감말랭이무침 – Spicy Dried Persimmon and Cucumber Salad: Recipe
Hot, sweet and fresh: One of our guest's favorites at the temple style dinner with Jeong Kwan
The buddhist nun and star chef Jeong Kwan visited us early 2019 for a temple style dinner – consisting of more than 20 individual dishes. Among the favourite dishes of the night ranked the shiitake mushrooms (you can find a video recipe of the dish here) and the spicy dried persimmon and cucumber salad.
We asked Jeong Kwan for the recipe – so if you can get hold of the ingredients you are in for a treat!
Ingredients
400 g dried persimmon
1 cucumber
1 tbsp omija (also known as magnolia berry) syrup
5 tbsp vinegar
3 tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
1 tbsp blackberry syrup
1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds, crushed in a mortar
Pinch of black sesame seeds
Salt
Preparations:
Rinse the cucumber and remove the seeds, then cut it into segments of 0.5 x 2 cm.
Marinate the cucumbers with a pinch of salt, 2 tbsp of vinegar and 1 tbsp of omija syrup and put aside to rest.
Cut the dried persimmon into bite-sized pieces. If the persimmon feels too soft let it dry in the oven to the right consistency.
Proceed with the persimmon in the same way as the cucumber: mix it with a pinch of salt, 2 tbsp of vinegar and 1 tbsp of omija syrup.
Dressing:
Mix 3 tbsp of gochujang, 1 tbsp blackberry syrup, 1 tbsp vinegar, and 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds.
Assemble and serve:
Squeeze the cucumber segments slightly to get rid of excess liquid. Transfer them together with the persimmon in a mixing bowl and the dressing to generously coat everything. Mix evenly and transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle black sesame seeds over the top.