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Soju Sour

Su Scott — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 21:24:15 +0000

Photo: Toby Scott • Food Styling: Tamara Vos • Prop Styling: Rachel Vere (Courtesy Hardie Grant). Photo: Toby Scott • Food Styling: Tamara Vos • Prop Styling: Rachel Vere (Courtesy Hardie Grant)

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The rice-based liquor known as soju is an essential element of the pojangmacha, or “covered stall,” street food scene across Seoul. In her new cookbook, Pocha: Simple Korean Food from the Streets of Seoul, author Su Scott offers a handful of fresh cocktail recipes to put the iconic liquor to work, including this twist on the classic sour. Though you can easily enjoy soju by itself, this zingy drink brightened with lemon juice, maple syrup, and maraschino cherry syrup is well worth a try.

Adapted with permission from Pocha: Simple Korean Food from the Streets of Seoul by Su Scott, published by ‎Hardie Grant Publishing, June 2024.

Featured in “Pocha Takes You on a Street Food Crawl Through Seoul” by Jessica Carbone.

Yield: 1 cocktail

Time: 5 minutes

1½ oz. soju
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
¼ oz. maple syrup, plus more to taste
1 tsp. maraschino cherry syrup
1 maraschino cherry, for garnish
Lemon slice, for garnish

Instructions

To a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice, add the soju, lemon juice, and maple syrup. Shake until chilled, then strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Taste and adjust sweetness with more maple syrup if necessary. Drizzle in the maraschino cherry syrup and garnish with the cherry and lemon slice.

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Tteokbokki with Chili Crisp and Honey

Su Scott — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 21:17:58 +0000

In her new cookbook, Pocha: Simple Korean Food from the Streets of Seoul, author Su Scott unpacks one of her favorite street foods: an oil-seared version of Korean rice cakes known as gireum tteokbokki. This dish is believed to have appeared in Seoul after the Korean War in the early 1950s, but also has roots connecting it to the royal court delicacy known as gungjung tteokbokki, which did not include gochugaru (Korean red pepper powder). In Scott’s rendition, the rice cakes are seasoned with perilla oil and soy sauce and cooked over low heat until they’re simultaneously crispy and chewy, then finished with sweet honey and spicy chili crisp.

If you are using frozen tteok, soak them in cold water for 10 minutes to soften first. You can find tteok, gochugaru, and perilla oil in many Asian grocery stores.

Adapted with permission from Pocha: Simple Korean Food from the Streets of Seoul by Su Scott, published by ‎Hardie Grant Publishing, June 2024.

Featured in “Pocha Takes You on a Street Food Crawl Through Seoul” by Jessica Carbone.

Yield: 2

Time: 20 minutes

10 oz. fresh or frozen tteok (tube-shaped)
2 Tbsp. perilla oil
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. gochugaru (Korean red pepper powder)
2 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. chili crisp
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. white sesame seeds, toasted and lightly ground

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the tteok and cook for 1 minute, then transfer to a strainer or colander and rinse with cold water. Set aside to drain completely, about 5 minutes.
To a large bowl, add the tteok, perilla oil, soy sauce, gochugaru, and sugar and toss until well combined. Set aside.
To a large wok or skillet over medium heat, add the vegetable oil. When it’s hot and shimmering, add the scallions and cook until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes. Using a spider skimmer, transfer the scallions to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the oil behind in the wok, and set aside.
Turn the heat to low, then add the seasoned tteok and cook, stirring frequently, until they are tender and appear crispy and scorched in places, about 8 minutes. Stir in the chili crisp and honey and continue cooking until caramelized, 1–2 minutes more.
Transfer the tteok to a platter, top with the fried scallions and sesame seeds, and serve immediately.

The post Tteokbokki with Chili Crisp and Honey appeared first on Saveur.

Cheesy Korean Corn Dogs

Su Scott — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 21:14:22 +0000

A deep-fried corn dog might not seem like a classic Korean dish, but as author Su Scott recounts in her new cookbook, Pocha: Simple Korean Food from the Streets of Seoul, it was a frequent snack for her during childhood, sold in local stationery shops called munbanggu. Hot dogs were introduced to Korea in the early 1950s via the American presence during the 625 War (or the Korean War, as it is known in the U.S.). Korean chefs have since found innovative ways to repurpose ingredients from this time of conflict into irresistible street foods. These corn dogs, hand-dipped in a donut-like batter and rolled in panko breadcrumbs, are an indulgent old-school treat and easy to make at home.

Superfine sugar is a more finely ground version of granulated sugar. It can often be found in grocery stores, but you can also make your own by pulsing granulated sugar in a food processor for about 1 minute. A cut-up stick of string cheese also works beautifully for the cubed mozzarella called for in this recipe.

Adapted with permission from Pocha: Simple Korean Food from the Streets of Seoul by Su Scott, published by ‎Hardie Grant Publishing, June 2024.

Featured in “Pocha Takes You on a Street Food Crawl Through Seoul” by Jessica Carbone.

Yield: Makes 8

Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the batter:

½ cup superfine sugar
1 tsp. fine sea salt
1¾ cups bread flour
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 large egg, lightly beaten

For the corn dogs:

4–6 hot dogs, cut into 3-in.-long pieces
1 oz. low-moisture mozzarella, cut into eight ½-in. cubes
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1¼ cups panko breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying
2 Tbsp. superfine sugar (optional)
Ketchup and yellow mustard, for serving

Instructions

Make the batter: In a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, stir together the sugar, salt, and 1 cup of warm water until dissolved, about 2 minutes.
In a large bowl, stir together the bread flour and yeast. Slowly pour in the sugar mixture and the egg, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the batter is well incorporated and wet yet smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. (Don’t worry if there are a few lumps.) Cover with plastic and set aside to rest in a warm place until doubled in volume, 45 minutes–1 hour.
Meanwhile, onto a bamboo skewer, thread a piece of hot dog, followed by a mozzarella cube. Repeat until eight skewers are filled, then dust lightly with all-purpose flour. Set up a breading station: transfer the skewers to a large plate, fill another large with the panko, and place them both next to the bowl of prepared batter.
To shape the corn dogs, hold the end of a skewer in your dominant hand and plunge it into the batter, completely covering the hot dog. Wet your non-dominant hand and use it to shape the battered dog, rotating to coat completely. Lift the corn dog out of the batter and quickly roll it in the panko to coat.
Into a large pot fitted with a deep-fry thermometer, pour 4 inches of oil and turn the heat to medium-high. When the temperature reads 340°F, carefully lower a battered corn dog into the pot and cook, gently pushing it down with tongs or a spider skimmer if it floats to the surface, until evenly golden brown, 4–5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the corn dog to a wire rack set over a baking sheet to drain excess oil. If desired, spread the sugar on a plate and roll the corn dog in the sugar while warm. Repeat with the remaining corn dogs.
Drizzle the corn dogs with ketchup and mustard and serve warm.

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