|
|
| I |
| Stews and Casseroles |
| |
|
Stews are called Tzigae, Tzim, or jeongol
in Korean. Tzigae dishes are usually boiled at your table over a hot
fire, while Tzim dishes are usually steamed, braised, or simmered.
Jeongol dishes are similar to Tzigae dishes, but generally cooked over a
lower fire. Stews are eaten with a bowl of rice. Most Koreans mix rice
with spoonfuls of stew. At first
glance Korean soups (-guk or -tang) and stews can seem very similar.
here are the major differences:
|
Soups |
|
Stews |
| More broth
than meat or vegetables. |
|
Broth accounts for less than half of the total content. |
| Boiled many
hours, and the stock may be used several times. |
|
Boiled for a short period and eaten completely right away. |
| The saltiness
of the broth and meat and vegetables is equal, or no salt is
used when boiling. |
|
The broth is saltier than the meat and vegetables. |
| The water and
meat or vegetables are boiled together from the beginning. |
|
Some of the ingredients are pre-cooked for better taste or to
shorten boiling time, and sometimes broth is used instead of
water. |
| Often boiled
first and seasoned later when ready to serve. |
|
Seasoned from the beginning to develop a well-blended flavor. |
| Served in
individual bowls. |
|
Shared from a central pot using a ladle. |
|
| |
|
Budae-Tziggae (Army Base Stew) |
| |
This dish results from
Korea's painful history. During the Korean war, and for a time
afterwards, people had little to eat. Most people had to fill their
stomachs with the food distributed on the street called Kkulkkulijuk
(meaning "pig's gruel"). People made this dish by combining left-over
Spam and hot dogs from U.S. Army restaurants and whatever ele was
available. All the left-overs were
 put into pot with water and boiled.
These days, restaurants usually use ramyeon noodles, ddeok (Korean rice
cakes), sausages, meat, and goch'ujang paste for a hot and spicy taste,
which Koreans like the most. To get the right taste of this dish, Spam
sausage should be added. |
| |
|
Cheonggukjang-Tziggae (Fast Fermented Bean Paste Stew) |
 Fast fermented bean paste is created
by boiling the new crop of soy bean in the autumn then storing in a warm
place for several days. Salt, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper are
added to the fermented beans, then the mixture is rolled into small
balls.
Cheonggukjang-Tziggae is made from this paste by adding it to minced
beef, shredded cabbage kimchi or sliced radishes, tofu, green onions,
and garlic |
| |
| Doenjang-jjigae
(Bean Paste Stew) |
If
Koreans were asked to nominate a national dish, they would probably name
doenjang jjigae. It is eaten very frequently throughout the country. The
key to the flavor lies in the quality of the bean paste. Bean paste is
made early each Lunar year by soaking meju (bean paste blocks shaped
like bricks) in brine for forty days and then draining off the soy sauce
this produces. The residue is
 mashed into a yellow paste.
Other ingredients of doenjang jjigae can be tofu, clam meat, pork or
beef, but some recipes are meatless. Seasonal vegetables such as
zucchini, spinach, green peppers, and onions can also be added.
Seasonings include garlic, anchovies, red pepper powder, and salt. A
more exotic recipe, known as kungjung doenjang jjigae (royal soybean
paste soup) calls for beef, mushrooms, tofu, and gingko nuts. |
| |
| Galbi-Tzim
(Short Rib Stew) |
 Koreans are proud of their method for
cooking spareribs which are often served at celebrations and can often
be found as part of a higher priced meal in an upscale restaurant.
The ribs are cooked for an hour with pyogo mushrooms, carrots, ginkgo
nuts, and jujubes in a sauce that contains soy sauce, green onions,
garlic, sugar, pepper, sesame seeds, sesame oil, pear juice, ginger
juice, and water. The mixture is served with vegetables and decorated
with egg strips and pine nuts. |
| |
| Gopchang-jeongol
(Seasoned Entrails and Vegetable Stew) |
This casserole dish is served as a
main dish or as a side dish while drinking. Beef entrails are boiled
until tender and seasoned with red pepper powder and oil or fat. Then
they are cooked again in beef broth with vegetables in a wide, round pan
at your table. Cooked noodles are added during the last minute of
cooking. |
|
|
| Kimchi-Tziggae
(Kimchi Stew) |
Along with
doenjang-jjigae, this is one of the most common home dishes for
common people. Baechu kimchi (cabbage kimchi) makes the best ingredient
for this stew. Ripened sour kimchi is sliced and sauteed in salad oil.
Then the sauteed kimchi, bean curd, other available vegetables, tteok
(Korean rice cake), and noodles are mixed with pork, beef, or sea food
(such as oysters) and cooked as a stew. The amount of water and hot
pepper paste determine the level of taste and spiciness. |
| |
| Nakji-jeongol
(Octopus Stew) |
| |
 Seasoned octopus and vegetables are
arranged in a pan casserole with beef broth and cooked at your table.
Cooked noodles are added when the soup is boiling. Octopus is a favorite
dish of Koreans. |
| |
| Shinseollo
(Fairy Casserole) |
This time consuming specialty is not
sold as an independent dish, but usually served as part of a fancy table
d'hote dinner or on a buffet table. This Korean style chafing dish has a
hole for burning chacoal underneath the bowl to keep the dish warm. Meat
balls, fried egg slivers, fried fish fillets, mushrooms, fried liver,
pre-cooked carrots, ginko nuts, walnuts, and pine nuts are arranged for
a colorful dish. Clear beef broth is added to make a tasty stew. |
| |
| Sogogi-jeongol
(Beef and Vegetable Stew) |
Sliced beef, vegetables, and bean
curd are arranged in a pan and cooked with beef broth at your table.
Some recipes call for adding shrimp or clams to make the broth more
tasty. |
| |
| Sundubu-Tzigae
(Raw Bean Curd Stew) |
This dish is made from boiled raw
bean curd. other ingredients include cooked opened clams, clam water,
chopped poke, chopped kimchi, sliced Welsh onion, and sauce in a small
Korean traditional style pot.
To make the sauce, mix red pepper powder, chopped welsh onion, garlic,
and ginger with soy sauce, and put them into a prepared hot pot with
oil. Many times an egg can be placed on top of the stew. The taste can
be somewhat spicy, but very tasty. |
|
