Danpatjuk and Sipjeondaebotang

Danpatjuk and Sipjeondaebotang

The Second Best in Seoul

If you arrive in Seoul feeling cruddy, there’s a silver lining: many must-try Korean delicacies emerged from food-as-medicine traditions. After 15 hours on the plane and 30 feverish hours in bed, I was happy to spend a couple of hours slowly making my way across town to a little cafe called The Second Best in Seoul. 

Founded in 1976, the shop’s original stock-in-trade was the medicinal tea sipjeondaebotang (one website offers the poetic translation, "wholly and dearly protect and preserve everything”), a murky brew of 10 different roots and herbs including peony, milkvetch, angelica, lovage, cinnamon, and licorice. It looked like a mud puddle, tasted slightly abusive, and made me feel noticeably perkier. 

Having taken my medicine, I enjoyed my reward: a helping of danpatjuk, the hearty sweet porridge for which the shop is currently famous. Rather than letting all the ingredients stew together, Second Best assembles each bowl to order; this allows customers to savor the range of flavors and textures contributed by the silky red bean soup, meaty whole red beans, gummy ginkgo nuts, bready chestnuts, and gooey rice cake. 

From the unassuming name to the vintage decor, everything about The Second Best in Seoul is humble, straightforward, and welcoming. The menu also includes ginger and jujube tea, cinnamon punch, and a fermented rice drink. 

The Second Best in Seoul
서울서 둘째로 잘하는 집
122-1 Samcheong-ro
Jongno-gu, Seoul

South Korea

Date Rolls

Date Rolls
Yuma Quartermaster Depot, $3.50 /.5lb

For a cold:  hot soup.  For a hangover:  bloody mary mix.  For when a sudden shift to a hot dry climate leaves you feeling like a wrung-out rag:  gallons of water and a pack of date rolls.  Available from the Yuma Visitor Information Center's fridge, each energy-packed log is made from fresh dates pureed into a smooth, creamy fondant, then rolled in either shredded coconut or chopped nuts. 

Yuma Quartermaster Depot Visitor Information Center
201 N 4th Ave
Yuma AZ

928 / 783-0071

Date Shake

Date Shake
Basket Creations, $4.75 / 16oz with extra dates

Native to the area around Iraq, the date palm has spread around the world thanks to its rich, sticky fruits and an ability to thrive in deserts.  First introduced to North America's southwest in the 1760s, the trees were subsequently planted by orchardists in arid regions of Nevada, California, and Arizona.  But despite the high quality of their products, the domestic market for dates has generally been lukewarm.  

One bump in popularity came in the 1930s, when Russ Nichol, owner of a roadside stand in the California desert, discovered that dates are a delicious addition to milkshakes.  Since the hot, dry areas where dates grow best are also great spots for a winter vacation, date shakes became a must-try refreshment.  

As the sunniest spot on earth, Yuma Arizona is both an ace date producer, and the kind of place where a milkshake makes a great lunch.  At Bard Date company's downtown storefront, Basket Creations, date shakes are available with your choice of ice cream and in either smooth or chunky formats.  Both are flavored with date puree, but the chunky version also includes a handful of roughly chopped dates that sink to the bottom of the cup and swell up as they soak in the dregs of melted ice cream, turning into a kind of accidental custard.  

Not in date country?  It's easy to whip up your own date shake by soaking chopped dates in a little boiling water until soft and then blending them into a smooth paste that you can for topping or blending with vanilla ice cream.

Basket Creations
245 S Main St
Yuma AZ
928 / 341-9966 

Jat Juk

Jat Juk

With every graphite-colored day that drags by I find myself grasping for new winter survival strategies.  Currently, I'm leaning on homemade pudding and awkward song parodies. 

This recipe for Korean jat juk, an intensely comforting pinenut-rice-date porridge, comes from Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray's excellent "The 30 Minute Vegan's Taste of the East."  I added only this optional theme song, sung to the tune of Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the City":

"Hot pudding!  Winter in the city!  Back of my spoon feelin' really cinnamon-y!"

Jat Juk

1/2c lightly toasted pine nuts 
1 1/2c water 
pinch of salt 
1/4 c brown rice flour 
3T agave or other sweetener 
4 finely chopped dates 
pinch of cinnamon 

Blend the nuts and 1c of water in a blender or processor until smooth; pour into saucepan and place over medium heat.  

Meanwhile, use a frying pan to dry fry the rice flour over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, stirring frequently; slowly add 1/2c of water, whisking for a smooth paste.  

Add the pine nut mix and salt to the rice mix; cook until it thickens, about 5 minutes, whisking well, then stir in the sweetener. 

Pour into serving bowls and top with chopped dates and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

"Hot pudding!"

Egyptian Date Cake

Egyptian Date Cake

Spellchecker may object to my saying so, but many traditional Egyptian sweets are what you might call desert desserts, based in large part on sweet crops like apricots, grapes, and dates that thrive along the damp margins of the Nile in what is otherwise a hot and arid environment.

In their A World of Recipes: Egypt, Sue Townsend and Caroline Young give this recipe for a spongy, spicy Egyptian date cake:

11oz/325g fresh dates, pits removed
5oz/150g blanched almonds
4oz/100g soft brown sugar
1 orange, washed
4 eggs¼ c superfine granulated sugar
½ t ground cardamom
1 ½ oz/40g butter
3T cornstarch
1t confectioners sugar

Butter a a 9” springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a food processor, blend the almonds and brown sugar until coarsely chopped; add the dates and blend until finely chopped, but not ground.

Grate the orange rind, then squeeze one half of the orange.

Separate the eggs and whisk the whites into soft peaks.

Beat the yolks with the granulated sugar and cardamom; add the date mixure, orange rind, 1T of the orange juice, and the cornstarch.

Gently fold the egg whites into the date mixture.

Spoon the batter into the pan and bake 35-45 minute at 400/200 degrees until the cake springs back with pressed.

Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.