Ajumma's Simple Korean Recipes

A can of tuna, mayonnaise, and warm cooked rice are enough to roll kimbap. Season the rice with Korean seasoned salt (mat-sogeum) only. The filling is drained tuna and mayonnaise. Keep danmuji, Korean pickled yellow radish, on a separate plate. Do not mix toasted sesame oil into the rice. After you roll the kimbap, brush it on one outer side only and sprinkle sesame seeds so the outside smells nutty. Season the rice with mat-sogeum only Chamchi-mayo is already salty. If the rice is heavily seasoned too, each bite turns salty and heavy. One roll uses 150g cooked rice. That is the amount you spread thin on one sheet of gim (Korean roasted seaweed). Korean seasoned salt (mat-sogeum) is only one pinch, 0.5g . Mix while the rice is warm, then let some steam escape before you put it on the gim. Hot rice right on the sheet tears the gim. Drain the tuna; mayonnaise is half the weight Pour one 100g can of tuna into a sieve and press with a spoon to drain the oil. Leftover oil makes the filling...

Leftover cooked rice in the fridge, plus Korean large green onion (daepa) and eggs, is enough for one bowl. Daepa gyeran bokkeumbap is Korean fried rice: those three go into one pan and dinner stops there. It is not Ketchup Kimchi Fried Rice. There is no kimchi and no ketchup in this pan. It is also not Korean Soy Sauce Egg Rice, where hot rice is mixed with soy sauce and egg on top. Here the daepa is fried in oil first so the aroma gets into the grains, then the eggs and leftover rice share the same pan. Keep two things. Loosen the leftover rice before it hits the pan, and add the rice only after the daepa smells ready. The daepa aroma has to come first Daepa is not a garnish you sprinkle at the end. It has to fry in the oil first so the scent soaks into the rice. Use the white part and the green part together. The white part gives sweetness and aroma; the green part leaves color at the end. If you start on high heat and scorch it, only bitterness remains, so stay on medium heat until...

Some evenings a single stew on the table makes rice easier to finish. Kimchi jjigae is a Korean home stew: well-fermented napa cabbage kimchi and pork are sautéed in one pot, then water is added and it is simmered. Render fat from the pork first and sauté the kimchi in that fat so the sharp sourness eases a little. If you start everything in water, the kimchi stays raw-tasting and the broth turns thin. Well-fermented kimchi builds the broth 200g napa cabbage kimchi works better when it is well fermented. This stew does not use a separate stock. The liquid the kimchi gives off as it sautés, plus 500ml water, is the broth. If the kimchi is still young, sauté it a little longer and wait until it wilts before you add water. If it is very sour, about 2ml sugar (1/3 tsp) in the sauté step keeps the acetic bite from jumping out. The pork gives up its fat first Sauté 120g pork belly or pork neck first until fat renders. The kimchi needs that fat so it turns translucent and the broth does not l...

Some evenings you still want a warm bowl of rice, even if you have no energy to put out several side dishes. Kongnamul-bap is Korean rice cooked with minced beef and soybean sprouts (kongnamul) laid on washed rice, then steamed the way you usually cook rice. You do not brown the minced beef in a separate pan. Spread it over the rice and it cooks while the rice cooks. When the rice is done, fold in a Korean regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang) seasoning and mix lightly. Do not pour the seasoning into the pot from the start. Add it after the rice is cooked, or the bottom turns salty and the top stays bland. The sprout aroma soaks into the grains The flavor of this rice starts before the seasoning. As the kongnamul heat through, moisture leaves the stems and mixes with the rice water. That liquid soaks into the grains and leaves a sprout aroma in the rice. You do not have to pick off every head and tail. Rinse them under running water and shake off the dirt. The beef does not need a separate s...

This Korean boiled pork dish, known as suyuk, uses pork belly, shoulder, or front leg seared until golden on the outside and gently simmered in water seasoned with spicy ramyeon powder. Instead of preparing several aromatics such as Korean large green onion (daepa), garlic, and ginger, this recipe uses spicy ramyeon powder as a convenient seasoning for the pork. First, sear the pork until the surface is lightly browned and aromatic, then pour in water and dissolve the ramyeon seasoning powder before simmering. As the pork cooks, the salty, spicy, and savory seasoning flavors the meat, so you can serve a simple platter of suyuk without making a separate dipping sauce. You can use pork belly, shoulder, or front leg cuts. Since the time needed for the meat to become tender depends on the cut and thickness, start checking its texture from the 40-minute mark. Flavor from Browning and Spicy Ramyeon Powder The first key point is searing the pork surface before simmering . Searing the pork unt...

A clear beef and radish soup is lovely when you want something mild, but this spicy version is just as welcome at the table. Gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes, gives the broth a warming kick, while soybean sprouts and daepa (Korean large green onion) keep it fresh-tasting. Spoon some soup over warm rice and enjoy the beef and radish together—you won't need many side dishes for a satisfying meal. Allow about 10 minutes for prep. Blot the beef, cut the radish and daepa, and rinse the sprouts. After that, everything cooks in one pot, added in stages. Two small details shape this recipe. First, gently cook the beef, radish, and gochugaru together in toasted sesame oil. Then add just 3g of oyster sauce alongside Korean soup soy sauce to round out the savory broth. Building Flavor with Soybean Sprouts and a Little Oyster Sauce The first detail is cooking the gochugaru gently in sesame oil . Add 8ml toasted sesame oil, 100g beef, 150g radish, and 10g gochugaru to the pot and cook over l...

A piece of pork rib coated in sweet, savory soy sauce is lovely with warm rice. Radish and carrot soak up the sauce too, giving you tender vegetables to enjoy between bites of meat. You can make this braise in a deep pot with a lid, without a pressure cooker. Blanch the ribs, simmer them gently in the sauce, then adjust the liquid once the meat is tender. The thickness and tenderness of the meat matter more than finishing at an exact minute. For this version, a little doenjang goes into the blanching water, while apple juice replaces the work of grating fruit for the sauce. Keep the preparation simple and allow enough time for the ribs to soften. Doenjang for blanching, apple juice for the sauce Add 15 g traditional Korean doenjang, a fermented soybean paste, to the blanching water. Blanching helps remove surface residue, and the paste contributes its aroma. Discard this water: the full 15 g of doenjang does not become part of the finished sauce. It is not a guarantee that every unwant...

Thin noodles, crunchy kimchi and a sweet, spicy sauce make a satisfying bowl when you want something quick. Cucumber adds a fresh bite, a boiled egg softens each mouthful, and a little perilla oil leaves a nutty aroma. This version uses maesil syrup for sweetness and a fruity note, with perilla oil stirred in at the end. Kimchi varies from batch to batch, so add the sugar and kimchi brine gradually rather than assuming you will need every last bit. Allow about 10 minutes to cook, rinse and dress the noodles once the toppings and boiled egg are ready. Heating the cooking water takes extra time. The main photo shows the cucumber-and-egg version with toasted baguette and sliced white bread alongside. Two ingredients that shape the flavor Maesil syrup, a Korean green plum syrup, adds sweetness, acidity and a gentle fruit aroma. The 15 ml in this recipe does not remove the kimchi's acidity, but its sweetness can make a sharp sour edge taste more balanced. If your kimchi is already swee...

A bite of spicy-sweet pork with warm rice makes a wonderfully satisfying dinner. Tuck some into a lettuce leaf and you get a fresh, crisp contrast to the rich sauce, too. This is jeyuk bokkeum , a Korean spicy pork stir-fry that fits right into a home kitchen. There is no need to marinate the meat ahead of time. Allow about 10 minutes for prep, then 10–12 minutes at the stove . Thin slices and a roomy pan help everything cook evenly; thicker meat or a less powerful stove may need longer. The small extra here is 5g of doenjang, Korean fermented soybean paste. Together with the order in which you add the seasonings, it gives this simple pan of pork a savory depth without a long list of steps. Two small steps for a fuller flavor Just 5g of doenjang adds an earthy, savory note behind the spicy-sweet sauce. It is a supporting seasoning here, not the main flavor. The other trick is to briefly bubble the soy sauce on an empty patch of the hot pan before mixing it into the pork. Stir it thro...

A forkful or chopstickful of japchae brings together springy glass noodles, sweet onion and colorful vegetables in a savory-sweet sauce. Oyster sauce and a little Korean tuna seasoning add depth, while toasted sesame oil gives the finished noodles their familiar nutty aroma. For this version, you won’t need a separate pot for boiling noodles or several batches of vegetables. Cook everything in stages in one pan: sauté the meat and firmer vegetables, simmer the soaked noodles in the sauce, then add the tender greens. Allow about 15 minutes at the stove once the noodles are soaked and the ingredients are ready. And don’t wash that pan just yet. A little seasoned rice turns some of your japchae into another way to enjoy dinner. A celebration dish for an everyday table Japchae is often shared at Korean birthdays, holidays and celebrations. Cooking the ingredients separately and tossing them together is one familiar approach. This one-pan method makes it easier to bring those noodles to an ...