The Hanwoo Beef Promotion Committee has proposed two summer stamina dishes featuring Korean beef: a fiery hanwoo brisket yukgaejang and hanwoo mul-hoe, a chilled beef dish served in icy broth.
Korea's ancestors traditionally beat the summer heat through "fight fire with fire" — eating hot food to work up a sweat and regulate body temperature. Following that philosophy, the committee recommends hanwoo brisket yukgaejang as a summer restorative.
To prepare the dish, slice green onions into long pieces and cut shiitake mushrooms — stems removed — into bite-sized pieces; tear oyster mushrooms along the grain. Mix minced garlic, ginger, dark soy sauce and fine red pepper powder to make a seasoning paste. Stir-fry bite-sized pieces of hanwoo brisket in a chili-oil-coated pan over high heat, then add water and bring to a boil. Once the broth is boiling, add the green onions and mushrooms and boil once more before stirring in the seasoning paste. Finish with salt and pepper to taste for a richly flavored, spicy hanwoo brisket yukgaejang.
On sweltering days, a cold bowl of hanwoo mul-hoe offers an equally satisfying remedy. The dish pairs lightly seasoned hanwoo round beef tartare with a tangy, semi-frozen broth — the chewy raw beef and icy liquid combining into a refreshing summer treat.
To make it, lightly boil some of the hanwoo round beef to draw out a stock, then slice the remainder thinly for tartare. Combine store-bought naengmyeon broth with gochujang, red pepper powder, minced garlic, pear drink, the beef stock and vinegar, mix well and freeze until a thin layer of ice forms. Julienne assorted vegetables, boil thin wheat noodles and rinse in cold water, then drain. Arrange the noodles and vegetables in a bowl, top with the beef tartare and boiled round beef, and pour over the semi-frozen broth. Garnish with pine nuts and radish sprouts to complete a hanwoo mul-hoe that revives a heat-dulled appetite.
Min Gyeong-cheon, chairman of the Hanwoo Beef Promotion Committee, said he hoped people would "look after their health and restore their energy with hanwoo dishes that can be enjoyed hot or cold during the scorching summer." He added that the committee would "continue to introduce a variety of seasonal hanwoo recipes and uses to spread the word about the outstanding value of Korean beef."
gorgeous@heraldcorp.com
