Creamy Gochujang Noodles

Creamy Gochujang Noodles

Creamy Gochujang Noodles

In the mid-2000s, Korean street food vendors took cues from the Italian pasta dish penne alla vodka by introducing heavy cream into their traditional tteokbokki.

Tteokbokki is a popular stir-fried rice cake snack that is simmered in a spicy-sweet gochujang sauce. Gochujang is a Korean red chili paste with sweet heat and a fermented umami richness. The addition of cream results in a distinctive rosy color, hence the moniker “rosé tteokbokki.”

My previous Korean-French fusion salmon dish, a Creamy Gochujang Braised Salmon, blended those same spicy and creamy elements. This Korean-Italian fusion noodle dish also wows with a delicious fruitiness, slight smokiness and depth of flavor from the sun-dried Korean red peppers in the paste.

Bucatini stands in as an interesting alternative for rice cakes because of its wonderfully chewy quality. Handmade bronze dies give the pasta a fabulous coarse, sauce-absorbing surface, perfect for soaking up all those spicy-sweet-creamy-umami flavors that rosé tteokbokki is famous for…

Creamy Gochujang Noodles

Creamy Gochujang Noodles Recipe

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Creamy Gochujang Braised Salmon

Creamy Gochujang Braised Salmon

Creamy Gochujang Braised Salmon

The inspiration for this delicious dish comes from maeuntang, a spicy Korean fish stew.

Maeuntang is a flavorful and spicy stew that typically features a variety of seafood, tofu, vegetables. The broth is always seasoned with Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru) and often red pepper paste (gochujang) plus other aromatic ingredients like garlic and ginger. It’s usually served with a side of rice.

This braised salmon dish takes on a creamy twist, blending Korean with French influences by incorporating unconventional elements such as butter, white wine, and heavy cream. Rather than serving it with rice on the side, the stew embraces a unique touch for the starch – mini potatoes braised directly within the broth.

Gochujang is a Korean red chili paste with sweet heat and a fermented umami richness. It is definitely spicy – but also has a balanced fruitiness, slight smokiness and depth of flavor from the sun-dried Korean red peppers.

It’s a heavenly pairing, marrying the freshness of the sea with the richness of a fiery, creamy broth. Each spoonful delivers a perfect balance of heat and richness. Potatoes and radish contribute not only to the stew’s visual appeal but also to its complexity of flavor. A sprinkling of parsley, scallion, and red chiles add fresh, colorful notes.

For a striking garnish, add a purple dendrobium orchid which is durable and has the ability to withstand varying temperatures without wilting, making it suitable for hot dishes. And while the orchid is considered safe for culinary purposes, here it is used for visual appeal rather than taste.

Creamy Gochujang Braised Salmon

Gochujang Braised Salmon Recipe

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Fluke Crudo, Gochugaru Vinaigrette

Fluke Crudo, Gochugaru Vinaigrette

Fluke Crudo
Gochugaru Vinaigrette, Korean Pickled Radish, Bird’s Eye Chili
Luxardo Cherry, Scallion, Nasturtium

Its texture is firm and smooth and the taste is mild, fluke is an excellent fish to serve raw, Italian style – with oil, acid, and salt.

An intensely flavorful vinaigrette of olive oil and toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar and mirin, is enhanced with gochugaru, a Korean red chili powder. The coarsely ground powder is definitely spicy – but also has a balanced fruitiness, slight smokiness and depth of flavor from the sun-dried red peppers.

Korean yellow pickled radish, danmuji, brings sweet, sour and crispy notes while dark Italian Luxardo cherries add a dense, chewy sweet-tart unexpected counterbalance to the fish.

Finished with whimsical scallion curls and petite peppery-green nasturtium leaves, this Korean-Italian raw fish dish has delightful visual appeal and complementary global flavors.

Fluke Crudo Recipe

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Korean Chili con Carne with Red Beans and Kimchi

Korean Chili con Carne with Red Beans and Kimchi

Korean Chili Con Carne
Red Beans, Kimchi, Shishito Peppers
Sesame Garlic Yogurt, Yellow Pickled Radish, Scallion

How’s your Korean food vocabulary? Gochujang, gochugaru, kkwarigochu, pat, kimchi, danmuji, pachae, chamgireum and bokkeun-kkae are some of the ingredients that transform a traditional chili con carne into this super-flavorful Korean Chili with a unique topping.

Gochujang and gochugaru are sold in varying degrees of spiciness. For this recipe, I use medium-hot heat level as shown on the packaging. Gochujang is a Korean red chili paste with sweet heat and a fermented umami richness. It has a balanced fruitiness, slight smokiness and depth of flavor from the sun-dried Korean red peppers. Gochugaru, also made from sun-dried red peppers, is a coarse-ground chili powder. Together, they give this chili its distinctive Korean spiciness. Kkwarigochu (shishito) are thin-walled mild peppers with a fresh green vegetal flavor and just a whisper of heat. But beware, every once in a while, there’s a hot one in the bunch! Kkwarigochu stand in for green bell pepper used in standard recipes.

Korean Chili con Carne with Red Beans and Kimchi

The usual Western chili toppings of onion, cheese, and sour cream are replaced with a Korean flair. Pachae (curled green scallion) stands in for the diced white onion. Yellow cheddar is replaced by danmuji, a yellow pickled radish that is sweet, sour and crispy. Thick tangy yogurt gets a punch from garlic and rich toasty notes from sesame oil. Finally bokkeun-kkae (toasted sesame seeds) add visual appeal, nutty notes, they are a common Korean garnish.

Korean Chili con Carne with Red Beans and Kimchi Recipe
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Sublime Franco-Korean Elderflower Soju Martini

Sublime Franco-Korean Elderflower Soju Martini

Sublime Franco-Korean Elderflower Soju Martini

St-Germain Liqueur is created in the artisanal French manner from freshly hand-picked elderflower blossoms. Its sublime taste hints at pear, peach and grapefruit, yet none of them exactly. It is a flavor as seductive as it is elusive.

Soju is a Korean alcoholic beverage distilled from rice that has slightly floral and barely sweet flavors. Pleasantly light with a round mouth-feel and an alcoholic content of 20% (about half as much as vodka), it is usually enjoyed neat, sipped from a shot glass.

Angostura Bitters, a product of Trinidad, is an aromatic preparation of botanically infused alcohol. Just a couple dashes of its distinctive herbal spice flavor enhances the other components by adding another layer of complexity.

To create an Absolutely Bewitching Martini, pair soju with elderflower liqueur and angostura bitters, and enjoy a fusion cocktail that is delicate, captivatingly complex, and impossibly irresistible.

Elderflower Soju Martini Recipe 

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