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Ueong jorimBraised burdock root

Thin sticks of burdock root braised in soy and sugar until they are dark, glossy and chewy are one of the banchan Korean mothers make in a big batch on a weekend; they keep for a week and go into the lunch boxes of schoolchildren in Seoul and into gimbap rolls. The flavour is earthy, sweet and savoury, with a little stickiness from rice syrup. A portion is about 95 kcal. The common mistake is adding the sweetener too early, which makes the burdock hard; braise in the soy first, and add the syrup at the end for the shine. Chef's tip: soak the cut burdock in water with a splash of vinegar for 10 minutes; it stops it turning grey and takes away the bitter edge.

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Sogogi mugukBeef and radish soup

Sogogi muguk is the soup of ordinary Korean mornings and of the ancestral memorial table in Gyeongsang homes, where a clear version is offered on rites days: thin slices of beef brisket or round sautéed in sesame oil with squares of Korean radish, then simmered in water until the radish turns translucent and the broth sweet and beefy. It is seasoned only with soup soy sauce, garlic and salt and eaten with rice and kimchi. A bowl is about 160 kcal. The common mistake is skipping the sauté: frying the beef and radish together in sesame oil first is what makes the broth rich without hours of simmering. Chef's tip: cut the radish into thin, flat squares, not chunks; they cook quickly and release their sweetness into the soup.

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Gondeure bapThistle greens rice

Gondeure, a mountain thistle that grows on the steep slopes of Jeongseon in Gangwon, kept villagers fed through lean springs, and gondeure bap is now what visitors travel to Jeongseon's five-day market to eat: rice cooked with the soft, dried greens and a little perilla oil, served with a soy, spring onion and sesame sauce. It is earthy, mild and fragrant, a little like artichoke. A portion is about 320 kcal. Dried gondeure must be soaked overnight and boiled for 20 minutes beforehand, which is not counted; Korean grocers also sell it ready-boiled and frozen. The common mistake is not squeezing the greens well, which makes the rice wet and soft. Chef's tip: toss the squeezed greens with a spoon of perilla oil and soup soy before they go on the rice; they season the grains as they steam.

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PatjukRed bean porridge

On Dongji, the winter solstice, Korean families eat a bowl of deep red patjuk: the colour was believed to drive away bad spirits on the longest night, and grandmothers still flick a little on the gate. Adzuki beans are boiled soft, pushed through a sieve and simmered with rice into a thick, earthy porridge, and little balls of glutinous rice dough called saealsim, one for each year of your age by tradition, are cooked in it. It is lightly salted; in Jeolla people add sugar. A bowl is about 380 kcal. The most common mistake is not stirring the bottom once the rice goes in; the thick porridge catches and burns quickly. Chef's tip: throw away the first boiling water of the beans; it removes bitterness and makes the porridge taste cleaner.

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Doodh pattiStrong milk tea

Doodh patti is poured from a dented pan at every truck stop, university canteen and street-corner dhaba in Pakistan, from Karachi's Saddar to the Murree road, and it is drunk at all hours: before work, after cricket, at midnight with a paratha. The tea is made without any water at all, boiling loose black tea and sugar in milk until it turns a deep caramel colour and tastes rich, malty and strong. The mistake is simmering too gently and pulling it off too soon, giving a weak, milky drink; it needs a proper rolling boil, more than once. Contains milk. Chef's tip: lift the pan off the heat each time the tea froths to the top and return it, three times; each rise deepens the colour and flavour.

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KongguksuCold soybean noodle soup

When the monsoon heat settles over Seoul in July, queues form outside old noodle houses near City Hall for kongguksu: thin wheat noodles in an ice-cold, thick, nutty broth of soybeans boiled and blended with their skins, topped with cucumber and sesame. It is plain, rich and very cooling, and people season it at the table with salt (in Seoul) or sugar (in Jeolla). A bowl is about 520 kcal, a full meal with plenty of protein. Soak the soybeans overnight first, not counted in the times. The most common mistake is overboiling the soybeans, which gives a fermented, "meju" smell; boil them for exactly 10–12 minutes and taste one: it should be cooked but not soft. Chef's tip: blend a handful of pine nuts or toasted sesame with the beans; it makes the broth even creamier.

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Aehobak bokkeumStir-fried courgette

Aehobak, the pale green Korean courgette, is in every market from Gwangjang in Seoul to Busan's Jagalchi all summer, and a quick stir-fry of it is one of the banchan most often on the family table and in school lunches. Half-moon slices are lightly salted, then stir-fried with garlic until just tender and glossy, and finished with sesame. Many homes season it with saeujeot, salted shrimp; this version uses salt and a little soy instead, so it is vegan. A portion is about 45 kcal. The common mistake is overcooking, which leaves limp, watery slices; cook it hot and fast and take it off while the slices still have a little bite. Chef's tip: salting the slices for 10 minutes and patting them dry keeps them firm and stops the pan filling with liquid.

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Bugeo gukDried pollack soup

In Seoul, little restaurants near Mugyo-dong have served bugeo-guk since dawn for decades to office workers recovering from the night before, and at home it is the light, fortifying soup for any cold morning: shreds of air-dried Alaska pollack fried briefly in sesame oil, then simmered with radish and tofu into a milky, savoury broth, with beaten egg swirled in at the end. It is clean and comforting. Fish and egg are the allergens. A bowl is about 130 kcal. The most common mistake is using the dried shreds straight from the bag; soak and squeeze them first, or they stay tough and the soup is salty. Chef's tip: fry the pollack in sesame oil until it smells toasty before adding water; it is what turns the broth white and rich.

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Buchu muchimSeasoned garlic chives

In Korean barbecue restaurants from Mapo in Seoul to Busan's Haeundae, a little bowl of dressed garlic chives comes to the table with the grilled pork, and at home buchu muchim is the five-minute banchan made when there is a bunch of chives in the fridge. The flat chives are cut into lengths and tossed raw with gochugaru, soy, vinegar and sesame; they have a punchy garlic-onion bite that cuts through rich meat or a simple bowl of rice. A portion is about 40 kcal. The usual mistake is mixing it hard, which bruises the chives and makes them bitter and slimy; toss lightly with your fingertips. Chef's tip: dress the chives with the oil first, then the salty and sour parts; the oil coats them and keeps them crisp longer.

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Sangchu geotjeoriFresh lettuce salad

Geotjeori is "fresh kimchi", made to be eaten the same day, and lettuce geotjeori is the summer version Korean families throw together in ten minutes when the leafy red lettuce from the garden or the market in Suwon is piling up: torn leaves and spring onion tossed in a garlicky gochugaru and soy dressing. It goes with grilled meat, bibimbap or just rice. Many homes add fish sauce; this vegan version uses soy and a little more sesame. A portion is about 45 kcal. The most common mistake is dressing it in advance; lettuce goes soggy within minutes, so mix it at the table. Chef's tip: dry the leaves very thoroughly in a salad spinner; any water left on them dilutes the dressing and stops it clinging.

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Anday wala burgerEgg and beef burger

After dark, Karachi's burger carts on Burns Road, Tariq Road and outside every college fire up their griddles for the anday wala burger: a thin, spicy beef patty and a fried egg in a soft buttered bun, with shredded cabbage, onion, ketchup and a sharp green chutney. It is cheap, messy and the city's favourite late snack. A cousin of the anda bun kebab, which uses a lentil and potato patty, this version is all about the meat. The common slip is pressing the egg too thin until it is leathery; cook it in the patty's fat just until the white sets. Contains egg, wheat and milk. Chef's tip: dip each patty in beaten egg before it hits the griddle, as the cart cooks do, so a thin egg jacket forms and keeps it juicy.

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Tawa chickenGriddle-fried chicken

At night on the motorway service roads and Lahore's Gawalmandi, cooks drum their metal spatulas on huge round tawas as they chop and fry chicken to order: boneless pieces scraped about the hot iron with tomato, onion, green chilli and spice until dry, smoky and coated. The noise is half the show, and the chicken is eaten straight off the griddle with naan or paratha. The mistake at home is using a small non-stick pan over a timid flame, which stews the chicken; use your widest heavy pan or griddle and keep the heat high. Chef's tip: chop the chicken into small pieces with the edge of your spatula as it cooks, the way the stalls do, so every bit picks up the charred masala.

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Chwinamul muchimSeasoned aster greens

Chwinamul, the wild aster that grows on the mountains of Gangwon and the slopes around Jirisan, is one of the most loved spring greens in Korea, sold by grandmothers at village markets in April and dried for the namul of Daeboreum, the first full moon of the lunar year. Blanched and squeezed, it is seasoned with soup soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil and has a deep, herbal, slightly bitter flavour that wakes up the rice. A portion is about 45 kcal. If you can't find chwinamul, use spinach or watercress, blanched for less time. The common mistake is not squeezing the greens well, so the seasoning slides off; press them firmly in your fist. Chef's tip: season with your fingertips, rubbing the dressing gently into the leaves; Korean cooks call it son-mat, the taste of the hands.

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Sigeumchi doenjang gukSpinach soybean paste soup

Spinach doenjang-guk is one of the soups that appears most often on Korean breakfast and dinner tables in winter, when the short, sweet Pohang spinach called pohang-cho arrives from the east coast: a clear, savoury broth of fermented soybean paste with spinach, tofu and spring onion, eaten with rice and kimchi. It is usually made with anchovy stock; this version uses kelp and dried shiitake, so it is vegetarian. A bowl is about 60 kcal. The common mistake is boiling the doenjang hard for a long time, which makes it bitter and dulls its fragrance; dissolve it in, then simmer gently. Chef's tip: push the doenjang through a small sieve into the pot; it dissolves without lumps and leaves the husky bits behind.

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Mu namulStir-fried radish strips

Mu namul is the soft, white radish side dish that appears among the banchan of a Korean home table in autumn and winter, when the fat Korean radishes are at their sweetest, and it is always part of the namul set laid out for Chuseok and ancestral rites in Andong and Seoul. Thin matchsticks of radish are stir-fried with garlic and a pinch of salt, then steamed briefly in their own juice until tender and translucent, and finished with sesame. It is mild, sweet and very gentle on the stomach. A portion is about 50 kcal. The most common mistake is cutting the radish against the grain, so it breaks into short bits; cut lengthways, along the grain, so the strands stay long. Chef's tip: salt the radish first and let it sit for a few minutes; it releases water that it then cooks in, so you need almost no oil.

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Minari muchimWater dropwort salad

Minari, Korean water dropwort, grows in the wet fields of Cheongdo and around Daegu, and in early spring Koreans eat it raw and crunchy as a sharp, peppery salad: the stems are tossed in a sweet-sour dressing of gochugaru, vinegar, garlic and a touch of sugar, with thinly sliced onion. It is served alongside grilled pork belly or a fish stew to freshen the palate. A portion is about 50 kcal. If minari is hard to find, use watercress or celery leaves with stems. The common mistake is dressing it too early: the leaves wilt and weep within half an hour, so toss it just before eating. Chef's tip: soak the cut minari in iced water for five minutes first; it turns very crisp.

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Kongnamul bapSoybean sprout rice

In Jeonju and Jeonbuk, the province famous for its soybean sprouts, kongnamul bap is the humble one-pot supper of winter: rice steamed with a thick layer of crunchy sprouts on top, so they wilt into the grains and give them a sweet, nutty flavour. Each person spoons on a sharp yangnyeom-jang, soy sauce with spring onion, garlic, chilli flakes and sesame, and mixes it through. A portion is about 300 kcal. Many homes add a little minced beef; this version keeps it vegetable-only. The common mistake is using the usual amount of water; the sprouts release a lot of liquid, so cut the water by about a fifth, or the rice turns mushy. Chef's tip: don't lift the lid while it cooks; the sprouts give off a raw, beany smell if the steam escapes halfway.

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JapgokbapMultigrain rice

In Korean homes today, the bowl of rice beside the stew is more often japgokbap than plain white: short-grain rice cooked with a handful each of barley, brown rice, black rice, millet and beans, which turns it purple-grey, chewy and nutty. Supermarkets in Seoul sell ready-mixed bags of japgok for the rice cooker, and the habit goes back to times when rice was rationed and stretched with other grains. A portion is about 270 kcal, with far more fibre than white rice. The beans and brown grains need soaking: 4 hours or overnight (not counted). The common mistake is cooking it with the water for white rice; whole grains need about a quarter more. Chef's tip: soak the beans and brown grains separately from the white rice, which only needs 20 minutes; that way nothing ends up hard or mushy.

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Lobia masalaBlack-eyed bean curry

Truck drivers on the GT Road and students in Lahore's Anarkali eat lobia at dhabas for a few rupees a plate: soft black-eyed beans in a dark onion and tomato masala, mopped up with tandoori roti and a green chilli on the side. It tastes earthy and comforting, with a peppery edge and a thick, spoonable gravy. Undercooked beans that stay chalky in the middle are the common complaint, especially when tomato goes in before the beans are soft; boil them tender first, then simmer them in the masala. Chef's tip: mash a ladleful of the beans against the side of the pot near the end, which thickens the gravy the way dhaba cooks do.

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Sabzi handiCreamy vegetable curry

Lahore and Islamabad restaurants send sabzi handi to the table in its own little clay or copper pot, the vegetarian partner to chicken handi on any family dinner order, scooped up with hot naan. Potato, carrot, beans, cauliflower and peas cook in a gently spiced tomato and yogurt masala, then a spoon of cream turns it silky and pale orange. Vegetables thrown in all together go to mush in places and stay hard in others; add them in stages, the slow ones first. Contains milk. Chef's tip: crush a pinch of dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) between your palms over the handi right at the end for the authentic restaurant aroma.

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Chicken handi

Chicken handi is the dish families order at Lahore's M.M. Alam Road restaurants and Karachi's Do Darya when everyone wants something rich but not fiery; it arrives bubbling in its clay pot with a swirl of cream, and disappears with garlic naan. Boneless thigh is marinated in yogurt, then cooked in a tomato masala that is finished with cream and crushed fenugreek, giving a velvety, gently tangy sauce. A sauce that splits into grains usually means the yogurt went into a fiercely boiling pan; lower the heat first and stir it in. Contains milk. Chef's tip: let the gravy 'bhuno' (fry) until the oil comes to the surface before you add the cream: that is where the deep, roasted flavour comes from.

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Seekh kebab

The long, charred seekh kebab is the first thing grilled when the coals glow on Lahore's food streets and on Karachi's Boat Basin in the evening, eaten hot off the skewer with naan, onion rings, lemon and green chutney. Coarsely minced beef (or mutton) with some fat is kneaded with onion, ginger, garlic, green chilli and roasted spices until it turns sticky enough to cling to a flat skewer, then grilled until smoky outside and juicy within. The classic failure is a kebab that slides off into the coals, which happens when the onion is left wet or the mince too lean; squeeze the onion dry and use mince with about 20 per cent fat. Chef's tip: chill the shaped skewers for 20 minutes before grilling so the fat firms and holds the meat in place.

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Karahi qeemaMinced meat karahi

Karahi qeema is what home cooks across Punjab make when guests arrive unannounced, and what roadside karahi shops in Rawalpindi and Lahore fry to order for a quick lunch: beef or mutton mince stir-fried hard in an iron wok with tomato, ginger and green chilli until dry and glossy. It is scooped up with roti or stuffed into a paratha the next morning. The usual mistake is crowding the cold mince into a lukewarm pan, which stews it; get the oil smoking hot and break the meat up quickly so it fries. Chef's tip: finish with a handful of julienned ginger and a squeeze of lemon off the heat, for a fresh bite against the rich meat.

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Prawn karahi

Karachi's fishing harbour supplies the city's seafood restaurants on Sea View and in Clifton, and prawn karahi is the quick, fiery dish people order there for a Saturday dinner by the sea: prawns tossed through a tomato, garlic and green chilli masala in a blazing wok, eaten with naan or plain rice. The tomato breaks down into a thick, tangy coating that clings to each prawn, sharpened with lemon and coriander. Prawns that are rubbery and tight are the usual let-down; they need only 3–4 minutes once the sauce is ready, so add them last. Contains shellfish. Chef's tip: fry the prawn shells in the oil first for 2 minutes, then lift them out: the oil takes on a rich, sweet prawn flavour.

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