Chung Moo Kimbab originated from Chung Moo province, Korea. Because Chung Moo was close to the coastal area, most men from there supported their families by working in the fishing industry.
To pack lunch for their husbands, the women created this kind of Kimbab which consisted of plain rice wrapped in nori sheets accompanied by radish kimchi and pickled squid mixed with shredded radish.
It was said that plain rice lasted longer in hot weather. Wrapped rice would be easier to eat on a rolling boat than unwrapped ones.
Radish kimchi lasted longer than cabbage kimchi and pickled squid would also last longer because of its salinity.
The radish would be left out to dry in the wind and sun before being used to make kimchi. The squids were sprinkled with salt and hung out to be half dried. The shredded radish would also be exposed to wind and sun to get rid of part of their water content.
I guess the drier and saltier the foods are, the better and longer they can be kept.
Besides, it would be messy to have juices from foods spilling all over one when one was eating lunch on a constantly rolling boat.
I do not know exactly the reason why Chung Moo Kimbab is always served with a toothpick. Will have to search the answer for that. So don’t be surprised if you see a toothpick, not a pair of chopsticks, with your order of Chung Moo Kimbab.
Ingredients
- 1/2 of a radish cut into slices of 1/5 of an inch
- 1/2 of a radish julienned to 1/5 of an inch thick, 2 inches long
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 half-dried squid (available at any Korean market)
- 2 Tbsp red ground pepper (gochoo garoo)
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 2 sprigs green onion, minced
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 2 sheets nori cut into quarters
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
Steps
After cutting the radish into slices of 1/5 inch. I dried them for 2 days in this apparatus.
I did the same with the shredded ones.
After the drying process, put the sliced radish in a bowl, sprinkle 1 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp of salt. Mix well. Set aside for 30 minutes. Do the same for the shredded ones.
Meanwhile, soak the half-dried squid (or squids, depending on the size). Usually, the half-dried squids are smaller in size than the dried ones, and also more expensive. For the half- dried, soak for 15 minutes. For the dried ones, it might need to be soaked a little longer.
Drain the radishes. Sliced ones and shredded ones separately.
Cut the squids into slanted slices. It would be easier to chew.
Squeeze some extra liquid off the radishes. In a bowl, put 1 tbsp of ground red pepper, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of sugar, 1 tsp of minced garlic and 1 tsp of minced ginger. Some chopped green onions. Mix well. Put the sliced radish in and mix well. Put into a container. Keep in room temperature for 1 night. Put into refrigerator the next day.
Into a mixing bowl, put the rest of red ground pepper, salt, sugar, fish sauce, minced garlic, ginger and chopped green onion. Mix well. Add shredded radish and squids. Mix well. Keep refrigerated until use. First picture is the shredded radish. Second one is the squids.
Cut nori sheets into quarters.
Have cooked rice into a mixing bowl. Put sesame oil and mix well. Take one sheet of nori. Spread rice on and roll.
Put rolled rice on plates. Put some mixed radish and squid on plate. Arrange few pieces of radish on. In the picture I also had some green onion kimchi and pickled sea squirts.
Served with a toothpick!
Source: Read Full Article
