Vietnamese-French-Korean Fusion

Ok, so that’s a mouthful…not the sandwich (actually, yes, it’s a mouthful too). I mean the title. But sometimes you need a little from here, a bit from there, and so on. Let’s back up first.

For this meal, I needed to consider some food ‘softies.’ They were coming over for dinner, and I knew I needed to stretch them without breaking them. Well, your idea of stretching might be different than mine, but I wanted to take them up to the ledge and dangle them over it. No one comes to my house to eat boiled water.

And so…

I know they both like Korean BBQ. Actually, I know one of them likes Korean BBQ…the other one is scared by the process (raw meat on grill), but enjoys the results. I’ve done BBQ for them before, so I didn’t want to have the same thing. Instead, I built backwards, from the Korean flavor and style, and backed it into a nice, end of Summer experience.

People always think of burgers as a Summer food, but I also didn’t feel like making burgers. Sandwiches are a great choice, but sometimes they feel a little weak on the “experience” end of things. A ha!! Korean meat in a sandwich. To me, Lee’s Sandwiches does a great job of this, although they’re a bit to Disneyland for me. Anyway, Vietnamese-French sandwiches have been a hit with me for a long time, so that was all I needed.

Let’s start with the meat. I used my basic Korean BBQ recipe, but on flap meat, and added some Sake. Why? Flap meat looked good at the butcher and I know it’s good for sandwiches. Adding Sake? I wanted a hint of that flavor, that’s all. Meat, check.

The bread? French roll – no questions asked. I picked a crappy one, though. It looked good through the bread and didn’t even have a brand name. Imagine that, “French Bread.” No brand. Nothing.

I chopped some red leaf lettuce, because I wanted the soft, cool texture, without the excess moisture found in Iceberg, or the excess crunch from cabbage.

I needed a pickle! Kimchi was the obvious choice. But I love the big crunch of radish (as opposed to napa kimchi). I chopped, and chopped, and chopped. Drained it, then added back in the thick part of the sauce that remained in the strainer.

Green onions? Of course. Sesame seeds, yep.

But, I wanted a twist in there. Something unexpected. I found some beautiful Shitake mushrooms and sauteed them in butter and sake. Perfect match for this!

And last, but not least, you always need a spread. Mayo is a great spread for any type of sandwich, and with the addition of some chili sauce (I used Sriracha)- it was perfection.

So, you build the sandwich, you test the waters with your friends and it works.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Kimchi Cakes

I was super pleased with the results on this one. Think about it…kimchi? Cakes? It’s a hard combination to top. So these have great texture and flavor. they’re a good addition to a Korean meal, or about any meal where you want a little splash of spice. You can also serve them in whole cakes or in small pieces as a starter.

Kimchi Cakes:

2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup water
1 cup kimchi, diced fine
salt

Mix the ingredients, then pour into an oiled pan on medium-high heat. Cook about 3 minutes per side, watching for that nice golden color.

You’ll want to add a bit of oil to the pan every so often so you get that nice color and the cakes don’t stick.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Mandu (Korean Dumplings) with Spicy Citrus Dipping Sauce

I love dumplings. I could eat dumplings pretty often. There are so many variations, so many styles. For this one, I made Korean dumplings or Mandu. They were great and I made a Spicy Citrus Dipping Sauce to match.

Mandu:

I purchased sweet rice dumpling wrappers, but you can choose any wrapper you like. Take a chance and try different types, different brands.

Fry up 1 onion (finely diced) for a couple minutes, then add 1 pound ground beef. You want this on medium heat, so as not to brown. Press 5 cloves garlic through a press, add some soy sauce, pepper, a bit of hoisin sauce, and salt. Stir and low-fry for a couple of minutes. Add to a large mixing bowl. Add finely chopped cabbage. Minced green onion. Finely chopped bean sprouts. Typical Mandu also uses tofu, but I didn’t feel like using it, so I didn’t. Mix all this well.

Get a small bowl of water, set aside. Scoop spoonful of mixture into middle of wrapper, then wipe a finger of water around the edge. Fold it over and crimp closed. Set aside until ready to fry up.

To cook – heat 3 Tbs oil on medium-high. Pan fry Mandu about 3 minutes per side. Serve with dipping sauce.

Spicy Citrus Dipping Sauce:

Juice of 1/2 lime, with a bit of zest
Some vinegar
Some soy sauce
Some sugar
Some chili oil

You’ll have to experiment with the proportions, because it’s all about preference.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Korean Side Dishes

You can’t really have Korean food, or for that matter, any Asian food, without sides. So, with Galbi and Bo Samm, along with traditional napa kimchi and radish kimchi (I didn’t make either), I threw together some sides.

Spicy Potatoes:

Peal 1-2 white potatoes, shred with large-hole cheese grater, then rinse off starch. Place those in a mixing bowl, add a Tbs of rice vinegar, a dash of sesame oil, then a Tbs of Korean Hot Bean Paste (Gochujang). Mix well, place in a bowl and into the fridge for at least 2 hours before use.

Pickled Cucumbers:

Peal and slice 4 or more Persian or Japanese cucumbers (hot house or standard ones will also work, but I used Persian for this recipe). Meanwhile, bring 1 cup water to a simmer, off heat, add in 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 4 Tbs sugar, and 1 Tbs kosher salt. Mix well, and pour over cucumbers. Mix those well and into the fridge for at least 2 hours before use.

Soy-Sweet Potatoes:

Peel and cube 4 white potatoes. Rinse off starch. Heat (medium) 2 Tbs oil in pan and add 1 small onion, finely diced. Cook 3 minutes. Add potatoes. After 3 more minutes, squeeze 3-4 cloves garlic through a press, and stir for another minute. Add 1/2 water, 2-3 Tbs soy sauce and 1/4 sugar. Stir and cover, cooking for about 15 minutes. You want them cooked, but not soft…still firm. Remove and drain. Empty into container and taste. You want the sweet and salty. Add more sugar or salt to taste, then into the fridge for at least 2 hours before use.

Enjoy with meat!

~ Brock

Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder (Bo Samm)

When I was younger, I wasn’t allowed to eat pork. Unclean. But then my God cleansed it and now I eat it at will ;).

Although the concept of a slow-roasted pig is nothing new, I got the idea for this particular dish from reading Momofuku. A wonderful book from author and chef, David Chang. But let’s back up a bit…

My son is about to turn 6. We fed him everything when he was a baby, but very little of it stuck. Now, he’s pretty much a mac-n-cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets kid. But, the one area where I’m really proud to say “it stuck” is with Asian cuisine. Specifically, my son can down the greatest Taiwanese food, Japanese- yes, and Korean – aaaah yeaaaah. Galbi (bbq short ribs) is one his favorites. And, since beef = growth (he’s like 85% in height rankings, 15% in weight), I don’t hesitate when he wants it.

But, I’m a little selfish when it comes to food, and if I need to make Galbi, you can guarantee I’m gonna cook up a feast. We were going to have 9-11 adults and 2-4 kids, so I needed massive amounts of meat. Galbi – done. Onto the pork.

It’s quite simple, really. Sugar, brown sugar, and salt. That’s all you need- that and a nice cut of pork. Maybe butt (which is what Momofuku calls for), but I opted for a shoulder cut…it just had my name on it. Marbled with fat, perfect size (5 pounds), and excellent color behind the glass.

Bo Samm:

1 5lb pork shoulder with plenty of good marbling of fat
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar

Mix your dry ingredients, then rub them all over the pork. Rub it good. Rub it real good. Put this into a ziplock and into the fridge for at least 6 hours, but overnight is apparently fine.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put the pork in a baking dish, small enough to fit it tight, but make sure you have a decent height on the lip, because once the fat renders, you don’t want it overflowing. Put the pork in the dish, without excess liquid from bag. Roast for 6 hours, basting with the juices at least once per hour. After 4 hours, flip the roast and sprinkle some brown sugar on top.

Remove from oven and shred. Set aside to eat with lettuce, spicy bean paste, kimchi, etc.

Enjoy!

~ Brock