Sunday, September 20, 2009

Korean Dipping Sauce (Joseon ganjang)

Korean Dipping Sauce or seasoned soy sauce (Joseon Ganjang, pronounced "Joe song Gong Ja") is probably one of the easiest Korean sauces to prepare. This dipping sauce is not only used to dip food items into, but it also doubles as the primary marinate for Korean Beef Barbeque(Bulgogi) and Korean Pork Barbeque (Dagi Gogi) barbeque dishes.

Although it is very easy to prepare, it remains essential that it is seasoned correctly if your marinated dishes are going to be marinated correctly, and your dipping sauce will provide your prepared dishes just the right seasoning and taste!

Besides marinating your beef and pork in this Korean Dipping Sauce to prepare them for barbeque, you will want to have the dipping sauce available to every guest eating at your dinner table. Koreans use Joseon Ganjang much like a condiment we would have at an american dinner table. Just as Americans might use ketchup on their french fry's, and mustard on their hot dog, Koreans might spread a table spoon or two of the Joseon Ganjang on top of their white or fried rice. As the Chinese use soy sauce to dip their egg rolls into, and the Japanese their Sushi, Koreans use Joseon Ganjang to dip their fried or steamed dumplings (Mon Do) into as well as a host of other food items.

So you can see, if your either preparing a Korean barbeque, or just serving a typical Korean meal of rice and vegetables, Korean Dipping Sauce (Joseon Ganjang) is a must have condiment on your dinner table.

So with this in mind, lets' prepare one of the most easy but essential Korean sauces - Joseon Ganjang!


INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup of Soy Sauce (any store brand will do, but I prefer Japanese myself)

1/4 teaspoon of Powered Garlic

1/8 teaspoon of Powered Ginger

1/8 teaspoon of Table Salt

1/8 teaspoon of Meat Tenderizer

1/2 teaspoon of White Sugar

1/8 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper

1 tablespoon of Sesame Seed Oil

1 whole diced green onion


DIRECTIONS:

Dice green onion and add to all ingredients in mixing bowl. Mix ingredients together with a metal spoon, cover tightly, and store in refrigerator until meal is ready to be served.

Ensure that you give one last stir to the sauce prior to placing it on your dinner table. I would recommend you pour into individualized size serving containers for each guest at your table. However, if you are serving your meal in a traditional Korean style, you would use only one container for the entire dinner party, and each guest would take what they need from the same dipping sauce bowl using their dinner spoon.

Remember, this Korean Dipping Sauce (Joseon ganjang) is a basic essential condiment for each and every Korean meal that you serve. I hope you enjoy the richness that it's spices will add to your prepared meals!

Bon Appetit!

Robert Tull
World Traveler and Gourmet



2 comments:

  1. This dipping sauce is the Bomb!!! I just made some and dipped my store bought egg rolls into it, and man, it made my egg rolls taste like they came right out of a Korean restaurant!

    Thanks, I'm going to try your hot paste next!

    Roman

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  2. Great bit of history you've added to this wonderful receipe! I made some Go Chu Jong today, and it was the best ever!

    Thank You!

    ReplyDelete