Gyeoja-naengchae (Mustard Cold Platter)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large 14 to 16 inch oval platter, chilled
• •Small bowl with lid for blooming mustard
• •Sharp knife and cutting board
• •Small nonstick skillet for jidan egg garnish
• •Medium saucepan
• •Clean kitchen towel for squeezing cucumber

Instructions

1. 1

   Bloom the mustard

   Stir the mustard powder with the warm water until it becomes a thick paste. Cover the bowl and set it in a warm place for 10 to 15 minutes. It should smell sharp enough to make you blink. Boiling water kills the mustard's bite, and cold water leaves it sleepy, so keep the water warm, not hot.

   Use mustard powder, not prepared yellow mustard. The powder has to bloom before vinegar touches it, or the sauce never develops its clean heat.
2. 2

   Finish the sauce

   Whisk the bloomed mustard with 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons chilled beef cooking liquid or water, sugar, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, grated garlic, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Taste it with a strip of cucumber, not from the spoon. The sauce should be brighter and sharper than seems polite alone, because the cold ingredients will soften it.

3. 3

   Simmer the beef

   Put the beef, 4 cups water, scallion, crushed garlic, and ginger in a small pot. Bring to a gentle boil, then lower to a steady simmer and cook 30 to 35 minutes, until a skewer slides in without force. Cool the beef in its broth for 15 minutes so it stays moist. Save 2 tablespoons broth for the sauce if you have not mixed it yet.

4. 4

   Slice the beef

   Lift out the beef and cut it across the grain into matchsticks about 5cm long and 3 to 4mm wide. Toss with 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. This is not to season it loudly. It is only to keep the beef from tasting lonely against the mustard.

5. 5

   Cook the seafood

   Bring a pot of water to a boil with 1 teaspoon salt and the rice wine. Add the shrimp and cook 90 seconds to 2 minutes, just until curled and opaque, then lift them into cold water for 1 minute and drain well. Add the squid to the same boiling water and cook 45 to 60 seconds, just until it firms and turns opaque. Drain, cool, and pat dry. Halve the shrimp lengthwise and cut the squid into strips the same width as the beef.

6. 6

   Salt the cucumber

   Cut the cucumber into 5cm matchsticks and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let it sit 10 minutes, then squeeze gently in a clean towel. This small salting keeps the cucumber crisp and stops it from watering down the mustard sauce on the platter.

7. 7

   Blanch the vegetables

   Blanch the carrot matchsticks in boiling salted water for 30 seconds, then drain and cool. Blanch the mung bean sprouts for 2 minutes, drain, and cool. Toss the sprouts with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Season them alone, in their own bowl, because sprouts need a little help and carrot does not.

8. 8

   Make egg jidan

   Beat the yolks with a pinch of salt in one bowl and the whites with a pinch of salt in another. Wipe a skillet with a thin film of oil and cook each into a very thin sheet over low heat. Do not brown them. Cool the sheets, then cut into fine threads. Jidan (egg garnish) is not decoration thrown on top; it is one of the colors and one of the textures.

9. 9

   Cut the pear

   Cut the pear into matchsticks last. Hold it for 5 minutes in 1 cup cold water mixed with 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, then drain and pat dry. Pear browns quickly, and wet pear thins the sauce, so dry it as carefully as you cut it.

10. 10

    Chill everything

    Spread the beef, seafood, vegetables, pear, and jidan on separate plates or a tray, cover, and chill at least 30 minutes. Cold is part of the seasoning here. If the ingredients are warm, the mustard tastes harsh and the platter loses its clean shape.

11. 11

    Arrange the platter

    Use a chilled large platter. Arrange the beef, shrimp, squid, cucumber, carrot, sprouts, pear, and egg threads in neat rows or color blocks, keeping the cuts running in the same direction. Spoon a little mustard sauce down the center or serve it in a small bowl on the side. Scatter the crushed pine nuts over the top.

12. 12

    Dress at the table

    Dress the platter only when people are ready to eat. Spoon on about half the sauce first, toss lightly with chopsticks, then pass the rest for anyone who wants more bite. Once dressed, this dish should be eaten the same day. Seafood and egg do not wait kindly.

Chef Tips

• •The shortcut you may take is cooking the beef and egg jidan the day before. The shortcut you may not take is skipping the mustard bloom. Without that warm-water rest, the sauce tastes flat no matter how much powder you add.
• •Cut everything close to the same length and thickness, about 5cm by 3 to 4mm. This is the difference between a composed cold platter and a pile. The dressing reaches evenly, and every chopstickful makes sense.
• •If squid is poor at your market, leave it out and add 150g more shrimp or cold poached chicken breast. Technique first. A modest ingredient cut and chilled properly will serve you better than tired seafood.
• •Keep the sauce separate until the last moment. Vinegar pulls water from cucumber and pear, and mustard loses its clean bite as it sits.
• •Prepared Korean hot mustard paste can stand in if you must use it. Use 3 tablespoons paste, skip the 2 tablespoons warm water, and reduce the sugar to 1 tablespoon. It will be useful, but less clean than powder bloomed yourself.

Advance Preparation

• •Cook the beef up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate it in its strained broth. Slice and season it on the day you serve.
• •Egg jidan can be made 1 day ahead, stacked between paper towels, covered, and refrigerated. Slice it after chilling for cleaner threads.
• •The mustard sauce is best made 1 to 3 hours ahead. Longer than that, the mustard begins to lose its lively bite.
• •Shrimp, squid, cucumber, carrot, and sprouts can be prepared up to 4 hours ahead. Keep each component covered and chilled separately, then pat dry before arranging.
• •Cut the pear within 1 hour of serving. It is crispest then, and this dish needs that clean crunch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 270g)