Eight simple Korean dinner recipes, from kimchi hot dogs to sweet soy potatoes

KIMCHI HOT DOGS
Hot dogs made their way to Korea via American rations handed out during the Korean War, but they have had a lasting impact. Kimchi, with its acidity and spice, contrasts with the smoky sausages here to make the best hot dog ever. I also like to add a gochujang yogurt for extra flavour. You could sub out the yogurt for soured cream or mayonnaise, if liked.
2 hot-dog rolls
vegetable oil, for frying
2 frankfurter sausages
200g kimchi, drained and roughly chopped
½ tsp gochugaru (Korean red-pepper flakes, available from souschef.co.uk)
¼ tsp granulated sugar
For the gochujang yogurt
2 tbsp natural yogurt
1 tsp gochujang (Korean red-pepper paste)
¼ tsp crushed garlic
To finish
American mustard
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 Slice along the top of each of the hot-dog rolls lengthways.
2 Mix the gochujang yogurt ingredients together in a small bowl.
3 Put a large frying pan over a high heat, lightly grease with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil and add the frankfurters. Heat through for 2 minutes, making sure to turn the frankfurters every 30 seconds so that they colour evenly. Remove from the pan and set aside.
4 Put the pan back over a high heat with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the kimchi and fry for 2 minutes. Add the gochugaru and sugar and fry for 1 minute.
5 Warm the hot-dog rolls in the microwave for 20 seconds. Smear the inside of each roll with a tablespoon of the gochujang yogurt. Add the frankfurter and top with the fried kimchi. Finish with the American mustard and chopped spring onions.
TIP To make these hot dogs extra special, try topping with crispy shallots or bacon for added flavour.
SWEET SOY POTATOES (GAMJA JORIM)
These potatoes are a popular side dish in Korea. They are so easy and delicious they're sure to be a favourite in your house, too. You don't have to cut the potatoes – leave them whole if you're in a hurry (just increase the cooking time until you can pierce them with a fork). I like to cut them so that the sweet soy sauce can really cling to them and the edges brown nicely in the pan, making them extra tasty.
500g baby/new potatoes, cut in half
4 tbsp Korean soy sauce
2 tbsp light soft brown sugar
2 tsp crushed garlic
1½ tbsp vegetable oil
To finish
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)
1 spring onion, finely sliced
1 Put a large saucepan filled with water over a high heat. Add the potatoes and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 12-15 minutes until tender enough to insert a fork, then drain and set aside.
2 Meanwhile, mix together the soy sauce, sugar and garlic with 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl.
3 Put a large frying pan over a medium heat with the vegetable oil. Add the potatoes and fry for 5 minutes until nicely golden.
4 Pour the sauce over the potatoes and reduce the heat to low. Use a pair of tongs to make sure the potatoes are coated in the sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes until the sauce has thickened and becomes sticky.
5 Stir in the sesame seeds, if using, sprinkle with the spring onions and serve. This dish can be eaten hot or cold.
KOREAN SOY MARINATED STEAK (BULGOGI STEAK)
Bulgogi is usually beef cut into wafer-thin slices and marinated in a sweet soy sauce. It's super-quick to make and one of the go-to recipes for many Korean households. In Korea, it's easy to get the ready-sliced bulgogi beef in any supermarket, but it's trickier elsewhere. This is my super-quick alternative – the sweet, salty soy flavours of the bulgogi sauce are dressed over a steak that can be cooked to your preference so it is succulent. Serve simply over rice, either with salad or in lettuce wraps with your choice of side dishes, as a great midweek meal.
2 sirloin steaks (weighing about 225g each)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
salt
steamed rice and salad or lettuce leaves and your choice of sides, to serve
For the sweet soy sauce
3 garlic cloves
1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
3 spring onions, roughly chopped
6 tbsp Korean soy sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp light soft brown sugar
¼ tsp ground white pepper
1 Put all the sauce ingredients in a food processor with 150ml water and blitz together. Pour the sauce into a small saucepan over a medium-high heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
2 Coat the steaks in the oil and season with salt on each side.
3 Put a large frying pan over a high heat. Fry the steaks for about 3 minutes on each side (or until the steak is cooked to your liking).
4 Spoon the sauce over the steaks, making sure they're completely coated, and cook over a high heat for 1 minute.
5 Remove the steaks from the pan and leave to rest on a chopping board for 5 minutes. Slice and serve with steamed rice and either salad or lettuce leaves and your choice of sides.
KIMCHI AND BACON FRIED RICE (BACON KIMCHI BOKKEUMBAP)
When you need something tasty and satisfying, but only have 10 minutes, I don't think there's much better than kimchi fried rice. The bacon here gives a lovely smoky flavour that works really well with the kimchi. Topped with a fried egg, it's even better.
1 tbsp vegetable oil
100g smoked bacon lardons
200g kimchi, drained and roughly chopped
250g cooked short-grain rice
1 tsp gochujang (Korean red-pepper paste)
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 spring onion, finely chopped
2 fried eggs, to serve (optional)
1 Put a large frying pan over a high heat with the vegetable oil. Add the bacon lardons and fry for 2 minutes. Add the kimchi and fry for a further 2 minutes. Add the rice, gochujang and sesame oil. Fry for a further 2 minutes. Stir in the spring onion and serve, topped with fried eggs, if liked.
TIP If you're in a midweek rush and you don't have any cooked rice to hand, you can use a packet of microwave rice here instead (ideally short grain, but any plain rice will do).
SOY MARINATED EGGS (GYERAN JJANGAJJI)
These eggs are sometimes also called mayak gyeran or 'drug eggs' as they're so moreish. They are such a great side dish to have handy in the fridge. You can keep them chilled for 3-4 days, and each day they will get a little darker and saltier as they absorb the marinade. I love them served simply over a bowl of freshly steamed rice with a spoonful of the soy sauce marinade, a splash of sesame oil and a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top for a quick lunch. They also make a great addition to a bowl of noodles or salad. The recipe below is for eggs with a jammy yolk (my favourite), but add an extra minute or two to the boiling time if you like your centres more set.
6 medium eggs
250ml Korean soy sauce
3 tbsp caster sugar
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 long red chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 Put a medium saucepan of water over a high heat and bring to the boil. Gently add the eggs and boil for 6 minutes (7-8 minutes if you like them less soft).
2 Meanwhile, put all the remaining ingredients in an airtight container or large jar with 250ml water.
3 Once the eggs are ready, carefully take them out of the pan and plunge them into a bowl of ice water.
4 Peel the eggs and put them in the soy sauce container, making sure they are properly submerged, then close the lid.
5 Leave for at least 1 hour to absorb the soy sauce flavour before eating.
QUICK CUT KIMCHI (MAK KIMCHI)
Cabbage kimchi is usually made in one of two ways. For poggi (whole cabbage kimchi), the cabbage is cut in half or quarters, then brined and each leaf stuffed and coated with the spicy kimchi paste. Making mak (cut cabbage) kimchi is quicker. There's less brining time and it also means that you have ready-cut kimchi to hand when you need it as an ingredient for Kimchi and Bacon Fried Rice (see recipe opposite), or a million other things you can cook with kimchi.
1 Chinese cabbage (about 600g)
3 tbsp sea-salt flakes
1 tbsp crushed garlic
1 tbsp crushed fresh ginger
1 apple, cored and finely sliced (peel on)
3 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red-pepper flakes)
4 tbsp fish sauce
1 Cut the cabbage into bite-sized pieces, wash thoroughly and drain. Put the cabbage in a large bowl with the salt. Using your hands, mix the salt into the cabbage and set to one side for 30 minutes. Mix again and leave to brine for another 30 minutes.
2 Rinse the cabbage thoroughly under cold water, drain and shake off the excess water.
3 Put the cabbage back into the large bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Using your hands (wearing rubber gloves!), thoroughly mix everything together.
4 Transfer the kimchi into a 1-litre jar or clip-lock airtight container. Press down across the top, wipe away any excess paste, then close the lid.
5 Leave at room temperature for 3 days, then transfer to the fridge. The kimchi will take on its distinctive sour flavour after about 2 weeks.
SOY SESAME SALAD (GANJANG DRESSING SALAD)
This is our go-to salad at home. I'm confident that I could toss any leaves/vegetables in this tasty dressing and my kids would still love it, but this is our usual combination.
SERVES 4
150g baby plum tomatoes, halved
¼ tsp salt
1 carrot, grated
2 pickled beetroot, quartered
¼ red cabbage, finely sliced
3 spring onions, finely chopped
1 apple, cored and finely sliced (skin on)
1 little gem lettuce, finely sliced
For the croutons
2 slices of white bread, cut into 1cm cubes
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp garlic granules
¼ tsp salt
For the dressing
3 tbsp Korean apple vinegar
3 tbsp Korean soy sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp granulated sugar
½ tsp crushed garlic
1 Mix the dressing in a small bowl and set to one side.
2 Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. For the croutons, mix the bread with the sesame seeds, sesame oil, garlic granules and salt. Spread the croutons out on a lined baking sheet in an even layer and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
3 Place the tomatoes in a bowl, mix with the salt and set to one side for 5 minutes.
4 Place the carrot, beetroot, cabbage, spring onions and apple in a dish. Drain the tomatoes and add them to the dish. Add the lettuce and mix in the dressing. Scatter over the croutons to finish.
ADDICTIVE SEAWEED ROLLS (GOMA KIMBAP)
Traditionally, these were often called mayak kimbap with 'mayak' translating as 'drugs' due to their addictive nature, particularly when eaten with the tangy, nutty, sesame mustard sauce. However, they're also called goma kimbap with 'goma' translating as 'toddler', which sounds much nicer and is also perfectly fitting as they are mini and particularly great for little hands. They are easy and fun to make and are a great alternative to a sandwich for a picnic.
MAKES 10 SEAWEED ROLLS
150g freshly cooked sushi rice
4 tsp toasted sesame oil
¼ tsp salt
75g spinach
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds, plus extra to garnish
½ tbsp vegetable oil
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
3 sheets nori (sushi seaweed)
100g danmuji (Korean yellow pickled radish), cut into 1cm thick strips (or use sliced gherkins/pickled cucumbers)
Salt
For the sesame mustard sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp Korean soy sauce
1 tbsp Korean apple vinegar
2 tsp caster sugar
1½ tsp English mustard
1 Make the mustard sauce first. Crush the sesame seeds in a mortar and then mix in the remaining ingredients. Pour the sauce into a dipping bowl and set to one side until needed.
2 Mix the cooked sushi rice with 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil and the salt and set to one side.
3 Place the spinach in a bowl and cover with boiling water to blanch. Leave for 2 minutes, then drain and squeeze out any excess. Mix with the remaining sesame oil and the sesame seeds, then set to one side.
4 Place a frying pan over a medium heat with the vegetable oil. Fry the carrot for 1–2 minutes with a pinch of salt until just cooked and slightly softened. Set to one side.
5 Cut a sheet of seaweed into quarters. Place it shiny side down and spread a thin, even layer of rice over the top. Lay the prepared vegetables on top of the bottom third of the rice-covered seaweed (closest to you).
6 Lift the entire bottom edge with both hands and roll it over the filling away from you, tucking in the filling with your fingers. Place firm pressure over the roll to close everything in tightly. Then, continue to roll again, using pressure evenly over the roll with both hands.
7 Use a few grains of cooked rice as glue to seal the kimbap closed. Rub or brush the top of the kimbap with a little bit of sesame oil for extra flavour and shine. Repeat the process to make 10 mini kimbap.
8 Sprinkle some sesame seeds on the top for decoration and serve with the mustard dipping sauce.
NOW BUY THE BOOK
Our recipes are from Balli Balli by Da-Hae West, photographs by Clare Winfield (Ryland Peters & Small, £22). To order a copy for £18.70 until 1 June, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. Free UK delivery on orders over £25.

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