Hey guys, we’re sharing another great Korean summer recipe🌞
In summer, I love eating leafy greens and I think the best way to enjoy them is to make “ssam”, a.k.a., vegetable rice wraps! Although we use ssamjang 쌈장 (red chili and soybean paste) very often for the sauce, there are many more ways to make it more special 🙂
So the I made Gang-doenjang (thickened soybean paste stew) as sauce. If you’re familiar, this is a close cousin of Doenjang-jjigae (Korean soybean paste soup/stew). This is one of the most popular sauce to accompany ssam!
Which leafy vegetables to use for ssam?
When it comes to choosing the leafy vegetables, the choices are endless! You can choose from cabbages (white/red/cone/napa) or summer greens like chard, beetroot leaves, or even squash leaves. Or even choose from salad greens like romaine, lettuce or anything that you can fold into wraps!
Here’s a photo of squash leaves that I cooked with during my summer in Korea.
How to prepare the leafy vegetables?
I think it’s so sustainable and healthy to cook and eat parts of veggies that are sometimes forgotten: like chard, beetroot leaves and squash leaves for instance. Not only are they edible, but they’re also very tasty too! Just requires one extra step to remove some tough fibers. They can be done like this!
From the backside of the leaf, break off the tip of the stem and pull it along with the fibers.
You can serve the leafy vegetables raw or steamed/blanched. Steam or blanch if they’re too tough to eat raw.
Cooking time of leafy vegetables
For cabbage leaves & squash leaves: 2-3 minutes until they’re tender (cool it and push it gently with your finger)
For leafy greens with stems (chard, beetroot leaves): In a boiling pot of water, put the leaves vertically with only stem submerged in water. Cook for 30 seconds. Then push in rest of the leaf completely and cook for another 30 seconds.
How to assemble & eat your ssam?
It’s so simple! Put a leaf vegetable on your hand and add rice, a spoonful of gang-doenjang (thickened soybean paste stew). Fold it and eat it 🙂
But the rule of thumb is to put the whole thing in your mouth at once and not take bites off of it. Your wrap will easily fall apart if you take bites.
What is Gang-doenjang?
Gang means “thickened” and doenjang is Korean soybean paste. It’s thickened/reduced so that it can be used like sauce for ssam or bibimbap. There are different varieties where beef or seafood is added. This version is made with pyogo (shiitake) mushroom.
The best ways to feel the season!
I think eating ssam with summer veggies is the best ways to feel the season.
One bite into your ssam, you’ll immediately fall in love with combination of different flavors and texture❤️ Have fun cooking!
Korean vegetable rice wraps with thickened soybean paste stew (ssam with gang-doenjang)
Ingredients
- ¼ white / cone cabbage
- 5-6 leafy greens chard, beetroot leaves, squash leaves
- 2 bowls cooked rice
For gang-doenjang (thickened soybean paste stew)
- 2 pyogo (dried shiitake mushroom)
- ½ cup diced onion
- ½ cup diced zucchini/courgette
- ¼ cup ¼ cup sliced green onion
- 1 hot green chili optional for heat
- 200g tofu ½ lb. (half a package)
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 2 ½ tablespoon doenjang (Korean soybean paste) 2 tablespoons when using artisanal/homemade doenjang
- ½ tablespoon gochugaru (Korean chili pepper powder)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine dried shiitake mushroom with 1 cup of warm water. Let it soak until fully rehydrated (10-20 min.).
- Cut the cabbage in half. For ssam, I recommend using thinner leaves (upper half) because they will be easier to fold. You can use lower half of cabbage for other dishes.
- For chard, beetroot greens, or squash leaves. From the backside of the leaf, break off the tip of the stem and pull the fibers off along the stem.
- In a pot, add enough water to fill ⅔ of the pot. Bring to a boil and blanch the cabbage(or squash leaves). Depending on the cabbage, it should take around 2-3 minutes until it's tender but still has crisp bite. To check the doneness, cool it a little and push it with fingers. Shock in cold water.
- For chard, beetroot leaves, hold the leaves from the tip of the leaf and hold the leaf so that only stems are submerged in boiling water. Let it blanch for around 30 seconds. Then push in the whole leaves into the boiling water and blanch for another 30 seconds. Shock in cold water.
- Drain and assemble them on a plate.
For gang-doenjang (thickened soybean paste stew)
- Squeeze out excess water out of shiitake and chop it. Save the soaking water for stew. Cut all the other vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat a pot over medium heat and add vegetable oil. Add onion and shiitake and stir-fry until onion is translucent.
- Add doenjang (Korean soybean paste) and mix until well incorporated. Stir-fry for around 1 minute. This will give extra nuttiness to the stew.
- Add water from soaking the mushroom and bring to a boil. Add the rest of the vegetables.
- Add tofu and boil until it's thick (when it's almost out of liquid).
- Finish with gochugaru (Korean red chili powder) and turn off the heat.
- Serve with freshly made rice and leafy greens. Make a wrap: put a leaf of vegetable, then add one spoonful of rice and stew. Fold it and enjoy!
Video
Notes
🇪🇺 If you’re in Europe: opt for « Pointed cabbage(Spitskool🇳🇱, Chou Pointu🇫🇷, Spitzkohl🇩🇪) » for a softer & lighter texture