Tag: tuna

  • Recipe: Chamchi Jeon (Korean tuna cakes)

    Recipe: Chamchi Jeon (Korean tuna cakes)

    Many keep some cans of tuna in the pantry as an inexpensive source of protein. But for a number of Americans, the only purpose for canned tuna is tuna salad or cat food.

    Veer from the deep-rutted tuna salad trail with this easy recipe for 참치전 chamchi jeon. These little, two-bite-sized tuna cakes are seasoned simply with salt, pepper, onion and a little garlic. That helps them pair well with bolder, spicier main dishes or kimchi banchan (pickled vegetable side dishes).

    Tunacakeswithdippingsauces31

     

    I used common canned tuna in my version of this recipe. However, if you are able to get your hands on the Korean canned tuna commonly sold for making kimchi jjigae, use it. It’s pre-marinaded in spicy gochujang and will add some spice and excitement to your tuna cakes.

    If you want to eat them western style, you can serve them with tartar sauce, spicy mayonnaise or tzatziki. I served them with a couple of Korean dipping sauces: vinegar spicy pepper sauce (식초 고추장 shikcho gochujang) and vinegar soy sauce (초간장 cho ganjang).

    Tunacakeswithvinegarsoy31

    Based on recipe by Naomi Imatome-Yun.
  • Israeli Couscous Salad With Korean Radish and Pine Nuts

    Israeli Couscous Salad With Korean Radish and Pine Nuts

    Israeli couscous is couscous on steroids. It’s much larger than the familiar North African version. Comparatively, Israeli couscous has a nutty flavor and is chewier. Israeli couscous also lends itself to salads better than its diminutive cousin.

    I came up with this recipe the other night by combining that pumped-up pasta with a little kitchen craziness and some fresh 총각무 chonggakmu (Korean ponytail radish) from my garden.

    Pinenutandtunarecipe 731

    One of the most crucial ingredients is lemon juice. Hopefully, lemon prices have sweetened in Korea after souring with the Master Cleanse craze some time ago.

    Also important is boiling Israeli couscous in a flavored broth. Those little toasted balls of semolina will easily soak up the flavor.

  • Tuna Kimchi Jjigae

    Tuna Kimchi Jjigae

    tunakimchijjigae11
    This has been my go-to kimchi jjigage recipe for more than 10 years. (Tammy Quackenbush photo)

     

    Northern Californian winters are all about cold dampness — rain, lots of rain. For me, the only purpose for winter is to get the full benefit of a hot bowl of 김치찌개 kimchi jjigae, or kimchi stew. That’s a dish Koreans commonly make to finish off a jar of kimchi that has become too sour and mostly “juice,” the tangy, spicy, flavorful remnant of pickling.

    Kimchi jjigae with 돼지고기 dwaegi gogi (pork), Spam processed ham or 두부 dubu (tofu), are common variations of the dish. Avoiding pork for religious reasons, I was pleased to find 참치김치찌개 chamchi kimchi jjigae, or kimchi stew with tuna, on the menu of a restaurant near Kangwon National University in Chuncheon, a lakeside city in the mountains northeast of Seoul. I first tasted that version in the mid-’90s and have been making it ever since.

    Korean grocery stores sell canned tuna specially made for kimchi jjigae, marinated in 고추장 gochujang (Korean red pepper paste). Because tuna is usually chunk light tuna, which has a smell and flavor, albacore canned tuna is my tuna of choice. (But I may have to reconsider after reading this Epicurious article about mercury in albacore.)

    Since most canned tuna isn’t packed in gochujang, I add gochujang or 고추가루gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes or powder) to the stew. Gochujang will make the stew thicker; gochugaru, thinner.

    A tasty low-fat version of this Korean classic

  • Raisin and Tuna Sandwich

    Raisin Tuna Sandwich11

    Didn’t try it, though.  I ate the one on the right.