Pickles & Sauces - K-Food: Korean Home Cooking and Street Food - Da-Hae West, Gareth West

K-Food: Korean Home Cooking and Street Food - Da-Hae West, Gareth West (2016)

Chapter 4. Pickles & Sauces

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No one likes dry food. Food should be moist, juicy and (in Gareth’s opinion) covered in plenty of sauce. The Big Mac ‘special sauce’ is what gives the burger its tang and keeps it moist. Some people think so much of it that McDonald’s was able to recently auction off a batch of 200 bottles of it for $20,000. While that seems a little crazy, I guess it goes to show how much some people appreciate a good sauce…

Just as the jang ingredients in the basics section represent the backbone of Korean cooking, the sauces here represent the backbone of our street food twist on Korean food.

Ssamjang Mayo

We top our burgers with Ssamjang Mayo to give them that salty earthiness that you typically get with ssamjang in a barbecue wrap. Mixing it with mayo makes it a little less intense, but it gives the burger an extra depth of flavour and makes a really great dipping sauce for fries.

Sweet Chilli Sauce

Our Korean Sweet Chilli Sauce, or ‘chicken sauce’ as we usually call it on our trailer, is sweet, garlicky and a touch spicy. It’s based on the best fried chicken sauces we’ve had in Korea and is just delicious slathered over everything.

Mehwah Jam

The Mehwah Jam or ‘spicy jam’ we make is full of fiery heat from the Scotch bonnet chilli, but is sticky and sweet too. This combination of sugar and intense heat makes it really addictive, and it goes so well with cheese. Gareth actually made a very similar jam for our wedding, where we had an evening buffet of cured meats, cheeses and pies - this spicy jam is the perfect accompaniment to anything like this.

Pickle Brine

We love kimchi, but it can sometimes be a little too punchy when eaten with certain dishes, which is when we like to use other pickles instead. Pickles are often eaten in Korea as they are a good way to preserve vegetables. Vegetables can be pickled in gochujang, in soy sauce or simply with sugar and vinegar, to create a nice, sharp contrast against any heavier foods. With fried chicken, for example, mooli that’s very simply pickled is the perfect accompaniment as it is clean and fresh. We’ve found that the Pickle Brine that we use for mooli works really well with other veg too. We had to include it here as it gives vegetables a really nice refreshing zing but isn’t so overpowering that you can’t taste their natural flavours. It’s the simplest recipe to remember and is a great one to have up your sleeve.

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Mustard Pickled Onions

These pickled onions are a popular accompaniment to Korean BBQ, as the tangy vinegar cuts against the (often sweet) marinades and heavy meats. We top our burgers with them for the same reason, and they also make a great side for cold cuts, particularly the Gochujang Meatloaf. While onions in Korea are very mild and are often eaten raw, regular brown onions can be a little more pungent, so we tend to soak them before pickling to get rid of any harsh flavours.

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2 onions, finely sliced

pinch of salt

100g (3½oz) English mustard

75g (2½oz) caster sugar

125ml (4fl oz) apple vinegar

1_ Put the onions in a bowl and cover with water. Add the salt and leave to soak for 10 minutes.

2_ Meanwhile, in a separate large bowl, mix together the mustard, sugar and apple vinegar.

3_ Once soaked, drain the onions and add them to the mustard sauce. Mix together thoroughly so that the onions are completely coated. Either eat immediately or, for best results, transfer to a small jar and leave in the refrigerator for 24 hours to soften.

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Zingy Green Sauce

This zingy sauce is not very Korean at all - in fact, both limes and coriander are difficult to get hold of in Korea - yet it works fantastically well with Korean BBQ. One winter, we collaborated with our friends Ben and Aneesha to hold an Indian/Korean night at a local restaurant. As we tested lots of different recipe ideas, we were surprised to discover all the overlaps between the two cuisines (think chutneys, pickles and spices), and their Indian green chutney was one of my highlights of the night. This recipe adds a delicious freshness to any dish and makes a perfect partner for our Kimchi Salsa as a dipping sauce.

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200g (7oz) coriander leaves and stalks

2 spring onions, trimmed

1 whole garlic clove

20g (½oz) fresh root ginger, peeled

½ long chilli (optional)

juice of 3½ limes, plus extra if needed

Put the coriander, spring onions, garlic, ginger and chilli, if using, in a food processor. Pour over the lime juice and blend until smooth, adding a little more lime juice if the sauce is looking too thick. Serve or keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Kimchi Salsa

Korean-Mexican food is really big in both Korea and America. The punchy flavours of both countries really complement each other, while Mexican salsas and sauces lend Korean foods a bright, zesty freshness. This tomato salsa has a subtle Korean tangy kick from the kimchi. It’s quick and easy to prepare and makes a perfect accompaniment for Korean BBQ, as well as a great dipping sauce for Lotus Root Nachos.

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2 tomatoes

½ red onion

2 tablespoons matured Baechu Kimchi

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons gochugaru (Korean red chilli powder)

small handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Finely chop the tomatoes, red onion and kimchi. Transfer to a serving bowl, add the salt, gochugaru and coriander leaves and mix together well. Serve immediately.

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Gochujang Ketchup

We had a huge batch of tomatoes in our refrigerator one day, so we decided to use them up by making a ketchup. Roasting the tomatoes and charring them a little gives them a nice smoky flavour that works really well with the gochujang. It’s ketchup - you know what to do.

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1kg (2lb 4oz) tomatoes, halved

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 long red chilli, trimmed and roughly chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons gochujang (Korean red chilli paste)

100ml (3½fl oz) apple vinegar

2 tablespoons regular soy sauce

65g (2½oz) soft brown sugar

2 tablespoons gochugaru (Korean red chilli powder)

50ml (2fl oz) water

1_ Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4.

2_ Put the tomato halves in a large bowl, add the onion, salt and 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil and mix together well.

3_ Tip the tomato mixture onto a roasting tray, laying the tomato halves out flat to prevent them overlapping, and roast in the oven for 40 minutes until the tomatoes are softened and beginning to colour at the edges. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, then transfer to a food processor, add the chilli and blend together until silky smooth.

4_ Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat. Add the garlic and fry for 1 minute until softened, then add the blended tomatoes along with all the remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer, cover and leave to cook for 20 minutes.

5_ Strain the ketchup through a sieve, discarding the pulp, and pour into a large clean jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

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Simple Pickle Brine

This simple pickle brine is traditionally used to make the pickled moo (Korean radish) cubes that are served at almost every fried chicken shop in Korea. We use it a lot on our trailer and for events, as it’s subtle, clean and refreshing - our favourites include apple and chilli pickle, pickled mooli cubes and pickled cauliflower - though it works with pretty much any vegetable.

The recipe works as follows:

1_ Mix together equal parts caster sugar, water and apple vinegar, making enough to cover whatever vegetable you plan on pickling.

2_ Put your chosen veg in a suitable container, cover with the brine, then leave in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.

It’s that simple!

Really Great Cheese Sauce

There are so many uses for this cheese sauce - you can top your burgers with it, stir it into cooked pasta, or eat it as a cheese fondue, the choice is yours. The amount of chilli powder and garlic used here might be tiny but they make all the difference, their subtle background flavour transforming the sauce from being just something rich and heavy into something really moreish.

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50g (1¾oz) butter

50g (1¾oz) plain flour

400ml (14fl oz) whole milk, plus extra if needed

100g (3½oz) medium Cheddar cheese, grated

100g (3½oz) red Leicester cheese, grated

pinch of extra hot chilli powder

pinch of salt

1 garlic clove, minced

1_ Slowly melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat (don’t rush this as you don’t want the butter to colour). Add the flour to the butter and whisk together to form a smooth paste (roux). Continue to cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, then gradually add the milk, stirring constantly with a whisk to stop it from catching and becoming lumpy.

2_ Stir in the grated cheeses, then add the remaining ingredients, stirring, and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, until all the cheese is melted. If you feel the sauce is getting too thick, add another splash of milk to thin it out. This can be made in advance; heat through over a moderate heat (adding extra milk if necessary) when ready to use.

Ssamjang Mayo

Adding a touch of ssamjang to mayonnaise gives it a rounded umami depth that brings out all the meaty flavours of a burger. This slightly salty mayo is also a great dipping sauce for fries, especially when mixed together with Mehwah Jam.

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200g (7oz) mayonnaise, either shop-bought or homemade (see below)

2 teaspoons Ssamjang

½ teaspoon sesame oil

Spoon the mayo into a bowl, add the ssamjang and sesame oil and stir to combine. Serve or keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Joe’s Sauce

Our friend Joe runs Korea’s biggest English-speaking food blog and is a fountain of Korean food knowledge, so when he told me about his award-winning paprika-spiked gochujang aioli sauce we had to give it a go. No surprise, it’s delicious - perfect for whenever you’d usually eat aioli or plain mayo, and so much better than either. I never took down exact quantities though, so Joe, we hope you approve!

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200g (7oz) mayonnaise, either shop-bought or homemade (see method)

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean red chilli paste)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

HOMEMADE MAYO

4 egg yolks

½ teaspoon English mustard

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon apple vinegar

200ml (7fl oz) vegetable oil

1_ To make the mayo, put the egg yolks, mustard, salt and apple vinegar in a food processor and blend together. With the motor running, pour in the vegetable oil in a thin, stready stream until you have a thick, creamy mayonnaise.

2_ Spoon the mayo into a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and stir together well. Serve or keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Mehwah Jam

FIERY SCOTCH BONNET CHILLI JAM

As our burgers are quite mildly flavoured, we wanted to offer something that could help them pack a bit of extra punch. Enter our Mehwah Jam - made with Scotch bonnets so it’s definitely fiery, but also sweet and sticky too. While I like to add it to our burgers (I simply can’t resist a chilli burger), to be honest, I eat it with pretty much anything. In fact, my favourite way to eat it is spread over cool, creamy goats’ cheese on top of crispy crackers. Make a batch of this jam and you’ll soon be scouring your cupboards looking for things to eat it with too.

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320g (11½oz) Scotch bonnet chillies

100g (3½oz) caster sugar

100g (3½oz) soft brown sugar

250ml (9fl oz) apple vinegar

pinch of salt

1_ Wearing disposable gloves, cut the tops off the chillies and discard. Put the chillies in a food processor and blend together for 30-40 seconds to form a rough paste.

2_ Tip the chilli paste into a saucepan, add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes uncovered (it’s a good idea to have your extractor fan on as these chillies are pretty potent), stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced by two-thirds and is thick and jammy in consistency.

3_ Pour into a sterilized jar and leave to cool. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

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Korean Sweet Chilli Sauce

This is our take on a Korean sweet chilli sauce, so you can use it as a table sauce to dip your fries into, or just eat it with pretty much… anything. We call this ‘chicken sauce’ on our trailer, as we pour it all over our Korean Fried Chicken and Ramyun Chicken Buns.

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3 tablespoons vegetable oil

12 garlic cloves, minced

60g (2¼oz) tomato ketchup

60g (2¼oz) gochujang (Korean red chilli paste)

125ml (4fl oz) corn syrup

3 tablespoons gochugaru (Korean red chilli powder)

3 tablespoons apple vinegar

1_ Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for another 5-6 minutes, until the sauce starts bubbling at the edges. Remove from the heat.

2_ Leave to cool, then pour into clean, sterilized bottles. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Maneul Jangajji

SOY-PICKLED GARLIC

Pickling vegetables in soy sauce is a popular way to preserve them in Korea. Through pickling in soy sauce, garlic cloves lose their harsh flavours and instead become quite sweet and tangy. I love eating this thinly sliced on top of slow-cooked braises such as Sogogi Gori Jjim, the sweetness of the pickled garlic lifting the flavour of the rich meat.

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50 whole garlic cloves

FIRST BRINE

500ml (18fl oz) apple vinegar

250ml (9fl oz) water

120g (4oz) salt

SOY BRINE

125ml (4fl oz) regular soy sauce

250ml (9fl oz) Step 1 Brine

150g (5½oz) caster sugar

250ml (9fl oz) water

1_ Combine the First Brine ingredients in a sealable container. Add the garlic, cover and leave in the refrigerator for 5 days (don’t worry if your garlic turns blue at this stage, it is simply reacting with the vinegar and is still safe to eat).

2_ After 5 days, drain the garlic, reserving 250ml (9fl oz) of the brining liquid. Set the garlic aside.

3_ Pour the reserved brining liquid into a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add the soy brine ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes, then pour back into the sealable container. Add the garlic, seal and refrigerate for 10 days before eating.