Asian cuisine has always attracted Europeans. You can understand people: it’s interesting to try something that is very different both in taste and in products from what is included in an ordinary diet. Some of the oriental dishes so pleased both our compatriots and the people of Europe that they became an integral part of the holiday menu, if not everyday. Such culinary acquisitions include, for example, pilaf or Peking duck (although the indigenous owners of the recipe are unlikely to agree that our execution is just their dish). However, some Asian delights have not yet received wide fame, although they deserve it. And among these foods are Korean pigdies.
What it is
Almost every country has its own baking options. Why should Korea be a miserable exception? She didn’t. Her invention is pygody, the recipe of which began to gain popularity. The name has options: somewhere such a dish is called pegeza, in some places - pyan-se. To simplify the understanding of the term, we can say that the piggy (by the way, the emphasis is on the "o") is a Korean variation on the theme of steamed pies. The Chinese also have analogues on this subject, they are called dim-sum. Of course, the differences between them and the pygody, the recipe of which we will consider here, are always present. The main ones: Chinese pies do without cabbage - this is the time, and rice dough is used in the test - these are two.
However, we are interested in pygody, and we will deal with them.
Test Options for Pygody
All recipes allow experimentation or choosing what the eater likes best. The same situation with the pygody. The recipe for these pies varies, starting with the dough. The vast majority of options recommend the familiar wheat flour, however, some claim that starch should be included in the dough of real pygodies. There are also recipes using rice flour. We will focus on the most common and popular components.
The dough is taken yeast. Not everyone likes to work with him, not everyone succeeds, but you will have to try if you want to try real pigdies. The recipe for the test includes 800 g of flour (we have already settled on high-quality wheat), half a liter of water, a teaspoon of yeast (take dry ones, the recipe is focused on them), the same amount of sugar and 50 g of vegetable oil. Out of this amount of raw materials, 20 pygodies are obtained. Want more - recount.
A quarter of all the water is heated (to body temperature, not higher), and sugar and yeast are mixed in it. The remaining water in another container is mixed with vegetable oil and salt, after which half the flour is introduced into it. If you want your Korean-style pygodies to turn out magnificent - do not be too lazy to sift it. Knead the dough, add the remaining flour. By the way, it’s better to sift it directly into the dough, it will turn out more airy. Approached yeast pour in here and everything is carefully, enthusiastically, kneaded. Then the bowl is covered (with a towel, napkin, lid) and placed in the heat so that the dough comes up. After half an hour he will have to be kneaded - and again in the heat.
Filling Options
All pies can be stuffed in different ways. This also applies to pygody. The Korean recipe implies meat with cabbage, but in the homeland of this dish it is stuffed with daikon - and is very fond of. Correct radish filling is considered only if it is extremely sharp.
Another favorite filling option in this country is from Korean beans. It should also be spicy and sharp, but less than with a daikon.
Russian piggy fans have invented their own filling options for their favorite pies. Among them, the most curious is vegetarian. It still contains cabbage, but sour is complemented by fresh. And the place of meat was taken by mushrooms (the author of the recipe advises shiitake) and eggplant. However, among our population there are not so many vegetarians, so it is unlikely that such a filling will seriously interest anyone, except in the days of fasting.
Koreans also love sweets, so pygodies as a dessert also have a place to be. The filling in this case is the beans, which in our country are generally not used in sweets. So we restrict ourselves to the classics.
Stuffing for Korean pies ("lazy")
Let's start with the simplest stuffing for the piggy. The recipe is designed for those who do not want to bother much. You will need 300 g of pork or veal, the same amount of cabbage (white), 2 heads of onions, cilantro and dill, odorless vegetable oil (two tablespoons are enough), garlic is required (here it’s to taste, but at least 4 cloves), salt , pepper and coriander.
First, we are doing cabbage. She finely chopped, and then also cut across. Salt, crumple and leave to get rid of juice. If it is not enough, it will go into pies, if it is excessive, the excess merges.
The meat is thinly cut into plates, which are then cut into strips. Greens cut, garlic chokes. Everything is mixed with oil, cabbage is poured with this composition, coriander is added. The meat is combined with a cabbage supplement, pepper, salt and the filling is ready.
Kimchi is important!
If you are not lazy, it is better to stock up on kimchi in advance. Many people cannot imagine how to make pygody without this ingredient. Roughly speaking, this is salted cabbage, but cooked in accordance with the requirements of Korean cuisine. Cabbage (and Chinese, it is Beijing) is sorted into individual leaves, which are filled with salt, poured with cold water and exposed to cold in the night. Then the leaves are rinsed and wrung out. Spices are placed in hot water: finely chopped ginger, garlic and green onions (1 tbsp each), chopped dry red pepper and sugar (2 tsp each) and a tablespoon of table salt. All this pours into cabbage, the bowl is covered with a film - and for 2 days in the cold. After this time, kimchi can be put in the filling for the pygody.
Finish line
The pies are sculpted in the way you want. There are no strict rules; the main thing is that the pigdies are small. You can’t cook Korean-style piggies without a double boiler, although there are craftsmen who can even build them in a water bath. However, suppose you have a double boiler.
Its bottom is lubricated with vegetable oil, preferably refined. Pygodies are put down with a seam, and the distance between them should be quite large - the yeast dough during cooking becomes larger in volume. Experienced "pigodivars" advise wrapping a lid on a double boiler with a towel, they say that this way the dough does not fall, and the filling becomes juicier.
The process itself will take 45 minutes. During this time, it is quite possible to set the table and prepare nice additions. Their quality is usually soy sauce, although many praise Korean carrots in the pygody companions.
All in all, worth a try! Even if there is no double boiler - you can borrow from friends or acquaintances. And there, you look, and think about acquiring your own.