Food & Travel

Epoch Times

in the springtime, you often spot them

collecting on riverbanks and along the
side of roads. One of the most widely used
and loved mountain herbs is Chinese
mugwort, called ssuk in Korean (). The
bitter herb is used to flavour rice cakes,
make side dishes, tea or to make soup.

found in chili peppers is known to reduce

body fat.
Gochujang is used in Korean dishes
such as bibimbap (rice with vegetables),
tteokbokki (rice cakes in hot sauce),
gochujang stew, and bibimguksu (noodles
with vegetables).

4. Gochujang
Gochujang is a hot spicy paste made
from hot peppers and is found in a huge
amount of Korean dishes. The spiciness
of gochujang is good for the lungs and
large intestine and is yang in energy.
Gochujang has been a part of traditional
Korean cuisine since the 16th century.
Gochujang aids digestion so it is great
to eat with meat or food that is harder for
the body to digest. Capsacin, a substance

5. Gim
Gim, also known as nori, is a type of seaweed and is high in iron, magnesium,
iodine, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A
and C. Its usually seasoned with salt and
toasted. Dried and seasoned gim can be
found at many Asian grocery stores, but be
sure to choose a good brand for the highest quality. Research suggests gim can help
lower cholesterol levels. Gim is salty so is
linked to the kidneys and gallbladder.

Gim is used as a side-dish and eaten

with rice (very popular with children in
Korea), used to make gimbap (similar to a
nori roll) and is often sprinkled on top of
rice dishes or udon noodles.

A Balance of Tastes for

Balance in the Body

These Korean superfoods, as with all superfoods, should be eaten in moderation

to avoid causing imbalance in the body.
A variety of tastes should be eaten to
keep a healthy balance of yin and yang
and the 5 elements. Pregnant women
should avoid Chinese mugwort unless
prescribed by a medical practitioner.
Lee says Korean traditional medicine is
not just about food and herbal medicine;
it also has a spiritual aspect: You should

March 6 19, 2015 31

maintain emotional balance for your

health.
During the development of Korean
traditional medicine, Korea shared
and gained much of their medicinal
knowledge from China.
Traditional Chinese culture has
spawned a rich and profound system of
values. The concepts of man and nature
must be in balance, respect the heavens to
know ones destiny, and the five cardinal
virtues of benevolence, righteousness,
propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness as
well as loyalty and filial piety are essential
virtues to recover humane nature and
morality, said Lee.
This article was originally published on
koreanrooftop.com.

Spiced Oven-Baked Sweet Potato

Fries With Salted Egg Yolk Sauce
all photos Courtesy of Bridget

By Bridget Lee

About Bridget Lee

I am a food enthusiastI love experimenting with new food, and perfecting some of my favourite recipes. Im
striving to replace processed food
with whole foods, and have recently
started on a paleo diet, which has been
amazing so far. I also love taking food
pictures, and Instagram is the platform that
gives me the opportunity to practice and

Preparation time: 15 mins plus

1 hour to soak sweet potatoes
Cooking time: 25mins
Author: Bridget Lee, Singapore
(instagram @bridgetlcooks)
Recipe type: Snack
Serves: 2 to 3
If you love fries, chances are
youve probably tried or at least
heard of fries with salted egg
yolk sauce, which is gaining
quite a bit of popularity of late.
These are delicious but know
that there is always a healthier
option that is just as tasty.
Replicating this dish at home
is not that difficult. It makes a
great snack for the family without
having to feel guilty after eating
it!
Heres my take on spiced oven-baked sweet potato fries with
salted egg yolk sauce. While
white potatoes crisp up easily in
the oven, sweet potatoes need a
little more help with that.
The key to crispier sweet potato fries that are still tender on
the inside is, to soak them in
cold water for an hour. The technique of soaking works because
you are removing some starch
from the sweet potatoes (starch
prevents moisture from escaping
when baking, resulting in soggy
fries).
Give your soaked potatoes
a proper rinse, pat them dry
completely before coating them
lightly with cornstarch. If you
want to go palaeo-friendly,
simply skip the salted egg yolk
sauce.

have fun with it.

Ingredients:
2 medium-sized or 1 largesized sweet potato* (choose
ones that are of an even shape
for easier slicing)
1/2 tsp cornstarch*
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
Dash of cayenne pepper
Salt & pepper
2 raw salted egg yolks,
steamed for 3 minutes then
mashed
1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp olive oil
Handful of fresh curry leaves
1 tbsp butter
45 tbsp evaporated milk
12 tbsp water (optional)
*Recipe notes: I tested the recipe with two types of sweet potatoes; the orange and the purplecoloured ones. After the ice bath,
the orange sweet potato required a
bit of cornstarch to get it crisped
up in the oven. This, however,
is not necessary with the purple
sweet potato.

Preparation:
Spiced sweet potato fries:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
Peel the sweet potatoes, slice to a
thickness of 1 cm, and as evenly
as possible. Slicing it too thick
means fries wont crisp well, while
slicing it too thin may burn it.
2. Place the fries in a bowl of
cold water and leave it in the
refrigerator for an hour. Once
that is done, drain the water and
pat dry the fries with a clean
kitchen towel or kitchen paper.
3. Toss the fries into a large bowl
or a large resealable bag. Sprinkle
the fries with cornstarch* (see recipe notes), mix/shake to distribute it evenly (there should not be
patches of white powdery spots).
Next, pour in just enough olive oil
to coat the fries. Season with salt,
pepper, and spices (I usually mix
these togther before adding to the
fries).
4. Arrange your fries in a single
row on a baking tray lined with
parchment paper and dont
overcrowd, otherwise they will

never crisp up
(too much moisture
release prevent potatoes
from crisping). Bake in two
batches, if necessary.
5. Bake for 12 minutes, then flip
the fries with tongs so they can
cook on both sides. I usually do
this after removing the baking
tray from the oven to my tabletop.
6. Bake for another 10 to 12 minutes, or until the fries are crispy.
Open the door two or three times
during baking to let some hot
steam escape (dont worry, you
are not baking a cake so it is perfectly okay!). You know the fries
are done when they changed to
a more matte, caramelised, and
puffed up texture. Its essential
to bake them long enough (but
not burnt), otherwise they wont
be crisp. Turn off the oven, leave
the oven door open, and let the
fries rest for about 10 minutes
this will help crisp up the fries.
Salted egg yolk sauce:
1. Separate the raw egg yolk
from egg white, and steam the

egg yolk for 3 minutes. Mash

with a fork and set aside.
2. Add olive oil to a saucepan on
medium heat. Saut the curry
leaves until fragrant and crispy.
Pour the leaves on a plate lined
with kitchen towel, season with
paprika and salt, and set aside.
3. Melt butter in the same
saucepan on medium heat, add
the mashed egg yolk to the pan
and stir constantly until it turns
frothy. Pour in the evaporated
milk, water (if the sauce is too
thick), and let it simmer before
turning off the heat.
4. Plate fries, pour the salted egg
yolk sauce over it (or you may
serve it as a dip) and top off with
crispy curry leaves. Sprinkle
more paprika, if you like. Serve
immediately.
For enquiries, contact Bridget at
bridgetlcooks@gmail.com.