ACORNucopia Noodles (도토리국수)

Acorn noodles with a cornucopia of protein and crunchy veggies



A Primer on the Delectable Edible Acorn

Way healthier than wheat and tastier too, acorns served as sustenance to us since prehistoric times. During times of destitution in Korea, the poor and forlorn would seek food derived from the acorn. Now, it is not necessity that drives us to squirrel away these oak nuts but its health benefits and delicious nutty flavor.

Google for acorn flour, and few people—save self-sufficient mountain Jacks, Wiccan chefs, and Native Americans—go through the trouble of processing acorn flour because the procedure is notoriously difficult. First, you must collect acorns, being wary of weevil larvae, then, leech out the tannins, and peel away tough husks before grinding the grain-like nuts into flour. Leeching out the tannins alone may take up to ten hours and several water changes.

But, dig a little deeper into the web, varying your search terms, and you will find dotori muk, acorn jelly, and dotori gooksoo, acorn noodles. In Korean cuisine, acorn flour and starches are frequently used in cooking, so much so that the starch and flour are manufactured and sold at many Korean grocery stores. Finished acorn-based products such as the dotori muk and dotori gooksoo are also available at many Korean stores. Be wary of products labeled as acorn noodles, however, because some contain as little as 4% acorn flour. The highest percentage of acorn flour I have seen contained in acorn noodles is 35%, and this was fact was proudly touted in a Well-Being store in Seoul.

The acorn noodles in my recipe are homemade and contain 70 percent fresh ground acorn meal. Due to the freshness and lack of preservatives of the acorn noodles, they should be stored in the freezer. I have decided to make these noodles available for purchase due to a complete absence of quality acorn noodles web and storewide.



All About Acorn Hut's Acorn Soba Noodles

Packed with essential amino acids and antioxidants, Acorn Hut's acorn noodles are a healthy and flavorful alternative to any pick of pasta. This dish teems with ten different vegetables and the parent-child proteins of chicken and egg. The juxtaposition of contrasting textures and tastes create a unique savory experience as the garlic, pan-roasted burdock seasons, and is in turned livened by, a bunch of crisp bean sprouts. Fragrant, fresh-snipped perilla and garland chrysanthemum, tossed in with sliced cabbage, green onions, carrots, cucumbers and two types of hot peppers, complete the spicy cornucopia with a satisfying crunch.

I developed this recipe after tasting Kobawoo restaurant’s version of dotori gooksoo. Their kochujang sauce left much to be desired as it varnished my tongue with a watery wasabi-like resin. Meanwhile, key Korean vegetables seemed M.I.A. while the red onions and bell peppers tasted misplaced.

In Acorn Hut's ACORNucopia Noodle Recipe, only the finest ingredients are used. No corn syrup is added to the organic kochujang sauce—the same cannot be confidently said for Kobawoo’s kochujang sauce. Acorn Hut’s noodles consist of a 70 percent acorn flour base. And the only two oils sparingly used are organic extra virgin olive oil and toasted sesame oil. The best part about making this dish at home is that you are the Q.C.M. (Quality Control Manager), and the ingredients are as organic and fresh as you desire.

ACORNucopia Acorn Noodle Recipe

~ Serves 3-4 people

The Chicken and the Egg
You can use either hard boiled eggs or egg ribbons. Using hard boiled eggs takes less time but otherwise, which you choose is a matter of personal taste. To save time, you may also opt for a pre-made rotisserie chicken.

Hard Boiled Eggs
Boiling an egg is not as straightforward as tossing it in boiling water. Here are a few tips for a fluffier egg.

2-3 eggs

1. Prick the top of the egg with a pin to allow the egg to expand into its whole shell as it cooks.
2. Boiling time may vary depending on the size of the egg, but I don’t think you should boil any sized egg for more than 15 minutes.
3. Rinse the eggs in cold water to make peeling easier.

Egg Ribbons
Use a small non-stick pan when making these egg ribbons. Always keep the heat medium to low to prevent to release of unwanted chemicals. This recipe is similar but less labor intensive than my egg omelet recipe in Kickin’ California Kimbap.

3 eggs
½ tsp olive oil
¼ tsp honey
1 tsp mirin
Pinch sea salt

1. Melt the honey into the mirin.
2. Beat the honeyed mirin and salt into the eggs.
3. Lubricate the heated pan with olive oil.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and wait until the egg solidifies and edges brown a little.
5. Flip the egg, turn off the heat, and let sit.
6. Slice the egg into 1/6 inch strips. Set aside in small bowl.

Chicken
I have used pre-made rotisserie chickens from Costco and Zankou with great success. Be wary of pre-made chickens at grocery stores like Ralphs because they tend to be overly salted. But for a healthier alternative, cook your own chicken breasts.

One tablespoon sesame oil
2 large chicken breasts
2 two-inch pieces of ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp soy sauce
½ cup mirin
¼ cup pineapple juice
2 tbs water

1. Pan roast the chicken with sesame oil, ginger, and sliced garlic. When the chicken is browned, flip, turn off the heat and let the pan cool a bit.
2. Pour soy sauce, mirin, pineapple juice, and water into the pan and cover.
3. Cook on medium low heat for fifteen minutes.
4. Uncover and continue to cook for about 20 minutes until the liquid thickens into a sauce. Set aside to cool.
5. Slice the chicken using your knife or throw it into your food processor for a few pulses in a batch separate from the vegetables.

Kochujang Dressing/Fermented Hot Pepper Sauce
The best kochujang is homemade from scratch with organic ingredients, but if you don't have time, the best MSG-free store-bought brands for kochejang are O'Foods and Pulmone. Due to the nature of the fresh dressing ingredients, you require a powerful blender. One of my favorite kitchen tools is my Vita-Mix Blender because the motor is incredibly powerful, and it pulverizes my smoothies, spices, grains, and of course, dressings in mere seconds.

3 tbs kochujang, fermented hot pepper paste
2 tbs dry vermouth
2 tbs olive oil
2 large cloves fresh garlic
2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon or kalamanzi juice
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
½ Korean pear, peeled and seeded
1 tsp white peppercorns
1 tbs sesame oil

1. Place all the kochujang salad dressing ingredients in your blender.
2. Blend on low before increasing to high. The resulting salad dressing should be smooth and resemble cream of tomato soup, or a reddish Thousand Island’s dressing. Let people help themselves.

Vegetable cornucopia
Most of these fresh vegetables may be purchased at your local farmer’s market. Find garland chrysanthemum (ssukgat), perilla (kkenip), and hot peppers (gochu) at your local Korean or Japanese market. You can choose between 4 different types of cucumbers- Japanese, Korean, Persian, and English. Korean oi have a pastel green hue and tend to be a bit less crisp than their forest green Japanese kyuri counterparts. Both are shorter, thinner, and crisper than the English hot house cucumber. Persian cucumbers are shorter than both Korean and Japanese cucumbers and have a thicker seed middle but not as thick as English cucumbers. For your reference, 3 kyuri = 3 oi = 4 Persian = 1 English hot house cucumber

2 cups bean sprouts
¼ purple cabbage
1 bunch garland chrysanthemum
2 bunches perilla leaves, 10-14 leaves
1 stalk green onions
2 Korean green hot peppers
1 red jalapeño pepper
5-6 young carrots
3 Japanese cucumbers

1. Wash and then pat or spin dry all of the vegetables.
2. Place the bean sprouts in a small bowl covered bowl and fridge. As you finish chopping or slicing each vegetable, refrigerate each in a small bowl to preserve freshness.
3. Slice the purple cabbage into ¼ inch thick pieces.
4. Chop the garland chrysanthemum into 1 ½ - 2 inch pieces.
5. Fold the perilla leaves over one another in a deck and snip them into 1/3 inch thick pieces.
6. Slice the green onion into thin disks.
7. Slice the Korean green hot peppers into 1/6 inch thick disks.
8. Slice the red jalapeño pepper into thin disks.
9. Insert the coarse blade into your mandolin slicer and slice your carrots evenly into ¼ inch thick strips.
10. Repeat this procedure for your cucumbers.

Time Saver: If you value time over the aesthetics or if you plan to double this recipe, throw all the vegetables one batch at a time into your food processor and pulse a few times. My Kitche nAid food processor shreds the cabbage perfectly in less than ten seconds.

Pan-Roasted Garlic Burdock
Burdock (uuong/gobo) may be found at your local Korean or Japanese grocer. Some Chinese markets also carry burdock, known as Ngau Pong in Cantonese. To pick a fresh burdock, look for obvious shriveling and then carefully inspect the density of the root at its base. Ideally, the base should be solid and have no splinters of wind tunnels. If you whip the burdock a bit, it should also have a firm resilience and not be limp.

2 whole roots of burdock (uuong/gobo)
4 cloves of garlic
1 tbs sesame oil
Pinch of sea salt

1. Slice the burdock into thin matchsticks using your mandolin slicer, or chop the root into 2 inch pieces and toss into a food processor.
2. Throw the sesame oil and salt in a pan over medium low heat.
3. Add the sliced burdock and 4 crushed cloves of garlic in the pan.
4. Stir fry until the burdock edges and garlic bits are a golden brown. Set aside in a small bowl.

Acorn Hut's Acorn Noodles
Try substituting acorn noodles in any recipe that calls for pasta noodles. Acorn noodles are an especially excellent alternative to soba noodles. You can try purchasing acorn noodles either at your local Korean grocer or for higher quality acorn noodles, here at Acorn Hut.

1 lb Acorn Noodles (dotori gooksoo)

1. Immerse acorn noodles in boiling water and boil for 6 minutes.
2. Rinse noodles in icy cold water and drain well.

Arranging Acorn Noodles
Arrange all of the different prepared toppings on the table and let people choose which toppings they want, or prepare each bowl separately.

Acorn noodles
Vegetables
Chicken
Egg
Kochujang sauce

1. First, place the noodles in each bowl.
2. Pile on the toppings.
3. Allow each person to pour as much sauce as they please.

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Winter Cool Cucumber Salad (오이무침)

A cool salad for keeping yourself HOT in the wintertime

Wintertime is harsh on your skin and body— your body burns more calories than usual trying to keep warm. Of course it doesn’t follow that you lose weight because you crave heartier foods. Meanwhile, your skin gets battered by the wind, cold, and sun. But you can keep that polar pudge off and skin smooth by harnessing the hydrating powers of cucumber in combination with the fat-burning fire of red Korean chili peppers.

What makes this seasoned cucumber or, in Korean, oi muchim work is the Japanese cucumber, kyuri, which are available year-round. You may also choose to use Persian cucumbers or English hothouse cucumbers. The cucumbers, in tandem with ginger, garlic, green onion, and hot chili peppers, produce a powerfully potent salad of Vitamin A, B6, and C, chromium, manganese, silica, selenium, and sulfur—all vital for aiding your skin in its natural repair. The red chili peppers also boost your metabolism as capsaicin continues to burn calories, long after you have already digested it! Omit the honey, and this recipe is a homeopathic alleviant for diabetics.

Winter Cool Cucumber Recipe

~ Serves 3-4 people

Garlicky Vinegar
This garlicky vinegar may be added to soy sauce for dipping dumplings, kochujang, or any other sauce or dish that calls for vinegar.

3 garlic cloves
6 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp maesil ju, Korean green plum wine

1. Crush or thinly slice the garlic cloves.
2. Soak the garlic in 6 tsp of rice vinegar for an hour, or preferably, overnight.

Cucumber Salad
What adds an extra special spicy kick to this salad is the shot of fresh ginger juice.

3 japanese cucumbers – kyuri
2 tsp scallions/green onions, finely chopped
½ tsp cracked black pepper
2 tbs Korean red chili pepper, cut in thin .5 x .1 inch strips
1 tbs seaweed, cut in thin .5 x .1 inch strips
2 tsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp ginger juice
¼ tsp salt

3. Stir in honey into the ginger juice, which you have obtained from crushing the bulb of ginger.
4. Use your Japanese Mandolin slicer to evenly slice your cucumbers into thin 1/16 inch disks.
5. Lightly sprinkle the salt over the cucumbers.
6. Mix the garlic vinegar, soy sauce, and honeyed ginger juice together and pour over the cucumbers.
7. Add scallions, cracked pepper, salt, red chili pepper, and if you so desire sesame seeds and oil, and lightly toss.
8. Add the seaweed and additional red pepper on top for garnish and serve.

Variations
For a softer sesame version, add:
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
3 tsp toasted sesame seeds

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Bebop for Kimbap... California Style (닭고기김밥)

The healthy, organic version of Korean fast food sushi

Lucky the leprechaun just might forgo his Lucky Charms if he knew about kimbap*, Korean sushi, which is composed of a mishmash of colorful ingredients, thus capturing the rainbow in a roll instead of a bowl.

As an all-inclusive-meal-in-a-bite you can pop in your mouth, kimbap produces some odd bedfellows. Combinations in kimbap can range from your typical marriage of tuna and mayonnaise to the eye-brow raising duo of kimchi and cheese. Basically, it’s a free-for-all, so let loose your creative juices when choosing your kimbap fillings. Roll themes can range from all-organic, vegan and macrobiotic-friendly to rib-eye richness.

Although short grain white rice is the most commonly used grain for kimbap, I opt for a 1:2 grain ratio of organic sweet brown rice and organic short grain brown rice. Sweet brown rice is a glutinous, high-protein variety of rice, whose refined counterpart is commonly used in desserts such as mochi or dduk/tok. This grain mixture produces rice strongly characterized by a sticky, chewy and hearty goodness. Each grain seemingly pops with a sweet, nutty flavor under the grind of your molar. Adding sweet rice also increases the overall gluten, making it easier to use less rice and tightly roll the smorgasbord of meat and vegetables into the blanket of rice and seaweed.

Spinach may add a bold kick of green color to kimbap and remain a frequently favored darling among vegetables for Koreans, but I am not a fan of its flavor or texture in kimbap, so I gave it the boot. I prefer a combination of crunch and velvety richness balanced by enough vinegary acidity to make kimbap the way I imagine it should be: a-balanced-meal-in-a-bite, where every ingredient has its place and the addition of soy sauce becomes a travesty.

Kickin' Californian Kimbap Recipe

~ Yields 12 rolls,serves 3-5 people

To save time, consider preparing some of the kimbap materials the night before, such as the chicken and any of the vegetables, except the avocado.

Yummy Brown Rice Mix
I can always differentiate a good variety of organic short grain brown rice from inorganic rice by whether the eye of grain is intact. When organic rice is cooked, the light yellow eye should be staring at you from the tip of the grain.

1. Mix 1 1/3 cup short grain brown rice with 2/3 cup sweet brown rice.
2. Soak for an hour, drain, and add 2 2/3 cups water to pressure cook.
3. Melt 1/2 tsp honey into 1 tsp hot water, mix with 3 tsp rice vinegar and ¼ tsp salt.
4. Sprinkle this vinegar seasoning over the cooked rice while fanning the rice to make the grains shiny.

Kickin' Chicken
I know the health benefits of white meat outweigh the dark, but I prefer dark-meat. To compromise, I mixed chicken parts and then shredded everything together with a fork, but if you pick only breast meat for this recipe, I would advise that you purchase meat with some skin and bones because otherwise, there’s no flavor to savor! The marinade for this chicken is a healthier, sugar-free version of the standard Korean barbeque marinade. In lieu of maesil ju, Korean green plum wine, feel free to add mirin, grand marnier, or marsala wine. Each liqour imparts a different subtle flavor on the chicken and which you choose is a matter of personal preference.

2 ½ lb chicken parts
6 garlic cloves
½ onion
¼ cup ginger
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup maesil ju, Korean green plum wine

1. Slice the garlic cloves into 1/8 inch thick disks and set aside.
2. Slice the ginger into thick strips and set aside.
3. Soak and rinse the chicken in water to get rid of any debris or blood.
4. Place the chicken and other ingredients in a pot with a thick-bottom or copper coating.
5. Cover and cook on medium heat until it starts to boil, then quickly reduce to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Remove the cover and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes or until much of the liquid has evaporated and meat becomes shiny, falling off bone.
7. Wait until the meat cools a bit and then remove all the bones, ginger, and onion bits.
8. You can leave the meat in chunks or shred the meat slightly and pour the remaining
liquid back into the meat for extra seasoning. Set aside.

Crunchy Vegetables
Young carrots- the carrots should not be cooked too long or they will lack the firm, dense crunch.

1. Douse the carrots in boiling water for about five minutes to blanch.
2. Rinse carrots in cold water.
3. Slice each carrot length-wise into fourths and scatter ¼ tsp salt over carrots.
4. Pour just enough rice vinegar over to steep the carrots. I used shallow oval bowls, but you may also place them on a plate with high rim. Set aside.

Japanese cucumbers/kyuri- These cucumbers are similar to Persian cucumbers with a thinner middle and crunchier outside than English hot house cucumbers. Kyuri contribute a fresh, crisp crunch to the kimbap roll.

5. Slice each cucumber length-wise into sixths, trimming the seed middle a bit. Set aside.

Pickled radish/Daikon- I believe in making things from scratch for quality control, but pickling vegetables to crunchy perfection is an art of its own. The perfect daikon is wrinkly as the trunk of an elephant, about 1 ½ inches thick, and marked by a deep, edgy crunch.

6. Slice the daikon length-wise in halves. Slice that half into sixths. Set aside.

Pickled red radish/Fukujin zuke- this vibrant red pickled radish adds a subtle sweetness to the kimbap.

7. Drain the fukujin zuke and set aside in a small bowl.

Pickled eggplant & cucumber/shiba zuke- This pickled eggplant paints the kimbap with a beautiful purple, imbuing the roll with aromatic perilla flavor while adding a cushy crunch.

8. Drain the shiba zuke and set aside in a small bowl.

Avocado- Some people slather mayonnaise as a quick flavor fix or to offset the way their kimbap sticks in your throat, which is often caused by too much white rice and not enough filling. Slicing fresh avocados into your rolls, however, is a great, tasty alternative to mayonnaise. In this Kickin’ California Kimbap, avocados add a bit of creamy decadence and complement the nutty, chewy brown rice.

9. Peel and seed the avocado, then slice it length-wise in half.
10. Cut each halve into sixths and set aside.

Egg omelet/Gehran/Tamagoyaki
Usually, a little bit of sugar is added in the egg omelet, but I try to cut my use of refined, processed sugar wherever I can and instead, substituted a little bit of honey. The secret to making a good tamagoyaki is pouring just enough egg to cover the bottom of the pan and having the right pan. You need a heavy-bottomed, non-stick square pan.

1. Melt ½ tsp honey in 1 tbs of hot water, stirring in 1tsp mirin and ¼ tsp salt.
2. Beat this mixture into 8 eggs. You will cook omelette in two
batches. Heat up a square non-stick pan, lightly coated with olive oil on a low
fire.
3. Pour enough of the egg mixture to cover the pan.
4. Wait until the egg turns opaque and firm but not browned, then use a flexible pancake spatula to loosen the edges. Fold each end onto the middle in thirds, so 1/3of the egg remains as a bar in the middle of the pan.
5. Pour a little more of the egg mixture onto each empty 1/3 section of the pan. Wait until the egg turns opaque and solid, and then flip each end onto the third in the middle.
6. Repeat until half the egg mixture is gone. Set the egg aside to cool before cutting it into sixths. Repeat process so the next batch is cooked and cut. Set aside.

Easy Rolling Instructions
Select a roasted, unseasoned, thick, sushi-grade laver, and you will not encounter rolls that splinter before you can roll them.

1. Carefully spread ½ cup of rice onto 2/3 the laver sheet.
2. Position the chicken on the 1/3 line of the rice section.
3. Pile the egg and other ingredients on top of the chicken.
4. Tightly roll the fillings into the blanket of seaweed and rice, tucking them in if they fall out. Set each roll aside and pile them on a plate.
5. When you are finished rolling the kimbaps, slice each roll horizontally, about ¼-1/3 an inch thick. Wash your knife blade clean in a mixture of 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water when too much rice accumulates on the blade.

Variations
For smoked fish lovers out there, I also tried replacing the chicken with cold smoked white fish from my local Russian grocer and with great success. Cold smoked white fish is rich with natural oils, however, so watch how much avocado you put in your roll. Cold-smoked mackerel, although an acquired taste, also works beautifully.

Vegetarians should feel free to use smoked tofu. Smoked tofu, especially when combined with all the other ingredients in this roll, tastes delicious and has a texture a bit similar to some fish cakes. Vegans should also feel free to cut the egg out as well, although I really think the egg enhances the flavors of the roll.

*Kimbap is also sometimes spelled Kimbop, Gimbap, Gimbop, Kimbob, and Gimbob. The most common spelling, however, is kimbap.

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