Fresh Hot Pepper Sauce

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Use as a topping for soups and noodles, or as a refreshing salad dressing. Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. The sauce will stay fresh for weeks if refrigerated.

Ingredients

  • 5 garlic cloves

  • 10 hot red Korean peppers, coarsely chopped (or 1 cup hot red pepper flakes)

  • 3 tablespoons salted shrimp (Available at Korean food markets)

  • 12 cup rice wine or vermouth

  • 1/4 cup sesame oil

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions

Mash the garlic well with a mortar and pestle. Add the peppers and pound into a paste. Transfer mixture to a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. With a wooden spoon, mix into a coarse paste.

Kimchi with Steamed Rice

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This is a uniquely Korean dish. It has a robust, feisty flavor thanks to the happy marriage of tastes between the nutty rice and fresh, well-pickled cabbage kimchi. This recipe calls for whole cabbage kimchi, either homemade or store-bought. Only the stem part of the cabbage is used, not the stuffing. With its robust kimchi flavor, this rustic one-dish meal does not need to be accompanied by any other sauce.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups raw short-grain rice

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion

  • 4 ounces lean ground pork or ground chicken breast

  • 2 cups finely diced whole cabbage kimchi, stem part only and without stuffing

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil

  • Pinch of salt

  • Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

  • 2 cups hot water

  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen green peas

Instructions

Soak the rice in lukewarm water in a bowl for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the garlic and green onion and sauté for one-and-a-half minutes, until fragrant. Add the pork or chicken and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the kimchi and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add sesame oil, salt, and pepper and immediately remove the skillet from the heat.

Drain the rice. Combine the rice and 2 cups of hot water in a heavy 3-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the kimchi mixture to the rice and stir well. Cover, decrease heat to medium, and cook gently for 15 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid, occasionally stirring and scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon. Decrease heat to low and sprinkle the green peas on top of the rice. Cover and cook for 10 minutes more. Decrease heat to very low and let rest, covered, for 15 minutes.

Fluff the rice with a wooden spoon and serve piping hot in individual bowls.

Fired Beef (Pulgogi)

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Ingredients

  • 2 pounds lean beef tenderloin roast, eye of round, or sirloin

For the Marinade:

  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 1/2 cup rice wine or vermouth

  • 1 Korean or Asian pear, peeled and grated (or 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice)

  • 2 green onions, white and pale green part, finely minced

  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped

  • 4 walnut halves, finely chopped

  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil

  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • Pinch of salt

  • Vegetable oil (for grilling rack)   

For serving:

  • Cabbage hearts or lettuce leaves

  • 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped pine nuts

  • 12 tablespoon hot red pepper threads or hot red pepper flakes

Instructions

For the Beef:

Slice the beef across the grain into large pieces, 1/8-inch thick.

 

For the Marinade:

Combine the marinade ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well with a spoon. Add the beef and, with your fingers, massage the marinade into the meat. Wrap the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

For grilling the beef, start the coals 30 minutes before cooking, or preheat a gas grill. Lightly brush the grilling rack with vegetable oil and set it 4 inches from the heat source. Add the beef, in batches or all at once, and grill for 5 to 6 minutes per side, or until caramel brown and crusty and to the desired doneness. Repeat if necessary with the remaining beef.

On a cutting board, slice the beef into bite-size pieces. Make a bed of cabbage or lettuce leaves on individual plates and place the beef on top of each. Garnish with pine nuts and hot red pepper.

 

Chicken with Chipotle-Mulberry Sauce

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Thanks to Patrick Hancock, executive chef at El Pinto Restaurant for the concept for the sauce recipe. For the chicken, I used The Old Spice Shack’s Country French Rub, and it was delicious. Note that the sauce can be pureed or not, and that it is the most brilliant purple color that you will ever see.

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken legs with thighs attached

  • Favorite rub of choice

  • 1/4 cup red raspberry vinegar

  • 1 large clove garlic, minced

  • 1 cup crushed mulberries

  • 1 chipotle in adobo, minced

Instructions

Place the chicken on a plate and sprinkle the rub over it. All to marinate for at least ½ hour, preferably longer.

In a sauce pan, combine the vinegar, garlic, mulberries, and chipotle and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and puree if you want a smoother sauce.

Grill the chicken over medium heat for about 12 minutes per side, turning often.

Serve the chicken covered with the sauce.

 

Grilled Lamb Chops with Mulberry Salsa

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Here’s a spicy treat and a good way to use up excess mulberries. Any number of commercial rubs work well for the lamb chops, or you can simply use red chile powder or hot paprika for the rub.

Ingredients

  • 4 thick lamb chops

  • Commercial rub of choice

  • 1 cup mulberries

  • 1 cup diced melon, such a cantaloupe

  • 2 serrano chiles, seeds and stems removed, minced

  • 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

  • 1 medium onion, chopped fine

  • Juice of 1/2 lemon

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley

  • 1 tablespoon minced cilantro

Instructions

Place the lamb chops on a plate and sprinkle with the rub. Press the rub into the meat and let stand for 1/2 hour.

In a bowl, combine the mulberries, melon, chiles, red bell pepper, onion, lemon juice, oil, parsley, and cilantro and mix well. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Grill the lamb over a medium hot fire until done; medium rare approximately will take 5 to 6 minutes per side, depending on the heat of the fire and the distance the meat is from it. The internal temperature should be 150°F.

Place the lamb on a plate and top with the salsa.

Yield: 4 servings

Heat Scale: Mild