All language subtitles for Korean.Food.Made.Simple.S01E06.WEBRip.x264-ION10

-In Korea, a child's first
birthday

is considered one of the most
important family events.

[Speaking Korean]

[Judy]: Families traditionally
celebrate every milestone

of their child's first 12 months

and offer traditional
blessings and gifts,

often in the form of food,
to symbolize good wishes
for the child's future.

Sharing food is central
to family life in Korea.

Welcome to Korean Food
Made Simple.

[Upbeat folk music]

[Judy]:
My name is Judy Joo.

I'm a Korean-American chef
and food writer,

now living and working
in London.

And I'm passionate for
the Korean flavours I grew
up with in the States.

In this series, I'm travelling
back to South Korea

from the buzzing metropolis
of Seoul

to the swarming beaches
of Busan.

Introducing the people and
places who inspire my cooking,

and sharing with you the best
of Korean food.

Back in my kitchen, I'll show
you my simple tasty twist on
classic Korean dishes,

and how a few simple
Korean ingredients
can transform a meal.

There's is always more to life
with some spice.

And hopefully inspire you to try
some tasty Korean flavours,

with family and friends.

Wow! I could eat a bucket
of these!

[Judy]:
In this show I serve up classic
family favourites.

I make a beef dish,
Bulgogi with rice cakes,

for a tasty one-pot supper.

Light and crispy
crab stick fritters,

perfect to serve with
drinks or as a lunch box snack.

[Laughs]
I'm going to eat these all
before my guests arrive.

[Judy]: And I show
you how versatile kimchi is,

bringing spice and Umami
to fried rice.

Also, I find out how a bespoke
lunchbox,or dosirak,
is prepared

for K-Pop's
biggest stars.

This is Psy, right?

[Judy]: And I join
my auntie and her friends

deep in the countryside
for a kimchi-making party.

Gloves on, ladies.

-Yeah.
-Yeah?

-Mm-hmm.
-Alright.

[Judy]: But first
I'm headed south to Busan

to meet my cousin Ryan
and his family to celebrate
his birthday.

[All greeting]

Ryan's wife, Cheryl,
is making a traditional seaweed
soup called Miyeokjuk,

which Korean moms make for their
children on their birthdays,

a tradition that they pass
on to their son's wives.

So I know that this
is birthday soup.

-Yes.

-So why do you eat this
on your birthday?

-It contains many nutrition
and vitamins.

-Yeah, seaweed is really
good for you.

-Yeah, really good for us.

-My mom always makes
[Unclear] For me.

-Judy: Yeah.

-Now your turn, so you've got
to learn this.

[Laughter]
Learn about it.

-And then are these all of
your favourite foods that we
have here,

that Cheryl's...

-I have to say, I love this.

[Laughter]

-Judy: So Bulgogi is your
favourite,

-this is Korean beef.
-Ryan: Yes.

-Judy: I think it's kind of
a luxurious thing to always
eat beef on your birthday.

-Right.
-Right.

We are a modern family
but I've also noticed

that there's many
traditions in Korea.

One of the things that
I've experienced a lot

is this pouring of the drinks.

Who pours, what order?

- Oldest person on the table

-pour the wine to everyone.
-Judy: Okay.

-And when younger person pour
the wine to older person

they pour with two hands, yeah.

-Judy: So the hands are this?
-Like this.

-Yeah, both.

[Talking over each other]
-Judy: Either way.

-Okay, and then who pours for
the oldest person then,

if he's pouring
for everybody else?

-Just sitting, the next person.
-Okay.

[All cheering]

[Glasses clank]

-It's very wonderful.

-When you drink after
the cheers you always
to like look away.

-Cheryl: Yeah, it's rude
to drink in front
of the older persons.

-Ryan: Yeah, that shows
respect.

- You're going to
teach your children all of
these, uh, traditions?

-I don't want to like say you
have to do this, or that,

but I just want to say,
we have these tradition things.

- Yeah.

[Applause and cheering]

-Cheers.

-Cheers.
-Happy birthday.

-Thank you. Thank you.

[Speaking Korean]

-In Korea, on your birthday,
it's customary for somebody
to make you your favourite dish

and my favourite dish that
I would like somebody to make
me is Bulgogi,

or stir fried beef,
with rice cakes.

Now rice cakes are these
funny little things.

They're literally
compacted rice,

and what they do is
they make little cakes
and then they slice them.

They're a little bit dry when
you get them so you have
to rehydrate them in some water.

I'm going to use sirloin today,

and I've partially frozen
it just for about 45 minutes
so I can cut it really thinly.

[Rustling, door thuds]

I'm going to slice it as
thinly as I can.

And as you can see
it's pretty much paper thin,

and that's so we can eat
it with chopsticks.

You don't have knives on
the Korean table.

And my mom's sweet tip was to
mix sugar in the meat

just to tenderize it a bit
and get that sweet flavour.

And leave that to sit for about
half an hour.

[Splashing]

And now for my main marinade,

soy sauce,

sesame oil,

roasted sesame seeds,

ginger, garlic,

and because I already have sugar
in the meat already now,

I'm not going to put any mirin,
or sugar, in this marinade here.

But all of these ingredients
mixed together,

it's pretty much what you have
for a lot of different meats

when you're grilling
or barbecuing in the Korean way.

[Clank]

A tip from my mom.

She used to always add
the vegetable oil

directly into her
marinade so she didn't have
to add it in the pan later.

And then I'm going to add
my sweetened beef.

Shake off and squeeze

any of that excess
sugar water that comes out.

I like using my hands
in the kitchen a lot.

They really are the best tool
that you have.

And you've got to show your food
that you love it.

[Splashing]

Coat that beef with that
marinade and let that marinate
for at least a half an hour,

or up to overnight in the fridge
if you've got time.

[Thud, clank]

Thinly slice some onions.

[Thudding]

I've got to get these away
from me and into the pan now

as quickly as possible
because they're...

they're hurting me.

They're making me cry.

Again, you don't want to brown,
it's going to soften.

Next for my little
button mushrooms.

I'm just going to
halve these.

I do like a number of
different shapes and textures
in my cooking.

I've got slivers for my onions,

half moons for my mushrooms,

I'm going to have long, thin,
skinny strips for my carrots.

And that's the base of my sauté.

Just keep the flame on low
so you don't get any browning.

[Sizzling]

Just once everything
is slightly softened,

I'm going to add in
my marinated beef.

[Sizzling]

I can really smell that ginger
and garlic and the onions,

and all those flavours are going
to marry together and make
for a delicious dish.

Now for my rice cakes.

I just pick them out, give them
a shake, throw some in.

I don't put too many just
'cause the main star of this
dish is the beef.

[Sizzling]

And these are ready-cooked
essentially so you really just
have to warm them through

to soften them.

I do want to at a little
bit of liquid

so I'm just going to add some of
the water from the rice cakes,

and the rice cakes you'll
find will soak up all of that
great gravy on the bottom

and taste delicious
once you serve them up.

Don't walk away from this
'cause it really is done
in just minutes.

You don't want to overcook
those rice cakes.

So, really, a simple meal.

[Thudding]

Korean chives...

just for some colour.

Sesame seeds,
these are whole roasted ones,

black ones
and some white ones.

Whether it's your birthday or
not it's a perfect dish to
share with friends and family.

I love that combination
of salty and sweet

but this is the real prize.

These rice cakes.

Maybe I should put more in
next time.

Mm.

[Judy]:
In Korea, fans of celebrities
and K-Pop stars

send their idols bespoke
designer lunch boxes

packed with their favourite
traditional hand-made
picnic food.

Inspired by Korean tradition
of moms making "doshirak,"

or lunch boxes,
for their kids,

each hand-decorated box is
individually designed

with its own menu
and delivered by hand.

I'm taking my cousin Yu-Ri
and her two kids

to make their own custom
lunch boxes with Suji Kim,

Korea's most
famous dosirak designer.

Suji, I know you are super
famous for making
these doshirak, or lunch boxes,

and I know this one
is particularly special

because you make a little
celebrity-type lunch set.

This is Psy.
-Suji: [Speaking Korean]

-So Psy is one of Korea's most
famous superstars,

and inside I see you've got...

some abalone, some squid and
some [Unclear],

-some blood sausage.
-Suji: Yeah, yeah.

-And some vegetables
and some duck [Unclear]

and some beef
and eel.

So this is, this is a lot of
good protein for--

[Speaking Korean]

-Yeah, for health and to keep
him strong so he can do all of
his Gangnam-style moves,

those dances.
[Laughter]

How much would this cost?

-Special lunch boxes...

[Speaking Korean]

-Wow, okay.

So that's about $300,
or just under £200.

And then this type
of lunch set...

-On the [Unclear] birthday.

-Side dishes too.

A way to a man's heart
is through his stomach, right?

Okay, so this is a very
strategic lunchbox
for somebody to get.

And what is the last one?

-Suji: [Unclear] for teacher.

-Ah, so you give those to your
teacher if you're trying to
bribe her to get a straight A.

[Laughter]

So you give her this and
then she has to give you
a perfect grade?

[Laughter]

So you've got little cute
fried chicken and different rice

wrapped in leaves and pumpkin
leaves and pickles.

I love this.

Can we make some for the kids?
-Suji: Yes.

[Judy]: Suji Kim and her team
make the contents of our dosirak

from fresh local ingredients,

while we join the very talented
lunchbox designers.

And so you must make
them the best dosirak?

-I hope so.

[Laughter]
-Yeah. If you have time.

And Yu-Ri, do you make dosirak
for your husband?

-Yeah, actually, yes.

Every Sunday he has to work.

-Judy: And what do you put
inside his dosirak?

-Usual daily food like rice
and Korean soup

and Korean traditional
side dishes like kimchi.

-Oh, okay.

[Speaking Korean]

It looks like we are all done
with ours.

Yeah, you guys are done too?

-Yu-Ri: Yeah.
-Judy: These look great.

Coming up, my simple lunchbox
recipe for bite-size
crab fritters.

And I get tips from the experts
in the art of making
homemade kimchi.

-You have to learn
how to kimchi.

-I know!

[Judy]: I'm executive
chef and food writer Judy Joo

and this is my guide
to the very best of Korean food.

That is awesome.

[Judy]: Back in my kitchen
I'm putting my twist on
classic Korean dishes

for you to cook at home.

Later I immerse myself in
the traditional art
of kimchi making.

And I show you how a little
kimchi adds huge flavour
to fried rice.

But first, my super-simple
recipe for crab stick fritters.

I remember my mom feeding
me a lot of different snacks
when I was a little kid,

and one of them was made
with crab sticks.

And I've got a great
recipe using these guys,

crab stick fritters.

My mom would make me
these little pancakes,

put them in my lunch box

and my sister and I, when
we lived together in New York,

would often make this

as a snack
or little lunchtime treat.

I'm going to put in some prawns.

Cut everything up
relatively small

because I'm going to make
small little fritters

because these have to fit into
a small, little lunchbox.

Ubiquitous Korean spring onions,

trusty scissors.

And this is a variation

of another really popular
Korean dish called jun,

which is literally just pan
frying any kind of items,

whether it's seafood,
fish, vegetables,

and you make little pieces
of it and they're served
as appetizers.

People are always really
surprised when I tell them
what's in it.

[Crack]

Throw some eggs on top,

put them right into the bowl
that I'm going to use.

Break the yolks up;

give it a good stir.

There's some benefits
of having some good agile
chopstick skills.

Korean Sea salt,
solar salt

and a bit of black pepper.

Nice heat in there.

And essentially this is
an omelette at this point,

but what makes it into a pancake
is the addition of rice flour.

In Korea we use rice flour
a lot in our batters,

in our mixes, to coat things,

but it also makes
for a crispier pancake.

You want to get your pan warm
but not too hot.

[Sizzling]

It's important to keep
the colour of the egg
quite yellow,

and you don't want too much
browning on the sides.

These are so quick to make.

Moms will make this
in the morning,

pack these up for kids to take
the school

or literally make little snacks
for after school,

and they are really pretty with
all the different colours

with the pink and the red
and the green.

It's all about colours with
Korean cooking.

[Sizzling]

For doing delicate things
like this

I find using
chopsticks easier.

These are done
in no time.

Really only take about
a minute on each side.

[Oil sizzling]

[Beep]
And the finishing touch is
a quick, quick dipping sauce.

It's really almost
like a vinaigrette.

Three spoonfuls of soy sauce,

a couple of tablespoons
of Korean apple vinegar

or use any other kind
of crisp,

clear vinegar that you have.

White wine vinegar is fine.

One spoonful of very finely
chopped spring onions,

that's going to give the sauce
a little bit of body,

just a drizzle of sesame oil.

Just a bit of a kiss on top.

And lastly, a good spoonful
of roasted sesame seeds.

[Clinking]

Serve some on the side
and now you're ready to eat.

I love the combination
of the seafood,

spring onions,
the eggy batter.

[Laughter]
I'm going to eat these all
before my guests arrive.

[Judy]: In Korea the family
kimchi recipe is passed on

from generation to generation
much like an heirloom.

I've come with my auntie
to meet her friend

who is locally famous
for her kimchi recipe

so I can learn from the best.

[Speaking Korean]

-It's really big.

The first thing that you need
when you make Korea's
national dish,

-kimchi, is a Korean Napa
cabbage, don't you?
-Yeah.

-In the first step of it
is to brine it

with Korean sea salt and water

and then afterwards you rinse
it and you get this,

and this is the starting point
of kimchi.

But what makes everybody's
kimchi different

is the kimchi
sauce and [unclear]

here has her own special recipe
which starts out with guksu.

But what makes it particular is
her use of dried pollack here.

And then you add chili powder
and [unclear]

here grows her own
chilies and she dries
them out in the sun.

-Auntie: Yeah,
beautiful colour.

-Judy: Which is amazing.

And this comes altogether and
makes a bit of a paste

and this paste is what
we're going to rub throughout
the cabbage later.

And into this goes
salted shrimp,

plum liqueur,
gives it a good sweetness,

some sesame seeds,
ginger,

fish sauce

and then
a whole slew of garlic.

Now we have to cut some
vegetables up, right?

-So let's start chopping.
-Auntie: Yeah.

-And we chop everything--
-[Unclear].

-Okay.
-Auntie: And this is mine.

-Every Korean woman has to
learn to make kimchi.

-Yes.
-Right?

-Auntie: Yeah, they have to.

-Judy: It's part
of being Korean.
-Auntie: Yeah.

-Right? I know you still
make kimchi--
-Yeah.

-...for the entire family.

-But it is one time in a year.
-Once a year.

-Yeah. Once a year.

-That's great.

Gloves on, ladies.

[Laughter]

Kimchi party time.

-Okay.

[Laughter]
-You guys getting ready?

-Wow, long glove.

-Everybody gets their own.

That's you.
I'll give you some more.

Here.

-Okay.

-And you spread
the kimchi sauce...

on each layer.

So kimchi is one of the world's
super foods

and that's because
it's a fermented product

and when something's fermented
it means it has all of this good
bacteria in it,

much like yogurt or sauerkraut,

and that bacteria is a real
antioxidant and it kicks
your immune system into gear.

And it's always on the table.

Doesn't matter what time
of day or what meal it is,
even at breakfast.

And I think
we're all done.

-Thank you, ladies.
-Thank you.

[Overlapping chatter]

Judy, you have to learn
how to kimchi.

-I know.

-Please.
-I know.

And we'll meet every year.

We'll make kimchi
together, okay?

-Thank you.

-Thank you, thank you.

-Every country in Asia has
some kind of form of fried rice.

But what makes Korean fried rice
so incredibly tasty

is the addition of kimchi.

I like to buy it in bags just
like this, ah, ooh,

you can smell that the second
crack it open.

Because it's really potent stuff

and the smell will permeate
and affect the rest
of your refrigerator,

I tend to triple bag it in
disposable bags or buy it in
a little jar

and this seals quite
tightly so it will keep
the smells inside.

This is cabbage kimchi.

I just like using scissors
to cut it up

because it will make
my cutting board smell

and stain my cutting board,

so I have all these pre-kimchi
rituals that I follow

to keep the stain and
the smells somewhat controlled.

And it is Korea's
national dish.

It's become such a staple
of the Korean diet

and people don't ever really
feel that they've eaten for the
day if they don't have kimchi.

Just cut this up into small
bite size

pleasing pieces.

Just like that.

Sauté this kimchi with
a little bit of bacon.

You can use any kind of pork
that you have lying around.

[Sizzling]

The smell of sautéing kimchi
is a great love

and also
a great horror of mine.

My mom used to fry this

in the garage also
just because it does smell,

but it's a good smell.

You can air out your kitchen
afterwards.

Going to put a little bit more
garlic even though the kimchi
has an enough garlic in it.

Now fried rice really is
a vehicle to use up your
leftovers.

But do you pay attention
to colour?

I like to throw in green
things, orange things.

Julienne some courgettes or
zucchinis, as I call them.

Rough chop all the way through.

[Sizzling]

You can put in any type
of ingredients,

any vegetables that you have.

Go through my carrots,
small little dice.

I like to use shiitake mushrooms
just because they
give a great flavour,

nice colour.

You can use anything that you
want to though.

Any kind of wild mushrooms,
mixed mushrooms.

Just clean out your vegetable
drawer with this dish,
it's fine.

This dish really works well for
day-old rice just as long as you
keep it chilled.

I like it because it's a little
bit drier and it makes for
a better fried rice.

[Sizzling]

Now it's starting to smell
really good.

The kimchi in this dish gives it
a really great crunch

so there's a textural element
that it adds,

but also it gives it this deep
complex flavour.

I really have to say it is all
about umami in this dish.

You try it once you're like,
ooh, that's different,
that's interesting.

You try it again and it's like,
I kind of like that

and you
just can't stop eating it.

I love eggs in my cooking
and Korea loves eggs too.

And what I found most surprising
is watching people get
on the trains

and they sell eggs in the
station, hard-boiled eggs.

People just eat them as snacks
like you would an apple.

It's definitely
such a satisfying lunch

or after-school snack.

I could eat this entire
pan probably.

And fried egg on top.

Korean chives on top

and a little bit of gochugaru
or Korean chili flakes,

pepper --

can't get away from that.

And this is one of the greatest
fried rice dishes

because of the addition
of kimchi.

I love to break that yoke

and mix it throughout to give it
a little creaminess,

and I really
hope that you take time and
effort to seek out some kimchi.

Just buy one bag, play with it,
throw it into some fried rice.

[Judy]: Usually each
family's annual kimchi making

is followed by a traditional
meal of bossam,

steamed pork bellies served
with a mature kimchi
and this year's brand-new batch.

[Speaking Korean]

[Laughter]

It's nice.

-Auntie: Yeah.
-Very fresh.

Not yet, you'll teach him?

Do you want to learn how
to make kimchi?

-Yeah, someday.
-Someday. You should learn too.

[Laughter]
-I don't think so.