All language subtitles for Korean.Food.Made.Simple.S01E08.WEBRip.x264-ION10

[Crowd din]

-This street in Seoul
is a popular hangout
among hungry Koreans

and every restaurant
is dedicated to one thing:

barbecue.

Korea is best known
internationally for its barbecue
beef and pork dishes.

And the best way to enjoy
a barbecue

is to eat at restaurants
like this

where diners cook
the marinated meat
themselves on tabletop grills.

You don't have to wait till
summer time to eat a great
Korean barbecue.

It's something that's part
of everyday dining to be enjoyed
365 days a year.

Welcome to Korean Food
Made Simple.

[Light world beat music]

[Judy]:
My name is Judy Joo.

I'm a Korean-American chef
and food writer,

now living and working
in London.

And I'm passionate for
the Korean flavours I grew
up with in the States.

In this series, I'm travelling
back to South Korea

from the buzzing metropolis
of Seoul

to the swarming beaches
of Busan.

Introducing the people and
places who inspire my cooking,

and sharing with you the best
of Korean food.

Back in my kitchen, I'll show
you my simple tasty twist on
classic Korean dishes,

and how a few simple
Korean ingredients
can transform a meal.

There's is always more to life
with some spice.

And hopefully inspire you to try
some tasty Korean flavours,

with family and friends.

Wow! I could eat a bucket
of these!

[Judy]: Later on,
I show you my secret

to the ultimate Korean-style
barbecue chicken.

I make a crunchy cucumber kimchi

that will add a bite and a fiery
kick to any meal,

and a Korean-style rib eye
served on sesame leaves

with an addictive
barbecue sauce.

Also, I visit the World
Kimchi Festival

to join in the celebrations
of a national treasure.

-All: Kimchi!

[Judy]: And I meet a
butcher to get a master class on
the best of Korean beef.

But first, time to enjoy two
of Korea's most popular exports:

barbecue and k-pop.

In Korea, great place to spend
time with friends is
at a barbecue restaurant.

These are true temples of
carnivorous dining

and I've met up with three
members of the popular K-pop
boy band U-KISS.

They are big barbecue fans
and they are keen to show me
their favourite restaurant.

-And this area has a lot of
Korean barbecue restaurants.

-Man: Let's get this
barbecue started.

-Judy: So, what's on the menu?

-We're having
Samgyeopsal today.

-So, what exactly
is Samgyeopsal?

-Man: Three-layered flesh.

[Laughs]
[Talking over each other]

-Direct translation.

-Yeah, is that 'cause it's
like the pork fat,

-the skin and the meat?
-Yeah.

-Yeah, exactly.
-Judy: Give it a go.

Do you have permission to cook
for you guys?

-All: Oh!

-Man: Go ahead.

-We had a program
at U-KISS, U-KISS Chef.

-Judy: You did?
-Yeah.

-You guys all cook?

-We all cook.

We weren't the best cooks,
but we learned on the show.

-Does that mean that food is
a really popular topic in
television for young people?

-Food is a big deal in Korea.
-Really?

-Judy: Every member at the table
becomes their own chef,

not only cooking
the meat themselves,

but also choosing what size
and condiments to add
to every mouthful.

-For me, I like to do a sum.

-A sum? Okay.
-A sum in Korean.

I get one lettuce
and one-- -Kkaenip.

-Kkaenip.
-Yeah.

-What's this in English?
-Sesame leaf.

-Sesame leaf.

And then we do--

grab the [unclear]
and, of course, kimchi.

So I've got this perfect
sum right here,

oh, and garlic.

-Judy: And garlic. You like
it quite complicated.

-Yeah, I love everything
in the sum.

-Okay. Alright, we'll you got
to tell me what you think...

-Okay.

-...of the way I make
Samgyeopsal.

[Laughter]
-Man: This is coming
from a chef.

-Put it in.

-I think you can do it.
I think you can do it.

[Laughter]
-Mm!

-Good?

I love this.

I wish everybody reacted this
way when they eat my cooking.

[Laughter]
-It tastes really good.

-Koreans love to barbecue all
different kinds of meat,
and chicken is no exception.

Being an American,
I've been particularly inspired
by barbecue chicken

and sweet potatoes, which is
a natural side for chicken.

And in Korea we eat these all
the time as snacks, as desserts,

just because they're so sweet.

You don't have to do anything
else, just wrap them up.

[Crinkling]

Pop them in the oven
for about 45 minutes.

And then we're going
to start making our marinade
for this version

of Korean
barbecue chicken.

That starts out with soy sauce.

Have a few good generous
glugs of that.

And, of course, the tang

that you get in most barbecue
sauces comes from vinegar.

Here, my rice vinegar.

Sesame oil, give it
that deep earthiness,

just a drizzle
or two.

Sugar is one of the key
ingredients when you're making
any kind of barbecue sauce,

get that caramelization going.

And because this is...

kind of an
American fusion type recipe,

I'm going to use maple syrup
because I love
that maple flavour.

Salt, black pepper,

some nice deep heat,
sesame seeds.

Then we have to add
some aromatics,

and my usual ones
are my ginger,
garlic and spring onions.

[Scraping]

[Clinking]

My Korean chili paste,
gochujang,

right in there.

And that's going to cut
that sweetness.

It's best to use boneless
chicken thighs.

Chicken thighs have the most
dark meat in them.

I'm going to pour on half
the marinade.

Stir that around just to make
sure all the meat is covered
with the marinade.

That's going to chill now for
a couple of hours.

[Clunk]

I reserved half of my marinade
to make a sauce.

So, you're getting two things
for the price of one.

This is going to get really
sticky and gooey.

It needs a little bit of time.

Whenever I think of barbecue
chicken, being American,
I think of corn.

[Grunts]
Okay.

There you go.

That's ready to get grilled
along with my chicken.

[Clinking]

[Clank]

Heat up your griddle pan
so it's not too hot.

It's too hot, you're going
to burn your chicken
on the outside

and the inside
won't be cooked enough.

[Sizzling]

Skin side first.

There's enough oil
in this marinade
and enough fat on the chicken

that you don't need to oil
your grill.

And then leave it about four to
five minutes on this side,

flip it over, depending on how
thick your thighs are.

[Sizzling]

Oh, that smells like honey.

[Crinkling]

Oh, hot, hot, hot.

Just going to peel these,

if I can very delicately.

You can see all the sweet
honey juices.

They smell amazing.

A rough smash.

These fall apart really easily.

[Clinking]

[Sizzling]

This smells gorgeous.

[Clunk]

Corn going down with a special
extra something on top.

Korean mayonnaise, tanjong.

And this is inspired by Mexican
corn where they spread
mayonnaise on their corn

just
like you would butter.

Our marinade has now thickened

into a really great
barbecue sauce.

I'm just going to smear
that all over on top.

Korean chili threads.

Koreans definitely have it
right.

It's just as much fun
to barbecue inside
as it is outside.

Mm.

[Munching]

This is kimchi,

a spicy fermented cabbage that
has entranced Koreans for as
long as they can remember.

Kimchi has a special place in
every Korean's heart

as the most
popular side dish

to complement any meal.

And in fact, the average Korean
consumes up to 40 pounds
of this stuff a year.

Kimchi is so well-loved that
every year there is a World
Kimchi Festival here in Gwangju.

There is everything from kimchi
tastings, workshops,

competitions and even k-pop
kimchi performances.

Kimchi isn't just made with
the traditional Korean cabbage.

Any vegetable can be turned
into kimchi

by adding salt and
leaving it to ferment.

There's literally hundreds of
different types of kimchi.

And I've come here to learn
from the very best,
master kimchi maker Kim Oksim.

-Annyeonghaseyo.
-Annyeonghaseyo.

-...who's officially earned
the title of World Kimchi Master

or champion
with her special kimchi

that has over 20
different ingredients in it.

And it starts out with pear,
or Korean pear, gives it some
nice crispy freshness.

Garlic, ginger, dried mushrooms,

prawns, octopus,
shiitake mushrooms,

radish, seaweed, red
and green chilies

and another
really interesting ingredient,

chestnuts.

Got to mix all of these in here.

[Speaking Korean]

She's making kimchi in
the traditional way

of peeling each leaf back
and stuffing all these different
ingredients inside.

Kimchi can be eaten
straight away,

but traditionally
it was left to ferment
during the winter months

in large earthenware
pots called onggi.

The longer kimchi is left to
ferment, the stronger and more
sour the flavours become.

Ah, and this is her special
kimchi soup,

which is made from beef brisket,
salted shrimp
and Korean chili flakes.

It looks so incredibly
beautiful.

-Mm.

There.

-Mm!

[Speaking Korean]

That is so incredibly delicious.

Thank you.
Gomabseubnida.

I could see why she is
the Kimchi Master of Korea.

[Judy]:
Coming up, I show you how to
make Korean side dishes,

a crunchy cucumber kimchi
and an easy radish pickle.

And my mom and dad join me
for a chef's table a treat:

dining on some of Korea's
the finest beef.

-Oh!

[Light world beat music]

[Judy]: I'm executive
chef and food writer Judy Joo

and this is my guide to the very
best of Korean food.

That is fantastic.

[Judy]:
Back in my kitchen,

I'm putting my twist
on classic Korean dishes for you
to cook at home.

Later I roll up my sleeves with
a butcher

who uses the finest
and most expensive Korean beef.

And I barbecue marinated rib eye
steak

and serve it with my
favourite of all Korean sauces:

spicy ssamjang.

But first, my recipe for two
crunchy Korean side dishes,

or banchan as they're called.

Kimchi and pickles are part of
every single Korean meal

it and that's because Koreans
do like

a little bit of crunch
with everything that they eat.

I'm going to make one of my most
favourite kimchi recipes

and I'm using a smaller
cucumber here.

These are Kirbys
or pickling cucumbers.

They're not as watery
as English cucumbers

and I like them better
for making cucumber kimchi.

I'll just cut them to make
a little star, just like that.

I'm going to coat these in salt.

This is our Korean solar
sea salt.

Get that into the crosses.

It's going to draw out
some of the liquid

and that is going to
make for a crispier kimchi.

And let that hang out
for a couple of hours.

And now I'm going to make
a really quick pickle.

This is a Korean white radish,
but if you can't find
these guys,

feel free to use any white
radish that you have available.

I tend to make this in bucket
loads just because I love it
and it's so easy.

Even though it's just a pickle
and not a fermented product,

you do get that great crunch.

This is my julienne peeler.

And this, as you can tell,
makes great little strips.

Perfect thin strands to make

a great pickled radish
side dish.

And pickling starts out
with vinegar.

Here I'm going to use apple
vinegar, which is Korean.

Little bit of garlic because
I'm a Korean girl
and we love garlic.

[Clanking]
Sugar cuts the tart flavour.

[Clank]

And for a bit of kick,
Korean chili flakes, gochugaru.

And you'll find even though
this is bright fiery red,

it's not that hot.

It's sweet with a hint of heat
and spiciness.

And you're going to enhance all
of this with the some finely
grated sea salt.

That's it.

Get those flavours dancing
around together.

And that's ready to eat
the way it is.

I'm going to go back
to my brined cucumbers. Ooh.

You can see they've shrivelled
a bit because all the water's
been taken out of it

and that's 'cause the salt
has really just drawn out
all that moisture.

Rinse all
of that extra salt off.

[Trickling]

Now it's time to make my perfect
kimchi base.

It starts out
with spring onions,

couple cloves of garlic,
one white onion.

[Crunch]

Some ginger.

I've got a real trick when it
comes to peeling ginger.

Just use the side of a spoon

and rub it up the sides.

Roughly chop that,

and stick that in.

There's a lot of shrimp
used as bases in Asia,

whether they're dried shrimps,

shrimp paste,
Korea's no different
and we use salted shrimp.

I'm going to put
a good amount in there.

My Korean red hot chili flakes.

A lot of that goes in.

This is supposed to be
red fire hot.

A little bit of water,
just to get the paste going.

[Trickling]

[Clanking]

And just pulse it.

[Pulsing whirs]

That's it.
It's good enough.

Ooh!

Hot chili!

Hot chilliness in the air.

Few chops of chives
just mixed through,

'cause I want to keep those long
so they look nice and pretty.

You have to use plastic gloves
when you make kimchi

just because the spice really
is a bit fiery.

And in Korea you'll find these
gloves in every kitchen.

So I'm just going to stuff these

with our base.

One thing that you get with
fermentation that you don't get
with a quick pickle

is you get the formation
of probiotics and enzymes

that really aid
in your digestion.

Plus it tastes really,
really good.

And then that is going to go
into the refrigerator for
a couple of days to ferment

and come to life.

[Footsteps]

And I've got some that I've made
three days ago here.

Can't wait to try this.

This will have all of
the great fermented flavours
going on inside,

and the fermented smells.

Ooh.

[Laughs]
Even after days and months,

fermentation keeps
that nice crisp texture

and vibrant colour.

And, of course, the vibrant
flavours come alive.

[Crunch]

I've got my cucumber kimchi,

my pickled radish,

seaweed crisp, a little
bit of grilled mackerel
and steamed white rice

and that is the perfect
way to kick-start my day.

[Light pop music]

-Koreans are very proud of
their native meats.

But by far the most prized
is Hanwoo,

a superior grade Korean
beef that costs up
to three times as much

as any imported beef.

But Koreans don't mind paying
a premium price for this
incredible product.

[Speaking in Korean]

-Hello.

[Judy]: I'm meeting Mr. Oh,
head butcher at the Westin
Chosun Hotel in Seoul

to learn why he prefers
to use the Korean Hanwoo beef
over international breeds.

As you can see, it's really
densely marbled here,

which gives it
such a great taste.

Are you guys hungry?

[Judy]: I'm meeting
my mom and dad for a special
barbecue dinner,

and Mr. Oh has recommended
the perfect dish
for a meat-lover like my dad.

-Kalbi.
-Kalbi, yeah.

[Chuckling]

[Judy]: Kalbi
is the most popular barbecue
dish in Korea.

It's made from beef short ribs
cut in a specific way.

The meat is skillfully
butterflied to create a long
uniform thin cut,

and then it's left to marinate
overnight to allow the meat
to soften and absorb

the rich flavours.

[Sizzling]

[Speaking Korean]

[Laughs]

[Gasping]

-[Unclear] why do you use
stone there?

-If you put our kalbi
on a normal plate,

the meat going
to get colder very quickly.

So we just want to keep our
kalbi very nicely,

so you can have warm
and tender kalbi.

-Dad: This is very tender.

-Mm!

-Wow.
-Mom: Good flavour.

-The flavours are amazing.

And I know that kalbi
has a magical number five
around it, right,

for the marinade
so there's always garlic
and soy sauce, right?

But then there's always
something with acid

and something with a little
bit of oil.

What is your sweet element
that you add?

-She's using our apple,
pear and kiwi

and that's all the sweet flavour
comes from.

-Mom: It's a really nice idea.

-Thank you so much for such
a good meal.

[Speaking Korean]

Barbecue beef is probably
Korea's most famous dish

and they really are masters
of beef.

So I'm going to start out
with a nice piece of rib eye

and you want to slice that
as thinly as possible.

And the reason why we slice
things really thinly

is that these are generally
cooked right on the table,

and goes straight from
the griddle into your mouth.

Generally, though,
if I were making kalbi,

this recipe we would use
short ribs, Jacob's ladder,
flank and steak,

any of that meat around the rib
that's nicely marbled

and holds in that really great
flavour from around the bone.

Those types of meats
can be hard to find,

so just using a nice
rib eye steak is fine.

Before I cook it,
I have to marinate it.

This is my quick and easy trick.

[Crinkling]
Plastic bag.

Throw it all inside,
just like that.

And we're going to make
a marinade right on top of that.

[Clunking, trickling]

That starts out with soy sauce.

Good lug.

Sesame oil,

as always in Korean
cooking, some good nuttiness.

Nice sweet sugar.
I'm using brown sugar.

You can use whatever you have,
though.

Garlic.

[Scraping]

You can make this without garlic
if you want to.

I had a girlfriend whose mom
wasn't so fond of garlic,

and used to do all of her Korean
cooking without garlic.

And Korean monks aren't allowed
to eat garlic.

So if you don't like garlic,
you can leave things out.

But I like my life to have
a lot of flavour
and so my food does too.

Some ginger, more ginger
than garlic.

[Scraping]

Some salt, Korean sea salt.

Soy sauce never replaces salt,

adds a little bit
of a different flavour.

Pepper.

And then I have a special
ingredient and that's pears.

We generally use Asian pears,

but I'm just going to use
any kind of hard pear.

These are conference pears,
should work fine.

And this sweet juice is going
to help

tenderize the meat
as well as the sweeten that.

Grate these pears right up.

[Clunking]

So that's pear number one.

Number two.

You do want to use all of
these juices.

Pour all of that into
my marinade.

[Crinkling]

And then I begin to massage
my meat, rub it down.

It's a good way to do it in a
plastic bag so you don't you get
your hands dirty.

And you're just going to let
that sit while you make
your sauce.

The best sauce to serve this
with is ssamjang.

Just going to start out with
my little best friends.

Red-hot Korean chili paste.

That's gochujang.

[Clinking]

About twice the amount
of our tanjong,

fermented soybean paste.

[Clink]
Loosen that up with some mirin.

[Clinking]

Sesame oil, little drizzle,
not too much.

Some garlic.

[Clinking]

Sesame seeds.

[Scraping]

Spring onions.

[Clink]

This really
is that the ubiquitous sauce

that I love
throwing on top of everything,

from pizza to French fries.

[Sizzling]

So this is usually cooked
at the table.

And because the meat's been
sliced so thinly,

it doesn't take long at all
to cook through.

And the way we eat these in
Korea is just with a sesame
leaf,

a bit of rice,
some ssamjang--

the best sauce in the world--

and a piece of our kalbi.

My mom used to grill these
in our garage

and the smells would
lure us down from our bedrooms.

Mm.

That sesame leaf gives it a nice

aromatic anise seedy hit.

I could eat this for dinner
any day.

[Judy]:
Back in Hongdae,

the U-KISS boys are
showing me why

Korean barbecue is about
much more than just eating.

It's like music.

-Yeah.

[Laughter]
You should mix this in.

[Beat-boxing]

[Utensils clinking rhythmically]
[Laughter]

[Beat-boxing]

♪ We're cooking pork

♪ And it's music
to my ears ♪

♪ The Samgyeopsal

♪ It just keeps
on standing still ♪

-That's good!

-That was my improv.

[Laughs]
-That's amazing.

[Light world beat music]