Today’s recipe is a one bowl meal using a Korean round squash called doong-geun-hobak (둥근 호박). In English its called an avocado squash, round squash, or globe squash. It’s a summer squash, only available in the summertime. Whenever I see this round squash it reminds me of the backyard of my grandmothers house in the Korean countryside, where she used to grow this squash on the rock wall.

Here in New York City at the Union Square farmer’s market there is one farm that grows and sells real Korean traditional vegetables such as this round squash, as well as Korean green chili peppers, cucumbers, perilla leaves, and even traditional eggplants. Someone there must be Korean or have a Korean connection! When I saw this squash there my heart was beating because I really wanted to make this dish, something I used to make all the time.

Korean round squash 둥근 호박 (doong-geun-hobak)

This recipe is countryside cooking, with big rough chunks of squash seasoned with soy sauce and then panfried. It’s a perfect side dish without the beef, but I wanted to make a more well-rounded dish so I added it here. You can choose any cut of lean beef, cut into thin strips as I explain below. After the squash is cooked with the fermented salty shrimp and it’s soft, but still crispy, when you chew a chunk in your mouth and feel the crispiness and saltiness together, it’s really a unique taste. The beef coated in a bit of starch tastes a little chewy and savory but still tender! It’s also delicious.

Both of my grandmothers lived in the Korean countryside they both grew this squash. It’s basic for Korean farmers, as growing this squash is easy and it has so many uses. When it is young it has a flower that we can use in pancakes, and also leaves we can use in wraps (ssam). These squash will keep growing until the winter comes, and by that time they are more disk shaped and flatter. The color changes to tan, they have a thick skin, are orange inside and filled with seeds. They are winter squash, and sweet. My grandmother used them in many dishes, often slicing them and drying them, and even using them in rice cakes.

Many of you are vegetarian, and you can easily modify this recipe to use all vegan ingredients. You can use light color soy sauce or salt instead of salted fermented shrimp and fried tofu instead of beef, it will still be delicious. And if you can’t get round squash or summer squash, you can use zucchini which is available all year round.

I used to make this dish with salted fermented shrimp and round squash all summer long, but the addition of beef is something I added here to make an easy, simple, well-rounded one bowl meal that doesn’t require a lot of side dishes. Even though it’s a one bowl meal I cook the squash and the meat separately to preserve the vibrant summer green and yellow of the round squash, as cooking it all together would make the squash too dark. The beef by itself can be a side dish, it’s great for young children who can’t eat spicy food.

Enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients

  • 1 pound round squash (or zucchini), cut into 1 inch chunks
  • 1 tablespoon saeujeot (salted fermented shrimp)
  • 1 large green chili pepper, sliced
  • 8 ounces lean beef (top round, flank steak)
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon potato starch (or corn starch, rice flour, all-purpose wheat flour)
  • 1 green onion, cut into ½ inch long
  • 6 large garlic cloves, minced
  • about 2 ounces (⅓ cup) onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon cooking oil (grapeseed oil, vegetable oil, corn oil)

Directions

Prepare the squash and beef

  1. Combine squash, fermented salty shrimp, green chili pepper, and green onion in a bowl. Mix well. Set aside. squash salted
  2. Cut the beef into thin 2 inch long strips along the grain. Put them into a bowl.
  3. Add the soy sauce, ground black pepper, sesame oil, and potato starch. Mix well by hand.marinated beef

Cook the beef

  1. Heat up a non-stick skillet with 1 tablespoon oil over high heat. Swirl the skillet to let the oil coat evenly.
  2. Add the marinated beef and spread it evenly with a spatula. Let it cook for 1 to 2 minutes until it turns a little brown and crispy on the bottom.
  3. Turn it over with the spatula. Cook another 1 to 2 minutes until no longer pink and slightly crunchy.pan-cooked beef
  4. Remove from the heat. Set it aside.

Cook the squash

  1. Heat up a large frying pan and add 2 tablespoons cooking oil. Add garlic and onion and cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant and the garlic turns a little brown.
  2. Add the mixture of squash and stir for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the squash softens but is still a little crispy. Remove from the heat.
  3. Add the cooked beef and toss with the spatula until well mixed.hobak-sogogi-deopbap pan

Serve

  1. Put some onto rice on a bowl. Add the squash and beef over top.
  2. Serve by itself or with kimchi and other side dishes.

hobak-sogogi-deopbap table
Hobak sogogi deopbap

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3 Comments:

  1. Therealjackfalstaff New Hampshire joined 7/22 & has 2 comments

    Hi Maangchi! Could I use fish sauce instead of saeujeot for someone who has a shrimp allergy? Thank you!

  2. I made this with courgettes instead of squash (because summer squash is almost non-existent in the UK) and it was the most wonderful flavour bomb, so fantastically delicious that we couldn’t stop eating until it was gone! This one is a keeper for sure.

    I would say be careful with adding too much saeujeot as it is very salty (I have the same brand as in the video). If you love the shrimpy flavour it’s easy to overdo it and then the dish could become too salty :)

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