Doraji-jangajji (Cured Bellflower Root)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium mixing bowl
• •Small saucepan for soy cure
• •Clean 1-quart glass jar or lidded container
• •Disposable glove, optional for mixing gochujang cure

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the doraji

   If using fresh peeled doraji, split thick roots lengthwise into strips about 1/4 inch wide. If using dried doraji, soak it in warm water for 30 minutes, then drain before salting. Keep the pieces long enough to have chew; chopped short, they lose the character of the root.

2. 2

   Salt and rub

   Sprinkle the doraji with 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt and rub firmly with both hands for 3 to 4 minutes, until the strips soften, bend, and release a little moisture. This bruises the fibers just enough to draw out the harsh bitterness while keeping the clean bitter taste that should remain.

   Do not skip the rubbing. Doraji-jangajji lives or dies here, before the cure ever touches it.
3. 3

   Soak and squeeze

   Rinse the salted doraji under cold water, then soak it in 4 cups cold water mixed with 1/2 teaspoon fine salt for 20 minutes. Drain, rinse once more, and squeeze hard by handfuls until the roots feel damp but not dripping. Too much water weakens the cure and makes the finished banchan taste flat.

4. 4

   Choose the cure

   For soy doraji-jangajji, combine the soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, maesil-cheong or sugar, soju if using, crushed garlic, and kelp in a small pot. For gochujang doraji-jangajji, stir together the gochujang, soy sauce, rice vinegar, maesil-cheong or sugar, and minced garlic in a bowl. Do not add the sesame oil yet; it turns dull during a long cure.

5. 5

   Heat soy cure

   If making the soy cure, bring the mixture just to a boil, then turn off the heat and remove the kelp after 2 minutes. Let the cure cool for 10 minutes, until warm but no longer hot. Warm jang enters the doraji quickly, but boiling liquid cooks the root and steals its chew.

6. 6

   Pack and cure

   Pack the squeezed doraji into a clean glass jar or lidded container. Pour over the warm soy cure, including the garlic, or fold the doraji through the gochujang cure until every strip is coated. Press the roots down so there are no dry patches. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours for soy cure, or 2 days for gochujang cure.

7. 7

   Serve as banchan

   For soy-cured doraji, lift out what you need and dress it with toasted sesame seeds and scallion. For gochujang-cured doraji, toss the portion you are serving with 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil and sesame seeds. Taste before adding anything else. It should be salty, gently sour, a little sweet, and still unmistakably doraji.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh doraji is best in spring and autumn, when the roots are firm and not woody. Cook the month you are standing in: if the fresh roots look limp or dry, use good dried doraji instead.
• •The safe shortcut is buying peeled doraji. The unsafe shortcut is skipping the salt rub and squeeze. The vessel can modernize to a glass refrigerator jar, but the root still needs your hands.
• •Do not drown doraji in gochujang. The paste is a cure, not a blanket. If all you taste is chili and sugar, you have made gochujang banchan with a root hiding inside it.
• •Keep soy-cured doraji submerged and use clean chopsticks each time. It keeps about 3 weeks refrigerated. Gochujang-cured doraji keeps about 2 weeks, and tastes best after the second day.

Advance Preparation

• •Doraji-jangajji needs at least 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving, and the flavor is better on the second or third day.
• •The doraji can be salted, soaked, squeezed, and refrigerated in a covered container up to 1 day before you add the cure.
• •For a banchan tray, portion only what you will serve and dress it at the last minute with sesame oil and sesame seeds so the finish stays clean.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 75g)