Here’s a little sample from our first gourmet club reboot. The theme was Korean food inspired by the Sochi Olympics. I had been assigned a cocktail. I had a large unopened bottle of Soju languishing in my fridge so I decided to find a Soju based cocktail.
Soju is a Korean alcohol traditionally made from fermenting rice although it can also be made from wheat or sweet potatoes. It is the best selling alcohol IN THE WORLD!
When I’m cooking with friends, I like to challenge myself sometimes to make things that don’t really appeal to me. I’m not crazy about Soju for a silly reason. A few years back I was going to a concert with some friends and we were early and needed a bar nearby to park ourselves for an hour. There weren’t a lot of bars in the neighborhood and somehow we ended up at this bar which only served beer and wine and Soju cocktails. When you want a margarita and you get a Soju version it’s disappointing. So gourmet club was my opportunity to turn my opinion of Soju around.
For this Korean meal I wanted to find a nice crisp cocktail that wasn’t trying to mimic something else. I love Pink Lady apples and this cocktail fit the bill perfectly. This refreshing aperitif was created by David Arnold of the French Culinary Institute, crisp matchsticks of Pink Lady apple with soju, and a little sparkle.
Soju Cocktail
Makes 8 drinks
Active time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients
1 Pink Lady or Granny Smith apple
2 cups soju or sake
5 cups chilled tonic water (40 fluid ounces)
8 lime wedges
Equipment: adjustable mandoline with a julienne blade
Instructions
Cut apple into matchsticks with slicer, discarding core, then put in a pitcher and stir in soju. Let macerate, covered and chilled, at least 30 minutes.
Fill 8 (12-ounce) double Old Fashioned glasses with ice. Strain about 1/4 cup soju into each glass, then add some apple pieces to each glass. Top off drinks with tonic and serve with lime wedges.
Notes
Aperitif by David Arnold of the French Culinary Institute
Korean Chicken Bites ~ Dak Gang-Jeong
Serves 4-6 as an appetizer
Ingredients
2 medium size boneless skinless chicken breast halves (or Half chicken thighs)
3 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry
Oil for frying
Handful of roasted chopped peanuts or any nuts of your choice
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tablespoon Korean chili paste (gochujang)
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 tablespoon mayonnaise
3 tablespoon honey
Instructions
Slice the chicken breasts very thinly, then cut into small pieces. Place the chicken pieces in a mixing bowl, and add the corn starch, flour, ginger, salt, and rice wine. Mix well to combine. Set aside.
To make the sauce, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Do not burn the garlic. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients to the skillet, mix well. Bring the sauce to boil and let it thicken, for about 1 minute. Set aside.
Heat oil for frying in a deep skillet or wok. The temperature should be around 160-170˚C. Using a small cookie scoop or spoon, drop tablespoonful of chicken batter to hot oil. Fry them until they are lightly golden. Take them out to a plate lined with a piece of paper towel. After you finished frying the entire batch of the chicken batter, you need to repeat the frying again so that you can deep-fry the chicken twice. This will help chicken to be very crisp.
Return the chicken into the reserved sauce in the skillet, and add some chopped peanuts as well. Toss them to coat evenly.
Garnish with more peanuts on top. Serve warm or at a room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe by Holly at Beyond Kimchee
