Wednesday, September 16, 2020

September 17, 2020 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Korean Chili Peppers

Cooking With This Week's Box

Korean Chili Peppers: HVF Fresh Korean Chili-Garlic Sauce—Updated (see below); Spicy Korean-Style Gochujang Meatballs (see below); Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Butter Popcorn (see below)








Baby Bok Choi: Steamed Bok Choi




Steamed Bok Choi, photo from steamykitchen.com
I’m excited to kick off this week’s Cooking With the Box discussion by introducing you to Korean Chili Peppers!  We’ve only been growing this pepper for several years, but I it quickly became one of my favorites and I have had fun learning more about it each year.  If you haven’t had a chance to read this week’s Vegetable feature article about this pepper, please do so.  My top suggestion for what you can make with these is HVF Fresh Korean Chili-Garlic Sauce—Updated (see below).  I published a version of this sauce back in 2018, but I’ve updated it this year and think the results are quite tasty.  This is a homemade, quick version of gochujang, a fermented Korean chili paste.  No, it’s not the exact thing, but it can be used in any recipe that calls for gochujang.  Because this is a hot pepper, a little bit of this sauce will go a long way.  So if you make one recipe of this sauce you’ll have about one cup to work with.  You will be able to make several different recipes with this one batch.  Plus, there’s no rush to use it all right away.  Store it in the refrigerator for up to a month or freeze it in smaller portions so you can use it throughout the winter.  I have two recipes to share with you that you can make using some of your HVF Fresh Korean Chili-Garlic Sauce.  The first is this recipe for Spicy Korean-Style Gochujang Meatballs (see below).  I made this recipe last winter and we loved them!  You can serve them for dinner with Steamed Bok Choi or Korean Carrot Salad, or both!  You could also make them into smaller meatballs and serve them more as an appetizer or like cocktail meatballs for the holidays or a Super Bowl party!  The other recipe I tried this week was for Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Butter Popcorn (see below).  If you like popcorn, you’re going to love this.  It’s up to you how spicy you want to make it.

Grilled Salmon Tacos with Jalapeno Ranch
photo from honestcooking.com
While we’re talking about peppers we might as well cover the other selections in this week’s box.  You’ll find one jalapeno in the same bag with your Korean peppers.  Earlier this week I saw this recipe for Grilled Salmon Tacos with Jalapeno Ranch.  Of course you’ll want to dice up some fresh tomatoes to serve with these tacos.  As for the sweet peppers, one of my favorite things to make with mini sweet peppers is Sheet Pan Roasted Chicken with Potatoes & Mini Sweet Peppers.  I love how the peppers get silky and sweet to contrast the crispy roasted potatoes and crispy chicken.  I also like to stuff mini sweet peppers, such as with these Cheese Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers with Roasted Corn Salsa.  Eat them as a snack or for dinner!  Your choice.

Pepper & Corn Pasta Salad, photo from ohmyveggies.com
There are also several other “sweet peppers” in the box this week.  This Pepper & Corn Pasta Salad looks simple and tasty.  Serve it with Garlic Thyme Burgers with Grilled Tomatoes.  You could also use them to make this Veggie Cream Cheese Spread along with red onions and carrots.  Spread this on a bagel for breakfast or lunch or use it as a spread for sandwiches or wraps!

We’ve had a pretty good year for tomatillos and couldn’t help but send them again this week.  We likely only have a few more weeks before we lose them to frost, so we might as well make the most of them while we can!  We’re whittling down the recipe list that we published earlier this year in our Tomatillo Vegetable Feature Article.  We haven’t had pizza for awhile, so maybe we’ll try this Tomatillo Pizza with Cilantro Pesto or if you want to include some sweet corn you can try my recipe for Corn & Tomatillo Pizza with Fresh Tomatoes & Basil.  We haven’t mentioned much about breakfast or brunch, but if you are looking for something to fill this meal slot consider making Green Tomatillo Shakshuka.  Shakshuka is a great one-pan meal that is good served at any meal of the day.  This version uses tomatillos as the base to cook the eggs in.

Borscht with Beet & Beet Green, photo from sharonpalmer.com
Several members mentioned Borscht in the Facebook Group recently.  They also said they used the beet greens in the soup.  I’ve never used the greens in this way, but what a great idea!  I’ve also never made borscht with golden beets, but why not?  Here’s a vegetarian version of Borscht with Beets & Beet Greens.  If you’re not into Borscht this week, perhaps you may prefer to make Golden Beet Soup with Carrot & Ginger.  Now that the evenings are a bit chilly, a bowl of warm soup with some crusty bread makes for a nourishing dinner.  Wait, I almost forgot to share this recipe for Cashew Corn Chowder with Cilantro Cream, courtesy of Sarah Britton.  I made this soup earlier this week using fresh corn.  It was so delicious and the soaked cashews gave it a nice body and creamy texture--no dairy!  This is the kind of soup that makes you feel alive and invigorated after eating it!

Despite the fact that summer is nearly officially over, we still have so many gorgeous vegetables to send your way!  Check out the picture of some of the things Richard brought in from the field earlier this week!  This is our first time growing Purple Napa Cabbage and it is absolutely GORGEOUS!  The purple cauliflower took us by surprise and some is ready to harvest.  There are a few red cabbage as well as green savoy cabbages that are ready to harvest.  We also have our eye on the return of baby arugula, spinach, salad mix and possibly saute mix.  We may start sending a few early winter squash next week and Richard and Rafael can’t seem to stop digging to check on the sweet potatoes!  While many farms start to wind down this time of the year, we rev up!  So don’t think it’s over, we still have so many delicious vegetables to enjoy!  Have a great week!--Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Korean Chili Peppers

By Chef Andrea

Two years ago this pepper caught our eye in the seed catalog for no reason other than it had an interesting name (Dang Jo Cheong Yang) and it was a purple hot pepper.  We were looking for a different hot pepper to grow so decided to give it a try.  One of the fun parts of growing a new crop is figuring out when to harvest it, how to use it, etc.  Once the peppers turned purple we thought they were ready to harvest, but when we tasted them it was pretty disappointing.  They really didn’t have much flavor.  They just tasted like a boring green pepper with heat.  We decided to leave them and see what would happen.  I’m glad we did because they started to turn from purple to brilliant red and when they did the flavor changed dramatically!  In that first year we had no idea that we had stumbled upon a unique Korean pepper.  I had to really search and dig to figure out where this pepper came from and it was through both research and using it that we have come to love this hot pepper both for its history and origin, but also for its complex flavor.

This pepper is referred to as gochu in Korean.  While not all Korean food is spicy, many of the traditional foods in Korean cuisine are spicy and this pepper is one of the most widely used ingredients.  One source claims this pepper is “Korea’s most consumed vegetable when measured by weight (200 to 250,000 metric tons per year).”   I’m not sure how common it is to use it in its fresh form in Korea, but most references I found demonstrate that it is most commonly dried and used as dry flakes or powdered.  These forms are the way this pepper is used in traditional Kimchi (fermented cabbage and vegetables) and Gochujang (fermented chili paste).  Both of these foods have been part of Korean cuisine for thousands of years and originated out of a need to preserve and extend the shelf life of food.    The capsaicin (the component that makes it hot) in the peppers is an important part of the preservation process coupled with fermentation which not only preserves the food but also develops complex flavors.

I found some interesting information in the Journal of Ethnic Foods in an article entitled “History of Korean gochu, gochujang, and kimchi.”  Some sources debate the origin of this Korean pepper arguing that peppers are a New World fruit that must’ve been brought to Korea through trade.  In this article they state the belief that this pepper is actually indigenous to Korea and references to its use and cultivation in Korea are documented in records over 2,000 years old.  They also stated that “Based on scientific evidence, gochu started to grow on the Korean peninsula a few billions of years ago, and it is safe to say that it is original to Korea.”

I mentioned earlier that one of the reasons we love this pepper is for its complex flavor.  Yes, it’s a hot pepper, but you taste more than just hot when you eat it.  It has a unique flavor and a bit of sweetness that balances the heat in such a way that the heat doesn’t just burn your mouth.  I should also mention that while it is hotter than a poblano pepper, they are a modest heat pepper that are often more mild in heat than jalapenos.  Of course the heat can vary depending on the season.  We have received feedback from members over the past two years that individuals who don’t typically enjoy hot peppers actually like this one!  Since this pepper is traditionally used in fermented foods, we decided to see what would happen if we used it to make a fermented hot sauce.  We worked with Faith at Fizzeology Foods in Viroqua.  She made the most delicious Fermented Korean Chili Hot Sauce that was very well received by some of the “hot sauce experts” within our membership.  One of the great things about fermented foods is that they just continue to get better with time.  We are going to make more this year, but we do have a limited amount of last year’s batch remaining.  Check out our “Produce Plus” offerings if you’re interested.

So what can you do with these fresh peppers?  You can use them anywhere you need a fresh hot pepper in salsas, sauces, curries, soups, etc. I also have several simple suggestions for preserving them so you don’t have to use them all right now.  For starters, you can follow Korean tradition and dry them.  After they are dried you can turn them into pepper flakes or grind them into a powder.  When we first featured them in 2018 we published a recipe for Salt-Cured Chiles which is available on our website.  You can do this with nearly any chili pepper, but I really like to do this with the Korean peppers.  It’s super simple and all you need is salt and the peppers.  Once you’ve salt-cured them they will store for quite awhile in the refrigerator.  In fact, I still have a jar that I made last year!  The beauty of salt-cured chili peppers is you can use them to add heat to anything you want and they still have a fresh chili flavor.  I use them throughout the winter for stir-fries, fried rice, soups, stews, sauces, etc.

Salt-Cured Chiles
You can also use the fresh chiles to make a quick version of gochujang.  Since this chili pepper is most often either dried or fermented, you likely won’t come up with many recipes calling for just the fresh peppers.  Now, if you search for recipes using gochujang, I guarantee you’ll come up with a hearty list!  Gochujang is a fermented chili paste traditionally made from dried chili peppers, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans and salt.  I found references recommending fermenting it for 4-6 months or years!  While it may be hard for any of us to make the traditional gochujang in our homes, you can make a quick version of gochujang that uses the fresh chiles.  The flavor may not be as complex and the consistency will be more like a sauce and less of a paste, but it will still be delicious and you can use it in any recipe that calls for gochujang.  In this week’s newsletter I have included a recipe for HVF Fresh Korean Chili Sauce (see below) which may be used in place of gochujang in recipes.  You can store this sauce in the refrigerator for about a month, or divide it into smaller portions and freeze it.  I shared a similar recipe in 2018, but have updated the recipe a bit this year.

Here are a few recipes I have in the queue that call for gochujang.  The recipe in this week’s newsletter yields about 1 cup, but many of these recipes only call for a small amount which means you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy these peppers in many different recipes over the next few months!  Have fun and enjoy!


HVF Fresh Korean Chili-Garlic Sauce--Updated

Yield: 1 cup

4 oz fresh Korean chili peppers
4 cloves garlic
⅓ cup miso
2 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
  1. Remove the stem and roughly chop Korean chili peppers (seeds included) into one inch pieces.  Put the peppers in a food processor or blender along with the garlic cloves and roughly chop them until they are a fine, yet chunky paste.
  2. Add the miso, honey, tamari and rice vinegar.  Blend together until smooth.
  3. Taste and adjust the flavor as needed to your liking.  Add tamari for more depth of flavor, honey for more sweetness, garlic to get more “zing” or salt if it just needs a little enhancement to wake up all the other flavors.
  4. Put the sauce in a glass jar and store in the refrigerator for up to 2-4 weeks.  Alternatively, you can freeze it in smaller portions as a means of preserving it for later use.  
Note:  You may use this in place of the Korean fermented chili paste called gochujang.  It’s pretty hot, so a little bit will go a long way!  
Recipe originally adapted from minimalistbaker.com.

Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Butter Popcorn

Yield: 2 Servings

2 Tbsp butter
1-2 tsp gochujang or HVF Fresh Korean Chili-Garlic Sauce (see note)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp honey
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
⅓ cup unpopped popcorn kernels
Fine sea salt, to taste
  1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add gochujang, sesame oil, and honey.  Whisk together until well combined.  Remove from heat and set aside in a warm place.  
  2. Pop popcorn by your method of choice.  If you are popping it on the stovetop, heat vegetable oil in a medium saucepot over medium heat.  When the oil shimmers on the bottom of the pan, add popcorn kernels.  Cover and shake intermittently until popping starts, then continue to shake the pan until popping stops or significantly slows.  Remove the pan from the heat and pour popcorn into a medium bowl.
  3. Whisk the butter mixture to ensure it is well-combined, then pour evenly over hot popcorn and toss to coat.  Season with salt to your liking.  Eat immediately!
NOTE: For milder gochujang butter, use only 1 tsp of gochujang.  If you like it spicier, use 2 tsp.
Recipe adapted from domesticdreamboat.com.

Spicy Korean-Style Gochujang Meatballs

Yield: 16-18 meatballs

Meatballs:
½ cup finely minced onion
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 lb ground beef or pork
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
1-2 Tbsp gochujang or HVF Fresh Korean Chili Garlic Sauce*
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp ground white pepper

Gochujang Glaze:
⅓ cup apricot preserves
1-2 Tbsp gochujang or HVF Fresh Korean Chili Garlic Sauce*
1 ½ Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce

Garnish:
Sliced green onions (when in season) and/or toasted sesame seeds
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a large bowl, combine all meatball ingredients.  Using your hands, mix all ingredients until everything is well mixed.  Form the mixture into golf-ball sized meatballs and place on a cookie sheet.  You want to spread them out a bit so there is space in between them.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until they are cooked through and firm.  
  2. While the meatballs are baking, make the glaze.  In a small saucepot, combine all glaze ingredients.  Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and slightly thickened.  Remove from heat.
  3. Once the meatballs are cooked through, remove the pan from the oven and transfer the meatballs to an 8 x 8-inch baking dish or other small casserole.  Pour the glaze over the meatballs, making sure all are covered in the glaze.
  4. Return the pan to the oven and bake an additional 10 minutes.
  5. Sprinkle with green onions and toasted sesame seeds if desired.
*I made this recipe using 1 Tbsp of HVF Fresh Korean Chili Garlic Sauce in the meatballs and 1 Tbsp of the sauce in the glaze.  This will give you a spicy, but not over the top, meatball.  If you really like spice, increase the gochujang quantity.  
Recipe adapted from a recipe submitted to Food52 by foxeslovelemons.

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