What a day, what a week!
I feel like I’ve been running 100 MPH all week, anyone else feel me on this?
A friend and I went to the Korean grocery store this past Sunday. I always buy too much! I get excited about all the things I want to try making, forgetting that now I live on my lonesome, whoops…! I’ll just have to have friends over!
Anyway, today was the first day I got to come home and prepare dinner. All week I’ve been thinking about what I would do with this Ssamjang butter. A few friends and I went to Mott St this weekend and they were generous enough to give us a little ssamjang butter to take home. It’s savory, has a hefty dose of funk from the dwengjang, I think the fat from the butter clings to your mouth and keeps the flavor longer…. Mmmm delicious… fat…
So, here’s what I did… I chopped up a bunch of stuff (red leaf lettuce, daikon shoots, perilla leaf, Asian pear) and piled them on top of some picked moo radish. Put a little dab of the special butter and topped the whole thing with a little brisket that had been sautéed with a little salt and pepper. The meat was hot so it melted the bit of butter into a flavorful mess. Not going to lie, it was mighty tasty… I may or may not be patting myself on the back at this very moment.
Here are some pictures mainly to make you jelly….
thehungryurchin 
After I saw this post months ago I could not stop thinking about how much I wanted it and imagining what it would taste like every time I did. I finally got around to it, or a version of it, and it turned out to be a hit. I couldn’t pull off the special butter of course, but I had sirloin 갈비 (seasoned with salt, and then fried in butter and garlic), 파무침, some regular old 쌈장 wrapped in the 쌈무s. The 쌈무 is actually REALLY flavored (vinegary and salty) and made my lips curl with each bite. I found myself having to shove a big spoonful of rice into my mouth with every bite. And Next time, I would like to try with perilla leaf and pear.
P.S. What are daikon shoots?
P.P.S. Any tips on how to make the 무 less lip-curling?
P.P.P.S. ㅋㅋㅋ [wave]
Wow, that sounds amazing! I didn’t season any of the veggies that I put into the 쌈무, it is very flavorful. I like that idea of having everything flavorful on the inside. Your recipe sounds really good, I’d suggest just taking 무 and slicing it paper thin and run it under cold water for about 20 minutes. Rinsing would make it extra crispy and less in your face. Daikon shoots are daikon seedlings, they usually sell it at Hmart right next to the bean sprouts and green onions? YAY! for cooking! keep at it squirt!!