Mala Cream Jjamppong

This is no ordinary Jjamppong recipe.

If you couldn’t tell by the lobster draped over the side of the bowl.

And if you’ve never tried Jjamppong before, I might have led you to believe this is a typical thing.

I’m sorry to break the news, but if you order Jjamppong at any regular restaurant, chances are, it’s not going to come with lobster. Boo.

But that’s what this recipe is for— all those lavish jjamppong cravings

I’m back again with another Culinary Class Wars recipe recreation.

Okay, I can’t be the only one who noticed a trend in food concepts on the show:

1. So much Dong Po Pork (honourable mention to Mapo Tofu)

2. Everything had to be upgraded with Cream

3. The frequent use of Mala

However, I’m not complaining, because overlap of ingredients makes this series so much easier for me ahaha!

I actually used somewhat the same recipe from the Mala Cream Shrimp DimSum recreation to make the Mala involved in this recipe. This recreation also helped me use up some of the Mussel Broth I had leftover from the Cream Miyeokguk last week. And not to mention…. my container of heavy cream. (I’ve still got half a carton left, what else should I make??)

This Jjampong was super rich and decadent. All of the flavours worked in harmony! One important flavour note I always look for in a good jjamppong is the wok hei. It’s a smokiness that adds so much depth to the soup.
The cream obviously provided richness and was a great addition, but if you are a lactose intolerant, feel free to omit. It tasted just fine without!

Recipe:

Equipment you’ll need:

• wok

• gas burner or blow torch

Mala Oil:

• 3-4 dried chilis (or 1.5 tsp Korean gochugaru)

• 3 tsp sichuan/szechuan peppercorns (aka prickly ash)

• 1 star of anise

• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds

• 1/3 cup oil

• 1 bay leaf

• 1/2 shallot

• 1/4 tsp salt

• pinch msg

In a small saucepan, add the sichuan peppercorns and place the pan over medium heat. Toast the peppercorns for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Pour the toasted peppercorns into a clean coffee grinder, along with the dried chilis, star of anise, & cumin seeds. Blend until it becomes a fine powder. Pour the powder into a medium heatproof bowl along with the salt and msg.

In a small saucepan add the 1/3 cup of oil, 1 bay leaf and 1/2 shallot and place over medium heat. Once the aromatics start to sizzle, let them cook for a couple minutes. Remove them before they get too brown, leave the oil on the burner for a couple minutes more.
Once the oil just starts to smoke, remove it from the heat and pour it over the mala spice mix. Careful as this will bubble up rapidly. Give it a good stir. Set aside and allow the oil to cool.

Mala Cream Jjampong:

Makes 2 servings

• 2 portions of wheat noodles or jjajangmyeon style noodles

For the lobster:

• 1 live lobster

• 1 tbsp salted butter, melted

For the Jjamppong:

• 200-300g seafood medley (4-6 live clams, 4-6 large shrimp, 2-4 live mussels, 20g squid)

• 50g white onion, sliced thin

• 20g carrot, sliced thin or matchstick

• 20g zucchini, sliced thin

• 30g red bell pepper

• 1 tbsp oil

• 2 green onions, finely sliced

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/4 tsp minced ginger

• 2 tbsp fine gochugaru

• 2 tbsp mala oil

• 2 tbsp soup soy sauce

• 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine

• 4 cups seafood stock or anchovy stock

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil

• 1/2 tsp sugar

• salt to taste

Prepare your live lobster for dispatching by placing it in the freezer for 20-30 mintues. This will make it less active.

Place the lobster on a cutting board. If you need a better grip, place a towel along the back tail of the lobster so you can hold it. Using a sharp knife, place the tip in the middle of its head. Quickly jab the knife down through the shell, efficiently dispatching the lobster.

Continue to work the knife all the way through the shell of the lobster, down through the tail to make a bisecting cut.
Rinse the lobster halves under cold water, (you can remove the head meat if you don’t want it) and place both halves on a baking sheet.
Brush the lobster with 1 tbsp of melted salted butter. Place the tray in your oven and broil at 550 degrees for 5-6 minutes. Keep an eye on them! No one likes dry lobster.
Once the shell is entirely red and the meat has turned opaque, remove the lobster from the oven and set aside.

preparing my mis en place!

Once we start using the Wok, the process is quite quick! So prepare your mis en place (aka have all of your ingredients prepared and nearby!)

Wash your seafood. If using shelled clams and mussels, scrub the outer shells with a bristled brush and rinse away any debris. Prepare and cut your vegetables, as well as your aromatics (green onion, garlic, ginger). Measure out your spices and seasonings and have your broth at hand.

Place a wok over a gas burner. Add 1 tbsp of oil, and your thinly sliced green onions, minced garlic and ginger to the wok. Turn the heat up to medium.

Fry the garlic, ginger and green onions until fragrant and just start to brown. Quickly add 2 tbsp of fine gochugaru and 2 tbsp of mala oil (including the solids). Stir the spices and toast them for 30 seconds. Careful as we don’t want them to burn, because they will get quite bitter!

Add all of your veggies to the wok. Toss the veggies to coat them in the aromatics. Pay attention to the heat, you can always turn it down.

Add 2 tbsp of soup soy sauce and 2 tbsp of Shaoxing wine to the hot wok. Toss to incorporate. The smokey soy flavour really adds a nice touch to this dish! If you don’t have a gas burner I suggest slightly torching the veggies at this point with a blow torch for a similar affect.

Add your seafood mix. Sauté everything for 30 seconds to toast the seafood.

Pour in 4 cups of seafood broth. Stir to breakup the clumps of pepper paste. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Continue to cook the seafood for 6-8 minutes.

Tip: While the soup is cooking, prepare your noodles. See below!

All of the clams and mussels should open their shells when they are finished cooking, (if they don’t open up they are bad, so throw them away!) Once the seafood is ready, turn the heat to low, and finish by adding 1/2 cup of cream, 1.5 tsp of sesame oil and 1/2 tsp of sugar. Taste to see if it is to your liking, adding any salt if needed. Set aside.

Cook your jjajangmyeon style or wheat noodles! Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Cook two servings of noodles for 5-6 minutes. Once finished, pour them out into a colander, and rinse them under cold water. This will help them retain their chewy bouncy texture.

To serve: You can add all the noodles to your mala cream jjamppong, or divide the noodles between your two serving bowls and pour the soup on top. Top each bowl each with one of your cooked lobster halves from earlier. And some sliced green onion for garnish.

Enjoy!