Cold days can make you feel small and cold. The weather seems to cause people to dream of a warm soup that can soothe their body and mind. Especially at this time of the year, a steaming bowl of sujebi hand-pulled dough (수제비) would be a welcoming dish, as it doesn't require any fancy cooking or unique ingredients.

Sujebi is also a food that reminds many middle-aged people of home cooked meals. Author Shin Nan-hui, who writes children’s poems, wrote in her work titled “Sujebi” that, “The smell of anchovy stock fills the table like a white wave/ All the family members are seated around the table/ Eating hot sujebi while blowing on it/ The dish makes their hearts beat faster/ As if some lucky thing is unknowingly happening to them.”



Sujebi is made from thinly pulled flour dough, sliced vegetables and anchovy stock. You can make the broth with beef or various kinds of vegetables, too, depending on taste. According to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food, the name “sujebi” is originally from “sujeobi” (수접이), meaning "a dish made with flour dough pulled by the hands (手 in Chinese) and folded (摺 in Chinese)." In the past, sujebi was regarded as a special food served only at banquets, as flour was regarded as a precious commodity at that time. These days, however, it's considered an ordinary food for everyone, and one of the most popular dishes around, especially on rainy days, along with bindaetteok (빈대떡) savory pancakes.

** Ingredients
250 g flour (2.5 cups)
2 g salt (0.5 tsp)
135 g water (9 tbsp)
30 g anchovy
2 kg water (10 cups)
130 g zucchini
150 g potato
20 g green onion
4 g salt

Seasoning sauce:
72 g soy sauce (4 tbsp)
2.2 g chili pepper (1 tsp)
14 g chopped green onion (1 tbsp)
11 g minced garlic (2 tsp)
4 g sesame salt (2 tsp)
0.3 g pepper (⅛ tsp)



** Preparation
1. Add salt and water to the flour and make a batter. Cover the batter with a wet cloth for about 30 minutes.
2. Trim the anchovies by removing the heads and organs.
3. Wash the zucchini and cut it into halves. Cut the zucchini halves into 0.5-centimeter thick half-moons. Wash and trim the potato and halve it. Cut the potato halves into pieces that are 4 centimeters long horizontally, 3 centimeters long vertically and 0.7-centimeters thick.
4. Wash and trim the green onion. Cut the green onion diagonally into 3-centimeter long, 0.2-centimeter thick slices.
5. Make the seasoning sauce.



** Recipe
1. Heat a pot with the water. Add the anchovies and boil for 2 minutes over medium heat. Add more water and boil it for 9 minutes over high. When it boils, lower the heat to medium and boil it for 10 minutes. Drain the stock using a strainer.
2. Boil the anchovy stock over high for 8 minutes. Add the potato and boil it for 3 minutes. Make the dough by pulling pieces from the batter that are 4 centimeters horizontally, 3 centimeters vertically and 0.2 centimeters thick. Boil the dough for five minutes.
3. When the dough pieces are cooked and float up to the surface, add the zucchini pieces and boil for 3 minutes. Add the salt and green onion. Boil it for a few more minutes. 4. Serve the soup with the seasoning sauce.



Managed by Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
In cooperation with the Institute of Traditional Korean Food (ITKF)
Content from “The Beauty of Korean Food: 100 Best-Loved Recipes”
arete@korea.kr