Versatile Sauce

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When you’re in charge of dinner, it’s not always easy coming up with a healthy, delicious meal for your family. For Koreans in a rush, turning to a pre-made, versatile Yangnyumjang makes it a whole lot easier. On today’s close up, we share some tips on how to make this sauce and how to use it.

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Samgyeopsal or pork belly is very popular in Korea. Ssamjang is a perfect condiment for samgyeopsal. It's a thick spicy paste made with soybean paste, red pepper paste, sesame oil, and chopped garlic and pepper. It makes samgyeopsal taste better and less fatty. Ssamjang is a type of sauce which is made with basic pastes and other seasoning ingredients. The pre-made sauce can be preserved for a long time and used in various Korean dishes, including herbal dishes "namul" and stew called jjigae.

[Soundbite] Kim Ji-yeon(Seoul Resident) : "I always use a Yangnyeomjang sauce when cooking and making jjigae at home."

This versatile sauce boosts the flavors of ingredients. Even better, it makes cooking quite easy.

[Soundbite] Kim Ka-eul(Seoul Resident) : "I make this sauce in advance to use it whenever I need it. The versatile sauce makes cooking easier and more convenient."

There is a wide variety of seasoning sauce. But the one we are going to make today is based on soy sauce. First, dried anchovys, apples, kelp and radish are cooked together on low heat. After soy sauce and sugar are added, the stock is boiled further to brew out the flavor of each ingredient fully. The sauce is complete when the stock is reduced to a third of the original volume. The finished sauce is poured into a bottle and cooled down. It can be preserved in a refrigerator for up to six months.

[Soundbite] Kim Ka-eul(Seoul Resident) : "A small amount of this versatile sauce adds flavor to dishes. It is great for making bom-namul, spring herbal dishes."

The sauce is good for making dishes with spring greens. This is seasoned spring cabbage with a fresh, crunchy taste. Spring cabbage is cleaned well and cut into bite-sized pieces. The water is removed from canned sea snails, which were thoroughly cleaned beforehand. The versatile sauce is added to the prepared ingredients. Red pepper powder and sliced peppers are the final touch. Here is a dish of seasoned spring cabbage and sea snails. It is a good choice to stimulate the appetite in spring. Wild chives are a representative spring green in Korea. Chopped wild chives are mixed with a spoonful of the sauce. Sesame oil and red pepper powder are added. The sauce is now infused with the fresh flavor of wild chives. Hot rice is topped with the sauce and the roe of flying fish, which adds texture and color. It might be a little complicated to make the sauce. However, it is worth a try. It boosts the flavors of various dishes. Make and use the versatile sauce to put tasty and stylish dishes on your dining table.