Hamgyeong-style Corn Rice

Embark on a culinary journey through the heart of North Korean home cooking with this delightful quartet of traditional dishes from Hamgyeong Province. This selection, curated by an Okryugwan chef, brings the authentic flavors of North Korea to your table, showcasing both main courses and side dishes. Get ready to savor Hamgyeong-style Corn Rice, Pork Soup, Stir-fried Eggplant, and Spinach Salad, each offering a unique taste and texture that will enrich your culinary repertoire.

Ingredients

Hamgyeong-style Corn Rice
🍚 Rice: No quantity specified
🌽 Corn: No quantity specified
💧 Water: Sufficient to cook the rice

Pork Soup
🐷 Pork foreleg/shoulder meat: No quantity specified
🌿 Radish: Appropriate size, no specific quantity
🧅 Onion: 1/2 piece, cut in half
🧄 Green onion roots: Cleanly washed, no specific quantity
🧂 Salt: 1 tablespoon
🥣 Soy sauce: 2 tablespoons
🌱 Chives/Green onions: For garnish, no quantity specified

Stir-fried Eggplant
🍆 Eggplant: Appropriate size, no specific quantity
🧅 Onion: No quantity specified, julienned
🌶️ Cheongyang pepper: 2 pieces
🌶️ Red chili pepper: 1 piece
🛢️ Cooking oil: Enough to cover the bottom of the pan
🥣 Soy sauce: Drizzle once around the pan

Spinach Salad
🥬 Spinach: Cleanly washed, no quantity specified
🧂 Salt: No quantity specified for blanching
🍶 Vinegar: No quantity specified (alternative to salt for blanching)
🌿 Chives/Green onions: Roots removed, cut into 3 cm pieces, no quantity specified
🧄 Garlic: 3 cloves
🌶️ Cheongyang pepper: 1 piece
🌶️ Red chili pepper: 1/2 piece
🛢️ Cooking oil: Drizzle once around the bowl
🥣 Soy sauce: 1 tablespoon
🍯 Sugar: 0.5 tablespoon
🍏 Apple vinegar: 1 tablespoon

Instructions

1- Prepare Corn Rice:

Thoroughly wash the rice and corn together.
Place them into a pressure cooker.

2- Cook Corn Rice:

Add water, adjusting the amount as if cooking regular white rice.
Cook in the pressure cooker until done.

3- Prepare Pork Soup:

In a large pot, combine pork, radish, half onion, and green onion roots.
Add 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.

4- Cook Pork Soup:

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, skimming foam until the broth is clear.
After a thorough extraction of flavors, remove veggies.

5- Prepare Pork for Serving:

Cut the pork into thick, cube-like pieces.
Garnish with chopped chives or green onions before serving.

6- Prepare Eggplant:

Remove thorns from eggplant using a knife's back, then cut into wedges.
Julienne the onion, slice peppers diagonally.

7- Cook Eggplant:

Heat oil in a pan, sauté onion until soft.
Add eggplant, peppers, and drizzle with soy sauce.

8- Finish Eggplant Stir-fry:

Stir-fry until all ingredients are tender.

9- Prepare Spinach:

Wash and clean spinach; blanch in salted or vinegar water.
Transfer to cold water, squeeze dry, chop into three parts.

10- Mix Spinach Salad:
- Prepare chives, crush garlic, and slice peppers.
- Mix spinach with chives, garlic, and peppers in a bowl.

11- Dress Spinach Salad:
- Drizzle with oil, soy sauce, sugar, and apple vinegar; mix well.

Prep Time: Varies per dish
Cook Time: Varies per dish
Total Time: Varies per dish
Servings: Not specified
Equipment: Pressure cooker, pots, frying pan, cutting board, knives, mixing bowls, ladle, strainer, measuring spoons/cups