Julia Cho’s “Aubergine” is a play about the Korean American immigrant experience, family and the way food brings people together. It’s about the dishes we associate with a loved one and the recipes we lose when those people leave us.
Below are three favorite recipes from the cast of “Aubergine,” which is at Everyman Theatre through April 15, 2018.
Kimchi Fried Rice (Bokkumbap)
Ingredients
- 2 tbs. vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup protein of your choosing
- 2-3 cups kimchi very coarsely chopped
- sesame oil to taste
- 4 cups cooked rice
- 1/4 cup kimchi juice
- 1/2 cup green onion to garnish
- 1 small package roasted seasoned laver to garnish
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Add a small amount of vegetable oil to pan and scramble eggs to set but soft consistency.
- Remove eggs from pan and set aside. Add more vegetable oil if needed and cook protein thoroughly.
- Add chopped kimchi and bring heat to medium/high. Lightly coat with sesame oil. Let kimchi become cooked through, stirring frequently.
- Add cooked rice to pan, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. If desired, coat again with sesame oil and add kimchi juice (add too much oil and you will end up with a greasy mess—not necessarily a bad thing).
- Cook all ingredients to desired doneness (cooking out any added liquid).
- Fold in scrambled egg and let work another minute or so.
- Plate and garnish with green onion and crumbled seaweed.
Notes
Mandu
Ingredients
- 1 whole cabbage
- 1 package rice vermicelli or bean thread (12 oz.)
- 1 large white onion diced small
- 1 medium-large carrot minced
- 1 bunch green scallion chopped small
- 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger peeled and mined (optional)
- 1 block firm tofu rinsed, dried, and diced
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tbs. soy sauce
- 1 tbs. sesame oil
- 2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
- 2 eggs beaten
- salt to taste
- 2 packages thawed, pre-made dumpling wrappers round or square, approx. 3-inches across
- plastic wrap
- wide-rimmed bowl of water
Instructions
Filling
- Peel away outer leaves of cabbage and cut into quarters.
- Boil water and par-boil the quarters of cabbage until cooked, but not over-cooked (about 5 minutes).
- Use tongs to carefully remove cabbage from boiling water and drain/cool in colander.
- Add vermicelli to hot water (not boiling), and cook for 3 minutes.
- Strain vermicelli and run cold water over the noodles to cool, allowing to strain as vegetables are prepared.
- Mince cooked, cooled cabbage into small dice (1 cm or less).
- Put diced cabbage in clean cheese cloth or kitchen towel and ring out all the water, then place in large mixing bowl. Add prepped onion, carrot, scallion, ginger and tofu to bowl.
- Stir in peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds and eggs. Mix with gloved hands or wooden spoon until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Add salt to taste.
Assembly
- Have a freezer-safe tray ready (a large, glass oven dish will also work), along with sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper and bowl of water.
- Place a dumpling wrapper on flat surface, dip finger into water, and trace dampened finger around the outer sides of wrapper.
- Place 1/2 teaspoon of filling mixture in the middle of wrapper and crimp wrapper closed with hands (crimping can be a simple flat seal or crimping can be made more elaborate as desired).
- Repeat with additional dumpling wrappers, placing each on prepared tray, leaving at least 1/2-inch space around each mandu.
- After tray is filled with one full layer, place plastic wrap or wax paper atop and begin next layer of mandu (hint: place next layer of mandu in the previous layer’s gaps in order to fit more mandu).
- When all mandu are made, tray can be covered with plastic and frozen or cooked immediately.
Cooking
- Dumplings can be deep fried, pan fried, steamed or added to a soup. If the mandu are frozen, they do not need to be fully thawed to use, but be careful of oil splatter.
Red Bean Mochi Squares
Ingredients
- 1 eggs
- 1 16 oz. box sweet rice flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup crushed walnuts
- 1 can sweet red beans
- 2 cups milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 8-inch x 12-inch baking dish.
- Beat egg in large bowl. Add sweet rice flour, stirring until combined. Add baking powder, sugar, and walnuts, mixing thoroughly.
- Gently stir in red beans. Add milk and stir to combine.
- Pour mixture into baking dish and bake 50-60 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
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