Samhap janggwa, (Three braised delicacies)

Samhap janggwa (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Samhap janggwa is a dish of three kinds of seafood (mussels, abalone and sea slug) braised with beef and seasoning. Nowadays, the seafood is cooked alive, but in olden days it was dried then cooked after soaking in water because the amino acid and taurine content increases during drying and enhances the taste.

Ingredients

● 160 g abalone, 5 cups water

● 60 g soaked sea slug

● 00 g mussels, 3 cups water, 2 tsp salt,

● 50 g beef (top round)

Seasoning sauce: 1/2 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp minced green onion, 1/2 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp sesame salt, 1 tsp sesame oil

Braising sauce: 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp ginger juice, 2 1/2 tbsp honey, 1/2 cup water

● 1 tsp sesame oil

● 1 tsp pine nuts

1. Clean the abalone. Take out the flesh and remove entrails. Slice it into 0.5 cm-thick pieces, maintaining the abalone shape.

2. Wash the soaked sea slug and halve it lengthwise, then cut it into 2.5 cm-square pieces.

3. Cut off the whiskers from the mussels, rinse in salt water.

4. Clean the beef, cut it into 3 cm-wide chunks and then slice finely, season with seasoning sauce.

5. Prepare pine nut powder.

6. Pour water into the pot, heat for 2 min. on high heat. Scald the abalone, sea slug and mussels for 30 seconds.

7. Put braising sauce into the pot, heat for 2 min. on high. When it boils, lower the heat to medium, continue to boil for another 7 min. When the braising sauce thickens, put in the beef and braise for 2 min. Add abalone, sea slug and mussels, braise for 3 min. with sprinkling broth for a gloss. Mix them with sesame oil together.

8. Place on a dish and top with pine nuts powder.

Tips
Braise seafood on medium heat slowly, or it may become tough.

(Adapted from the Institute of Traditional Korean Food)