One of the most quintessential and beloved Middle Eastern foods is the falafel sandwich, a warm pita bread stuffed with crispy hot falafel balls, surrounded by cool and crunchy diced tomatoes, and onions, and drenched with creamy Tzatziki Sauce. All ingredients for this wonderful dish are easily found in standard supermarkets, and although it has many components, its simplicity makes it a wonderful weekday lunch or dinner, or a meal-prep staple that you can cook and freeze.

Angela tried the falafel along the Haji Lane – mini Middle Eastern in Singapore and fall in love with the flavour and we decided to recreate it. Falafel is traditionally made from chickpeas. It can be fried or baked for a lighter version. Restaurants sometimes serve falafel as a platter, over a bed of rice, but stuffed into pita bread is the more popular, easy, and on-the-go version. In the Middle East, it shares popularity with the sabich sandwich, a pita stuffed with eggplant, hard-boiled eggs, Israeli salad, hummus, and amba sauce.

For our recipe, you’ll need to have ready falafel balls, from scratch or from a mix.

Choosing the Pita Bread

There are only two options for us to choose provided in the supermarket, original pita bread by mission and wholemeal pita bread by mission. As we are currently on diet, we always choose the one with lesser calories which is wholemeal pita bread. Both pita bread by the mission is a small pocket which is good for a small meal aka snack.

If you want something big and couldn’t get one in your local market like us, try making one, it is like making bread. It will require a few ingredients you may already have on hand!  Mix up the very simple dough, let it rise, and experience the magic of fresh, warm, perfectly puffy homemade pita bread. Should we try next time?

SimpleTzatziki Sauce

Mediterranean dishes. You can also slather it on your sandwiches, or simply use it as a dip with a warm pita and your favourite vegetables! We also use this sauce for the Chicken Gyros Pita which taste delicious like this recipe.

We like to mix my actual tzatziki sauce by hand in a large bowl. First, combine greek yoghurt, minced garlic, chopped cucumber, chopped drill, extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch more salt. Make sure to stir until everything is well combined. For best taste and texture, cover tzatziki sauce tightly and refrigerate for a couple of hours before use.

Lastly, if you are on a gluten-free diet, or just want to try something different, falafel salads are a good alternative. Use any greens and toss in any of your favourite veggies  (tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, olives).

Stay tuned for our homemade falafel recipe!

xoxo, Joe

Falafel Pita Sandwich

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 6 pita bread loaves

• 18 cooked falafel balls, from homemade or store-bought falafel mix

• 6 baby tomatoes, sliced

• lettuce, cut into smaller pieces

• 1 medium white or red onion, thinly sliced

• Tzatziki Sauce, homemade or store-bought, to taste

Methods

• In a pre-heated oven of 180 C, bake the pita bread for 10 minutes. Or you can heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle to medium-high heat. Coat with olive oil and heat a pita round for 2 minutes on each side. The pita may begin to brown a little. Repeat with the remaining pita rounds, making sure to cut the top part to reveal the pocket after heating.
• Stuff each pita round with 2 falafel balls and a spoonful each of lettuce and sliced tomatoes. Top each with sliced onion, and a generous drizzle of tahini sauce.

This chipotle turkey salad is one of the most amazing salads we’ve ever made or had. It’s a pretty standard turkey (or chicken) salad recipe really takes it to a new level.We use the chipotle sauce to spicy up the simple salad that delicious smokiness. This is also a fantastic way to use up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. But when anytime we are craving it we use turkey ham instead. It’s worth making any time.

Turkey Ham vs Ham

We have been growing up with ham in our sandwiches, nothing like turkey ham came across us at all. To us, turkey is never good as it is on the drier side. Ever since Angela try the turkey sandwich by Subway it has blown our minds away. Taking for example; three slices of ham (84 grams) have around 150 calories and 7.5 grams of fat. In comparison with a similar portion of the turkey slice without the skin, the turkey slice is significantly leaner than the ham slices. While you have more choices for the ham but we make sure swapping them with turkey ham won’t make you regret it.

Chipotle Sauce

Chipotle sauce is an easy way to add smokiness, heat, and zesty flavour to any dish. It can be drizzled over tacos or turned into a creamy dip. It is simple to get one at your local supermarket, where we got ours at this Mexican supermarket – La Mexicana in Singapore located at Chijmes.

However, to make this is simple, all you need is to gather all the ingredients and blend them well using yourfood processor until it’s smooth and creamy. All you need are mayonnaise, sour cream, chipotle, lime juice and garlic and salt. While it may be hard to find the chipotle in the nearby supermarket but you surely can find it here at the La Mexicana.

Choosing Your Vegetables

You could choose any type of vegetables for this dish as not much salad vegetables will go wrong, however here is a list of our choices;

• Romaine Lettuce; refreshingly crisp as a base in everyday salads and sturdy enough to hold up to heat for grilling or sautéeing—romaine is one of the most versatile types of lettuce. The long green leaves are widely desired for their ability to stay crunchy in a salad without quickly wilting.
• Beetroot Leaves; the beetroot plant is delicious and completely edible – from its purple roots to the green leaves and stems. I never knew it exits until Angela manage to got them at this korean supermaket. The green tastes refreshing when you first bite, however for the non-beetroot lover like me you will tastes the raw beetroot once you reaches the stalk.
• Japanese Cucumber; gaves the chuchy and jiucy for every bites you takes. You could replace them with the normal cucumber.

The recipe pop out randomly but it had become our top favourite salad at all times whenever we’re wondering what to make for my meal – it’s definitely Chipotle Turkey Salad. We fell in love with Turkey as it’s a healthier choice for everyday meals. Where we will mixed it will any green we have in our fridge and it’ll be our to-go meal.

xoxo, Joe

Chipotle Turkey Salad

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Ingredients

• 2 slices of Turkey Ham; cut into slices

• 1 cup of Romaine Lettuce

• 1 cup of Beetroot Leaves; cut into slices

• 1 Japanese Cucumber, cut into 1 inch

• 3 tbsp of Chipotle sauce

Methods

• In a bowl mix the vegetables and sauce well. Season it with salt and pepper then serve it on the plate. Place your roll-up turkey ham on the salad.

If you put a big platter of these baked spicy coconut chicken thighs in front of your friends or family, we guarantee no one will be able to resist. They don’t even have to like spicy food or chicken thighs, and they will be diving in. There’s just something seductive about these glazed and charred thighs.

Bon Appétit shared these a few months ago and we were there for it. We quickly gathered all the required ingredients and set to making these for myself.

They are loaded with flavour from the spicy coconut marinade, flavoured with sambal oelek, brown sugar, coconut milk, lime, garlic and ginger. I made a double batch and marinated the meat in half, then reduced the other half and glazed the thighs as they cooked to further layer on the flavour.

Baked Chicken or Grilled Chicken?

OnBon Appétit, they using a griller to grilled the chicken, which will produce a grill mark on the chicken which makes this dish appetizing. Although grilling, on the other hand, produces a bolder flavour and allows fat to drip off the meat, reducing its calorie count. However, baking can be just as healthy as long as you don’t add oil, butter and other fats. Not to mention baking tends to give food a more delicate texture and taste. Ended up we choose baking!

How to pick the right cut of chicken?

Chicken is one of the most versatile meats you can cook with. It takes on other flavours really well and is a great base for all sorts of different recipes from across the globe. But don’t fall into the trap of cooking mainly with chicken breast. As well as succulent white meat, the dark meat and different joints have masses to offer.

Thigh: Arguably the tastiest part of the chicken, thighs are little parcels of tender, juicy meat from the top of the bird’s leg. You can buy them bone-in, or bone out, and with the skin on or off, where we use boneless for this recipe and also the best part of this recipe. Bake on two sides for 10 minutes each at 180 C, end it using the boiler function, boil the skin for 5 minutes till crispy.

Legs: Instead of dividing the legs into drumsticks and thighs, try leaving them whole, then roasting them in the oven or grilling them on the barbecue. They look great served whole on a platter for a party.Bake on two sides for 15 minutes each at 180 C, end it using the boiler function, boil the skin for 5 minutes till crispy.

Breast: Arguably the most popular part of a chicken, you can buy breast either whole or pre-sliced and with the skin either on or off. It will be drier compare to the Thigh and Leg if we use the oven to bake it. Therefore we suggest pan-fry time on 2 sides for 15 minutes till cook.

What Is the Best Sambal Oelek Substitute?

Sambal Oelek is a spicy chilli sauce that is popular in Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine. The main ingredients are hot chilli peppers and salt, although lemon, garlic or vinegar are also commonly added. It took us a while to get this Sambal Oelek, thus if you can’t get your hands on a bottle of this hot sauce then you’re going to need a sambal Oelek substitute that’s readily available on the supermarket shelf.

If you need to replace sambal Oelek in a recipe then the best options are sriracha, gochujang, or crushed red chilli flakes. They won’t perfectly mimic the original sauce but unless you’re an experienced sambal user, you’d hardly notice a change has been made

You can have it with rice, potato and all kind of staples as it just go along with anything. We served these on a bed of udon and with a side of Bai Choy, with more reserved sauce for dipping and drizzling. Because more is always more when it comes to, well, most everything that comes out of our kitchen.

xoxo, Joe

Spicy Coconut Baked Chicken Thigh

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Ingredients

• 1 3″ piece fresh ginger

• 5 garlic cloves

• ¾ cup coconut milk

• ¼ cup hot chilli paste (such as sambal oelek)

• ¼ cup fresh lime juice

• 2 Tbsp. light brown sugar

• 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt

• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

• 2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs

• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves with tender stems

• Lime wedges (for serving)

Methods

• Preheat the oven to 180C. Finely grate ginger and garlic into a medium bowl. Add coconut milk, chilli paste, lime juice, brown sugar, salt, and 2 Tbsp. oil and whisk to combine. Add chicken and toss to coat. Let sit for at least 15 minutes or up to 4 hours.
• Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip back into the bowl, and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Pour marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 2–3 minutes.
• Place the chicken thigh in the baking tray, bake for 10 minutes on each side. Using the boiler function, boil the skin for 5 minutes till crispy.
• Transfer chicken to a platter. Brush with remaining marinade. Top with cilantro and serve with lime wedges alongside.

Love fish tacos? Well, these are the end-all-be-all. You don’t need to deep fry to make terrific Fish Tacos. You just need a really great marinade! A seriously delicious way to serve up white fish fillets. Either way, they’re healthy, fresh and bursting with serious taco goodness!

No grill, no deep-fryer, no problem. Our summery tacos rely on our go-to fish-cooking method—slow-roast, baby!—for tender, flaky fish every time. All you need to do is cover the fish with our special jalapenos-cilantro sauce and slow baked it. Serve it with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes – it is finger-licking good.

Jalapeno & Clilanto Marination

If you love Mexican food you’re going to love this cilantro lime marinade. It’s really easy to make and can be used to marinate chicken, beef, fish, shrimp, and even vegetables.

To begin light chop the cilantro, garlic, and jalapenos and toss them in the food processor. Add the lemon juice, olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. Process for less than one minute or until you have a nice and chunky texture. Don’t over-process because the mixture will turn into a paste rather than chunky. The jalapenos are not mandatory but they add a wonderful flavour and a kick of spice. If you don’t want the marinade spicy remove the inside of the jalapenos and wash them under cool water; be sure not to get any in your eyes.

Where to get the Jalapenos?
It is not easy to find Jalapenos everywhere, all we get is capsicum and chilli in our own locate supermarket. We are glad that we have this Mexican supermarket – La Mexicana in Singapore where it has everything that we need. You can expect to find a multitude of Mexico-imported products, such as all kinds of Jalapenos and Tacos.

Slow-baked Fish

You can use all kinds of white fish from cod to tilapia and covered it in a garlicky cilantro-jalapenos sauce before cooking. You’re not going to get the same char or crunch as you would in grilled or fried fish tacos, but a cabbage slaw (and the fact that you don’t have to deal with grilling or frying) more than makes up for it.

Use any mild white fish you like, remembering that cook time varies based on the thickness of the piece. So keep an eye on the fish as it cooks and cooks to the visual indicator, not the timer. People can be intimidated by cooking fish for tacos, but don’t be! Let the fish rest a few minutes before using a fork to flake it into pieces.

*Ps: Remember to leave some jalapenos-cilantro sauce for the tomatoes slaw!

Mexican Tomatoes Slaw

 We often serve fish tacos with a  classic coleslaw or onion slaw but if this time we decided to have a tomatoes slaw to add in some juiciness and colour. Combine quarter tomatoes, 2 tbsp of jalapeno-cilantro sauce, chopped onion, lime juice in a bowl. Mix it lightly as we don’t want to smash the tomato. A little reminder – You only want to do the tomatoes slaw last, as you don’t want it to get soggy.

Assemble them in a platter

Presentation is what you need to make your food look even better. You can serve your fish straight from the pan, for us we serve them on a small plate.Warm 24 corn tortillas or 12 flour tortillas one at a time over a burner set to medium heat until blackened around the edges in some spots, about 30 seconds per side. Keep tortillas wrapped in a stack in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm until serving.Arrange avocado. cabbage, pico de gallo, and remaining cilantro and lime wedges on a platter as well. And you are ready to serve at your party!

xoxo, Joe

Baked Cilantro Fish Taco

Ingredients

• 1 1½-lb. piece white fish

• 3 tsp. kosher salt, divided, plus more

• 2 jalapeños

• ⅓ cup vegetable oil

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 large bunch of cilantro, divided

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes

• ¼ white onion

• 4 limes, divided

• ¼ head of green cabbage

• 1 avocado

• 24 corn tortillas or 12 flour tortillas

• Hot sauce (for serving)

Methods

• Place a rack in the centre of the oven; preheat to 300°. Place 1 1½-lb. piece white fish in a 13×9″ baking dish. Season all over with 1½ tsp. salt.
• Trim and discard stems of 2 jalapeños, cut in half lengthwise, then coarsely chop. Coarsely chop three-quarters of 1 bunch of cilantro leaves with tender stems.
• Transfer jalapeños and chopped cilantro to a blender or food processor. Add ⅓ cup vegetable oil and 2 garlic cloves. Blend on high speed until a coarse purée form. Scoop out and transfer 2 Tbsp. sauce to a medium bowl (you’ll be building your pico de gallo in this.) Pour remaining sauce evenly over fish, spreading with the back of a spoon.
• Bake fish until it flakes away with light pressure from the tines of a fork in the thickest part, 18–25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet and what type of fish you’re using. Start checking on the early end of things so it doesn’t overcook!
• While fish bakes, work on the rest of your toppings. Quarter 1-pint cherry tomatoes and transfer to bowl with reserved cilantro sauce. Peel ¼ white onion, then finely chop. Add to sauce and toss to combine. Cut 1 lime in half and squeeze the juice of both halves into the bowl. Season with 1 tsp. salt and toss to combine.
• Shave off the core of ¼ head of cabbage. Thinly slice crosswise into shreds and transfer to a medium bowl. Cut another lime in half and squeeze the juice into a bowl; season with salt. Toss with your hands to combine.
• Cut remaining 2 limes into wedges for serving.
• Run a knife around the pit of 1 avocado lengthwise to split in half. Open avocado. Using the bottom half of the knife, remove the pit by securing the blade in the pit, then turning it sideways to release. Using a large spoon, scoop out the flesh, then cut into thin lengthwise wedges. Transfer to a large platter or board. Season avocado with salt.
• Arrange cabbage, pico de gallo, and remaining cilantro and lime wedges on a platter as well.
• Warm 24 corn tortillas or 12 flour tortillas one at a time over a burner set to medium heat until blackened around the edges in some spots, about 30 seconds per side. Keep tortillas wrapped in a stack in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm until serving.
• Using a large spoon, gently flake apart fish into large irregular pieces and transfer to a plate. Serve fish along with all the accoutrements and your fave hot sauce for a DIY taco party.

Ever since we have this mandu in Korean 8 years ago we have been falling in love with it. It is big and juicy, seem like one is enough but it is so delicious that we just want to have more. After several tries, we have master the recipes and today you will be learning how to make delicious homemade mandu (Korean dumplings) from scratch with these step-by-step instructions. This Mandu couldn’t be more delicious, filled with pork,shitake mushroom, carrot, spinach and Korean sweet potato noodles.

When it comes to Lunar New Year traditions in Korea, you can’t skip homemade Mandu (Korean dumplings, 만두) as a part of a New Year celebration. These dumplings are filled with juicy meats and vegetables. Taking a bite is a truly satisfying and enjoyable experience. Although it is not the new year, we always made batches of them and keep them frozen and enjoy them whenever we want.

Where to get Mandu Wrappers?

Store-bought dumpling wrappers do come in handy, and they make delicious semi-homemade mandu as well. When making Koran style mandu, look for the large size wrappers, about 5 inches in diameter. We got ours at our nearby Korean mart.

You could also challenge yourself from making them if you have more time! Korean dumpling wrappers are made with flour, sweet rice flour, and a little cornstarch. The tender yet chewy texture of these dumpling wrappers makes quite a difference compared to most other Asian dumpling wrappers.

Types of Filling

There are many variations of Korean dumplings. The most popular one is Kimchi mandu is especially popular for making manduguk (dumpling soup) or tteok-manduguk (a variation of rice cake soup, tteokguk, with dumplings), which is a must-eat New Year’s dish. The kimchi version adds a nice contrast to the mildly flavoured broth and soft rice cake slices With its pungent flavour and crunchy texture.

However this time, we decided to share traditional Korean dumplings are made with minced pork. Its mild yet juicy flavour and texture mingle well with any vegetables you add. Chopped sour kimchi, mung bean sprouts, and tofu are typical filling ingredients to go with pork. We recommend using slightly fatty ground pork for the filling, about 80/20 meat to fat ratio. The fat makes the filling juicy and tender. Pork that is too lean yields a dry texture — you don’t want that.

How to make Korean Mandu from Strach?

Step 1: Prepare the vegetables
To mix well with long noodles, ingredients have to be similar shapes. That way when you eat, all the ingredients will cling to the noodles and have more balanced flavours in your mouth. Prepare the vegetables, and set them aside.

Step 2: Stir fry, blanch, and cook each ingredient separately.
Noodle: Cook the noodles for 7 minutes in a large pot of boiling water. Do not throw this boiling water. Strain and cut with kitchen scissors so that they’re a little shorter.

Spinach: Using the same pot of water from the noodle, add spinach, cook for about 10-15 seconds. Prepare iced water in a large bowl and move the spinach out of the pot to the iced water to stop cooking. Squeeze out water from spinach as much as you can and set aside.

Step 3: Mix all together!
Put all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Season with soy sauce, sweet rice wine, ginger, sesame oil, and pepper; mix well with your hand until all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Fold it up –Half moon shaped dumplings

Half moon shaped dumplings are the most common in Korean dumplings. This shape is perfect for steaming and making soup. If you are thinking of making Korean dumpling soup, use this shape.

• Put a heaping tablespoon of filling in the middle of wrapper, wet the edges of wrapper with water using your finger.
• Fold the wrapper in half and pinch the edges together.
• Bring the both ends toward the center.
• Pinch the ends together to complete.
• You can then steam it using a steamer for 5- 7 minutes.

Can I freeze the leftover?

It is always a good idea to make abundant homemade mandu because they freeze beautifully. Make sure to sprinkle flour on a large tray so that the mandu won’t stick to the tray. Place mandu pieces on the tray without touching each other. Freeze for an hour or until they are frozen solid. Transfer mandu pieces to a freezer bag. They can last up to 3 months in the freezer.

You could also try our tofu and kimchi dumplings if you want a more flavourful and crispy flavour for your meal. You could enjoy them as a side dish or themselves.

xoxo, Joe

Korean Steamed Mandu

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Ingredients

• 3 oz Korean sweet potato noodles

• 1 1/2 lb minced pork

• 1 cup finely chopped Carrot

• 1 cup finely chopped Mushroom

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp sweet rice wine

• 1 tsp ginger puree

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 3/4 tsp black pepper

• 40 large dumpling wrappers about 5-inch diameter

Methods

• Boil Korean sweet potato noodles according to the package directions, about 6-7 minutes. Rinse in cold water and drain well. Chop into small pieces.
• Using the same pot of water from the noodle, add spinach, cook for about 10-15 seconds. Prepare iced water in a large bowl and move the spinach out of the pot to the iced water to stop cooking. Squeeze out water from spinach as much as you can and set aside.
• Put pork, carrot, mushroom and noodles in a large mixing bowl. Season with soy sauce, sweet rice wine, ginger, sesame oil, and pepper; mix well with your hand until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
• Put a heaping tablespoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper, wet the edges of the wrapper with water using your finger. Fold the wrapper in half and pinch the edges together. Bring both ends toward the centre. Pinch the ends together to complete.
• To steam the dumplings, bring a small amount of water to a large pot to boil. Make sure the bottom of your steamer doesn’t touch the water. Place mandu without touching each other in a bamboo steamer (or regular steamer), lined with a cheesecloth or a steam liner. When the water boils, place the steamer over or in the pot. Cover and steam for 5 – 7 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Meanwhile, make a dipping sauce to go with dumplings. Combine all the sauce ingredients and drizzle it over dumplings.

We all love that wonderful experience of going to a Korean BBQ joint with friends. There’s the camaraderie of sharing rounds of soju and beer while cooking seasoned meat over the fiery heat of a tabletop grill. Going home and smelling like barbecue and garlic. This summer might not be the best time to sit around sharing food at a smokey restaurant, but don’t fret. You can still have that happy, communal experience at home with family or just a few friends.

If you don’t have a tabletop grill, you can use a tabletop burner fueled by butane, your propane camping stove, or even a plug-in electric frying pan. It’s best to do this outdoors so that your house doesn’t smell like an all-you-can-eat BBQ joint. But if you love being the pitmaster, by all means, just fire up your barbecue and do the cooking for your guests.

Start at a good Korean market for most of your ingredients. If you have a Shine Korean nearby, you’re good. Even if you don’t have a Korean or Asian market nearby, all is not lost. You can still get all the ingredients you need at a regular supermarket, too.

Meat (Kogi) : the hero of the day

Before anyone jumps in with a well, actually, I know that you could easily put together a phenomenal pescatarian Korean-barbecue meal, and, with a few tweaks, even a vegetarian one. There are plenty of meatless options available at a Korean barbecue spot, but let’s be real—meat is the star of the show.

So, let’s talk about that meat. If you’re throwing a Korean barbecue feast at home, you have plenty of cuts of meat to choose from that can be prepared in a variety of ways. Beef and pork are the most commonly used proteins for barbecue. The common types are split into two kinds, naked and marinated meat. As marinated meat tend to burn easily when cooking, we love the naked one best, as we are able to taste the original flavour of the meat.

The sauces: Sesame-Salt Dip

No matter what meats—or seafood, or vegetables—you decide to grill for your Korean barbecue feast, we are always been serve with ssamjang and sesame-salt dip as the dipping condiment. While ssamjang is commonly used and many favourites we prefer the sesame oil with salt as it tastes simpler. Slathered the sauce on lettuces and perilla leaves, which are then wrapped around pieces of grilled meat for parcelled bites of barbecue.

The Ssam: Lettuces and Perilla Leaves

To make these wrapped meat parcels, you’ll need some greenery, in the form of lettuces and perilla leaves. Perilla leaves, often sold as “sesame leaves” at Korean markets, come from the same mint family as Japanese shiso, and they have a grassy, slightly anise-y flavour that plays an excellent foil to the richness of grilled pork and beef.

As for lettuces, leafy varieties, like red leaf or Bibb, are key here, since the leaves need to be large and sturdy enough to hold ingredients without tearing, but also flexible enough to wrap around these items. Avoid rib-heavy lettuces, like romaine, which snap too easily down the center when rolled up.

The lettuce and perilla leaves act not only as handheld wrappers for grilled meats and ssamjang but also as a refreshing vegetal and herbal contrast to those ingredients. It’s important to take good care of the leaves so that they stay bright and fresh and don’t arrive at the table limp and sad. Wash and dry the leaves thoroughly, and store them on a platter under a damp paper towel in the fridge until you’re ready to serve the meal.

Banchan: the side dishes

Korean-barbecue feast would be complete without a spread of banchan to take up any extra real estate on the table. Banchan is an umbrella term for the small side dishes that help stave off the onset of palate fatigue from all the meat consumed during a marathon barbecue meal.

These can include pickled and fermented vegetables, including kimchi in all forms; marinated greens, like watercress or spinach; white radish pickles; and more. Though you’ll win major points for preparing banchan yourself, there’s no shame in picking up prepared pickles and the like at a Korean market when you’re meat-shopping for this meal. There’s plenty to worry about already with the grilling; no need to bite off more fermented cabbage than you can chew.

Speaking of which, try throwing some large pieces of Napa kimchi on the grill while you’re cooking the meat. You can thank me later.

Last, like all barbecue, nothing mixes better with grilled meats than a cold beer. For a Korean flair, try soju, a vodka-like liquor that goes especially well with pork. Now you don’t have to rush to the Korean BBQ restaurant to experience your favourite way to enjoy the BBQ meats, you can simply prepare it at home without a fuss.

xoxo, Joe