"Warm and Cozy" is turning out to be more than a madcap comedy about a lazy rich heir and a hardworking poor girl. The Hong Sisters comedy also offers some cooking pointers on the kind of dishes you might expect to find at the Jeju Island restaurant.
It's important not to stop watching the drama episodes after the credits. At the end of each episode, the charming but shiftless chef Baek Gun Woo, played by Yoo Yeon Suk, describes a dish and gives you some tips on how to make it. Most of the dishes feature the fresh seafood that Jeju Island is famous for. And in each episode, the dish has played a role in the story. The first episode featured Rapeseed Flower Salad and the second episode served up some Conch Seaweed Soup. The seaweed was blanched with soju or vodka. The third episode featured Mel Noodles prepared with chopped green anchovies and carrots.
Featuring food is only natural as it is a story about a restaurant named "Warm and Cozy," which Baek Gun Woo began but neglects. He gets drunk one night and signs over the restaurant to Kang So Ra's character Lee Jung Joo. But then because he has been cut off from his family fortune, he must work there as a chef.
Baek Gun Woo's tastes are more expensive than Lee Jung Joo's and he is spending her money.
Edible sea snails, known as abalones, played a role in Episode 4. If you haven't seen it, skip the plot developments and go straight to the recipe.
Baek Gun Woo wants to cook abalones for his first love. He argues with Lee Jung Joo who says they can't afford to buy them but somehow later gets them for him by way of apology. He prepares them for her friends then she gets some superior abalones, which he says he will prepare for her. It's all candles and wine until his first love shows up and Kang So Ra loses her abalone meal to the mean rich girl. Just in case you were wondering what his abalone dish was, here's Baek Gun Woo's recipe.
Stay tuned for more dishes.
Abalone Rice:
Trim and wash the abalone.
Soak rice and sweet rice in water then drain in a colander.
Sauté abalone lightly in sesame oil and pour in refined rice liquor.
Mix in rice with other ingredients.
Add stock 1:1 ratio and bring to a boil.
Once it is up to a boil reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 more minutes.
Turn off heat. Let rest for 15 minutes.
Make the seasoning sauce by mixing chives, pepper, soy sauce, pepper flakes, sesame oil and a bit of honey. Serve the sauce with the rice.
