Haepari-naengchae (Jellyfish Salad)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital thermometer
• •Large bowls for soaking and chilling
• •Sharp chef's knife or mandoline with cut-resistant glove
• •Wide chilled serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the jellyfish

   Rinse the salted jellyfish under cold running water for 1 minute, squeezing lightly with your fingers to loosen the salt. Put it in a bowl with 8 cups cold water and soak 30 minutes, changing the water at 10 minutes and 20 minutes. Bite one strand. It should taste faintly seasoned, not sharply salty. If it still bites with salt, soak 10 minutes more and drain well.

   Buy food-grade salted prepared jellyfish from a Korean or Chinese market, already cleaned and sliced. This recipe is not for fresh jellyfish from the sea.
2. 2

   Blanch barely warm

   Heat 4 cups water to 50 to 55 degrees Celsius, 122 to 131 degrees Fahrenheit, then turn off the heat. Add the drained jellyfish, stir for 15 seconds, and lift it straight into the ice water. Do not boil it. Boiling water makes jellyfish shrink, curl, and toughen, and no mustard sauce can repair that mistake.

   Use a thermometer here. If the water has gone above 60 degrees Celsius, cool it with a splash of cold water before the jellyfish goes in.
3. 3

   Season and chill

   Drain the jellyfish from the ice water and squeeze gently, not hard enough to crush the strips. Cut any long pieces into 6cm lengths. Toss with 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt, then chill 20 minutes. This light seasoning reaches the jellyfish before the final sauce, so the center does not taste washed out.

4. 4

   Cut the vegetables

   Halve the cucumber lengthwise, scrape out the watery seeds, and cut it into 6cm matchsticks. Toss the cucumber with 1/4 teaspoon salt for 10 minutes, then pat it dry. Cut the carrot, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and pear into the same length and close to the same width. The matched cut is not for prettiness alone; it makes the jellyfish and vegetables bite together.

   Cut the pear last, or hold the cut pear in cold water with 1 teaspoon rice vinegar for 2 minutes, then drain. Pear browns quickly once it meets the air.
5. 5

   Make mustard sauce

   Stir the Korean mustard powder with 1 tablespoon warm water to make a paste. Cover and let it stand 10 minutes, because mustard needs time to bloom before it becomes sharp. Stir in 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon cold water. Taste a drop with a strand of jellyfish, not from the spoon alone. It should hit the nose first, then land sour, sweet, and garlicky.

   If you use prepared Korean mustard paste instead of powder, use 2 tablespoons paste, skip the blooming water, and start with only 1 tablespoon sugar. Prepared paste is usually milder and saltier.
6. 6

   Fan the platter

   Chill a wide platter for 10 minutes. Drain the seasoned jellyfish again, but do not rinse it. Arrange the cucumber, carrot, peppers, and pear in separate fans around the platter, then pile the jellyfish in the center or lay it in a pale arc across the vegetables. Spoon half the mustard sauce in thin lines over the jellyfish and keep the rest in a small bowl for the table.

7. 7

   Toss and serve

   Scatter the sesame seeds and pine nuts, if using, just before serving. At the table, spoon on more sauce and toss from the bottom with chopsticks so the jellyfish does not stay hidden under the vegetables. Serve immediately. After 30 minutes, the sauce starts pulling water from the vegetables, and the clean crunch you worked for begins to leave.

Chef Tips

• •The blanch is the dish's narrow gate. Keep the water at 50 to 55 degrees Celsius and count the seconds. Hotter water makes the jellyfish tough, while cold water leaves it flat and too salty in the bite.
• •Cut everything 6cm long and close to matchstick width. A composed salad eats properly only when every strip travels together on the chopsticks.
• •Korean pear is best in autumn and winter. In summer, when the pear is tired and expensive, use a crisp sweet apple or add more cucumber. Cook the month you're standing in.
• •Dress late. You can fan the platter ahead, but the mustard sauce should meet the vegetables only when the table is ready.
• •Leftovers keep poorly once dressed. Refrigerate them and eat within a day, knowing the vegetables will soften and the sauce will become stronger.

Advance Preparation

• •The mustard sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Stir it well before serving, because the mustard settles and the garlic grows stronger as it sits.
• •The jellyfish can be rinsed, warm-blanched, lightly seasoned, and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead. Keep it covered and cold.
• •The carrot and peppers can be julienned up to 4 hours ahead. Salt and dry the cucumber up to 2 hours ahead. Cut the pear close to serving, or hold it briefly in the vinegar water described in the instructions.
• •Assemble the platter no more than 15 minutes before serving, and sauce it at the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 190g)