Kuksi – from Central Asia

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 2 liters of water
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp vinegar, preferably rice vinegar
• ½ bunch of dill
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 cucumber(s)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 6 radishes
• 1 dashes pepper sauce e.g. B. Tabasco
• 400g rump steak(s)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion(s)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• pepper
• ¼ head of white cabbage
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cucumber(s)
• salt and pepper
• ½ tsp paprika powder, hot
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 bell peppers
• 2 chili peppers
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 dash of soy sauce
• 1 eggplant(s)
• Salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp tomato paste or pureed tomatoes
• pepper, black
• 200 g noodles (somen noodles)
• Salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 5 tbsp vegetable oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 8 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 9 hours 40 minutes

cold soup of the Korean minority

Start with the broth. Dissolve sugar and salt in water. Add the soy sauce and vinegar and season again for salt. Add a little peppercorn sauce, such as Tabasco, to taste. More salt can be added if desired. Peel the cucumber and cut into sticks. Dice the tomatoes. Chop the garlic and dill. Quarter the radishes. Add everything to the broth and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, cut the beef into thin strips and fry in hot vegetable oil. As soon as it’s almost cooked, add the sliced ​​onion and diced garlic and continue frying until the onion begins to become translucent. Deglaze everything with soy sauce and pepper. Set the meat aside and, like all other garnishes, chill in the refrigerator. The vegetable garnishes are variable. My selection can be changed or shortened at any time. However, cabbage and cucumbers are essential. Cut the white cabbage into thin strips, pour over a little soy sauce, and knead vigorously. Let the white cabbage stand for a few minutes, then fry in hot oil for a maximum of two minutes. The cabbage should still have some bite. Peel the cucumber and cut into sticks. Season the sticks with salt, pepper, and paprika. Add a little vegetable oil, mix well, and let it stand. Trim the bell peppers and chili peppers and cut into strips. If you can’t find hot chili peppers, you can just as easily use chili flakes. Using the above method, fry the peppers for two minutes and season with a dash of soy sauce. Refrigerate the peppers as well. Peel the eggplant. You can also leave a few strips of peel on. Cut the eggplant into sticks, season with salt, and let it draw in the liquid for a quarter of an hour. Then fry the sticks in hot vegetable oil for about five minutes. The sticks should still hold their shape well. Just before the end, mix in the tomato paste or passata and season with pepper. Set the eggplant aside and let it cool. Cook the somen noodles in salted water according to the package instructions. This usually only takes two to three minutes. Drain the noodles and toss them in a little vegetable oil to prevent them from sticking together. You can also use spaghetti or glass noodles, but both alternatives should be shortened in length. Now the egg component is missing. To do this, mix the eggs well with the vegetable oil, season with salt and pepper. Fry the mixture into thin pancakes. To be on the safe side, add a little oil to the pan to prevent the pancakes from sticking. If enough oil has been stirred into the eggs, you can also fry them without oil. At least for me, turning them didn’t work. Let the pancakes cool, roll them up, and cut them into thin strips. Now toast two tablespoons of sesame seeds in a pan without oil. The serving can begin. Typically, the dish is served in large soup bowls. Place a portion of noodles on the bottom. Then arrange a spoonful of cabbage, cucumbers, bell peppers, and eggplant in a row. Place a portion of beef in the center and, for a finishing touch, some egg pancake strips on top. Now add enough broth to just reach the top layer. Sprinkle the kuksi with sesame seeds before serving. Because of the many ingredients, this dish sounds more complicated than it actually is. Plus, everything is easy to prepare in advance, and then all you have to do is serve it in the soup bowls.