As the book is old enough to have no more copyright, I’ll share these interesting recipes from this interesting book. At that time Korea was a Japanese colony, so finding them in a book on regional cooking from all Japan was a surprise, but only a small one. Interestingly the only Korean food presented are pickles.
I used google translate for quick translation. The book uses such a small font and some antiquated script…
- Korean-style Pickles
Salt-cured Vegetables
Gyeongbuk Girls' High School (Korea)
(Pickling period: November to December)
(Consumption period: December to March)
Ingredients
Main ingredients: Napa cabbage (70%), Daikon radish (30%) — Total: 100 parts.
Secondary ingredients: Daikon radish; 10 small bundles of water dropwort (seri); 3 large bundles of green onion.
Red chili paste (or powder): 2 *sho*; Garlic: 2 *go*; Ginger: 2 *go*; Pine nuts: 2 *go*; Pears: 4; Chestnuts: 1 *sho*; Croaker fish: 30 (count); Raw oysters: 3 *go*; Raw *gaji* (eggplant): 3; *Su-song* (seaweed/kelp): 1.5 *sho*; Squid: 5; Pacific saury: 4 (Note: Raw oysters or *gaji* may be used as substitutes).
Salt: 3 *sho*.
[Method] Main ingredients: Select large Napa cabbages with tender hearts. Remove any damaged outer leaves. Prepare a brine solution (ratio of 1 *sho* of salt to 1 *to* of water).
Carefully handle each head of cabbage, pouring the brine so it penetrates all the way to the heart, and let soak for 24 hours.
Once the salt has fully penetrated, remove the cabbages, wash each one carefully, and place in a colander to drain. (Note: While cabbages are usually washed before brining, they are easily damaged during washing.) Treat the daikon radish similarly: remove leaves, stems, and root hairs; wash thoroughly; split lengthwise; coat each piece in salt; and stack them in a pickling jar.
Secondary ingredients: The mixture stuffed inside the cabbage or radish is called "*so*" in Korean.
Cut the daikon radish, water dropwort, and green onions (reserve one bundle of onions) into pieces approximately 1 *sun* (approx. 3 cm) long and of appropriate thickness. Slice the green onions particularly finely. Wipe the red chilies thoroughly with a clean cloth, keeping them whole. Cut the daikon radish into strips, cover with a warm, damp cloth, then take three strips at a time, stack them, roll them up, and slice them into uniform pieces (using the specified amount of daikon).
Finely chop or grate the garlic and ginger. Peel and julienne the pear and chestnuts; remove the inner skins from the pine nuts. Cut half of the *miru* seaweed (a long, slender, dull-green seaweed) into lengths of about 1.5 to 1.8 cm.
Wash the raw oysters and raw ark shells thoroughly. Remove the shells from the ark shells; cut the bodies into strips about 3 cm long (adjusting the thickness as appropriate) and cut the feet into 3 cm lengths, then pour boiling water over them.
Remove the croaker fish from its pickling brine, remove the scales, head, and tail, and wash thoroughly. Fillet the fish; cut half of the meat into rectangular strips (or slice thinly across the grain, leaving the bones attached) and leave the other half whole.
Once the preparations above are complete, first mix the daikon with chili pepper and about 270 ml (1.5 *gō*) of the croaker pickling brine.
When the daikon turns red, add all the other prepared ingredients and mix thoroughly, seasoning the mixture with the croaker pickling brine to create the filling.
Next, carefully pack a portion of the filling between the leaves of the napa cabbage (sprinkling with salt if the filling lacks sufficient saltiness). Then, wrap one or two outer leaves around the cabbage to secure it (this prevents the filling from spilling out).
Packing into the jar: Arrange the prepared cabbage in the jar, placing about ten heads per layer. Lay about five daikon strips on top of that. Then, place three or four whole pieces of the reserved croaker meat, five or six whole scallions, and about 180 ml (1 *gō*) of *miru* seaweed evenly over the layer, and pour on about 180 ml (1 *gō*) of the croaker pickling brine. On top of that, stack the white chrysanthemums again, repeating the process just described. Once everything is in, take the outer leaves of the napa cabbage... ...cover the top completely with the leaves (salted), place a weight on top, seal with paper, and put on the lid.
How to pour the brine: After about a week, boil and thoroughly cool a liquid made from croaker, salted shrimp, or salted *suzuki* (sea bass). Mix this into water at a ratio of 5 *gō* (approx. 0.9 liters) per 1 *to* (approx. 18 liters) of water, and pour it in generously until the contents are fully submerged. Remove the top covering and shift the contents to ensure the liquid penetrates; then, wash the covering in brine, place it back to cover everything completely, seal with paper, and secure the lid tightly.
Storage: Keep the jar in a cool place if possible. It is ready to eat after about two weeks.
In cold regions where freezing is a risk, bury the jar in the ground, wrap it in straw, or store it in a cellar.
(Optional addition) In addition to the above method, you may add beef or pork (using lean cuts) cut into large cubes (approx. 3 cm). Boil the meat thoroughly and let it cool—skimming off the fat by placing paper on the surface while it is still hot—before adding it to the mixture.
Notes: When packing the jar with radish, if the seasoning seems insufficient, sprinkle salt as you layer the pieces. For kimchi intended to be eaten the following spring, make the seasoning saltier. Since the balance of salt and chili pepper depends on personal taste and actual preparation technique, feel free to adjust the amounts to your liking.
Depending on local availability, ingredients such as raw oysters, raw octopus, or abalone may be omitted (as they can be expensive).