Autumn has come right at the front door! In this cold weather, there’s nothing better than enjoying a cozy meal with your family after a tiring working day. Are you wondering what to cook for today’s meal? How about some classic Korean recipes?
Well then, let bTaskee’s “What to eat today?” help you innovate your menu with a little taste of autumn from Korea. Today’s Korean family meal consists of:
- Salt-grilled sardines
- Seaweed and cucumber salad
- Korean beef short rib soup
- Dessert: Hotteok pancake
Let’s begin!
Salt-grilled sardines – Classic Korean Recipes
During this season, the sardines begin to accumulate fat and nutrients in preparation for winter. If the summer sardines have a sweet taste, suitable for eating raw, the salt-grilled sardines are very popular in early autumn because of their rich and fragrant flavor.
(Photo: https://www.fourchette-et-bikini.fr)
Ingredients
| No. | Ingredients | Quantity |
| 1 | Sardines | 500 gram |
| 2 | Olive oil | 4 spoons |
| 3 | Chili, lemon, garlic, salt, coriander | Based on your preference |
Cooking steps
Step 1: Prepare the ingredients
- Choose fresh fish with clear eyes and slightly pink color.
- Clean them with saltwater and remove the gills, notching 1-2 puffs below the gills.
- Remove the bile, stomach, pull out the intestines and bubbles, leaving only two ovaries (for females) or testicles (males).
- Crush the small ginger, mince the chili, garlic, add salt. Rub this mixture against all sides of the fish, allowing the flavor of ginger and salt to be absorbed completely. Marinate them for 20-30 minutes.
- Chop the cilantro
Step 2: Grill the fish
- Spread a layer of olive oil on both sides to add flavor to the fish. Put the fish on the charcoal grill for about 10 minutes, pay attention to turn the fish over so that they are cooked evenly without burning.
* Note: To make the fish more crispy, you can heat the pan and fry 2 sides with olive oil until golden after baking.
- Put the fish on a plate, sprinkle with salt, and chopped cilantro to decorate.
- Enjoy while still hot with fresh lemon juice.
Seaweed & Cucumber Salad – Classic Korean Recipes
On unusually hot and humid days in autumn, seaweed is the solution to help your family cool down, detoxify, and lose weight effectively. If the Salad consists of lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, and more “childhood” vegetables, it would be too boring, don’t you think? Try making this unique crispy cucumber seaweed Salad with us.
(Photo: https://yangsnourishingkitchen.com)
Ingredients
| No. | Ingredients | Quantity |
| 1 | Dried seaweed | 50 gram |
| 2 | Cucumber | 1 cucumber |
| 3 | Sea salt | 1 teaspoon |
| 4 | Apple vinegar | 3 tablespoons |
| 5 | Maple syrup | 1 tablespoon |
| 6 | Soy sauce | ¼ tablespoon |
| 7 | Sesame oil | ½ tablespoon |
| 8 | Black and white sesame seeds | 1 teaspoon each |
Cooking steps
Step 1: Prepare the ingredients
- Buy a big pack of dried seaweed (Miyeok or Wakame is fine) at convenience stores such as GS25, family, friends… Add 50gram into the pot, the water level is higher than the seaweeds (Note: if the seaweed isn’t cut, just break them into bite-sized pieces).
- Check after a few minutes to make sure the seaweed absorbs the water evenly. Add more water if needed. Bring the pot to a boil and poach the seaweed until it’s soft and tender.
- Chop the cucumber into small round slices. Mix a spoon of sea salt with the cucumbers and let them rest for 10 minutes. The cucumbers will release excess water.
- Add apple vinegar, maple syrup (or sugar), soy sauce, sesame oil into a big bowl, and mix them to make the dressing.
Step 2: Make the salad
- Remove the excess water from the cucumbers and seaweed. Let them dry for a few minutes (you can keep the salty cucumber juice to make soup later)
- Add the cucumbers and seaweed in the bowl, pour the dressing on top and mix well.
- Take a decent amount of salad, put on a plate. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top to garnish and it’s ready to be served on the table!
A crunchy and citrusy salad will be a refreshing change from the takeaway food you’ve been eating all week ago.
Korean beef short rib soup – Classic Korean Recipes
Talking about autumn-winter cuisine, we cannot help but mention the warm Korean beef rib soup. The Korean stewed beef rib soup (also known as Galbi-tang) is traditionally served with white rice and other side dishes like kimchi, fried eggs, pickled vegetables, and more. Why is this soup so popular in family meals?
Let’s find out now!
(Photo: https://www.everybunnyeats.com)
Ingredients
| No. | Ingredients | Quantity |
| 1 | Beef short ribs | 1kg |
| 2 | Large white radish | 500gram |
| 3 | Sliced onion | 1 medium onion |
| 4 | Green onions | 2 large green onions |
| 5 | Minced garlic | 8 cloves |
| 6 | Ginger | 3 slices |
| 7 | Soy sauce, Salt, Pepper… | Based on your preference |
| 8 | Thin noodles | 100 gram |
| 9 | Enoki (Needle) Mushroom | 1 small pack |
Cooking steps
Step 1: Prepare the ingredients
- Wash the ribs with diluted salt water to get rid of the dirt.
- Soak the ribs in cold water for 30 minutes to an hour, then pour the water out.
- Boil a pot of water and start poaching the ribs slightly. Let them simmer until the water boils again (about 7-8 minutes)
- Rewash the ribs with cold water, pour out the water, and put the ribs back in the pot.
Step 2: Cook the rib soup
- Put about 3 liters of water in a pot with radish slices, onion, ginger, and minced garlic.
- Add 2 large tablespoons of soy sauce used to make soup and 1 teaspoon of salt in the pot. Boil the broth for 30 minutes (lid opened) over high heat. Reduce the temperature moderately.
- Add about 450ml of hot water (with the lid closed) and boil on low heat for about 1 and a half hours to make the ribs tender. This will help the broth taste more elegant as well. Remove the foam or use the grease filter on the surface to clean the broth.
- Put 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, all of the thin noodles, and enoki mushrooms in the pot for a few minutes before turning off the heat. Slice the radish into bite-sized pieces and add them again to the soup.
- Turn off the heat, serve the soup on the table, and decorate with some freshly-chopped scallions.
Dessert: Hotteok Pancake – Classic Korean Recipes
Hotteok (traditional Korean sweets), also known as Korean pancake, is a familiar snack that any Korean would have tasted at least once in their life. Sweet Hotteok cakes’ fillings are usually with brown sugar, cinnamon powder, and mashed beans.
Imagine holding the hot cake in your hand, taking a bite, and forgetting about the fatigue of a long day. The sweet and soft filling will take away all the sadness, pain, and bring you back to happy childhood moments.
(Photo: https://seonkyounglongest.com)
Ingredients
| No. | Ingredients | Quantity |
| 1 | All-purpose flour | 160 gram |
| 2 | Sea salt | ½ teaspoon |
| 3 | White sugar | 1 teaspoon |
| 4 | Dry Yeast | 1 teaspoon |
| 5 | Milk | 125ml |
| 6 | Cooking oil | Based on your preference |
| 7 | Brown Sugar | 32 gram |
| 8 | Cinnamon Powder | ¼ teaspoon |
| 9 | Mashes beans or seeds | 2 tablespoons |
Cooking steps
Step 1: Make the batter and the filling
- Mix brown sugar, cinnamon powder, mixed beans, seeds in a bowl to make the filling.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl, then add salt, sugar, yeast, and milk. Knead the batter well into a dough, cover the mouth of the bowl with food wrap. Allow the dough to ferment at room temperature until the dough has doubled (about 1 hour).
- When the dough is finished, punch the dough with your hand a few times to push the air out. Cover the bowl and rest for another 20 minutes.
- Put a little cooking oil on your hands to prevent stickiness and divide the dough into 6 equal parts.
- Take a portion and mold it into a flat circle to add the filling in the middle and fold it into a hotteok. Do the same for the rest of the pancake.
Step 2: Cook the pancake
- Heat the pan on medium heat and add a layer of cooking oil. Try not to overheat the pan and burn the pancake or undercook the filling.
- Pour a decent amount of batter in. Once the surface has small bubbles and the base is golden brown, flip the hotteok and press it down (about 30 seconds)
Note: since the pancake will expand, only fry a suitable number of pancakes at a time based on the size of the pan.
- Press the pancake slightly to release the air bubbles for about a minute until the bottom is golden brown as well. Flip the pancake again and turn the heat down.
- Close the lit and turn off the heat completely to melt the filling.
- Move the pancakes to a plate and decorate to your liking (sprinkle some sesame seeds, add fresh cream, fruits…)
This pancake tastes best when eaten hot with your loved ones so don’t cook it too early! You can make the batter first and fry them after finishing the main courses.
How was the cozy Korean meal that bTaskee introduced to you today?
With ingredients quite close to Vietnamese cuisine, rest assured that this menu will suit the whole family, from children to the elderly. From richly grilled fish, tender rib soup, fresh salad to fragrant baked hotteok, all of them contain the love of family.
bTaskee offers a brand new helpful menu every day in the “What to eat today?” category to help you plan healthy and effective meals. Please visit here often!
Even though autumn is the season of eating, don’t forget to get all the nutrients and exercise regularly at home! Try the above 4 tasty classic Korean recipes without having to worry about your safety!
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