Steamed shishito peppers

Today I’m happy to re-introduce you to kkwarigochu-jjim made with shishito peppers. When I first made a video for this recipe 10 years ago, these thin-skinned, wrinkly, mild peppers could only be found at Korean or Japanese grocery stores, but now you can find them in many more neighborhood and farmer’s markets, especially when they are in season like now. The peppers are coated in flour and steamed and mixed with a savory seasoning sauce, so the texture is like a little bit sticky rice cake. It tastes spicy, salty, juicy, and savory and goes well with rice!

This recipe is pretty flexible – if you want to make it milder, you can skip the gochu-garu (Korean hot pepper flakes) or use less gochu-garu, and if you want to make it vegan you can skip the anchovies and use a savory vegetable stock instead of water, or just leave them out altogether. I guarantee it will still be good.

I eat these steamed peppers all the time so I’ve been very happy to see that so many people have enjoyed them over the years. Check out the new, more accurate measurements below, with HD video above! It can last up to 1 week in the fridge so it will be a good side dish to eat with little preparation. Just take it out and serve with rice and maybe a few more side dishes!

Ingredients

• 1 pound shishito peppers (kkwari-gochu in Korean), stems removed
• ¼ cup flour (or rice flour, glutinous rice flour)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 large dried anchovies, split with the heads, guts, and fishbones removed
• ⅓ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup water
• 1 to 2 tablespoons gochu-garu (Korean hot pepper flakes), optional
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions

Steam the peppers:

1. Wash the peppers in cold water a couple of times. Drain and put them into a bowl. If the peppers are too long, tear them into halves.
2. Mix them with the flour with both hands.
3. Bring 2 cups of water in a steamer to a boil. Add the peppers and the leftover flour.  Steam for 7 minutes over medium high heat.
4. Open, remove from the heat.

Make seasoning sauce and cook:

1. Combine the soy sauce, water, and hot pepper flakes in a small bowl. Mix it well with a spoon.
2. Heat a thick skillet over medium high heat. Add the vegetable oil, garlic, anchovies, and stir them with a wooden spoon for 1 to 2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant and the anchovies turn crunchy.
3. Stir in onion and the sauce. Cover and turn down the heat to low and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes so that the broth turns savory.
4. Add the steamed peppers and turn up the heat to medium high. Mix altogether with the wooden spoon for about 2 minutes until most of the broth is evaporated and the peppers are evenly coated with the sauce.
5. Remove from the heat. Stir in the sesame oil and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
6. Transfer to a plate and serve. Serve as a side dish for rice. The leftover can be kept in the fridge up to 1 week.

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