months.
Hobak jeon(호박전) is a delicious pan-fried sidedish and is very easy and quick to prepare. I personally think it is a great addition to the sidedishes made with blanched veggies. It is commonly eaten with regular meals or as a snack when drinking (in Korea you eat a lot when you drink a lot).
Beacause I eat my food low in salt I left it out of this recipe. However, if you need that kick (which I can understand) add it to the flour and/or eat this dish with a dip of soy sauce.
As mentioned before, I am quite the lazy cook, so I skip the first step you commonly see in recipes. You could salt your zucchini to have it realease some moisture but I have found it not quite necessary. I like my hobak jeon juicy. The following recipe is adjusted to my laziness and lack of patience.
Korean name: 호박전
Romanisation: hobak jeon
Category: 전 (jeon) - pan-fried side dishes
Preparation: 10 minuten
Source: Korean Bapsang
Optioneel dipsausje*
* Personally I am happiest with a dip sauce of just soy sauce and gochugaru, but the sour flavour of vinegar can be a nice addition with your zucchini.
** Gochugaru is quite spicy, so leave it out if you are not into that.
Little bowl for dip sauces and a special dish for jeon or mandu.
1. Cut the zucchini in slices of about 8 mm.
2. Use a strainer to sprinkle flour over the slices and make sure they are completely covered. Shake off excess flour.
3. Heat a frying pan with oil or butter utill very hot and lower the heat.
4. Beat the egg in a bowl and dip in a slice of zucchini untill completely covered. Put the slice in the pan and repeat this step untill all slices are sizzling in your frying pan.
5. Fry untill both sides are golden brown.
Do you have some leftover egg? Fry it and serve with your rice.
I am known for being a big eater, so I can imagine my portion might be too much. Keep leftovers in the fridge and fry briefly the next day.
