Asian Pickles: Korea by Karen Solomon

Author:Karen Solomon [Solomon, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-60774-479-5
Publisher: Random House Inc.
Published: 2013-03-18T16:00:00+00:00

Using a paring knife on the backside of each mustard green leaf, shave down the length of the rib to the stem, working carefully not to cut into the leaf itself; this helps to flatten the leaf and make it pliable. Then trim off the stems at the base of the leaves so that there’s nothing sticking out. You want to end up with whole mustard leaves, minus the tail of the stem, that are pliable enough to bend.

Wash the greens well, shake to dry, but don’t dry them completely, and stack them in a shallow dish. Sprinkle the salt evenly between the leaves, particularly around the tougher stem area. Lay a flat board or drop lid over the leaves and weight with a 1-pound weight for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in the work bowl of a food processor, combine the chile flakes, ginger, water, garlic, and fish sauce and process until the ingredients form a thick paste. You will likely need to scrape down the sides of the work bowl at least once.

If you plan to roll your pickles, count your leaves. (If you’d rather not roll, see the note below.) Pull the same number of fronds off the green onions (plus a few more for good measure). Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Once it’s boiling, blanch the fronds for 30 seconds, then run them under cold running water until completely cool. Let them drain, then lay them out to dry on a clean kitchen towel.

Remove the weight and board from the greens; they should be soft and pliant. Rinse the greens, then squeeze them hard to get out all the excess liquid, being careful not to tear them. Lay them flat between two kitchen towels and pat them dry.

Now it’s time to roll ’em up. Lay down a single leaf with its bottom closest to you. Place a rounded teaspoon of the paste in the center of the leaf about a third of the way up. Fold the left third of the leaf over the filling and then the right. Then, rolling up from the bottom, roll the leaf around the filling into a small bundle—like stuffed cabbage.

Secure each little bundle with one of the green onion fronds; I promise this sounds more fussy than it is. Take one blanched onion frond and lay it down. Place the stuffed leaf roll in the center. Using the green onion as a ribbon, tie a flat double-knot by first tying the left over right, then the right over left, to make a knot. Follow suit with the remainder of the mustard green rolls.

Nestle the rolls into a shallow dish and place a layer of plastic wrap directly, but loosely, on top of the rolls, leaving room for air to come in along the sides. Cover with a board or drop lid and place a 1-pound weight on top. Cover the whole assemblage loosely with a clean kitchen towel to keep out insects and debris but let air flow in.

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