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Gosari namulBraised bracken fern

Gosari namul is the earthy brown namul on every Korean holiday table, from Jeju, where families still pick young bracken on the island's hills in April, to Seoul, where it is bought dried for Seollal and Chuseok. Rehydrated fern stems are simmered soft, then stir-fried in perilla oil with soy and garlic until they are tender and meaty with a smoky, woodsy taste. It is also a core topping for bibimbap and yukgaejang. Always cook bracken thoroughly; never eat it raw. The common mistake is under-boiling the stems, which leaves them tough and slightly bitter. Chef's tip: after boiling, leave the stems soaking in fresh water for an hour, changing it once; it draws out the last bitterness and leaves a cleaner flavour.

105 minKoreanSidesVegan
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Beoseot jeongolMushroom hot pot

Beoseot jeongol is the mushroom hot pot that Korean temple kitchens and mountain restaurants around Odaesan and Songnisan serve in autumn, when wild mushrooms come down from the slopes. Fans of shiitake, oyster, enoki and king oyster mushrooms are arranged with tofu, cabbage and greens in a shallow pot and cooked at the table in a clear kelp and shiitake broth. It tastes deep, clean and woodsy, with no garlic or onion in the temple way. The common mistake is boiling it hard from the start, which turns the broth cloudy and the enoki stringy. Chef's tip: save the shiitake soaking water and add it to the broth; it doubles the savoury depth without any seasoning.

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Torta capreseFlourless chocolate almond cake

Torta caprese was born on the island of Capri in the 1920s, the story goes, when a baker forgot to add flour to a chocolate almond cake and created a classic by accident. It is now the cake of the Amalfi Coast: dense, moist and fudgy in the middle, with a thin crackled crust and a dusting of icing sugar. Restaurants in Capri and Sorrento serve it with a spoonful of cream or lemon sorbet. It is naturally gluten free. Contains nuts. Chef's tip: take it out while the middle is still slightly soft; it firms up as it cools and stays moist for days.

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Gaji namulSeasoned steamed aubergine

In late summer, when aubergines pile up at Seoul's Gyeongdong market for next to nothing, gaji namul turns up beside the rice at almost every home dinner. Long strips of aubergine are steamed until silky, then torn and dressed with soy, garlic, spring onion and toasted sesame, so they taste mellow, savoury and faintly sweet. It is one of the gentlest banchan, good for anyone who finds kimchi too fierce. The usual mistake is dressing the aubergine while it is still hot and dripping: the seasoning slides off and the dish turns watery, so let it steam dry and cool first. Chef's tip: tear the strips by hand along the grain rather than slicing them; the rough edges hold far more dressing.

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Dubu jorimBraised tofu in spicy soy

Dubu jorim is the tofu side dish Korean mothers pack into school lunchboxes and set out at home dinners from Busan to Seoul, because it is cheap, filling and even better the next day. Thick slices of firm tofu are fried golden, then simmered in a garlicky soy and chilli sauce until they soak it up and turn glossy. Eat it warm with rice or cold from the fridge. The common mistake is moving the tofu too soon in the pan: it tears and never forms the golden skin that holds the sauce. Chef's tip: salt the tofu slices lightly and leave them on kitchen paper for 10 minutes before frying; drier tofu browns faster and spits less.

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Ozoni (Kanto-style New Year mochi soup)

On the morning of 1 January, families across Tokyo and the Kanto plain sit down to ozoni, a clear, delicate soup of bonito-kombu dashi with chicken, komatsuna, carrot and square rice cakes grilled until they puff. Every region has its own version; in Kansai the mochi is round and the soup is white miso, but Kanto keeps it clear and seasoned with soy. A little sake goes into the broth and simmers away (leave it out for an alcohol-free soup). Mochi is very sticky: cut it small for children and older people, take small bites and chew well, as it can cause choking. The common mistake is boiling the mochi in the soup, which makes it dissolve and turn the broth cloudy; grill it separately. Chef's tip: add the yuzu peel only in the bowl, just before serving, so its fragrance is the first thing you smell.

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Su-renkonPickled lotus root

Lotus root is full of holes you can see straight through, so in Japan it stands for a clear view of the year ahead, and these crunchy, snow-white slices of sweet-vinegared lotus are a fixture of osechi boxes on New Year's Day. Often cut into flower shapes, they taste bright and lightly sweet with a satisfying crispness. The common mistake is boiling the slices for too long: more than 2 minutes and they turn starchy instead of crunchy. Chef's tip: add a splash of vinegar to the boiling water as well as to the pickle, which keeps the lotus root brilliantly white.

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Torta della nonnaLemon custard pine nut tart

Torta della nonna, "grandmother's tart", is on the dessert menu of almost every trattoria in Florence and across Tuscany: a shortcrust case filled with thick lemon-scented custard, covered with a second layer of pastry and scattered with pine nuts and icing sugar. Despite the name it was probably invented by a Florentine restaurant cook in the 1900s, but it tastes of family Sunday lunches. Contains pine nuts. Chef's tip: let the custard cool completely before filling the tart; warm custard melts the butter in the pastry and makes the base soggy.

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Asparagi alla milaneseAsparagus with fried egg

In Milan in April, when the first fat green asparagus come down from the farms of Lombardy, they are served "alla milanese": boiled until just tender, laid on a plate with melted butter and Parmigiano, and topped with a fried egg whose runny yolk becomes the sauce. It is a light lunch or a spring starter in old Milanese trattorie. Parmigiano is made with animal rennet; a vegetarian hard cheese works. For pregnant women, young children and older people, cook the yolk until firm. Chef's tip: tie the asparagus in a bundle and stand it upright in the pan so the thick stems boil while the tender tips steam.

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Shokupan (Japanese milk bread)

Shokupan is the everyday sandwich loaf of Japan, sold by the half loaf at bakeries from Sapporo to Fukuoka and toasted in thick slabs for breakfast with butter and jam. Its feathery, pull-apart crumb comes from a cooked flour paste (yudane-style) that lets the dough hold more water, so the bread stays soft for days. You need a 900 g loaf tin and a few hours of mostly waiting. The usual mistake is slicing it while hot, which squashes the delicate crumb into gummy layers; let it cool fully. Chef's tip: roll each piece of dough into a tight spiral before it goes into the tin, which gives the tall, even rise and those stringy, tearable layers.

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Melon panCookie-crust sweet bun

Melon pan takes its name from its looks, not its taste: a soft sweet bun baked under a sugary cookie crust scored into a criss-cross pattern like a cantaloupe rind. Japanese bakeries and school canteens sell it everywhere, and around Kobe and Hiroshima the same bun is often called sunrise. It is best on the day it is baked, when the crust still crackles against the fluffy inside. The common mistake is warm, soft cookie dough, which sticks to your hands and slides off the bun in the oven; keep it well chilled and work quickly. Chef's tip: roll the cookie dough between two sheets of baking paper so you can lift it neatly onto each bun.

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Tonjiru (pork and root vegetable miso soup)

Tonjiru is the big-pot miso soup that gets ladled out at Japanese school festivals, winter fire drills and New Year shrine visits, and at home it is filling enough to make a meal with just rice. Thin slices of pork belly are fried in sesame oil with daikon, carrot, burdock, potato and konnyaku, then simmered in dashi until tender and finished with miso. The common mistake is boiling the soup after the miso goes in, which dulls its aroma; stir it in off the boil. Simmer until the pork is cooked through (71 °C) and the vegetables are soft. Chef's tip: dissolve the miso in a ladle of hot broth first so it melts in smoothly without lumps.

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Doraji muchimBellflower root salad

Doraji muchim comes from Korea's mountain provinces, where bellflower root has been dug for centuries and sung about in the Gyeonggi folk song 'Doraji taryeong'. Today it is a festive banchan for Seollal and a spring side dish across the country: shredded roots, rubbed with salt to tame their bitterness, are dressed with gochujang, vinegar and sugar until crunchy, sweet, sour and gently hot. The common mistake is skipping the salt scrub, which leaves the roots harsh and bitter enough to put people off. Chef's tip: after scrubbing and rinsing, taste a strand; if it still bites, soak it in cold water for another 15 minutes.

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Yeongeun jorimSoy-braised lotus root

Yeongeun jorim is a winter banchan from the lotus ponds of South Jeolla, where Muan county is famous for its lotus fields, and it is now made in homes all over Korea for lunchboxes and holiday tables. Slices of lotus root are blanched in vinegared water, then simmered in soy and syrup until they turn dark, glossy and chewy with a lingering crunch. The holes make every slice look like lace. The common mistake is skipping the vinegar blanch, which leaves the slices grey and starchy. Chef's tip: stop cooking while there are still a couple of spoonfuls of sauce in the pan; the glaze thickens as it cools and turns sticky rather than hard.

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Cannoncini alla cremaCustard puff pastry horns

Every pastry shop in Turin and Piedmont has a tray of cannoncini: puff pastry wrapped around metal cones, baked until golden and flaky, then piped full of vanilla custard and dusted with icing sugar. Little ones are part of the "pasticcini mignon" bought on Sunday morning after church to take to lunch at the grandparents' house. You need cannoncino or cream-horn moulds. Chef's tip: fill them just before serving; custard softens the pastry within a few hours.

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KuromameSweet black soybeans

No osechi box, the lacquered stack of cold dishes Japanese families share over the first three days of January, is complete without kuromame: plump black soybeans simmered so slowly in syrup that they stay whole, wrinkle-free and shining like jet. The word 'mame' also means hard work and good health, so eating them wishes for a diligent year. They are soft, sweet and gently savoury, with a deep bean flavour. The common mistake is letting the beans touch the air while cooking, which wrinkles their skins; keep them submerged under a drop-lid the whole time and top up with water. Chef's tip: soak the dry beans directly in the hot seasoned syrup overnight rather than in plain water, which seasons them from the inside and keeps the skins smooth.

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Melanzane a funghettoFried aubergine with tomatoes

Neapolitans call this aubergine "a funghetto" because the small fried cubes look and taste a little like sautéed mushrooms. It is a summer side dish from Naples and the Amalfi Coast, made when aubergines are cheap and glossy: cubes fried until golden, then tossed with a quick sauce of cherry tomatoes, garlic and basil. It is served warm or cold next to grilled meat or fish, or piled on bread. Chef's tip: salt the aubergine cubes and leave them in a colander for 30 minutes, then pat dry; they soak up less oil and fry crisp.

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Savoiardi

Savoiardi were created in the 1300s at the court of the House of Savoy in Piedmont, for a visit by the King of France. They are long, light finger biscuits of whipped eggs, sugar and flour, with a crisp sugary crust and a dry, spongy inside, made to be soaked: in coffee for tiramisù, in liqueur for zuppa inglese, or in milk for children's breakfast. Chef's tip: dust the piped fingers twice with icing sugar, 5 minutes apart; this forms the pearly crust that keeps them crisp outside.

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Tataki goboSesame burdock salad

In Kansai homes around Osaka and Kyoto, osechi always includes tataki gobo: burdock root boiled, then beaten with a rolling pin so it splits open, and dressed in a thick ground-sesame vinegar. The long, deep-rooted burdock stands for a family that is settled and lasting. The pounding gives rough, fibrous edges that soak up the nutty, tangy dressing, so each bite is earthy, sweet and sharp. The common mistake is overcooking the burdock until soft; it should still be pleasantly firm before you pound it. Chef's tip: dress the burdock while it is still warm, when the fibres open up and drink in the sesame vinegar.

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Sukju namulSeasoned bean sprouts

Sukju namul is the most delicate of Korea's sprout dishes, set out on every ancestral-rite table at Chuseok and on everyday trays in Seoul homes because it takes five minutes and costs very little. Mung bean sprouts are blanched for barely a minute, then dressed with salt, a little garlic and sesame oil, so they stay juicy and crunchy with a clean, nutty taste. It belongs in bibimbap too. The common mistake is overcooking: mung bean sprouts go limp and stringy within seconds of being done, so pull them while they still squeak. Chef's tip: plunge them straight into iced water after blanching and squeeze gently; they keep their snap for a whole day.

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Gyeran jjimSteamed egg

At Korean barbecue restaurants in Seoul and Busan, a bubbling stone pot of gyeran jjim arrives puffed high above the rim to soothe mouths burned by grilled meat and kimchi. At home it is a soft, savoury egg custard eaten with rice, especially by children. This vegetarian version uses kelp water instead of the usual salted shrimp or anchovy stock. The common mistake is keeping the heat high once the egg starts to set, which scorches the bottom and makes the top tough and full of holes. Chef's tip: stir constantly for the first minute as it heats, then cover with an upturned bowl over the lowest flame; trapped steam is what makes it rise like a soufflé.

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Scarcella puglieseEaster egg biscuit bread

In Bari, Foggia and the Salento, scarcelle are baked in the days before Easter, often by children with their grandmothers: a soft, lemony shortbread-like dough shaped into baskets, doves, hearts or dolls, each holding a whole egg in its shell held down by strips of dough, then iced and covered in sprinkles. They are given as gifts on Easter morning and to children as a sign of new life. Chef's tip: use raw eggs in their shells and wash them first; they cook in the oven while the biscuit bakes. They are decorative, so wash and dry them well.

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TteokgukRice cake soup

On the morning of Seollal, the Lunar New Year, families across Korea eat a bowl of tteokguk, and the saying goes that you only turn a year older once you have finished it. Thin ovals of white rice cake are simmered in a clear beef broth seasoned with soup soy sauce, then topped with strips of egg, shredded beef, spring onion and toasted laver. It is mild, comforting and chewy. Rice cakes are very sticky: cut pieces small and supervise young children and older people closely, as they can be a choking risk. The common mistake is boiling the rice cakes too long, until they turn mushy and the soup thick and gluey. Chef's tip: soak dried rice cake slices in cold water for 20 minutes before cooking; they cook evenly in 3 minutes and stay chewy.

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MusaengchaeSpicy radish salad

Musaengchae is the quick radish salad Korean cooks make when the big autumn radishes from Gyeonggi farms come in, and it appears on the side of bibimbap bowls and pork platters all winter. Fine matchsticks of radish are reddened with gochugaru, then seasoned sweet, sour and salty, so every forkful is cold, crisp and lively. This version leaves out the fish sauce, so it is fully vegan. The common mistake is salting the radish before the chilli: the salt draws out water first and the colour ends up pale and patchy. Chef's tip: toss the radish with the chilli flakes on their own first and leave it for 5 minutes; it takes on a deep, even red before anything else goes in.

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