Rumor has it, they split into north and south arguing over this one
Nine compartments, nine separate mini-dishes, one very full sink. Gujeolpan is all about matchstick-perfect cutting and cooking each filling on its own so the colours stay bright. Wrap a little of everything in a tiny pancake and feel like royalty.
The challenge
- Preparing nine components separately
- Making paper-thin crepes
- Uniform julienne cuts
- Coordinating simultaneous prep
- Traditional octagonal plating
Korean royal court dish historically prepared for kings and aristocracy, now a test of your multitasking limits. The centerpiece is a stack of delicate, paper-thin egg crepes that must be uniformly cooked. Eight different accompaniments get prepared in parallel: beef, pork, vegetables, and mushrooms all julienned to identical matchstick size, then seasoned and cooked individually with precise techniques.
The presentation must be pristine and symmetrical - one overcooked element or uneven cut ruins the royal-worthy display.
Prep: 2 hours Β Β·Β Cook: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients
For the wheat crepes (milssam)
- 120 g (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 250 ml (1 cup) water
- ΒΌ tsp salt
- Neutral oil for the pan
For the eight fillings
- 200 g (7 oz) beef sirloin, partially frozen
- 150 g (5 oz) pork loin, partially frozen
- 4 eggs, yolks and whites separated
- 1 large carrot
- 1 cucumber
- 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked 30 minutes in warm water
- 150 g (5 oz) enoki or oyster mushrooms
- 1 small bunch mung bean sprouts or 1 red capsicum (bell pepper)
For seasoning
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- Salt and black pepper
- Neutral oil for cooking
For the dipping sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- Β½ tsp Korean mustard or Dijon
Method
- Make the crepe batterWhisk the flour, water and salt until smooth, then strain through a fine sieve and rest 30 minutes. It should be the consistency of thin cream; add a spoon of water if it's thicker.
- Julienne everythingSlice the partly frozen beef and pork into thin sheets, then matchsticks about 5 cm (2 in) long and 3 mm (β in) wide. Cut the carrot, cucumber (skin side only, skip the seedy core) and capsicum to exactly the same size. Squeeze the soaked shiitake dry, remove the stems and slice thinly. Trim the enoki. Keep each pile separate.
- Marinate the meatsMix 2 tbsp soy, the sugar, garlic, 1 tbsp sesame oil and pepper. Divide between the beef and pork in two bowls, add the shiitake to the beef bowl's leftovers, and leave 20 minutes.
- Cook the egg garnishBeat the yolks and whites separately with a pinch of salt each. Wipe a non-stick pan with oil over low heat and pour in the yolks to make a thin sheet. Cook without colouring, about 1 minute per side. Repeat with the whites. Cool, roll up and cut into fine strips.
- Cook the vegetables one by oneIn a lightly oiled pan over medium-high heat, stir-fry each vegetable separately with a pinch of salt for 30β60 seconds, just until glossy and still crunchy: carrot, then cucumber (salt it for 10 minutes and squeeze dry first), then capsicum or blanched sprouts, then enoki. Spread each on a plate to cool so they stop cooking. Wipe the pan between colours.
- Cook the meats and shiitakeStir-fry the shiitake for 2 minutes, then the beef for 2 minutes, then the pork for 3 minutes until cooked through. Toss each with a few drops of sesame oil and sesame seeds.
- Cook paper-thin crepesHeat a non-stick pan over low heat and wipe with a trace of oil. Drop 1 tbsp batter into the pan and spread it with the back of a spoon into a 7β8 cm (3 in) circle. Cook 30 seconds until set and dry, flip for 10 seconds; it should stay pale. Repeat to make 24β30 crepes, stacking them with a sprinkle of flour or between baking paper.
- Mix the dipping sauceStir together the soy, vinegar, sugar and mustard until the sugar dissolves.
- Plate the octagonStack the crepes in the centre of an octagonal tray or a large round platter. Arrange the eight fillings in neat bundles around them, placing contrasting colours opposite each other (yellow egg across from white egg, orange carrot across from green cucumber, dark beef across from pale pork). Serve with the dipping sauce. To eat, lay a crepe flat, add a little of several fillings, roll and dip.
- Keep the peacePresent the octagon of nine fillings and let everyone wrap their own. No arguing over the last crepe, or you'll end up splitting the table into north and south. Share nicely, please.
Tips from the trenches
- Half-freezing the meat for 30β40 minutes makes clean matchsticks far easier.
- Cook every component separately and cool it flat. Piling hot veg together turns them soggy and dull.
- Low heat is the secret to pale, paper-thin crepes. Brown spots mean the pan is too hot.
- Prep all eight piles before turning on the stove. Mise en place is what makes this possible in one afternoon.
βA bad cook seeks to hide the flavour of the original ingredient rather than awakening it.ββ Guillaume Musso
