Korean Tuna & Rice Lettuce Wraps: Ssambap

For these common Korean lunch or snack foods, you can use head lettuce, butter lettuce, red lettuce, romaine lettuce, or some of more than one type of leaves, or even some of all types. Koreans often include some kind of meat, fish, or seafood in their lettuce wraps; and for this article, I used tuna. Sesame seeds are a common addition to many Korean dishes. 

Unless you make Korean style foods often, you will need "gochujang" Korean chili paste. It typically comes in rectangular plastic containers. You will also need "gochugaru" red chili flakes and "ssamjang" paste. "Ssamjang" paste is a spicy Korean paste made with a base of fermented soy beans. All of these Korean products can almost always be found in Asian stores, spice shops, and even in some supermarkets, especially those located in areas with people of Korean ancestry. None of these products is terribly expensive.   

Ingredients: 

 

For the tuna:

 

5 or 6 ounce can of tuna in water or oil, drained

1 heaping tablespoon FINELY chopped or grated onion

1 tablespoon gochujang Korean chili paste 

1 teaspoon Korean gochugaru red chili flakes

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Into a bowl, add the ingredients and break up the tuna, then mix everything together very well, take a taste and adjust the seasonings to make them satisfactory for you. 

For the rice: 

1 cup sushi rice

1 1/4 cups water

1 heaping teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted

1/3 teaspoon salt 

Over medium heat, add the sesame seeds to a dry skillet; shake the seeds around in the skillet for about 2 minutes; remove the seeds to a small bowl or other dish, and set them aside briefly. To fix sushi rice, you only need a little more water than rice; therefore, for 1 cup of sushi rice, you will only need 1 1/4 cups of water. First, rinse the rice a couple of times. Then add the measured rice, measured water and the salt to a heavy bottomed pan. Let the rice sit for about 25 minutes, then put the lid onto the pan, and turn the heat to high. You can lift the lid to see if the water is boiling, and if so, then immediately turn the heat to low or very low, and keep the lid on for 12 minutes; at which time, you can lift the lid to see if the water is gone, then keep the lid on and remove the pan from the heat. Let the pan sit for 10 minutes, then remove the lid, add the sesame seeds and fluff the rice with a fork. (Note: Sushi rice has a somewhat sticky texture; so, it's not likely to be in individual grains like some other types of rice.)

To make the wraps:

ssamjang paste to top the filling

Take a lettuce leaf and place a tablespoon of the cooked rice in the middle of the leaf (Note: trim off any stem that prevents the leaf from being folded, and if the leaves are too large, cut them in half). Add a teaspoon of the tuna mixture to the top of the rice, then add about 1/2 teaspoon ssamjang paste to top the tuna. Fold up the lettuce around the filling and ... These wraps are supposed to be put into the mouth in one bite, and then chewed, but don't risk choking yourself.

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Icon-The origin of this word is unknown, but Ancient Greek had transliterated "eikon," meaning "image, reflection, likeness." Latin borrowed the word as "icon" with the same basic meanings, but later also, "image or portrait of religious individuals or religious events," which became most significant in the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity. English borrowed the word in the 1570s, and the meaning, "a significant person, event or object that serves as a symbol," was eventually added to the word's meanings. The early 1980s saw the use of the word in computer operations.

Korean Spicy Hard Boiled Eggs: Eggs in Tteokbokki Sauce

I love these eggs and the Koreans have sure hit a home run with this dish! Let the eggs come to room temperature before boiling them. For the broth, you can just use some vegetable stock with a teaspoon of fish sauce stirred in, but if you like to try cooking with some new ingredients, you can make your own Korean stock by simmering some dried anchovies and kelp together for about 10 to 15 minutes (dried anchovies and kelp are both available at Asian grocery stores or online). Adding sesame seeds is purely optional, but they are a common addition to Korean foods. This is a spicy hot dish, although it's not apt to scorch your tongue, but you can leave out the fresh chili pepper for a milder version; on the other hand, you can add a couple more chilies to rev up the heat level. The chili paste and chili flakes can be found at Asian stores, some supermarkets, spice stores and of course, online.

 

Serve with rice ...

Ingredients (4 servings):

 

8 eggs

3 green onions, chopped (for divided use)

1 medium onion, halved, then thinly sliced

1 hot chili (red or green), chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed to release flavor more easily

1 1/4 cups Korean soup broth (or vegetable broth with 1 teaspoon fish sauce)

3 tablespoons gochujang Korean chili paste

3 tablespoons gochugaru Korean chili flakes

4 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 

(optional) 1 or 2 teaspoons sesame seeds

 

In a large sauce pan, boil the eggs 7 1/2 to 8 minutes, then drain and douse them in cold water (if you like firmer egg yolks, cook them 10 to 11 minutes). Peel the eggs and set them aside briefly. In another pan or large skillet (I prefer a skillet), add the broth over medium heat, then add 2 chopped green onions, sliced onion, hot chili pepper, crushed garlic, chili paste, chili flakes, soy sauce, brown sugar and black pepper, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Continue simmering the sauce until it is reduced to the consistency you prefer (I like thick sauces, so I reduce it by half). Carefully add the eggs to the reduced sauce and spoon some of the sauce over the eggs as they warm up. After 2 to 3 minutes, remove the eggs and sauce from the heat. Garnish with the remaining chopped green onion and serve over rice, or with rice as a side dish. 

 

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Tapestry-The origin of this word is unknown, although some believe it is from an Asian language, while others believe it to be from Persian, which would make it Indo European, with Persian being a relative of English, but further down the family tree. What is known is, the word goes back to transliterated Ancient Greek "tắpes," meaning "carpet," which produced Byzantine Greek "tapetion," a diminutive form meaning "small rug, small carpet," and Latin borrowed this as "tappetium" meaning, "rug, carpet," but also apparently at times, "wall covering of cloth." This passed to Latin-based Old French as "tapiz," with the same meanings, which then became "tapis," with the same meanings, including simply "heavy cloth." This produced French "tapisserie," probably from the verb "tapisser" (which was also from "tapis"), meaning "to cover with heavy decorative cloth or carpet." English borrowed the word in the late 1300s initially as "tapiestre," but why English inserted the "t" near the end is unknown to me, although that additional sound gave us the modern word "tapestry," meaning "heavy cloth with multi-colored decorative patterns."