Toor dal

So many languages, so many names for Cajanus cajan, the scientific name for pigeon peas. Outside India, the Hindi name "toor" (तूर दाल) is mostly used when referring to Indian dal recipes, within India there are many more names for this legume depending on the region.

In the early days of YouTube I tried toor dal from Manjula's Kitchen YouTube-channel a few times and ten years on, her recipe is still online. I tried it again and it still works for me. The basics is of course cooking the toor with salt and turmeric in a pressure cooker. After cooking 1 cup of dal in 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, add 1 tablespoon fine chopped ginger, 1 teaspoon mango powder (amchoor) and 1 teaspoon garam masala.

Manjula is Jain and therefor vegetarian so she doesn't use garlic or onions in her recipes. The substitute for garlic and onion is a pinch asafoetida (hing).

There are two different chaunk/seasoning versions for this toor dal. One with vegetables and one with spices only,

Version 1

2 tablespoons clarified butter
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 bay leaves
Pinch of asafetida (hing)
4 whole red chili (sabut lal mirch)
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Heat the butter in a saucepan. Add hing, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds when the butter is hot. After the seeds crack, stir for a few seconds. Add bay leaves, whole red chilies, and paprika. Stir for a second, adding one tablespoon of water to prevent burning. Pour in spice mix over dal.

Version 2

2 tablespoons clarified butter
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
2 bay leaves
Pinch of asafetida (hing)
1 tomato medium chopped
1 small zucchini chopped into 1 inch long cubes
6 string beans chopped about 1 inch long

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add hing, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds when the butter is hot. After the seeds crack, stir for a few seconds. Add bay leaves and chili powder. Stir for a few seconds. Add the vegetables. Stir and cook four to five minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
Combine the vegetables and the dal and mix gently.

Weinschorle - veredeltes Wasser

Weinschorle is one of my favourite summertime drinks yet few people in The Netherlands are familiar with Weinschorle, and many react with horror: adding water to wine? Sacrilège!

They don't get it. Man muss nur wissen, wie man seine Weinschorle trinkt. 

The wine
The first rule is to use a good quality wine. When mixed with water, a bad wine will still taste bad. The strongest aromas will prevail. A Riesling is the classic wine for a Weinschorle, but not the only suitable wine.

The water
The next factor is the right water for the right wine. Never use mineral water with too much taste because the minerals will overpower the wine. A Riesling has much acidity by itself, therefor carbonated water with too much carbon dioxide will accentuate the acidity. For a Riesling it is therefore best to use a medium carbonated water. Grauburgunder, Chardonnay or Silvaner can take water with higher carbon dioxide content. 

You have to experiment. I like to mix Riesling with Gerolsteiner Medium, if I can find it in The Netherlands. You can even make a Weinschorle with still water.

The ratio
This part might be controversial. In most parts of Germany the ratio wine to water is fifty-fifty. Now this is fine for a very hot summer day and I am not arguing against it. In the Pfalz, where they take their Weinschorle very, very serious, the ratio is different and somewhere between one quarter and one-third water to three quarters and two-thirds wine. Since the classic Weinschorle glass in the Pfalz is the 0,5 liter Dubbeglas I was puzzled. The alcohol content for one Pfalzer Weinschorle can be as much as two 0,2 liter wine glasses. But apparently the Dubbeglas was passed around and everybody would take one sip.

Red wine or rosé
You can also make a Weinschorle with red wine. The carbon dioxide in the water not only enhances the acidity but also the tannins. Use a red wine low in tannins like a Spätburgunder, Dornfelder, Merlot or Trollinger. A rosé or Rotling is the perfect wine for a Weinschorle. 

Source: Weinschorle hat ihren schlechten Ruf völlig zu Unrecht

Tteokbokki 떡볶이 + Eomukguk 어묵국

Spicy rice cakes (Tteokbokki) and fish cake soup (Eomukgu) are often sold together. Both are essentially streetfood. This streetfood restaurant in Gwangjin-gu 광진구 in Seoul had only one, bright yellow, table. When I arrived in Seoul on the last day of my journey I was overwhelmed by the city. I first got off at Jonggak metro station in Jongno (종로) district. The tall buildings, the heat and the traffic were relentless. I quickly got back in the metro and travelled for more than half an hour to Gwangjin district. In Gwangjin the city was cut down to human proportions. Off the main streets the houses were only four stories high and I could browse the small coffee shops and restaurants. Tteokbokki and Eomukguk made for a perfect lunch.

When making Tteokbokki and Eomukguk at home you buy the rice cakes and fish cakes ready made. The spicy sauce for the Tteokbokki and the soup for the fish cakes can be made from scratch.

Yache Twigim 야채튀김

Twigim (튀김) are deep-fried dishes in Korean. Yache Twigim 야채튀김 are vegetable fries. 

They are easy to make. For the batter you will need:

120 gram all-purpose flour, 240 gram frying batter mix (튀김가루 Twigim Gahroo) and 600 ml cold water.

Or: 300 gram flour + 60 gram cornstarch + 1 beaten egg + 600 ml cold water + 1 tsp salt in case you cannot buy Twigim Gahroo.

For the vegetables you can use yellow onion (sliced), sweet potato (Gogooma 고구마), carrots, green onion or whole green peppers. I had Yache Twigim for breakfast in Busan in a small local market. Serve with soy vinegar dipping sauce. 

Maeuntang 매운탕

Maeuntang 매운탕, or spicy fish soup, is difficult to recreate outside of Korea because of the fresh water dropwort (Minari 미나리) and chrysanthemum greens (Ssukgat 쑥갓). I have no idea where to buy these herbs.

This soup is very, very spicy. Indeed, “Maeun” means spicy.

Mul-naengmyeon 물냉면

One of my favourite Korean summertime dishes is mul-naengmyeon, cold noodles in chilled broth. It seems like a simple dish but to get it right takes a lot of effort and days in preparation. Below recipe is based on Maangchi's recipe.
 
When you buy naengmyeon-yong-guksu 냉면용국수 (the dried buckwheat noodles) you will usually get a package of liquid or powdered broth. To make the broth from scratch you will need the brine of fermented radish water kimchi (dongchimi: 동치미) and beef stock. It is a time consuming proces since the dongchimi needs about five days to ferment. You can make a quicker broth from 8 cups of water, 3 or 4 shiitake mushrooms, 4 inch piece of dried kelp and 8 to 10 dried anchovies. Boil for 20 minutes and cool.

To do it the proper way:

1. Make Dongchimi 동치미
Roll about 7 small Korean radishes Mu 무 in plenty of salt to coat the radish. Put the salted radish in a glass jar. Put some green radish leaves on top and add the leftover salt. Close the lid and keep it in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

Then add 4 garlic cloves, minced, 2 teaspoons minced ginger, 2-3 green chili peppers, 2-3 red chili peppers, half a Korean pear, cut into chunks, 3 green onions (including the roots), washed and drained, onion, sliced into pieces and 2 liters of water. Close the lid and let it sit at room temperature for 2-3 days until it ferments.

2. Make beef stock
Bring water to a boil, add washed beef brisket and simmer for two hours. Cool the stock and thinly slice the beef. 

Combine beef stock and dongchimi in approximately a 2 : 1 ratio. 

Once you have the broth chilled in the freezer to the point you will get chunks of ice or slush, you assemble the mul-naengmyeon as follows: 
Put the cooked and cold water rinsed noodles in a bowl and pour over the icy broth. Place pickled cucumber and sliced pear on top. Add mustard oil, sprinkle with sesame seeds powder and add half a hard boiled egg.

Pickled cucumber: mix sliced cucumber, salt, half a teaspoon of sugar, and vinegar in a bowl.

The mul-naengmyeon 물냉면 below was served in Gyeongju (경주) in a small restaurant near my hotel, which was apparently one of the infamous "love hotels" (러브호텔). The free condoms I found in my room were the first give away.

Korean BBQ 고기구이

Korean BBQ is just a method of preparing many different dishes. The meat can be marinated or is served un-marinated. The meat is usually beef or pork, but sometimes chicken or even duck. 

Popular marinated variations with beef are: bulgogi (불고기), galbi (갈비) and jumulleok (주물럭). A marinated version with pork is called dwaeji bulgogi (돼지불고기), or spicy pork bulgogi. 

Un-marinated barbecued pork belly is called samgyeopsal (삼겹살) and among the many un-marinated beef versions, chadol bagi (차돌박이), thinly sliced brisket point, is quite amazing. 

Below are (most likely) pieces of Mokshim sal (목심살), which is a cut of pork, which comes close to the German "Schweinenacken".

The green leaf wraps are well known. You can spice the meat with pajeori (파절이) green onion salad, a raw piece of garlic, raw green pepper and ssamjang (쌈장) dipping sauce, which is basically a mix of doenjang and gochujang. 

Besides meat there is always a selection of mushrooms, sliced onion rings or vegetables to be grilled alongside the meat. You can use a grill pan where the fat drips away, or you can use a grill pan, which contains the fat. This allows you to fry cooked rice, soaking up the fatty juices of the meat.

Pajeori (파절이), green onion salad.

Green leaf wraps.

My Korean grill for home cooking. Fat will drip down into the aluminium cast ring. 

Korean pork cuts diagram by JinJoo Lee (www.kimchimari.com)

Samgyetang 삼계탕

이열치열. To fight fire with fire, that's why Koreans traditionally eat Samgyetang during the hottest days of summer. In Hanja the saying is as follows: 以熱治熱. Main ingredient is a poussin, a young chicken, less than 28 days old at slaughter. The poussin weighs typically about half a kilo. Stuff each poussin with rice soaked in cold water, one fresh ginseng, one jujube, and about eight garlic cloves. Boil on medium heat until the chicken is soft. This can take about 70 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a stone bowl and add the broth. Sprinkle with the greens of spring onion. This chicken soup is served with ginseng infused soju. No dipping sauce was served in this Busan restaurant near Dongnae, but there was plenty of grey salt to put on a plate for dipping the pieces of chicken. Just ₩ 13.000 including a small bottle of ginseng soju.

Boligulbi 보리굴비 + Nogcha bab 녹차밥

Yellow corvina fermented in barley and green tea rice. The cook first brought the grilled fish in one piece and then asked me something I didn't understand. I nodded. After five minutes he came back with the fish in pieces and had apparently fried the separate pieces. 

The green tea rice was a bit of a mystery to me until the waitress explained. I had to put the rice in a bowl of cold green tea. I can imagine that this dish is served with hot green tea in winter.

The banchan (반찬) were really excellent in this Gunsan (군산) restaurant.  Main ingredient: yellow corvina (gulbi: 굴비). I have not found a recipe for yellow corvina fermented in barley (보리) in English, but you can use gulbi-gui 굴비구이 instead: pan fried dried yellow corvina. 

A bowl of green tea (녹차) on the left.

Doenjang-jjigae 된장찌개

Fermented soybean paste stew is one of the Korean recipes you should memorise, since it accompanies a myriad of other dishes. The basics are very simple: boil a couple of cups of water with: onion, garlic, green Korean chili peper (cheong-gochu 청고추), dried anchovies, fresh large shrimp (optional), clams (optional), mushrooms (optional), potato (optional) and zucchini (optional). Boil for 10-15 minutes.

Add 1-4 tablespoons fermented soybean paste (doenjang) depending on how big your bowl, taste before you add an extra spoon. Mix and boil for 15 minutes, add medium-firm tofu and cook for some more minutes. Add spring onion and serve in a stoneware bowl. Below is a doenjang-jjigae 된장찌개 in a mushroom restaurant near Gurye 구례. The photos are made with an iPhone 7 and are of lower quality than usual.

A rather basic songi-dolsot bap (stone pot rice with pine mushroom). Songi (송이) are pine mushrooms.

Hanguktongsin-ro 한국통신로, Masan-myeon, Gurye, Jeollanam-do

Sopropo met zoutvlees

I just can't get enough of this. This recipe - but with antroewa instead of sopropo - comes from the book SuriMAM Cooking van Moreen Waal, Aretha Waal en Martha Waal. Publisher: Luitingh-Sijthoff.

Shopping list:

Zoutvlees (voor zover ik weet alleen verkrijgbaar bij een Surinaamse winkel, rundvlees in pekel bewaard).
1 Sopropo.
1 Ui.
Knoflook.
Gedroogde garnalen.
2 tomaten.
Boullion-blokje (Maggi).
1 eetlepel tomatenpuree.
1 of 2 Madame Jeanette of Adjoema. Fijngesneden zonder de zaadjes.
Zwarte peper.

Het zoutvlees afspoelen en een half uur in koken water ontzouten. Water verversen en verder koken tot het vlees zacht is.

Het zoutvlees in kleine blokjes snijden.

De sopropo over de lengte in tweeën snijden, de zaadjes met een lepel verwijderen en in halve maantjes snijden. In koud water zetten.

In een grote pan de ui, knoflook en hete peper fruiten, daarna de gedroogde garnalen en het zoutvlees toevoegen en 10 minuten bakken op laag vuur.

Daarna de 2 tomaten toevoegen (ontveld, in blokjes gesneden), de sopropo, bouillon-blok, tomatenpuree, zwarte peper en een flink glas water. Stoven tot de sopropo gaar is. Een half uurtje op heel laag vuur.

2022 version from restaurant New Draver. I think I should stew my sopropo much longer.

Wetenschappelijke naam: Momordica charantia. Sopropo komt oorspronkelijk uit India.

Tarte 'Maman Blanc'

Benodigd voor het deeg
250g bloem.
Zout.
125g boter, in stukjes gesneden op kamertemperatuur.
1 tsp koud water.
1 ei.

Werkwijze deeg
Meng de bloem met het zout en de boter tot een zanderige substantie. Voeg daarna het ei en het water toen en kneed het tot een soepel deeg. Sla het deeg plat tot een dike plak van één centimeter en verpak het in vershoudfolie. Koel het deeg een half uur in de koelkast.

Voorverwarm de oven op 220 graden.

Rol het deeg uit tussen de vershoudfolie tot een dunne plak van 2 millimeter. Verwijder het folie aan één kant en leg het in een tarte vorm. Verwijder de bovenste laag folie en verwijder deeg dat boven de rand uit steekt. Boetseer de rand daarna zodanig dat het deeg 2 millimeter boven de rand uitsteekt. Zet terug in de koelkast voor 20 minuten.

Benodigd voor de vulling
15g boter.
½ tbsp citroensap.
65g suiker.
½ tbsp calvados.
3-4 appels, bijvoorbeeld Elstar, geschild, klokhuis verwijderd, elke appel in 10 schijfjes gesneden.
100ml double cream.
1 ei.
Poedersuiker.

Werkwijze
Verhit 15 gram boter, 15 gram suiker en een halve eetlepel citroen in een pannetje. Wanneer alles gesmolten is haal je het pannetje van het vuur en voeg je 1 eetlepel Calvados toe. Met dit mengsel kwast je straks de appels in.

Haal de tarte vorm uit de koelkast en leg appelschijfjes in een mooie cirkelvorm op de bodem. Kies voor een fris-zoete appel. Ik heb gekozen voor Elstar. Kwast de Calvados-boter over de appels. Bak 10 minuten in de oven op 220 graden. Zet de oven terug naar 200 graden en bak nog eens 20 minuten.

Haal de tarte uit de oven en besprenkel de appels met een beetje suiker en giet een mengsel van 100 milliliter double cream, 50 gram suiker en een ei tussen de appels. Bak nog eens 10 minuten tot de vulling gaar is. Een uurtje af laten koelen, besprenkelen met poedersuiker en serveren zolang de tarte nog warm is.

Bulgogi 불고기

This couldn’t be simpler. Slice good quality beef, like beef tenderloin (Dutch: ossenhaas), in very thin slices and marinate in bulgogi sauce for half an hour.

These are the basic ingredients for the marinade:

1/2 cup Korean soy sauce.
1/3 cup sugar.
3 tablespoons rice wine.
2 tablespoons sesame oil.
8 cloves garlic, minced.
4 scallions, minced.
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds.
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, salt.

There are many variations to the bulgogi marinade. This marinade was given to me by my friend Jinyoung so I thought I should keep it.

Brussels sprouts & Marsala

Clean, then boil Brussels sprouts for 5-6 minutes. I used 500 gram. Do not overcook Brussels sprouts. Overcooking releases the sulphur smelling glucosinolate: sinigrin.

In the meantime: fry 100 gram diced pancetta in a little oil for a couple of minutes. Add 20 gram butter & cooked chestnuts. When the butter has melted add 50 ml. Marsala and cook until the butter and Marsala form a thick sauce.

Mix the drained Brussels sprouts and a handful of parsley with the pancetta-Marsala-sauce and serve.

Bartolomeo Scappi - eggplant

This is a recipe from Opera dell'arte del cucinare, the famous cookbook by Bartolomeo Scappi (c. 1500 – 1577). His book was translated in Dutch quite early: Koocboec oft familieren keukenboec, 1612, by Antonius Magirus).

The basic ingredients are eggplant, fresh herbs, olive oil and heavy spices like cinnamon and cloves. Peel the eggplants. Slice the eggplant and coat in flower. Drizzle a baking tray with plenty of olive oil and add a layer of eggplant. Sprinkle with fresh herbs, cinnamon (powdered), cloves (powdered), sugar and salt. Drizzle more oil. Add another layer of eggplant. Sprinkle more herbs (if you have, the top of fennel), a splash of vinegar and more oil. I also used some fennel seeds. Bake until soft. Be careful not to burn the herbs, the whole dish will taste bitter.

Bigos - Polish hunter's stew

Typical of a hunter's stew, there is no fixed recipe. Bigos is a national dish of Poland and the Ukraine, but is also eaten in Latvia and Belarus. Bigos is a cabbage and meat stew.

Basic vegetables:

Sauerkraut.
A small white cabbage, shredded.
Onion.
Garlic.

Meat:
Smoked pork belly, cubed.
Ham (Polish shop), cubed.
Kiełbasa sausage (Polish shop), whole.

Meat is an important aspect of this dish. You can use any kind of meat or meat leftovers. Traditionally this would be a hunter's stew so game works well, but pork is also very tasty. I wasn't sure what kind of sausage to use, so I went to a Polish shop in Amsterdam and was sold the sausage below and a cut of ham. The pork belly is Dutch 'gerookt ontbijtspek'.

Other ingredients:

Dried Boletus edulis (Dutch: eekhoorntjesbrood).
Dried prunes, chopped.
Apple, cubed.
Tomato, cubed.
Small can tomato puree.
White wine, a glass. If you make the version with game instead of pork use red wine instead of white wine.

Spices:
Bay leaf.
Allspice (=piment), freshly ground.
Black peppercorns.
Juniper berries.
Caraway seeds.

First shred the cabbage and simmer for one hour in water. Drain and preserve the water.

Fry the smoked pork belly in some butter or oil. Remove the pork belly and use the fat to sauté the onion and garlic. Add the rest of the meat except the Kiełbasa (in this case just the ham). Then add all the other ingredients and return the pork belly to the pot. I also added the soaking water of the mushrooms. If you need more liquid use the water used for simmering the cabbage. Add the Kiełbasa on top. The bigos I had in Poland was rather dark in colour, so I added a small can of tomato puree. Simmer for at least three hours.

Well, I’ve just learned that tomatoes should not be on the ingredient list. Next time I’ll use the following list of ingredients:

750 gram zuurkool

750 gram witte kool

350 gram varkenslapjes

350 gram kip- of kalkoenfilet

250 gram Silezische worst

een glas rode wijn

40 gram gedroogde paddenstoelen

4 gedroogde pruimen

2 uien

4 jeneverbessen

3 korrels piment

4 peperkorrels

laurierblad

Fried small fish

Smelt (Dutch: spiering; Osmerus eperlanus) is available in the winter months December until March. No need to clean this little fish. Eat them whole. 

Dry the fish and sprinkle with salt. Keep cold. Mix 40 gram very fine flower and 40 gram corn flower. Alternatively: add some cayenne pepper. Coat fish with flower mixture.

Fry in very hot oil for 2-3 minutes. They should be crispy. Drain on kitchen paper. One recipe says to fry them for 1,5 minute, drain and then fry again for 1,5 minute. I'm not sure if this is really necessary. 

Garnish with persillade (parsley and garlic mixture) and lemon wedges. Serve with ice cold beer.

Spiering

Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School

The one day cooking class in Chiang Mai was quite interesting. The Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School is located on a former rice field just outside the city. The owners have transformed the rice field into a garden full of fresh ingredients. The recipes you practice are the standard dishes like a curry and som tam.

Ruamchok Mall, 204 Fhaham Muang District Tambon Fa Ham, Chiang Mai.

Back in the Netherlands I mainly made khao pad (ข้าวผัด) street food style, or specifically khao pad gong (ข้าวผัดกุ้ง). So with shrimp. Not fresh in my case, but dried shrimp.

Khao Pad Gong

The shopping list for Khao Pad Gong (ข้าวผัดกุ้ง):

• Rice (cooled)

• Dried shrimp (or fresh)

• Half an onion.

• Chinese broccoli. Also known as kailan. Chinese: 芥蘭. Asian spinach is also perfect.

• Garlic.

• Egg.

• 1 tbs Thai soy sauce.

• 1 tbs oyster sauce..

• Spring onion/scallion.

Prik Nam Pla Ra (chili in fishsauce น้ำพริกปลาร้า)

• Thai small chilli pepper

• Thai fish sauce.

• Lime.

When the wok and oil are hot, add the garlic to the oil. After 15 seconds add the shrimp. When the scent is well released, add a little less than half of the rice and toss well. Slide rice to one side of wok and crack an egg over wok. Mix the egg with the rice and then add the rest of the rice.

Add the soy sauce and oyster sauce and continue to stir well. Add the Chinese broccoli and onion, stir for 30 seconds and finally mix in the spring onion. You can make the prik nam plan simply by mixing about three tablespoons of fish sauce with about five Thai chilis cut into pieces.

Squeezing some lime is optional. Serve immediately with lime and prik nam pla. Some black pepper works wonders.

Kao Pad Nam Prik Pao

A variation with three types of chili: nam prik pao, prik pon and prik sod). You need to buy a jar of nam prik pao (Pantai brand is well known). The steps are easy. Sauté garlic and roasted chili flakes (prik pon) in oil. Add rice and toss. Mix a table spoon of nam prik pao with fish sauce and toss. Add onion and toss. Add scrambled eggs and fresh chilis (prik sod). Add fresh spinach and/or Thai basil and toss.

Picked in the garden of Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School.

San phra phum (ศาลพระภูมิ) op de Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School. You have to please the local guardian spirits with offerings of lemonade.

Thai mise en place.

Snert

You will need:

500 gram split peas.
A piece of pork hock or ham hock [Dutch: hamschijf], about 500 gram, or two pig's trotters. Note: hamschijf is neither smoked nor cured.
100 gram streaky bacon [Dutch: zuurkoolspek], salted but not smoked, preferrably with rind.
One smoked sausage [Dutch: rookworst].
2 large onions, chopped.
1 large carrot.
2 leeks.
1 celeriac [Dutch: knolselderie].
2 potatoes.
1 bunch of fresh leaf celery.
Black pepper and salt according to taste.
2 litres of water to start with.

Serve with Rye bread ('pumpernickel') and slices of 'katenspek' (lightly streaked pork, first boiled and then smoked black).

How to make split pea soup

Start the day before. Wash the split peas, add 2 litres of water and bring to a boil adding the meat, excluding the 'rookworst'. Remove the thick layer of foam, which will form. Discard the water. Add clean water and bring to a boil again.

Cut the celeriac, onion and potato in small cubes; the carrot in 'half moons'. Cut the leeks 'cross wise', like a feather stick. Add all vegetables (but not the leaf celery) and simmer for 1,5 tot 3 hours.

Remove the meat and cut in small pieces and remove the bones. Pork hock contains an amazing amount of fatty skin. Perfect for an hungry 19th century farmer, maybe not so great for a 21st century city dweller. Discard some of the fat. Return the boiled meat to the pot.

Add the 'rookworst' and a handful of chopped leaf celery. Season with salt and pepper and leave overnight.