For Matt.
Happy birthday, Matt! You rock and stuff. Your wife is nice. Wouldn't it be cool if we could all make dinner together? How's tonight?
But wouldn't it be even cooler if you birthday just
happened to coincide with Thanksgiving? No way! It does?! Let's make a Thanksgiving meal except without the dead bird and all that jiggly-booty-inducing stuffing which the reason for eating, even as I get older, still remains an utter mystery.
Thanksgiving in Korea (Chuseok) does not include a dead bird. It does, however, typically involve a 3-day celebration and a much-needed break from work. What's not great about that? And you say there's a giant, spicy, noodletastic meal at the end of days and days of binge drinking?!??
We gotta make that happen.
The Uprising presents a Chuseok meal of epic proportions, and fabulous breeding ground for delicious revelry the likes of which you've rarely seen. There are noodles with veggies and a CRAPLOAD of garlic, teeny little savory scallion pancakes, wilted spinach, rice, and kimchi (spicy spicy spicy fermented cabbage), all of which you'll get to drown in a sauce that'll make you swoon.
Oh. And then there's cake.
Japchae (Sweet Potato Noodles with Veggies)
Pajeon (Scallion Pancakes)
Sigumchi Namul (Wilted Spinach)
Kimchi (Spicy Fermented Cabbage)
and...
Alli's Lemon Coconut Cake
Scroll down and try not to drool!
JAPCHAE
Sweet tater noodles. Those are noodles, made with sweet potatoes and
water. So weird. SO COOL. They look a little like seaweed and taste
like victory, but don't let the texture turn you away! They're not what
you're used to. Get over it. These are deeeeeeelicious and totally
worth a trip to your local Asian grocery.
Japchae is just this: sweet potato noodles with a boatload 'o veggies. Bitchin'.
First
thing, get a giant pot of water and crank it up on the stove. Use your
biggest stockpot, ok? For realsies. These noodles are long and strong,
hence the scissors...
Learn from our mistake. Cut them before you attempt to add them to boiling water.
While
your water is heating up, grab your cutting board, a pile of
vegetables, and go crazy. The more, the merrier. Get creative and use
whatever ya want! Slice and dice:
2 onions
2 carrots
1 red pepper
1 bunch of scallions
1 package white button mushrooms (or not, if 'shrooms aren't your thing)
2-10 cloves garlic (seriously, go nuts)
Doesn't it look pretty? This garlic picture is like porn.
Once
everything is sliced, heat up a giant skillet and add in a generous
dash of light-colored oil (now's not the time for olive oil). Sautee
your mushrooms first, cooking only until they're soft. STOP BEFORE THEY
TURN MUSHY AND BROWN because seriously, mushrooms cooked like that are
the reason people don't like mushrooms. Change up the status quo, will
ya? When the mushrooms are nearly done, add in all the garlic and cook
for just a flash (less than a minute), then dump everything into a bowl
and return the pan to the stove. Now, add a bit more oil and sautee all
your other veggies until they're slightly softened. Then, dump them in
the bowl, right on top of that scintillating pile of garlic and
shrooms. The veggies are gonna hang out there for a bit, so feel free
to set them aside.
Your water should be boiling by now,
so drop in your noodles. Cook them for just a few minutes, 4 or 5,
until they're soft and translucent. I know, right?!?! Aren't they
cool?
Drain 'em like a pro, shake out the extra water,
and toss 'em in with your veggies. Add a dash of soy sauce (but not too
much...a delicious sauce is on the way) and stir everything up.
Voila! Japchae!
PAJEON
Easy
and unassuming, these little babies are the world's most surprising
showstoppers. Who knew that of all the lovely things we were tucking
into, scallion pancakes dipped in sauce would be the faves?
They're
laughably simple...literally regular 'ol vegan pancake batter (sans
sweetener) with scallions stirred in. It's hilarious!
Actually,
the secret's in the sauce, which you'll want to make a lot of (it's
perfect over everything you're making for this meal, except the
cake....maybe). Whip this concoction together before you throw together
the 'cakes, just to give it some time to meld. In a small bowl, whisk
together:
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup clear vinegar or mirin
1/4 cup light-colored oil
1 tbs agave or maple syrup
3-4 scallions, thinly sliced
2-10 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tbs sesame seeds, toasted (you can buy them pre-toasted if you want)
Stir it together. Smell it. Set it aside. Try not to freak out.
Heat up your griddle or nonstick pan over medium heat and get another bowl for your pancake batter. Stir together:
1 1/4 cup flour (these would be easy to make gluten-free)
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbs canola oil
1 1/2 cup unsweetened soy or rice milk
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced (more or less to taste)
*Notice. You're not adding salt. The dipping sauce will take care of that.*
Now,
cook 'em like you would regular pancakes! Surprise! Ladle some batter
into your hot pan and cook for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for
another 3 minutes or until the 'cake is brown and nice. Cut into wedges and serve with the fab sauce.
People will love you.
SIGUMCHI NAMUL
Are you ready for this? It's complicated.
1. Bowl some water.
2. Drop in 1 pound of fresh spinach.
3. Wait 20 seconds.
4. Drain spinach.
5. Serve with the pajeon dipping sauce, since you made extra. Wink.
KIMCHI
Kimchi
is fermented cabbage. Weirded out? Don't be. It's delicious and
chock full of fiber and probiotic bugs for your tummy. In fact, it's
been called one of the world's healthiest foods! And Koreans eat it
allllll the time! So wipe that "it looks weird" gaze off your face,
that furrowed brow, that worried stare. Kimchi is heaven.
As with many ancient and/or traditional foods (like
borscht and
split pea soup),
kimchi recipes are as diverse as the families they come from. The one I
tried is as simple as it can be, basically just cabbage soaked in salt
and smothered with hot pepper. It takes a while and involves a pair of
gloves, but it's worth it!
The ingredient list is short.
1 head cabbage, green or red
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup hot chili powder (or kochukaru, if you want to make a trip to an Asian grocery)
Slice
up the cabbage into bite-sized bits and don't freak if they're not
perfect...we're going for a rustic effect here, folks. Put them in a
bowl and stir in the salt, then cover it with plastic wrap and let it
hang out on the counter. The cabbage will wilt and create its own
liquid! Huzzah!
After about an hour has passed, rinse
the cabbage a squeeze out the water once or twice (more rinsing=less
salty kimchi). You may have to let it wilt for a bit longer if your
cabbage seems to be making more and more liquid, which was my problem,
most definitely. Certain cabbages will have more water than others, but
one thing's for sure...you don't want to start stirring in the spicy
pepper until the cabbage has fully completed the wilting process. Trust
me on this. Apparently many kimchi-makers make this easier by pressing
the cabbage into the bottom of a colander a few times, a piece of info
that would've been more useful to me yesterday. But not for you! I
fudged up so you don't have to!
When
your cabbage is good and dry, stir in as much spicy spicy pepper powder
as you can stand, then stuff everything into a jar and put it in the
fridge. Your kimchi will last 2-3 days if you don't pressure seal the
container, infinitely longer if you do. You can even get very
traditional and bury it in the yard for next spring. Fun! But no
matter what, try a little wad of kimchi alongside rice and vegetables.
You won't be disappointed.
ALLI'S LEMON COCONUT CAKE
Totally not Korean, but totally perfect for Matt! Amazing when made by Alli, but equally amazing when made by you!
Alli: "This cake is so freakin' rich it doesn't need frosting."
Me: Quiet skepticism and a quizzical gaze followed by, "Really?"
Alli: "Totally!"
Totally.
This cake is more like pound cake. Like, pound down your esophagus
pound cake, mindfully if you can, but without self-reproach if you fail
(this one time). It's so good.
Preheat your oven to
350 and grease a bundt pan if you have one. Or if you borrowed one from
Alli. If not, use whatever you have on hand, but be sure to grease
fairly liberally. The picture above represents an oopsie-turned-genius
move that involved smashing the bits stuck to the pan into a cup,
upturning it in the center, and sprinkling it with powdered sugar. We
don't stress around here.
In a large bowl, combine:
1 2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
1 14oz. can coconut milk (not the beverage)
1/4 cup soy or rice milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tbs lemon zest (about 3 lemons worth)
Stir until combined, then add:
3 cups flour (whole wheat is a no-go)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Stir.
Not too much. Pour it into your prepared pan and bake. Let it go for
an hour in you're using a bundt, less for an oblong cake pan or loaf
pan. Just keep an eye on it would ya? Sheesh.
When
the cake is done, let it cool for about 10 minutes before you attempt
to flip it. See photograph above for inspiration. If you don't succeed
in getting it completely out, grab your powdered sugar and go to town.
If you're a superhero and happen to shake out a perfect cake, you
should add powered sugar anyway. But you're still cool.
(recipe inspired by and adapted from Veganomicon, of course)
