Beondegi

Silkworm pupae simmered in their own broth until it has almost gone, and never fried.

Not vegetarian — contains silkworm.

Ingredients

• 500 g silkworm pupae, tinned or frozen
• 300 ml water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 star anise
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 piece ginger, 3 cm, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 teaspoon gochugaru, optional
• salt and black pepper

Method

1. THEY ARE SIMMERED IN THEIR OWN BROTH AND NEVER FRIED. Three hundred millilitres of water with the aromatics, the pupae in, and simmered uncovered until almost all of it has gone and what is left is a glaze. Fried, the shells go hard and papery and the insides burst -- which is unpleasant in a specific way that puts people off for good. Simmered, they stay soft, the shell yields, and they taste nutty and faintly of soy.
2. THEY ARE RINSED AND DRAINED FIRST IF TINNED. The canning liquid is strong and slightly bitter. A rinse under the tap in a sieve is enough.
3. THE STAR ANISE AND BAY ARE NOT DECORATION. Pupae have a distinct smell as they heat, and the aromatics are there to sit alongside it rather than mask it. Without them the kitchen is harder going than the eating.
4. THEY ARE NOT STIRRED MUCH. Shaken rather than stirred, and only now and then. They are delicate once hot and stirring splits them.
5. AND THEY ARE EATEN HOT, IN SMALL AMOUNTS, WITH BEER, which is honest about what this is: a snack with a strong flavour, sold hot in paper cups from street carts, and not a bowlful anyone works through. A page that pretended otherwise would be no use.
6. Pupae drained and rinsed under cold running water in a sieve.
7. The water, soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, star anise, bay, ginger and garlic brought to the boil in a small pan.
8. Simmered 5 minutes so the aromatics open up.
9. The pupae added.
10. Simmered UNCOVERED 15 to 20 MINUTES, the pan shaken occasionally rather than stirred, until the liquid has reduced to a few spoonfuls of glaze.
11. The gochugaru stirred in if using.
12. Tasted and seasoned with salt and plenty of pepper.
13. The star anise, bay and ginger picked out.
14. Served hot in small bowls or paper cups, with the glaze spooned over.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under South Korea · All recipes