Buying dried jujubes online
Dried jujubes, called daechu (대추) in Korean, are red fruits with wrinkled skin, a sweet, slightly tart flavor, and a pit inside. They are used both as an ingredient in Korean cooking and as a decorative garnish. I use them in galbijjim (braised short ribs) and ginseng chicken soup (삼계탕), and I also use them to make tea with ginger.
Preparing dried jujubes
Before using dried jujubes, wash them and dry them well with a paper towel. Whether you remove the pits depends on the dish. For galbijjim, I remove the pits before adding the jujubes. For samgyetang, I leave them whole with the pits inside.
For a decorative garnish, I cut around the pit with a knife to remove the flesh in one piece. Then I press the flesh together firmly with my fingers and slice it to make decorative shapes.
Buying and storing dried jujubes
Look for dried jujubes at Korean or other Asian markets. Choose large, plump jujubes with a bright red color and no blemishes. I store mine in a zipper bag in the freezer so they keep well and I can use them over a long time.
I bought jujubes from the refrigerated section. Can I freeze what I am not using right now and take them out as I need them for future recipes? Thank you! :0)
Yes, you can freeze jujubes for months.
You could make tea. Boil some with water until the water turns reddish. You could add a few roots of dried ginseng, too.
I am making this soup right now and I can’t wait to try it. But now that I have this big bag of dates I am wondering how they can be used in other dishes – can they be used in the same way as medjool dates? (though the red dates are much less sweet), perhaps in porridge? I’m curious about other uses for this fruit. Thanks Maangchi!