Cooking. Korean Style...

I was really pleased with the Korean cooking class on Saturday. First of all, we didn't make kimchi, which yeah, is probably not tough to make... but I am honestly not a huge fan of. Second of all, it was pretty delicous (even for spice wimps like my friend Tam and me) and easy to make. The usual cooking class regulars weren't in attendance, so it was also nice to meet some new people and cook with a group of Japanese girls my age.
I'll definately be re-creating these recipes with a little chijimi (Korean okonomiyaki or pancakes) for the fam when I am home next summer, not to mention for myself sometime this year.

These recipes really are simple, so thought I'd share my notes. Try it out... when was your last Asian food night?!:

1. Korean 手巻きずし (temakizushi, or hand-rolled sushi)

Ingredients
About 4 in. x 4 in.-sized Korean seaweed paper (のり, can get this on Lake Street/"eat street" in Mpls)
One package of shiso (called Japanese basil, these are the leaves in the veggie aisle that you can tempura)
Light-colored sesame seeds (used the small, individual packets)
1 Tbs Sesame oil
3 cans of tuna
mayonaise
Two cups of rice, cooked
and...
sushi roller (small, bamboo pads that look like potholders)
large cutting knife
large cutting board
pastry brush
Bowl to mix rice (large mixing bowl is OK, but wooden bowls will absorb the water)

Cook the rice in advance (using a rice cooker, if possible).

Lay the sushi roller on the cutting board and put a peice of nori (seaweed paper) on top of it. Japanese seaweed paper is OK (so are other sizes than the size I recommended), but the Korean variety has a distinct taste which is a little more salty and will work better with this sushi than the Japanese nori. The size of the sushi roller should also be about the same (or a little larger than) the size of the seaweed paper.

First, put your cooked rice in the large mixing bowl and mix in the sesame oil. This will make the sushi rice stick together better. Japanese sushi calls for vinegar (instead of oil) and maybe a little sugar, so this is essentially the main difference between Japanese and Korean temakizushi, or sushi in general. If you have a rice spoon, it will work well for mixing the rice. Use a "cutting" motion - up and down- rather than a circular stirring motion also makes for less sticky rice.

Take a large spoonful of rice and place it in the middle of the nori. Spread it out and press it down with the spoon. Now make a thin layer of shiso (leaves) in the middle of the square. We used two full leaves per each peice of nori. If the taste is too strong, it is OK to leave these out. Now open the cans of tuna and make a little row of the tuna bits on top of the leaves. If you like mayonaise, add a littel to the top of the tuna. In Japan, mayo comes in a plastic, squeeze bottle adn squirts out in a small amount, so it might be easier to just mix the tuna and mayo together in advance if you are using mayonaise out of a jar (like it is sold in America).

Now, using the sushi roller, roll the sushi together. You can use the bamboo pad to roll the sushi once so that it create a tube, then move the sushi forward (so the roller doesn't get stuck in the roll) and keep using the bamboo roller to assist in making the roll tight as you roll the rest of the nori up. When you are finished, use the leftover sesame oil (lining the cup or bowl it was in) and pastry brush to coat the open flap on the outside of the sushi roll (basically gluing it shut).

Open a small packet of sesame seeds and sprinkle over the top of the sushi. Cut the long sushi roll into half-inch sized peices (or whatever size you like) and sprinkle more sesame seeds on the open part of the sushi. Arrange on a plate and it's ready to serve!

2. Korean なべ (nabe, or stew... also a fave in Japan)

Ingredients
One package of Shin (hot/spicy) ramen
2 cups of water (note: one American cup is bigger than one Japanese cup.. but use whatever you have)
1/4-head cabbage
1/4 cup spice miso (red color)
1/4 cup sugar
1 carrots
4 pre-had boiled eggs
2 tsp salt
and...
One large pot (about a gallon or more... the kind with two handles)
large cutting knife
large cutting board
Spoon to stir the pot

Start by cutting the carrot in half diogonally (so you have two long, thin & wide peices)
Take the halves and cut diagonally, so you have 1-cm-thick diagonal strips (makes about 1 cup). Cut the cabbage (already 1/4) in half and do the same, so you have small peices. Next, cut the eggs in half. Set these ingredients aside... it is best to separate them, but OK if they are together.
Next, take the package of spicy ramen (normally a red-colored package in Japan) and open it. Take out the seasoning packets, leaving the noodles inside. Crush the noodles three times, so they are broken, but not in a million little peices.

Put the noodles in the pot, add the cut up vegetables and eggs and pour in the water. Mix in the spicy miso and sugar, adding the salt in pinches.

Put the pot on the stove and cook at a low heat. You can stir in the spice packets from the spicy ramen. The mixture will begin to boil, but keep stirring until very hot, and then let simmer for maybe 5-10 minutes. And that's it... it's ready to serve!