Courgette & Green Chilli Pancake ( Yachaejeon)

This pancake is a good end of Summer pancake. Kind of my childhood rainy Summer day's comfort food, of course before crisps or chocolate bar were widely available in Korea.

Courgette's sweet taste and chilli are perfect combination, if you have field sesame leaves ( shiso) are in your kitchen, in my case , in the garden( you can grow in the pot) add  as well.
It is a perfect afternoon snack , this is all my family's all time favourite with dipping sauce.

Ingredients:. 3-4 courgette. 3 long green chilli. 1 garlic ( grated). Strong bread flour.  1tbsp vegetable stock powder. 1 egg. rape seed oil . Dipping sauce: soy sauce ( 2tbsp). rice vinegar (3tsp). 1tbsp chopped spring onion. toasted sesame seed.

Cut courgettes like 5 cm long match stick and sprinkle salt (1 tsp) and leave 30minutes rinse quickly and pat dry with tea towel, do not squeeze, set aside. Cut chilli very thinly and mix with courgettes.
In a big mixing bowl, put vegetables , Put stock powder in a small dish and pour boiling water and stir, add to vegetables.
Put 2 cup of flour into the vegetables and add water little by little and make batter, it should be like thick pancake mixture. season with salt and pepper. If you have sesame leaves (4), chop and add to the mixture. Finally add egg mixture in the batter . leave 30 minutes .
Heat oil in the pan and put 1 ladle of batter in the middle and spread out with back of spoon and cook until light brown, turn over and cook.
Cut cooked pancake 2cm square and serve with dipping sauce ( All dipping sauce ingredients in the bowl and mix, if you like spicy one add chopped red chilli)

Pan cake is better eaten when they are hot.
This is much healthier option than cake or crisps for a snack,, perfect for the vegetarian!.

PS: October Korean Cookery: 6th, 13th.

I will blog from Korea when I am in Seoul , from mid of October.


 

My ideal 5 course Real Korean Food

 

Korean food is getting really a lots of attention from Londoners , and one glamorous TV chef is going to open Pop Up Korean Restaurant in East London.  It is a very good news indeed as long as the chef knows how to make real one, as the chef is cooking all of dish ( according the article).

Mentioned of making spicy fried chicken marinated in butter milk but sounds just like American / Texan chicken than Korean .

5 course meal for £35 with fun karaoke as well.

 

The chef was inspired by Korean Food Scene in LA and NY, specially David Jang's eatery in NY.

Lets hope the chef knows all about Korean cuisine first.

I love David Jang's Book, MOMOFUKU, but certainly it is not a Korean cook book , more like his own take, twist on Korean ( as he is America born with Korean parents from Korea), Japanese, and Chinese. Do not get me wrong, I think Jang's recipes are wonderful and lovingly westernised on Oriental cuisine.

 

Well My only wish is the chef know traditional Korean food first !!

I do not mind fusion Korean food but not call them Korean, should serve and understand Kimchi, without kimchi, Korean cuisine does not exist that's the very uniqueness of Korean cuisine.

As far as I know , any other cuisine in the world has one single dish has to be eaten every meal like Korean food, Kimchi!! Lets hope chef serve real kimchi,

 

Let me tell you how I present my ideal 5 course Korean Meal.

 

1.Steam 3 dumplings and serve with  beef broth (Manduguk)  or Spicy Beef Soup (yukgaejang)
 

2. Seafood  mini pancakes with dipping sauce (Haemul pajeon).Or asparagus wrapped in pancake

3. Grilled spicy fish ( salmon or mackerel) with asparagus or Seafood Japchae wrapped in the pancake.

4.. Short rib ,grilled ( galbi gui) with kimchi and mooli salad or cucumber salad.

      OR  Spicy belly pork or Chicken

5. Mini bibimbab with tofu soup, Mini baked kimchi rice with fried egg on the top and soup

6. Spicy fruit soup with pear

 

 

Wash down with cold beer or dry white wine !!, Yummmm

 

 



Glyndebourne Opera and Picnic

 

Finally I could be able to buy  tickets for the 2012 Glyndebourne Summer Opera Festival but I got  tickets for the double bill by Ravel's Opera , I would have loved to see Marriage of Figaro but by the time I was able to buy, they  were  sold out . Since I moved to UK, I always wished to go to the  Glyndebourne Opera but it looks so over the top with picnic and champagne and black tie event, it  looked out our reach.  but this year, I decided to go and judge for myself.

 

 

Set off 3:00 pm to Sussex , arrived around 4:15pm ,greeted by very polite old guard, our small Honda civic looks odd among posh and big cars. The garden looks so pretty and lake was far end. Already a lots of people were having picnic, chairs and tables dotted around this vast garden with wine and food .  not an ordinary picnic at all. It looks more like very a posh social event and opera through in !!!!!!!

 

Some ladies are wearing velvet cape,just like in the old movie, all of men were in black tie, but a few  men were wearing open shirts( surprisingly), some ladies were in long dress, but mostly wearing cocktail dress like me.
 

 

 90 minutes picnic break are too long for my liking, my husband and I had nice very well made, tasty sandwiches ( by me actually) smoked salmon and ham, had to eat in the car because, it was too cold have picnic dinner in the garden. Washed down with sparkling water rather than sparkling wine because of driving.

The opera itself was extremely well produced and enjoyed very much , but we won't be back next year, too long and too far from our house.
 I will try to see Glyndebourne production when they are touring near us. I am glad to be able to see the most famous English Summer opera and picnic event at last !!

 I and my husband had a very good experience but not for us. I will stick to Royal Opera and ENO as usual.