Building acorn jelly, a delicious, calorie-efficient Korean side dish with mild earthy notes Acorn jelly is a soft, melts-in-your-mouth kind of food that tastes like acorns as well because it’s made from grounded or powdered baked/dried (unshelled) oak seed. As a topping, the spicy sauce is really given its moment to shine.
What is Acorn Jelly?
Dotorimuk (Acorn jelly) — made by cooking acorn powder in water and cooling till it sets to a not-soft but firm texture. Koreans slice it up into 1″ squares and dip each bite in a spicy soy sauce. It tastes mild, but earthy and has a slight bitterness.
My Encounter with Acorn Jelly
This amazing dotorimuk (acorn jelly) is a classic Korean side dish that I rediscovered during my trip to Korea last winter. I have eaten it many times in different restaurants or bought it from stores, but the first time I tasted it truly was when my mother-in-law made it fresh at home.
Dotorimuk requires good chopstick skills!
Acorn jelly is very difficult to pick up with chopsticks, even for Koreans. When I was young, elders would scare us that if we didn’t learn how to use chopsticks properly, we would have to use a spoon or spork even when we were adults.I remember how pleased I was when the day came that I could eat my own side dishes on top of properly using chopsticks.
Effect of Acorn Jelly on Health
In the traditional medicine book “Donguibogam” in Korean, acorn jelly is good for relieving problems of the stomach such as gas and diarrhea. The tannins have anti-microbial properties so that they stop the growth of fungi, bacteria, and viruses.
How to make dotorimuk powder?
The ingredients are acorns from the mountains of Korea, soaked in water for 2~3 days then dried and de-shelled to be ground into a powder. The resultant powder is soaked in water to remove the sediment and then dried which makes acorn powder.
Where can I purchase dotorimuk powder?
When you are cooking this, be careful and stir constantly to avoid lumps and burning the bottom. This mixture will start to thicken suddenly, so it is important to stir constantly.
Put the mixture in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours or overnight till properly set. Jelly: Slightly firmer than our jelly So when it comes to room temperature we can already see you will cool this as well in the fridge (but only limited).
You can keep the leftover acorn jelly in a refrigerator and its flavor increases when you eat it cold.
How to serve Dotorimuk Spicy Soy Sauce-most classic way
- **Seasoning with Dotorimuk — There is no special name for this seasoning, it is a simple way to savor acorn jelly: Mix doctor-muk and sesame oil & salt. Some toasted sesame oil, a very light sprinkle of fine sea salt and you can also add any desiccated herb or dry spice like powdered rosemary/chili, etc Or simply finish with some nice roasted sesame seeds.
- Dotorimukbap (도토리묵밥) – A bowl of hot rice soup with thin jelly slices, cucumber, carrots, and some spicy kimchi under the rice which gets poured into it like a pinata when u finish eating those adding to an anchovy broth soup.
- Dotorimuksabal (도토리묵사발) – Cold soup with thin jelly slices, cucumber, and sliced kimchi.
How to make acorn jelly
Put the acorn jelly powder in a pot. Add Cold
- Add oil and cook it for another minute. Adding oil makes it more smooth and slick.
- Pour the prepared mixture into a rectangular glass container or baking pan. Shake the container a little to spread it evenly. Level the top surface with the help of a spatula.
- Let it cool for 5 hours or overnight.
Preparing the Sauce
When the dotorimuk is cool and solid, remove it to a cutting board and cut it into 1/2-inch thick slices. Pour the sauce over it and serve. The weight and amount of acorn powder may vary by brand, so follow the instructions on the package and be prepared to experiment a little. If you want, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- What are the required ingredients for Korean cooking? Ingredients for Korean Cooking: Soy sauce, gochujang, sesame oil. garlic and rice in the pressure cooker These are basic ingredients in Korean cooking and you can find them at most Asian markets These make Korean cooking easier.
- -Are Korean recipes hard for beginners? No! Especially for basic foods, Korean recipes are straightforward to follow. Beginners can make Bibimbap, Kimchi Fried Rice, and Korean Pancakes (Pajeon) with a few steps and supplies. as you become more confident with them prepare the meals that are a bit more complex.
- Will I be able to make Korean food without an Asian grocery store? With or without the Asian food shop, there are a plethora of Korean recipes you can prepare. Most people should have garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil! If you cannot find it locally – try gochujang or kimchi online, or if not look for other ways to mimic the flavor but there just isu2019t anything that can come close.
4: Where and how do I get authentic Korean dishes? The full recipe is at the bottom of this post, but you also need gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste), soy sauce, and sesame oil. Practicing stir-frying and marinating and following traditional recipes will also help. As you get used to the flavors, you can tweak your recipes to get the right taste.
If you are able to get Dotorimuk for your neighborhood Korean store, you can choose to use that in place of preparing your own.
Add the measured powdered acorn jelly (dotorimuk) to a basin(Picture 5), and pour cold water, then mix around. Blend thoroughly.
Read Also: Easy Korean Recipes for Beginners: Simple Steps to Tasty Meals
Remix after adding salt.
Transfer the corn mixture to a pan and heat over medium heat. After stirring a little at intervals for the first 3–4 minutes to keep it all heating evenly After 3 to 4 minutes, the liquid should start showing signs of thickening and you’ll spot small things floating in there that look like bits of jelly. Keep stirring over low heat for a further 4 minutes (about 8–9 in total) until the mixture reaches the soft peak stage and holds its shape or ‘teeth’.
- Add oil and cook for 1 more minute. Keep stirring it until the oil has blended with everything fully. While not needed, the oil offers a nicer softer finish flavor-wise. When it’s getting closer to peak, stick around because it has to cook at least for the next 9 or 10 minutes beyond that. View the video.
- Get ready a baking pan or a rectangular glass container (8′′ x 5′′ x 2′′ H) that works for my basic recipe for 4 servings).
- Pour the hot, cooked notorious mixture from the saucepan into the third container. Sway the container a little to distribute the mixture equally. Spatula to smooth the top as much as possible.
- Tightly cover the muk with parchment paper or clingfilm and put it to a side. Chill until firm and bounces back when touched, about 5 hours or overnight. It must be firmer than jelly. It will become firmer the longer you let it cool, but only to a certain extent. You can also let it chill in the refrigerator if the temperature is warm where you are, although ideally, you should avoid doing so.
- While the sauce is cooling, prepare Yangnyeomjang.
Here are two recipes: you choose. Sauce 1 has classic traits: uncomplicated definitive not sweet-in-the-beginning-then-spicy fluid-non-tangy-sauciness. Sauce 2: It is fierier, and the taste hits bolder, it feels so modern, and sweet-serious flavor with balanced spices, chilies & spicy upfront than Sauce-1, garlicky & tanginess all in good amounts. One of Sauce 2’s attractions is that you can add another fresh vegetable, lettuce, perilla leaves, chrysanthemum crisp genital leaf escarole, etc. to it! This will improve the flavor. Make ahead of time: See the recipe card below. - For Sauce 1: Combine soy sauce, water or anchovy broth, sugar, sesame oil, chopped green onions, and Korean red chili pepper powder in a bowl.
- Once the glue is stiff, tilt your container to one side so you can easily clip it out; and rubberized mold will begin pulling away from the wall. Once you have all four sides done, flip it over with a plate or cutting board on top (like how we were removing the baked cake from the pan). And presto! Your muk should now be on the chopping board.
Read Also: KOREAN CREAM CHEESE GARLIC BREAD
Slice mango crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices, then again in smaller squares. Once you are ready to eat, take them out and put them on a placemat with Yangnyeomjang sauce. Maybe among the different versions of the presentation I’ve developed, you’ll find some inspiration and pleasure.
Ingredients
Acorn Jelly
- ▢100 g dried acorn powder (dotorimuk garu) (100% acorn flour should be gluten free – 100g is about 3/4 to 1 cup)
- ▢4.5 cup water
- ▢1 tsp sea salt
- ▢1 tsp vegetable oil
Sauce 1 (less sweet and classic)
- ▢3 Tbsp soy sauce (jin ganjang (sempio or kikkoman), for GF use GF soy sauce)
- ▢1 Tbsp water (or anchovy stock)
- ▢2 tsp korean red chili powder (gochukaru)
- ▢1/2 tsp sugar
- ▢2 tsp sesame seeds
- ▢1 tsp sesame oil
- ▢2 green onion (chopped)
Sauce 2 (sweeter, tangy and spicy) – great with more veggies
- ▢2 Tbsp soy Sauce ((jin ganjang (sempio or kikkoman))
- ▢1.5 Tbsp Korean red chili powder
- ▢1.5 tsp vinegar
- ▢1 Tbsp cooking sake (rice wine or mirin)
- ▢1.5 tsp Sesame oil
- ▢0.75 tsp sugar
Conclusion
Dotorimuk (acorn jelly) is a traditional daily dish that represents the deep and simple nature of Korean cooking. By following this instruction, you have been given knowledge on not only how to cook up a traditional Korean favorite but also the cultural significance of Dotorimuk. Enjoy it all on its own, top a salad with and have fun dipping every flavor of this dish into that tasty sauce; these shreds beef tacos are going to take your dining experience up a notch. Practice makes perfect, you can share this delicious Korean snack carded with your friends and family. Good Korean delivered home