It’s a busy time of year!
A couple of weeks ago, we had our summer dinner with Kevin, Carol, Gill and Therese. We get together four times a year, at the beginning of each season. These meals are predominantly vegetarian, and we challenge ourselves to cook something different each time.
Our final dinner for the year was based around Korean flavours. After much googling, Pete decided that the main dish would be a vegetarian Japchae – sweet potato noodles topped with assorted mushrooms, garden greens, carrots, eggs and spring onions. This was accompanied by a variety of side dishes, including purslane salad, deep fried sweet potato and steamed eggplant.
For starters, we made these easy edamame canapés (recipe is here)…
The edamame were topped with a Korean sweet chilli sauce known as Ssamjang. It’s delicious, and very easy to make, providing you can get your hands on the right ingredients…
You’ll need to track down a tub each of Korean chilli paste and soy bean paste. I’ve taken photos to make identifying them a bit easier…
Be warned, you’re looking for the chilli paste (Gochujang) labelled Medium Hot. There are also Very Hot and Extremely Hot varieties, but approach those at your own peril – they can be tongue blisteringly spicy. Turn the tub over and read the tiny English labeling – I noticed the other day that the tub labeled “Classic” had “Extremely Hot” written on the back in English…
You’ll need twice as much chilli paste (Gochujang) as soy bean paste (Doenjang)…
- 70g Korean chilli paste (Gochujang)
- 35g Korean soy bean paste (Doenjang)
- 15g sesame oil (I used the Korean variety)
- 10g light olive oil
- 25g toasted sesame seeds (you can buy vaccum-sealed packets of these from Korean supermarkets)
- 50g caster sugar
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
Combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Store in the refrigerator until needed.
My friend Young Jae tells me that Ssamjang is basically Korean tomato sauce, and an essential staple in all Korean kitchens. It’s sweet and spicy, with an added umami kick from the soy bean paste. I’ve quadrupled the recipe to make a few jars as Christmas presents for the neighbours!
PS. The white specks in the jars below are sesame seeds, not chilli seeds. The Ssamjung really isn’t overly spicy when made with the Medium Hot Gochujang.
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Gosh this sounds very yummy – but I’m wondering just how spicy it might be?
Not very at all, really. Providing you use the “Medium Hot” chilli paste though! I’ve decided most Koreans have cast iron taste buds, so I take their heat warnings very seriously! :)
A delicious looking meal. The main dish looks mouthwatering.
Mmmm. A few more yummy things to search for in Preston.
I’d love to make some of this…. Sounds easy as well as mouth-watering!
its looks really delicious :)
Lerry
inflateddreams.wordpress.com
I didn’t know to look for different levels of heat in the gochujang! Maybe that’s why I can only use a tiny bit of the one I have. ;)
It’s so nice to see that gorgeous summer light in your photos. It’s been so unbearably gloomy and grey here, although the sun is trying to peak through some cloud cover at this very moment! This sauce looks wonderful as do your canapés, we love themed dinners and the Vietnamese food looks and sounds excellent.
Celia, the warning about the chile heat level is appreciated by many, I’m sure. There’s nothing so disappointing as biting into something that has been ruined by excessive “heat.” When that sensation overrides flavors, it’s too hot!
In food no-mans land up here, I’m going to start looking. The less hot, rather sweet would suit me fine on top of the edamame.
I will be searching for these in Birmingham when I can bear to go shopping again.
Fabulous japchae: and a second chance to make it re your recipe! Thanks! No problems getting both the chilli and soy bean pastes here in the country: actually the ones shown!! I am not an accomplished Korean cook as yet but have been looking at a lot of local Foxtel foodie shows re same. As far as heat is concerned I was ‘thrown in’ at the deep end at about 23 – heaps of business trips to the Far East . . .it was simply impolite to refuse [and I bet many tried us ‘on’ :D !] Thailand was way the worst: try to talk business sense when your eyes are watering and your tummy threatens to jump away from your body: yet the dishes were wonderfully tasty once one got used to it . . .
oh this looks so delish. we love chilli relishes etc in this house. now if i can just find a korean store near here :)
I always look at the containers in the Korean section of the supermarket but I’m never brave enough to buy them – I didn’t even get close enough to see there was English on them. Duh! I’ll have to check them out again now.
I need to have this in my pantry! We add chilli to just about everything! ( excluding cheesecake of course!)
Wow that looks amazing – a meal I’d love to eat with you! Don’t know much about Korean food but perhaps that can be an objective for next year….try some new cuisines!
I’ll have to try this sometime. I think we would stick with the regular version to keep it tame for the kids. We like pretty spicy but after Josh made a spicy shrimp étouffée last night the kids may never try spicy again! It was burn your mouth spicy with a hot garden pepper
Sounds to me like you prepared a fantastic meal to mark summer’s arrival. I’m tempted to make Ssamjang, Celia, and I’m soo glad that you mentioned to take care when purchasing the chili paste. I know that I would have been so excited to find Gochujang that I wouldn’t think of the possibility that there’s more than 1 heat level. With my smart phone in hand and this post in my browser, I’ll brave the Korean markets and find both pastes. Or, I’ll go to a nearby Korean restaurant and look for something on the menu that’s prepared with Ssamjang. That does seem easier. Hmmm … :)