Entrées from the new Korea

We wrote about the talent of Mingoo Kang, chef at restaurant Mingles in Seoul, little over a month ago, within our Reportage from Korea. We met him again a few weeks later at hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan, on the occasion of the national day of South Korea at Expo. He was the one to cook the dinner organised by the Korean Food Foundation, an organisation that has the goal of spreading the benefits of an extraordinary cooking around the world.

Mingoo is the kind of chef we like: he is very rooted to the territory he comes from but has a free mind, open to inspirations coming from around the world. This is proven by the recipe for this triple entrée presented in Milan, the same you can find at the start of his tasting menu at restaurant Mingles. Foie gras, paired with kimchi and the very traditional plum wine from his country. Bugak, traditional fried vegetables covered in a sticky rice purée is still a very active ritual in the centennial preparations inside the Buddhist temple. And baek kimchi (white kimchi), which explodes in the mouth, detonated by the chilli powder, a very strong pillar in traditional preparations. We suggest trying it at home to understand how the cuisines and tastes can differ around the world.

Foie gras and kimchi
Foie gras
500 g foie gras
5 g Salt
10 g Deon Jang
5 g sugar
20 g Korean plum wine

Mix all ingredients and marinate foie gras for one day. Vacuum foie gras in the sealing bag and cook at 68°C for 30 minutes.

Baek Kimchi
100 g Baek Kimchi
30 g Black rice vinegar

Marinade baek kimchi in vinegar.

Bugak
Vegetable chips
1 Lotus root
1 Sweet potato
Dasima (Seaweed, Konbu)
20 g Sticky rice powder
200 g water
Slice all vegetables thinly and blanch. Mix water and sticky rice, cook it. Make sticky rice purée. Brush rice puree on all the sliced vegetables. Let all vegetables completely dry. Fry all vegetables and drain.

 

Whitebait
50 g Whitebait
5 g oil
15 g honey
3 g ‘Gan Jang’ – Korean soysauce
Mix oil, honey, and Gan Jang all together and brush it on the white bait. Deep fry it and break it into small bites.

Sesame leaf aioli
100 g mayonnaise
100 g sesame leaf
Blend well.