Appetizing Pickles

[Anchor Lead]

In today’s Close Up, a remedy for waning appetites hit by muggy weather. In Korea, pickled vegetables - or 'jangajji' - are said to be the best way to rekindle our taste buds.

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With the weather already so hot, Koreans worry how they will cope with summer at its peak. On sultry days, pickled veggies are the go-to side dish which Korean kings are also known to have been served when they had little appetite.

[Soundbite] Kim Sun-deok(Jangajji Master) : "I'll show you how to make pickled garlic using soy sauce marinade."

First prepare 9 ingredients including soy sauce, vinegar, salt and sugar. Mix them up and this marinade comes in handy for various dishes. Now pour the marinade over garlic and peppers. Mature the pickled veggies for 3 days at room temperature.

[Soundbite] "Just pour in the marinade over the garlic and give it a good sizzling boil."

This way the salinity rises and the garlic and peppers remain crunchy. After a second round of aging, this time for 3 months, this pickled dish is finally ready. This time we make a spicy chili paste or gochujang pickle. The most important initial task is to remove moisture from the ingredients.

[Soundbite] Kim Sun-deok(Jangajji Master) : "Vegetables contain a lot of water so they go sour if made into pickles right away. Even firm pumpkin will go bad and can't be eaten. Therefore, veggies must be dried before pickling."

Chili paste doesn't have to become boring. Spice it up with other ingredients. This is one way. Stir fry the paste with green plum jam and jujube puree on an oiled pan. This delicious gochujang sauce is then mixed with dried zucchini and it's ready to serve. The flavors are sure to restore the appetite! With the abundance of ingredients year round, pickles also continuously evolve in variety.

[Soundbite] Kim Oi-sun(Culinary Researcher) : "Today I'm making Gabjanggwa which can be enjoyed right after it's made."

Gab-jang-gwa refers to types of pickles that can be immediately consumed without maturing. The main ingredient for the day is cucumber. Take out the seeds and chop it up. Sprinkle coarse salt and pour water over the slices and pickle for 20 minutes. Then wash the cucumber.

[Soundbite] "Try bending a pickled cucumber slice. A good bend means it's been pickled well. This makes a crunchy, delicious pickle."

Now marinade the other ingredients, beef and shiitake mushroom. First stir fry the pickled cucumber and then go onto frying the mushroom and beef separately. Now combine the prepared ingredients and you have a cucumber stir fried pickle, a dish known to have been enjoyed by Joseon Dynasty kings. Now we can share some tips on how to make best use of long-stored pickles.

[Soundbite] Gwon Sang-suk : "I enjoy making pickles as a side dish. But pickles kept for long change in taste."

Aged pickles naturally have a pungent taste. In this case, separate the vegetables from the old marinade. Next boil the marinade by adding one cup each of water, vinegar, the distilled liquor soju and sugar. Cool off the re-boiled marinade and pour it back into the pickle jar. Now you have a real delicacy! Pickled vegetables or jangajji have been with the Korean palate throughout history. Try some pickles this summer to taste the past and spice up your appetite!