Chef Jeong-sun
Aehobak-namul (Seasoned Korean Zucchini)
Tender Korean summer zucchini softened gently in the pan with saeujeot for salt and depth, finished with sesame so the vegetable stays sweet, green, and plainly itself.
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Doraji-namul (Sautéed Bellflower Root)
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Pale bellflower root softened by salt, rinsing, and a brief sauté, the white doraji namul that belongs beside rice and on the rite table.
Side Dishes
Korean
Comfort Food
Special Occasion
35 min
Active Time
8 min cook•43 min total
Yield4 servings as banchan
Doraji-namul lives or dies before it ever reaches the pan. Bellflower root has a good bitterness, the kind that wakes up rice, but if you leave it wild it takes over the bowl. My teacher made us salt it, rub it, rinse it, taste it, and only then cook. 눈동냥, 귀동냥: borrowing with the eyes and ears. You learned the dish by watching how hard the hands worked.
This is the cooked white doraji, not the red, spicy doraji-saengchae (raw seasoned bellflower root). It sits with the pale namul on a family table, and it also appears on charye and jesa tables, where the seasoning is kept quiet and the color stays clean. If you are cooking for a rite table, leave out the garlic and scallion. If you are cooking for dinner, use the small measured amount here. Times change, the table changes, but the root still needs the same handling.
Tonight this dish asks for patience, not difficulty. Split the thick pieces to one even width, rub them with salt until they bend, then rinse until the bitterness is clear but not erased. Let it taste like itself. A namul should not disappear under seasoning; it should remind you what grew in the ground.
Doraji, the root of Platycodon grandiflorus, has long been used in Korea as both food and medicinal herb, valued especially for its bitter saponins and its association with the mountain table. Cooked white doraji-namul is one of the classic samsaek-namul, three-color vegetables often prepared for charye and jesa tables with spinach or other greens and gosari (bracken). The spicy raw version, doraji-saengchae, is a separate preparation, usually seasoned with gochugaru or gochujang and vinegar rather than kept pale.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
peeled fresh doraji (bellflower root)
Quantity
300g
split into 1/4-inch thick strips
coarse sea salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for rubbing
sugar
Quantity
1 teaspoon
for rubbing
neutral oil
Quantity
2 teaspoons
toasted sesame oil
Quantity
1 teaspoon
garlic (optional)
Quantity
1 small clove
minced
scallion (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
finely chopped
guk-ganjang (Korean soup soy sauce)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon, plus more as needed
water or mild anchovy-kelp broth
Quantity
3 tablespoons
toasted sesame seeds
Quantity
1 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| peeled fresh doraji (bellflower root)split into 1/4-inch thick strips | 300g |
| coarse sea saltfor rubbing | 1 tablespoon |
| sugarfor rubbing | 1 teaspoon |
| neutral oil | 2 teaspoons |
| toasted sesame oil | 1 teaspoon |
| garlic (optional)minced | 1 small clove |
| scallion (optional)finely chopped | 1 tablespoon |
| guk-ganjang (Korean soup soy sauce) | 1 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt | 1/4 teaspoon, plus more as needed |
| water or mild anchovy-kelp broth | 3 tablespoons |
| toasted sesame seeds | 1 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Medium mixing bowl
- •Wide skillet with lid
- •Colander
Instructions
- 1
Cut the roots
If your doraji is whole, peel it and split each root lengthwise into strips about 1/4 inch thick and 2 to 3 inches long. Keep the width even, because thick pieces stay harsh while thin ones collapse. If you bought pre-peeled doraji, sort through it and split any heavy pieces by hand.
- 2
Salt and rub
Put the doraji in a bowl with the coarse salt and sugar. Rub it firmly with both hands for 3 to 4 minutes, until the strips grow slightly limp and release moisture. This is not roughness for its own sake. The rubbing bruises the root just enough for the bitter edge to come out in the rinse.
Taste one tiny end after rubbing. It should still be bitter, but no longer sharp enough to make your mouth tighten. - 3
Rinse and soak
Rinse the doraji in three changes of cold water, squeezing lightly each time. Cover with fresh cold water and soak 15 minutes, then drain and squeeze dry in your hands. Do not soak for hours. You are taming the bitterness, not washing away the root's character.
- 4
Season before heat
In a clean bowl, toss the drained doraji with the guk-ganjang and fine salt. Add the minced garlic and scallion only if this is for an everyday table, not a rite table. Seasoning before the pan lets the salt enter the root instead of sitting on the outside.
- 5
Sauté gently
Heat the neutral oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the doraji and stir for 2 minutes, keeping it pale. Add the water or mild broth, cover, and cook 3 minutes, until the strips are tender but still have a little bite. If the pan dries too fast, add 1 tablespoon more water. Browning is not wanted here.
- 6
Finish cleanly
Uncover and stir until the moisture is almost gone, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat, add the sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds, and toss once. Taste one strip. Add salt in pinches only if it tastes flat. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled as banchan.
Chef Tips
- •Fresh whole doraji has the best chew, but pre-peeled market doraji is honest home cooking too. If it smells sour or feels slimy, do not try to save it. Cook another namul from what your market has today.
- •For a charye or jesa table, omit garlic and scallion and keep the seasoning to salt, a little guk-ganjang, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. The dish should stay pale and restrained.
- •Do not replace this with burdock or parsnip and call it doraji. Those roots can be good dishes, but they do not have doraji's bitterness or texture.
Advance Preparation
- •Doraji can be cut, rubbed, rinsed, and squeezed dry up to 1 day ahead. Keep it covered in the refrigerator, then season and sauté before serving.
- •Finished doraji-namul keeps 3 days refrigerated in a covered container. Let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving so the sesame oil loosens and the root tastes clear again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 75g)
Calories
55 calories
Total Fat
4 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
350 mg
Total Carbohydrates
7 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
1 g
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