Expand repertoire with Asian-style sides

(Noodles, red pepper paste, green onion, rice and Korean radish are key components in Korean cuisine/Rob Goebel photo, Gannett News Service)

Sweet and salty, tangy and hot are signature notes in Korean cuisine. But it’s grilling season, and those exotic blends can fire up your next barbecue with an ethnic flair.

Today’s Busy Cook in the Poughkeepsie Journal features a centerpiece on Korean grilling by Johnathan L. Wright of the Reno Gazette Journal, the Poughkeepsie Journal’s sister paper.

“In the world of grilling, there is nothing quite like Korean grilling,” he writes. “It's nuanced and soulful yet gusting and vibrant, a caress and a slap all at once. … Korean grilling is served with healthy ‘banchan’ (side dishes) like kimchi or a kicky salad of shaved radish, which is thought to aid digestion. Grilled meat also is tucked into frilly red lettuce, perhaps with a dab of 'gochujang,' or red chili paste.”

Here are two recipes for Korean side dishes that will pair well with a grilled protein of your choice, such as tofu or tempeh for vegetarians.

(Korean grilled dishes are traditionally eaten with refreshing "banchan," or side dishes, such as bean sprout, cucumber and carrot salad; clockwise from top left, fresh napa cabbage kimchi; grated Korean radish tossed with sugar, salt and chili powder; cucumber salad; and burdock root boiled with sugar and soy sauce/Matt Morning photo, Gannett News Service)

Asian Pear Dipping Sauce

1. 1/2 cup soy sauce
2. 1/2 cup sake OR dry sherry
3. 1/4 cup sugar
4. 1 small Asian pear, peeled, cored and finely chopped
5. 4 scallions, both white and green parts, trimmed and finely chopped
6. One-fourth cup finely chopped onion
7. 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

• Combine soy sauce, sake, sugar, pear, scallions, onion and sesame seeds in medium bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed and sugar dissolves. Serve at once. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

Source: Adapted from "The Barbecue! Bible" by Steve Raichlen (2008, Workman)

Fresh Kimchi

1. 5 pounds napa cabbage
2. 1/2 cup coarse salt
3. 1/2 tablespoon crushed garlic
4. 1/4 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
5. 1/4 cup Korean red chili powder
6. 1 tablespoon sugar
7. 2 tablespoons fish sauce
8. 1/2 carrot, julienned
9. 1/2 bundle green onions, sliced into 2-inch pieces
10. 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
11. 1/4 Korean pear, julienned

• Wash cabbage, chop coarsely, then toss in large bowl with salt and let sit 5 to 6 hours. After that, rinse cabbage well to remove excess salt, then place in colander to drain. Once drained, add to same large bowl after rinsing it and wiping clean.
• In separate bowl, mix together garlic, ginger, red pepper, sugar and fish sauce. Add this mixture to cabbage, along with carrot, green onion and sesame seeds; toss well.
• Add pear last and toss gently, ensuring pear is not broken into pieces.
• Store in refrigerator.
• Makes about a half-gallon kimchi.
  

Source: Su Yim, chef at Rim pan-Asian restaurant, Reno, Nev.