 Powered by globalization, Korean cuisine is undergoing a transformation in terms of serving. The traditional Korean way of laying out all the dishes on the table at once is being criticized for failing to stimulate diners' intrigue. More and more restaurants -- especially those with many foreign customers -- are serving Korean cuisine in courses. Also, Korean-cuisine courses tend to be simple to avoid possible distractions during the process of serving and to save time. When Korean dishes are served in a course, the host can alter the menu to highlight his or her individuality and effectively utilize seasonal ingredients. A typical Korean course consists of an aperitif, appetizer, main dish and dessert. | Aperitif: Green Ginseng CocktailIngredients (Serves two): - 1 medium-sized ginseng
- 3 oz of whiskey
- 1/2 cup of apple juice
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 1 cup of ice
candied ginseng bits (save for garnish)
- Mix ingredients well in a blender.
- Lightly roll candied ginseng in sugar and skewer them.
* Tip: 3 oz of whiskey is equivalent to about 2 soju glasses and the amount can be adjusted to taste. |
 | Ingredients (Serves four): - 1 cup of rice
- 1/2 cup of black sesame
- 7-8 cups of water
- salt and sugar to taste
- Soak the rice in water for 2 or more hours and drain.
- Lightly toast the sesame.
- Grind the rice in a blender while sprinkling in water.
Put away the ground rice
Repeat with the sesame.
- Cook the rice and the remaining water in a pan over medium heat, stirring constantly. When lukewarm, add the sesame and stir the mixture occasionally to break up any lumps.
- When it begins to boil, turn heat to low and let simmer.
- Sprinkle crushed pine nuts and seeded, julienned jujubes.
- Serve hot with salt and sugar on the side.
|
 | Ingredients for steamed fish (Serves four): - 12 two-bite pieces of boned, skinned white fish
- 1/2 of yellow bell pepper
- 12 spinach leaves
- 12 toothpicks
Ingredients for fried fish (Serves four): - 12 two-bite pieces of boned, skinned white fish
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- pinch of salt and pepper flour (for dredging)
- vegetable oil
- 10 sesame leaves, thinly julienned
- 8 thin green onions
- vinegar-added red chili paste
- For the steamed fish, top a fish piece with a spinach leaf, thinly julienned yellow bell pepper, and carrots, roll and secure it with a toothpick. Repeat with the remaining pieces. Then steam them.
- For the fried fish, dredge lightly seasoned fish pieces with flour and then the egg. Fry the fish pieces in heated vegetable oil in a frying pan.
- To make tangerine sauce, bring to a boil a mixture of tangerine juice, lemon juice, sugar and broth or water. Then turn down the heat and let it simmer. After thickening it with starch and water, season it with salt and pepper.
- Gently deep-fry the julienned sesame leaves.
- Blanch the green onions and rinse them with cold water. After draining them, tie them into knots.
- Around two tablespoons of tangerine sauce in the middle of a plate, arrange the deep-fried sesame leaves, fried and steamed fish and green onions.
- Spoon vinegar-added red chili paste to taste on the green onions.
|
  | Ingredients (Serves four): - 200 grams of meat, ribbed and minced
- 200 grams of tenderloin, minced
- 4 Songi mushrooms, sliced lengthwise
- 1/4 of one autumn cup squash, cut into chestnut-size pieces
- 4 chestnuts
- 8 jujubes
- 1/2 cup of ginkgo nuts
- pine needles
- 1/2 cup of water
- salt and sesame oil
Ingredients for meat seasoning (Serves four): - 1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon of rice wine
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 2/3 teaspoon of salt
- 1/3 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon of ground sesame seeds
- sesame oil
- Mix rib meat and tenderloin with the seasoning and knead it hard.
- Shape the seasoned meat into thick, 7 cm-diameter patties and brown them on a hot frying pan. Remove.
- Brush the mixture of salt and sesame oil on the mushrooms and grill them.
- For the sauce, add water, chestnuts and squash pieces to what remains in the frying pan and bring it to a boil. Simmer and season with salt.
- Toast salted ginkgo nuts. After removing the tips from the pine nuts, skew individual nuts into separate pine needles and tie three or four needles together with thin string.
- Place everything on a heated plate accompanied by the sauce.
|
 Dessert 1: Yaksik cake (steamed sticky rice)Ingredients (Serves four): - 2 cups of sticky rice
- 5 chestnuts
- 5 jujubes
- 1 tablespoon of pine nuts
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- 1/4 cup of tan-colored sugar
- 1/2 of jujube-soaked water
- cinnamon
- 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- Soak rinsed sticky rice in water for 4 hours and then drain.
- Steam the rice on a wet, salted cotton cloth for 30 minutes.
- Peel and quarter the chestnuts. Pit and trisect the jujubes.
- Melt the sugar in the jujube-soaked water and boil for 1-2 minutes.
- Mix the hot, steamed sticky rice with the sugary liquid, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, chestnuts, jujubes and cinnamon and steam the mixture for another 30 minutes. Sprinkle pine nuts over the mixture and place in a mold.
| Dessert 2: Baesuk (boiled sweet pear)Ingredients (Serves four): - 1 pear
- 50 grams of ginger
- zest of 1 lemon
- 10 cups of water
- 1 teaspoon of whole
- peppercorns
- sugar and cloves to taste
- Peel and thinly slice the ginger. Simmer them in water over low heat and strain.
- Peel the pear and cut into pieces of desired size. Stud the pieces with the peppercorns and cloves.
- Add the sugar and pear to ginger liquid and bring it to a boil.
- When the pear turns soft, let it cool and serve cold. Arrange the desserts on a plate. Serve with quartered and steamed autumn cup squash and tea.
(Arranged by Song Hye-jin, food stylist)
|
|
