Cornbread

Today I’m going to show you how to make a special Korean-style cornbread that I used to have when I was a kid in elementary school in Korea. The school provided this daily snack to the students just before class was dismissed. We looked forward to it every day, so I have fond childhood memories of cornbread, and of the anticipation of waiting for snack time at school!

I learned later that the American government was supporting Koreans’ nutrition by sending us tons and tons of cornmeal. Someone got the idea to make cornbread out of it and to distribute the bread through the school system. I don’t know who came up with the recipe, but I loved that corn bread: it was so flavorful.

I had almost forgotten all about it until one of my website readers asked me if I knew how to make it. She was Korean, but living in the US for a long time, and really wanted to taste that bread again. Suddenly, I did, too! I remembered the smell of the bread, the slightly gritty texture, the strong corn flavor, everything. I also remembered the excitement of me and my classmates when the bread came, and how happy we were. Sometimes I used to eat half of it, put the other half in the red schoolbag my father bought for me, and brought it home to share with my sisters and brother. All these memories came back to me.

When I started living in America, I saw cornbread being sold in nearly every grocery store. I bought some from time to time. It was delicious but different than the cornbread in Korea. It was usually sweeter and had less of a corny flavor.

So I started experimenting and trying to recreate the Korean-style cornbread I used to eat. It took a while. I’ve been working on this recipe for months, and learned a few tips and tricks along the way. One thing I found was that if I let the cornmeal soak for 20 minutes, like I let rice soak when making rice cake, it softens the gritty cornmeal just enough, so the cornbread I make from it is satisfyingly grainy but not too gritty.

Now I can say this bread is very close to the bread that I used to have in Korea. I love this cornbread because it has an intense corn flavor, and is just sweet enough to be enjoyable, without being too sweet. It’s fluffy like a sponge, and it has a perfectly full corn aftertaste.

I can’t wait to share this recipe with my lovely readers! It’s been a long time in development, and now you can have Korean-style corn bread, too!

Ingredients: Serves 4-6

• 2 cups (280 grams) cornmeal (Indian Head works best)
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1½ cup milk
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened at room temperature
  

Directions

1. Combine the cornmeal, sugar, kosher salt, egg, vegetable oil, and milk in a bowl and mix well. Let it sit for 20 minutes.
   
2. Pre-heat the oven 400 degrees F (about 200 degrees C).
3. Add the baking powder to the batter and mix well. Brush the butter all over the bottom and the sides of baking pan (8 x 8 inch square).
   
4. Bake for 30 minutes.
5. Check to see if it’s fully cooked by inserting a toothpick into the center of the bread. It should come out clean. You can cook a few minutes longer to brown the top of the bread.
6. Remove from the oven. Turn the pan upside down and let the cornbread fall onto your cutting board. Let cool for a few minutes. Cut into bite size pieces and serve. You can freeze leftovers in a plastic bag and reheat it in a microwave oven, where the fluffiness and moisture will be revived.