Cooking Korean dishes can be easy

Don't be intimidated by these recipes. There are lots of steps, but the steps are easy. And all the specialty ingredients in these recipes are readily available at H-Mart Korean Grocery (locations in Cherry Hill, N.J., Upper Darby and Elkins Park) and at other area Korean grocery stores.

KONG-GUKSU (NOODLE WITH CHILLED WHITE BEAN SOUP)

1 cup dried white soybeans, soaked in 5 cups of water

for 12 hours

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 pound rice vermicelli

1/2 cucumber, peeled and seeded

1/2 tomato

Wash the beans and soak in water for 12 hours. Put the soaked beans and 4 cups of water in a medium pot, heat for 5 minutes on high heat. When it boils, continue to boil for another 5 minutes.

Put the boiled beans in a bowl with cold water. When they are cool enough to handle, rub off the skin by hand.

Put the beans and 4 cups of water in a food processor and grind finely, then filter through a strainer and season with salt. (For a quick method, boil the beans as above, remove as much skin as possible. Puree in a blender, then strain through a fine strainer and season.)

Cut cucumber into thin matchstick pieces; set aside. Cut tomato in half, length wise, and slice; set aside.

Boil the vermicelli until al dente; drain and rinse with cold water.

Using a fork, or your hands make four coils with the cooked noodles. Place one noodle coil in each bowl, then add the bean soup around the noodles and garnish with cucumber and tomato slices. Serves 4.

This is an easy dish - the bean soup can be made ahead of time and assembled at the last moment. White bean soup also is sold ready-made in Korean groceries.

SHRIMP SALAD WITH PINE NUT SAUCE

4 large shrimp, deveined

1/2 pound beef shank or

brisket, braised or

simmered, cooled and

sliced on the bias

1 cucumber, halved

lengthwise and bias-cut

into 1/2-inch slices

1/2 ripe pear, peeled, seeded

and chopped

Salt to taste

White pepper to taste

Vegetable oil as needed

Pine nut sauce:

8 tablespoons pine nuts,

chopped fine

6 tablespoons vegetable or

chicken stock

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sesame oil

A few romaine or leaf lettuce leaves

Tomato slices for garnish

Sliced scallion rings

for garnish

White pepper to taste

Cook shrimp in a steamer or in boiling water; Remove shell and cut diagonally into 1-inch slices. Soak cucumber slices in salt water; squeeze out excess water; reserve.

For the pine nut sauce: Set a tablespoon of the chopped nuts aside for garnish. Crush the rest of the nuts with a mortar and pestle, slowly adding the stock, sesame oil and salt to taste.

Mix the shrimp, beef, cucumber and pear with the pine nut sauce. Place the salad on leaf lettuce or romaine, sprinkle chopped pine nuts and white pepper on top and drizzle a little sesame oil over all. Garnish with tomato and scallion rings. Serves 2.

OISEON (STUFFED CUCUMBER)

4 cucumbers

4 teaspoons salt

1/4 pound round steak

1/2 cup dried shiitake

mushrooms

4 eggs

1/2 red pepper, seeded

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Seasoning sauce:

4 teaspoons soy sauce

4 teaspoons sugar

4 teaspoons minced scallion

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoon sesame seeds, roughly ground

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons pepper

Sweet vinegar:

4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

4 tablespoons water

Cut cucumbers in half widthwise. Lay flat. Make two slits lengthwise at 90-degree angles, facing the same way and spaced evenly, cutting from the skin side end almost to the base but not all the way through.

Sprinkle salt on cucumber and soak in water for 15 minutes; drain and pat dry.

Pat beef dry and shred it into pieces an inch long and 1/8-inch thick.

Soak the mushrooms in water for about an hour, remove from water. Remove stems and discard. Shred mushroom caps into the same size as beef.

Blend seasoning sauce ingredients and marinate the beef and mushrooms together in the seasoning sauce for 10 minutes.

Pan fry eggs and, when cool enough to handle, cut finely into same size as beef for yellow and white garnish.

Shred red pepper into 1/2-inch lengths.

Blend sweet vinegar ingredients.

Preheat oil in a frying pan and stir-fry the cucumber for 1 minute on high heat. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Stir-fry the beef and mushrooms for 2 minutes on medium heat in the same pan.

Insert the fried beef and mushroom mixture into the slits in the cucumbers. Add the sliced egg. Top with the shredded red pepper and sprinkle sweet vinegar on top. Sweet vinegar also may be served in a side bowl. Serves 4.

HWAYANGJEOK, BEEF AND VEGETABLES SKEWER

1/4-pound round steak

1/4-cup dried shiitake mushrooms

2-inch piece peeled ginseng root

1 teaspoon salt

2 carrots

2 cups water

1 cucumber

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 eggs

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

(or more as needed)

Seasoning sauce:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon minced scallion

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon crushed sesame seeds

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Pine nut garnish:

2 tablespoons pine nuts, ground

2 tablespoons broth

(chicken or vegetable)

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 skewers

Pat beef dry and slice it into pieces that are 3 inches wide and long, and about 1/8-inch thick. Chop slightly on the surface.

Combine ingredients for seasoning sauce.

In a bowl, marinate the beef with two-thirds of the seasoning sauce.

Soak mushrooms in water for 1 hour, remove and discard the stems. Pat dry. Shred mushroom caps into 1/8-inch-wide pieces and season with the remaining third of the seasoning sauce.

Wash the ginseng root and cut into pieces that are 1/4-inch wide and thick and 2 1/4 inches long. Sprinkle with salt and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Wash the carrots and cucumber and cut them into the same size pieces as the ginseng. Sprinkle with salt and let it sit for 2 minutes. Pat dry.

Separate eggs and fry the whites and egg yolks separately, then cut into 2-inch long strips.

Blend pine nut garnish.

Boil water in a large pot, add salt and scald the ginseng root and carrots for 1 minute.

Heat oil in a frying pan on high and stir-fry the ginseng, carrots and cucumber respectively for 1 minute each on high heat, then remove from pan and set aside.

Heat the frying pan on medium and cook the beef for 2 to 3 minutes, then set aside. Heat the pan again, add oil if needed and stir-fry the mushrooms for 2 minutes.

Skewer the prepared items, considering color and firmness (firmest items should come to either ends of the skewer).

Place skewers on a plate, add the pine nut garnish. Serves 4.