Treasures from Korea

Art of Food — Produced by Monica Rogozinski

Stephen Starr Events has helped the Philadelphia Museum of Art make Korean culture even more personal for visitors to the major exhibition Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty. Chef Gerald Drummond created a special menu inspired by the exhibition for a pop-up Korean restaurant at Granite Hill, and a Chef’s Table filled with Korean staples like Kimchi and Beef Bulgogi available at the Museum for the duration of the exhibition. Marja Vongerichten, host of the PBS show Kimchi Chronicles, taught a class on how to prepare dishes like Soy-Garlic Chicken and Kimchi Fried Rice from her Korean heritage. Both the curator of the exhibition and the chefs agree that you don’t need a deep knowledge of Korean history to enjoy the works on display, and certainly not to enjoy the food.

Kimchi Fried Rice

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1-1/2 cups finely chopped onions
• Pinch of coarse salt
• 2 cups sour kimchi, coarsely chopped, plus 1/4 cup kimchi liquid
• 4 cups day-old cooked rice, at room temperature

Directions

Heat the sesame oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and salt. Cook, stirring now and then until beginning to soften and brown, about 3 minutes. Add the kimchi and cook for 1 minute to combine nicely with the onion. Add the rice and stir thoroughly to combine. Cook until the rice is warmed through and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Soy-Garlic Chicken

Cut 3 lbs of skinless chicken breasts into bite size chunks. Mix chicken and marinade thoroughly (recipe below). Remove chicken from marinade. Thinly coat skillet with sesame oil. Cook chicken for 3-5 minutes depending on the size of the cut.

Marinade Recipe:

• 1 large onion
• 1 cup of garlic
• Half Asian pear or a whole American pear
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 cup of soy sauce (Korean preferred)
• 2 Tbsp of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp of minced ginger

Directions

Put onion, garlic, pear, and water in food processor and blend them until it becomes a coarse paste. Pour the paste into a bowl and put soy sauce, brown sugar, and sesame oil and mix all together.