Food (Supposedly) From the Homeland: Korean Vegetable Croquettes

Funny, that I seem to only post about Korean food despite never really having eaten much Korean food before the age of 18. Oh well.

In accordance with one of my Spring Break resolutions (cooking real food made of things that don't require an ingredient list on the back of the box), I chose this Korean side dish as my first triumph. Whether or not this is really anything like anything served in Korea is up for debate, but I'm sure the woman from Goshen, IN who contributed this recipe really knows her stuff (probably not).

Korean Vegetable Croquettes
(From Extending the Table)

Mix together:
1 cup potatoes, coarsely grated
3/4 cup carrots, coarsely grated (you can actually use any veggie you want, but carrots are recommended)
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (or, if you're me, more)

Make batter of:
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water

Stir batter into vegetables.
Heat in skillet 1/2 cup oil.
Drop vegetable mixture into hot oil by teaspoons or tablespoons depending on size desired. Fry until browned on both sides. Drain on paper. Serve hot.

Now, if you're like me (afraid of fire, oil, and geometrically afraid of fire and oil together), you'll likely not use all 1/2 cup of oil at once. However, if you don't, you'll probably end up using it all eventually, as the oil cooks off the pan (and soaks grossly and artery-cloggingly into the croquettes because it's not hot enough and you have to let them sit in the oil for like 3 minutes). Bottom line: go big or go home (but be careful) - heat that sucker up with enough oil that the croquettes can sit in them and fry up quickly. Also, small is good here - they'll cook a lot faster.

I dipped mine in a little Teriyaki sauce (which, unfortunately, was not home made), water, and Sriracha (made by the Asian gods of awesome). I also cooked up some rice and stir fried some asparagus and chard in a little soy, water, sugar, ginger, sesame oil, and garlic (a la Kim circa 2006).

Then I thoroughly covered everything with more Sriracha (= the best).

Cabbage, Koreans, and Kim = The Best

Cooking with Kim is the ultimate experience, and not just because it's an experience that could last days. My trip to Boston this summer was a week-long exercise in gluttony. Thankfully, most of Kim's concoctions are relatively healthy. Here is one dish, which I must admit I was originally skeptical of, and a couple of meals to incorporate it into.
Kim's "I Know You Think Cabbage Is Gross But I'm Here To Tell You It's Awesome" Cabbage Salad

1 small head or half medium head red cabbage
Juice of about 2 limes (can use rice vinegar as substitute or supplement)

Dash of soy sauce
About 1/2 spoonful salt
About 2 1/2 spoonfuls sugar
Sesame oil
Pepper to taste (white pepper if you have it)
Sesame seeds (optional)

Chop cabbage into thin strip type things, like you would for coleslaw. (But doesn't need to be shredded, unless you want to). Place in mixing bowl. Juice limes into small bowl. Mix in soy sauce, salt, sugar, sesame oil, and white pepper. Mix until salt and sugar are dissolved. Pour over cabbage and toss.

I just made this salad to go with the garbanzo bean burgers I made.

The cabbage salad also goes really well with Bi Bim Naeng Myon, a spicy Korean noodle dish (thanks, Anna, for sharing this recipe with me!) Kim and I also fried up some tofu, wilted some kale (done in a similar fashion as the cabbage salad), and pan "fried" some cauliflower (toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper and cook in frying pan) to go with the meal. Also, we only had udon noodles, so we used those instead of soba noodles.

Bi Bim Naeng Myon (serves 2)
http://www.koreankitchen.com/bibimnaengmyon.htm

1 package buckwheat (soba) noodles
1/4 cucumber, thin julienne
1 egg
2 hard boiled eggs
Anna also included sliced pear, which was amazing with the dish
Kim and I didn't have pear or eggs, so we did tofu, kale, and cabbage salad

In pot, hard boil the eggs. Cool, peel, and slice in half.
In large pot, boil water and add noodles. Cook according to package directions (though they're usually in Korean). Soba noodles cook really quickly and get super sticky, so make sure to have enough water. Dump in cold water. Rinse noodles several times. Drain.

Mix the sauce (recipe below). Place noodles on plate, add sauce, and top with cucumber, pear, egg, and whatever else you have. Meant to be eaten mixed together (pear + spicy noodle + cucumber + egg = heaven)

Yang nyum jang (sauce): 2 tbsp go choo jang (Korean chili paste)
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame seeds

Mix chili paste and sugar together until sugar dissolves. Add sesame oil, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame seeds. Add water, soy sauce, sesame oil to taste. I also sometimes like a little extra chili paste for heat.