Haemul Bokkeum - Seafood Stir Fry

After realizing that we had been frequenting Korean restaurants a bit too often, we rustled up some confidence to attempt this hitherto untried cuisine at home. Obviously, this meant that a visit to a Korean grocery store was in order. Finding a branch of 'Han Ah Reum' a.k.a. "H-Mart" - an American-Korean chain was the first step. Thankfully, we found one not too far away and hopped over in search of some basic korean ingredients. While we were quite experienced traversing grocery aisles in Chinese stores like Kan Man and Gold City, this was a bit different. It had lots of those smiley face icons with 'Hello Kitty' and toy robot like 'Manga' cartoon faces staring up from package covers of assorted shrimp crackers and sweet cookies and assorted bean paste filled snacks. And of course there was the Banchan (or 'panchan' as it is sometimes pronounced) - traditional small plate side dishes accompanying every meal in Korean restaurants" pre-packaged and on offer in the refrigerated section. Usually, we love it so much, we end up finishing the Banchan before the main dish arrives on our table :-) Much as it was difficult to avoid going overboard with Banchan shopping, we restricted ourselves to 3 small tubs.. boiled fermented black beans with sesame seeds (Image:top right), a baby clam Kimchi (Image:bottom right) and a stir-fried fish cake with chillies, green pepper, onion and carrots ('Uhmook Bokkeum') (Image:bottom left). Then, we strolled through the spice aisle looking for "Gochujang" - a savory and pungent fermented condiment made with red chili powder, glutinous rice powder mixed with powdered fermented Soybean and salt. (Image:top left).


Last but not the least, we equipped ourselves with a pack of mixed seafood comprising of clams, squid and shrimp.
We put together a quick stir fry and the recipe follows:

The sauce

3 tbsp Gochujang paste
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar (or regular vinegar or 'Sake')
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chilli-oil (sesame oil infused with red chilli)
1/4 cup water

Main Ingredients
Ginger (1 tbsp)
Garlic (3 cloves)
1 Onion-thick slices or petals
1 cup broccoli crowns (steamed for just about 30 seconds in microwave)
1/4 cup green pepper slices
1/4 cup red pepper slices
Mix seafood pack or about 200 grams shrimp / boneless chicken
1 tblspoon toasted sesame seeds

Method

Heat oil and stir in finely chopped ginger, finely chopped garlic, onions , brocolli, green and red pepper slices stir frying for a minute. Add thawed seafood (after patting it dry). Stir fry the mix for a couple of minutes. Avoid overcooking the seafood which can turn chewy if overdone or the vegetables which should retain their crunch.

Meanwhile, reduce the sauce by cooking it on high flame for about couple of minutes.

Stir in the reduced sauce and continue cooking for a minute to just lightly coat the vegetables and seafood. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over and serve with hot boiled white rice.

Bhutte ka kees - My take on a spicy sweet corn snack from Indore Madhya Pradesh

Though I haven't visited the foodie destination of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, I have heard so much about its magical chaats that it was time I tried my hand at some traditional Indori street food. I picked something that called for ingredients which I had easy access to. Jersey like much of the rest of the US has bushels of fresh sweet corn on sale and the famed 'Sarafa' special "Bhutte ka kees" (Grated spicy corn) came to mind. 'Sarafa' Bazaar is this street of jewellery shops which morphs into a foodie street selling tasty wonders that are exclusive to Indore. Of course, having never tasted the original I had to give it my own take! So, do be aware this may be a complete variation on the Sarafa original.

Ingredients :

1/2 inch piece of ginger-grated

4 small green chillies - finely chopped

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp asafoetida

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

2 cloves powdered

5-6 curry leaves (roughly chopped)

4 cobs of corn - grated or kernels coarsely chopped in chopper

1/4 cup milk

2 tsp oil

1 tsp ghee (clarified butter)

salt to taste

Garnish :

2 tbsp corainder leaves - finely chopped

1 small onion - finely chopped

4 quarters of lemon

1/2 cup of fine sev (crispy gram flour vermicilli)

1/4 tsp of chaat masala or pani-puri masala

Optional :

Green chutney (used for bhel/sev-puri or any other chaats),

shredded coconut

Method :

Heat oil and ghee and add all ingredients other than corn, milk and salt. Cook the ginger for 1/2 minute and then add grated corn. Add salt and milk and cover. Cook for 15 minutes till corn is soft and cooked completely.

Garnish with all the accompaniments and serve hot. If you like fresh green coriander chutney (used in chats), serve on the side with the "bhutte ka kees".

Enjoy!!!