Recipes By Eric Kim
207 recipes found
Grape Tomato ‘Quick Kimchi’
This is not a traditional kimchi, but it approximates the flavor profile, bypassing a lengthier fermentation and instead relying on vinegar. In Korea, this dish would be considered a muchim, which can refer to any number of “seasoned” or “dressed” salads or other preparations. Here, thick-skinned grape tomatoes maintain their snappy crunch, even draped in a fire-bright tangle of gochugaru, sesame oil and fish sauce. Though tomato’s natural umami flavor multiplies the longer it sits, this dish is best eaten within 24 hours. When you’re done, don’t throw out the leftover dressing at the bottom of the bowl: Tossed in that tomatoey brine, bouncy rice noodles are a dream. For a vegetarian option, swap out the fish sauce for soy sauce.
Quick Tomato Soup With Grilled Cheese
When done well, this age-old combination can be exactly what you want. Here, the cooking is as easy as the eating: While you get the soup started in a pot with a can of tomatoes and little more than onion and butter (in the style of Marcella Hazan’s famous tomato sauce), you assemble and pan-fry the sandwiches. The particular joy of these lies in their soft, quiet flavors: A thin layer of mayonnaise spread on the inside of the bread heats with the mozzarella, a mild cheese that lets you taste the bread and butter as they are. With a filling this rich and gooey, you want a delicate sweet enriched loaf like brioche or milk bread.
Cilantro Rice
Borrowing from the fresh flavors of arroz verde and reminiscent of Chipotle’s cilantro-lime rice, this simple dish is a low-effort, high-reward accompaniment to all good things, such as pork chops and crispy tofu. Though diced fresh onion could season the rice, onion powder is a savory bedrock with its concentration of umami, especially once bloomed in oil. This aromatic dish plays to the strengths of the cilantro plant: The stems cook with the rice, lending their peppery brightness, and the tender leaves confetti the dish for a final viridescent flourish.
Lemon-Pepper Chicken Wings
Lemon pepper usually refers to a store-bought spice blend of dehydrated lemon zest, black pepper and other seasonings, but the beloved pantry staple is simple enough to recreate at home: Rub oven-dried lemon zest into fresh, coarsely ground black pepper to release the oils of each. Magic ensues as the lemon gains the fruity muskiness of the pepper, and the pepper is slicked with the fragrant balm of the lemon. The citric acid is optional, but provides lemon pepper’s characteristic tartness. Sprinkled over roasted chicken wings, this golden dust gives off high-voltage flavors. To make this with store-bought lemon pepper, skip Steps 3 and 4 and simply toss the roasted wings with a dusting of the seasoning to taste.
Yakgwa (Honey Cookies)
These not-too-sweet Korean honey cookies, fried and then soaked in gingery syrup, are uniquely soft and chewy on the outside and flaky on the inside. Called yakgwa (yak meaning “medicine” and gwa meaning “confection”), these treats originally from the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392) are seeing a resurgence in popularity from Seoul to the world, thanks to social media. Traditionally served on Korean festival days like Chuseok and Seollal, birthdays and ancestral rites like jesa, the anniversary of a loved one’s passing, yakgwa are also an encapsulation of Korea’s dessert history. At a time when sugar was not a main sweetener, sweetness was achieved with ingredients like rice syrup and honey, paired with ginger and cinnamon. Enjoy these on their own with a cup of tea or try them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, which lends balance to the sticky sweetness. For a vegan option, the honey can be swapped with maple syrup for incredible results.
Individual Beef Wellingtons
Beef Wellington, the English dish of a large beef fillet wrapped in pastry, is a project, but the joy of this scaled-down version is that it’s significantly easier to prepare. Pâté de foie gras and prosciutto are common ingredients in a traditional Wellington, but they’re skipped here for a more balanced flavor profile. Just as common is a deeply caramelized mushroom and shallot mixture known as a duxelles, which lends a strong foundation of earthy umami; a little red wine and heavy cream add richness to it. These are excellent for making ahead: Just stop after Step 5, and store them covered in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours until you’re ready to bake. Serve with roasted potatoes, green salad or wonderfully bitter radicchio.
Seared Scallops With Glazed Brussels Sprouts
The hidden gem in this meal for two is the bacon that starts it all off. It’s crisped in a little olive oil, creating a nice pool of fat to cook both the scallops and the brussels sprouts. When searing scallops, the trick to a great crust and tender insides is to cook them mostly on the first side. A tangy mix of lime juice, maple syrup and Dijon is then splashed in to deglaze the pan, making it easy to scrape up the tasty bits stuck on the bottom. Cold butter is vigorously stirred into the glaze to transform it into a pan sauce. But, draped in that sour-sweet lime butter, it’s the bacon that sings. Serve with a big green salad and crusty bread, or a light, brothy soup.
Shrimp Cocktail
This method for a beloved appetizer maximizes flavor by gently poaching shrimp in a deeply seasoned broth of salt, chile powder and celery seeds. Rather than wash away all the spices with a rinse or a plunge in an ice bath, you stop the cooking by pouring ice directly into the hot bath. For dipping, go for a classic cocktail sauce with the sharp brightness of lemon and horseradish, or a simple garlicky dill butter, which makes the shrimp taste somehow of lobster, or a comforting, warmly spiced honey mustard, because you always need a creamy option. Enjoy the plump shrimp with your favorite sauce — or all three.
Tropical Fruit Salad
A fruit salad is an act of kindness to your future self: Taking the time to chop your favorite fruits, especially the more labor-intensive ones, then eating them in a large bowl by the spoonful is inordinately satisfying. This version calls for golden nuggets of pineapple, mango and bananas, a smoothie in fruit salad form, but you could use whatever you have on hand. Blueberries, strawberries and peaches would be lovely, as would sliced kiwi, pomegranate arils and clementine wedges. A spritz of lemon juice and a pinch of salt — just a pinch — make all the difference in enlivening fresh-cut fruit.
Roasted Potato Salad With BBQ Dressing
If barbecue potato chips were a salad, then this would be it. It’s hard to pick which component of this picnic dish is the greater star: the crispy roasted potatoes or the smoky, paprika-tinged barbecue sauce dressing. Bejeweled with crunchy red onions, which are soaked in water to mellow their bite, and showered with fresh dill, this colorful side dish is the savory crowd-pleaser you’ll want to bring to any cookout or potluck.
Fry Sauce
Different recipes for fry sauce exist, all across the world, including in the United States and its territories. Utah has its own beloved version, as does Puerto Rico, where it is called mayokétchup. Though this fry sauce calls for a 1:1 ratio of mayonnaise to ketchup, those amounts can and should be adjusted according to your tastes. This garlicky all-purpose flavor enhancer is ideal for dipping French fries, tostones and other crunchy fried things.
Rob Roy
“Double Scotch, single malt” is a line many millennials might attribute to Patrick Dempsey’s character on the television series “Grey’s Anatomy.” Swapping out the rye for Scotch in a classic manhattan turns the cocktail into a drier, muskier Rob Roy, named after the Scottish folk hero Robert MacGregor. The Waldorf-Astoria hotel is said to have invented the drink, using sweet vermouth for the standard version and extra-dry vermouth for the dry version, and both sweet and dry vermouths for the “perfect” Rob Roy. Though lemon peel is a traditional garnish, the essential oils from a fresh orange peel add a deeper richness.
Lemony Cranberry Relish
Cranberry relish using a whole orange is a classic, but here, a whole lemon — pith and all — acts as the bitter, acerbic edge that your Thanksgiving plate needs. Try to find a thin-skinned lemon, which will prevent the relish from skewing too bitter. (Give it a squeeze before buying. Thin-skinned lemons will yield slightly under pressure, whereas thick-skinned lemons will feel hard.) This confetti of a condiment looks beautiful as well, almost like stained glass, with its jeweled, ruby gleam. Definitely make this the night before Thanksgiving to get it out of the way, then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
Root Beer Ham
Despite its regal countenance, a glazed holiday ham is surprisingly easy to cook — though “cook” is misleading here, as most supermarket hams already come fully cooked and just need to be heated through in the oven. Here, a bone-in half ham (try not to get the spiral-sliced kind, which can dry out easily) gently bakes in an aromatic pool of shallots, bay leaves and root beer, a variation on the Southern classic made with cola. The root beer braising liquid is reduced with brown sugar and Dijon into a sticky glaze that lacquers the scored ham with caramelized luster. Save the braising liquid and serve alongside to spoon onto slices for even more flavor and juiciness.
Umami Gravy
The last thing you want to do on Thanksgiving Day is rush to make a gravy from the turkey’s hot pan drippings while the rest of the dishes get cold. Instead, this make-ahead gravy, inspired by the one my friend Lauren Kuhn makes at her annual Friendsgiving, relies on a base of caramelized red onion and gets its body from flour, milk and vegetable stock. (Stock concentrate paste is an especially useful pantry staple to keep on hand to make stock quickly.) Nutritional yeast is an optional umami enhancer that adds nuance and a rich, cheesy depth. Keep this covered in the refrigerator until it’s ready to eat, then on Thanksgiving Day, reheat it on the stove or in the microwave. Drizzle it over everything.
Cranberry Jelly Salad With Lime-Sugared Nuts
Chopped nuts and fruit bound by a wobbly sweet-tart gelatin, often called Jell-O salad in the Midwest, form a beloved side dish full of potential. Serve this gleaming cranberry variation at Thanksgiving or any holiday meal, and feel free to swap out the apple here for peeled and chopped oranges or canned diced pineapple, or use a mix of your favorite fruits. (Note that certain fruits like fresh pineapple, mango, kiwi and papaya contain enzymes that prevent gelatin from setting.) To make the lime-sugared walnut garnish even more surprising, toss it with a smidge of citric acid to give it an incomparable sourness that citrus juice alone can’t provide.
Samgyeopsal
This pork belly dish is less a recipe and more a road map to dinner. A chill way to have Korean barbecue at home, samgyeopsal, or “three-layer meat,” refers to pork belly’s fat cap and the two leaner layers of meat below it, one light and one dark. Crisp slivers of pork are wrapped in various lettuces and dabbed with doenjang honey and punchy slivers of raw garlic. The lightly peppered, vinegared freshness of pa muchim, an all-occasion scallion salad often served with the grilled meats at Korean barbecue restaurants, is a welcome accompaniment to rich foods like fried or rotisserie-style chickens, pan-seared pork chops, and grilled bulgogi, galbi and samgyeopsal. Don’t skip the sesame oil dipping sauce; its nuttiness lets the pork belly shine.
Chestnut Risotto
Chestnuts fried in olive oil taste like soft, meaty nuggets of holiday cheer when stirred into creamy rice. A big pot of risotto is always a good time, especially when it’s the centerpiece of a D.I.Y. toppings bar. Roasted mushrooms and onions, quick-pickled celery, sour cream and dill can be offered as crispy, crunchy, salty and creamy toppings to go with the savory risotto. Risotto tastes best when made fresh, but you can — and should — prepare the toppings ahead of time, storing them in the refrigerator up to a day or two in advance, then cook the risotto just before your guests arrive.
Green Salad With Dill Vinaigrette
Making a giant green salad for yourself and your loved ones can be one of the best ways to create a formal break between work and dinner. This simple recipe features two different lettuces (romaine for sweet crunch and arugula for bitter spice) and a fat shower of herbs (parsley for freshness and dill for piquancy). Chilling your chopped and washed leaves in the refrigerator before dressing them is one of the best ways to get a restaurant-style green salad full of big, juicy crunch. For a savory, unknowable quality, add a splash of fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce — choose your own adventure.
Tongbaechu Kimchi (Whole Napa Cabbage Kimchi)
This tongbaechu kimchi, made with whole napa cabbage, is a wonderful way to witness firsthand the magic of preservation by salting. Though the first step — salting quartered cabbages to drain excess liquid — may require an afternoon, that time is entirely inactive. The bundles of sauced cabbage are jarred and left at room temperature for the first couple of days to jump-start the fermentation process, then refrigerated to continue souring slowly for weeks and even months. Fermenting bundled quarters — versus chopped pieces — results in a crisper, more flavorful cabbage kimchi. This recipe is pared down to its essentials, though you could supplement the funky, savory-sweet flavors here with traditional additions like a sprinkle of raw pine nuts, a palmful of Korean radish cut in matchsticks or a spoonful of saeujeot, salted fermented shrimp.
Miso Soup
In the United States, especially in Japanese American restaurants, the standard version of miso soup usually involves little more than soft tofu, seaweed and a lily-pad suspension of scallions. Think of this recipe as your blank canvas: You could add thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms at the end, or replace the katsuobushi entirely with dried shiitakes for a vegan version. Fried tofu, clams and even chicken are all fair game when cooking miso soup at home. The chef Seiji Ando, of Benkay restaurant in Portland, Maine, adds sake and mirin for balance, and says even a tiny bit of butter can be delicious.
Tteok Mandu Guk (Rice Cake Soup With Dumplings)
You can eat a bowl of tteok guk, rice cake soup, as South Koreans do on New Year’s Day (by the Gregorian or Lunar calendar) and freeze any leftover broth for multiple soul-soothing meals in the new year. The soup sometimes includes mandu, as it does here, and those dumplings also can be frozen. An aromatic gochugaru oil turns this ordinarily snow-white dish crimson, flavoring the bold, spicy-sweet kimchi dumpling filling and tingeing the final broth with its heat. The tteok, rice cakes, here come in the form of thick, cylindrical pieces rather than soggy coins, and are added at the last moment to maintain their pleasurable chewiness.
Spinach-Artichoke Lasagna
Inspired by the artichoke slice at Artichoke Basille’s Pizza in New York City, this white sauce lasagna is a dreamy multilayered dinner. Frizzling chopped canned artichoke hearts in olive oil reduces their water content, thereby concentrating their earthy, buttery flavor. What binds the dish together is a nutmeg-rich béchamel sauce that makes everything taste comforting and familiar. Cottage cheese in place of the more traditional ricotta nixes any potential for the grainy dryness that plagues so many lasagnas. Layering this creamy, saucy wonder in an 8-inch square pan leaves you with the perfect amount of leftovers for when you want some as a snack — a snacking lasagna, if you will.
Brunswick Stew
Few American dishes are more comforting than Brunswick stew, a motley mix of tomatoes, corn, beans and shredded meat. Chicken is most commonly used today, though some stew experts throw in beef chuck or pork shoulder for flavor and fat (or they prepare it in the old way, using game meat such as squirrel and rabbit). Both Brunswick County, Va., and Brunswick, Ga., lay claim to this hearty fall stew. This version borrows from the sweet and savory Virginian tradition. Thickened with potatoes, the stew tastes great on its own, alongside a hunk of cornbread or with a sleeve of saltine crackers.