Spicy Pork Steamed Buns from Korea

When I lived in Korea I regularly ate steamed buns or wang mandu.  They are common all over Asia.  In China they are called baozi.  Having sampled steamed buns in at least six Asian countries, I have to declare that the Korean ones are my favourite as they have the most flavour and the bun is the fluffiest.  The filling in steamed buns can be sweet, savoury or vegetarian.  It's your choice.  For these buns I've chosen to fill them with leftover meat from braised pork ribs in a bulgogi marinade.

2 heaped teaspoons yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons oil
3 cups flour
Put the yeast in a bowl with the warm water, sugar and salt.  Stir so that everything dissolves in the water.  The yeast might begin to froth and that is okay, it's just activating.  Add in the flour and mix it in.  Knead the dough for 2 minutes then add in the oil and knead for another 2 minutes.  Leave the dough to rest for about an hour so that it has time to rise and double inside.  Punch the dough down and divide it into about 16 balls of equal size.  Flatten the ball in your hand and make a little hollow in the centre.  Spoon some of your spicy pork filling into the hollow and close the edges together so that there are no gaps.  You can make a smooth round bun or you can seal it by folding the top edge to make pleats.  Place each bun on a small square of baking paper in the steamer and steam for about 15 - 20 minutes.  Try and avoid the buns being too close to each other in the steamer or else they'll stick to each other.  Let the buns rest for about 10 minutes before eating them.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine. She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U @ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B. All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com

Bulgogi Pork Ribs from Korea

Traditionally bulgogi is made from thin strips of beef or pork belly.  In this recipe I've used pork ribs as I wanted the meat from the ribs for my spicy pork steamed buns.  As I couldn't get the proper Korean red chili paste for this recipe, I substituted it with peri peri sauce and it worked just as well.  However, if you have a Korean food store near you, you might want to use the real thing.

2 kg pork ribs
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
The Sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 onion finely diced
3 cloves garlic finely sliced
1 teaspoon ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons white wine
3 tablespoons peri peri sauce
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.  Lay the pork ribs on a sheet of tin foil and sprinkle with the chili, ginger, salt and pepper.  Cover them completely with the tin foil and put them in the oven to slow roast for an hour and a half.  Take them out the oven and allow them to rest while you make the sauce.  The meat should be virtually falling off the bone.
Heat the sesame oil and cooking oil in a wok or large frying pan.  Add in the onion and garlic and saute until soft.  Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir it so that it's all mixed together.  Turn down the heat and add the ribs, basting them continuously with the sauce while they simmer for about 10 minutes.  Serve with rice or a salad.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine. She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U @ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B. All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com

Kimbap from South Korea

When I lived in Korea and later in China, my Korean students would often bring me plastic containers filled with kimbap.  Although kimbap resembles sushi in some respects, it is not the same.  The rice isn't vinegary like Japanese sushi.  Kimbap is perfect for school lunches and picnics.  While it might sound complicated to make, it is surprisingly easy.  The important thing is to have everything prepared and ready to go when you need it.  If you can get sushi rice that is great, but I have made this many times with whatever rice I can get.  While the pickled radish is essential in the traditional kimbap, I have not always been able to get it and have done without it. Once you get the rolling perfected, you can make a batch of kimbap pretty quickly.

4 sheets dried seaweed
4 cups cooked rice
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons salt
soy sauce for dipping
fillings
1 carrot cut into thin julienne sticks
1 cucumber (Slice off the outer skin, that's the part you use) cut into thin julienne sticks
a few spinach or kale leaves
1 garlic clove finely chopped
2 eggs
cooked ham or tuna or bulgogi beef strips
1 pickled radish cut into julienne strips

When rice has cooked and cooled add the salt and sesame oil.  Prepare your vegetables.  You need to do everything beforehand so you are ready to go when it is time to rock and roll.  Blanch the carrots sticks, cucumber sticks and spinach leaves.  Cover the blanched spinach leaves with some finely chopped garlic and sprinkle a little sesame oil on it.  Put that aside and beat the eggs in a bowl.  Put a little oil in a small frying pan and throw in the beaten eggs.  Cook, then turn over.  It should resemble a pancake.  Cut the cooked egg into strips.  If using ham make sure that you cube it into small pieces.

Now is the time to assemble your kimpap.
Using a bamboo sushi roller, lay the dried seaweed shiny side down.  If you don't have the sushi roller mat then you can use tinfoil.
Spread about 1/2 cup of rice onto the seaweed leaving the top 1/3 bare.  Lay carrot sticks in a line across the bottom of the rice about 3cm in.  Lay the other fillings next to it and on top, following the same line.  Roll from the bottom, pressing down firmly to make sure the fillings stay in and don't fall out.  As you roll you pull the edge of the mat away from you.  Keep rolling until you have a firm roll.  You can dampen the top seam with a little water to help

hold your roll together.
Leave it for about ten minutes while you continue with the other seaweed sheets repeating the same process.
To cut into slices, I always cut the middle first and then work my way to the ends.  Make sure you have a very sharp knife for the slicing.  You'll get about 8 slices out of a roll.
Either eat straight away or pack into plastic containers and keep in the fridge until you are ready to indulge.  You can have a small bowl of soy sauce for dipping, but most Koreans don't bother.  Eat with your fingers, chopsticks are not needed.
Cindy Vine is a South African by birth but has lived and worked in 11 different countries.  She currently works in Kyiv Ukraine.  She is the author of The Colorful Art of Pain, Hush Baby and Defective.  All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format.  http://cindyvine.com