Kujolp'an: 9-in-1 appetizer menu

In Romansa Singapura (book 2) when Nana met her boyfriend's mother for the first time, it was a special celebration, so they ate Kujolp'an to celebrate Phil's mom's birthday.

The first time I encountered this dish when I was in Elementary school, reading my mom's magazine (I was so into recipe etc LOL). They described it very detailed there, and when I wrote the novel, (another coincidence? - I don't think it was a coincidence... It was destined ^.^) I found that same old magazine on my cupboard! The rest is history.

I think this is a more healthy way of eating pancakes - an Asian tradition - Indonesian lumpia, Singaporean popiah, Vietnamese rice paper, and Korean Kujolp'an. The not-so-healthy is Peking duck pancake!

Recipe from Food Network

Ingredients

FOR THE PANCAKES:

1 cup flour
2 egg whites
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil

FOR THE FILLINGS:

1/4 pound sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into very thin strips

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 scallion, minced
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 chicken breast
• 1 pound spinach
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil, or more to taste
• 8 dried shiitake mushrooms, hydrated
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 2 eggs, separated into whites and yolks, beaten
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions
Make the pancakes:

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, egg whites, water, and salt and stir until the batter is smooth.


2. To a heated non-stick pan, add the oil. Drop in tablespoons of batter to form thin pancakes about 3-inches in diameter.


3. Fry lightly on both sides. Transfer to a plate. Using a 3-inch ring mold or cup, cut the pancakes into a perfect circle.

Make the fillings:

1. In a bowl, combine the beef, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, scallion, honey, and black pepper. Saute the mixture in a pan until the beef is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
   Poach the shrimp in salted water, about 3 minutes. When cool enough to handle, julienne the shrimp. Set aside.


2. Poach the chicken in salted water until cooked through, about 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, shred the chicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.


3. Blanch the spinach for about 1 minute and then quickly transfer to an ice bath. Squeeze excess water from the spinach and julienne. In a bowl, combine the spinach with 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.


4. Squeeze excess water from the shiitake mushrooms, remove the stems and discard, and julienne the mushroom caps. To a heated pan, add 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste and saute until mushrooms are soft, about 1 minute. Set aside.


5. Add another tablespoon sesame oil to the pan with the carrots, salt and pepper to taste. Saute until the carrots are slightly cooked but not completely soft, about 1 minute. Set aside.


6. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the whites and yolks and stir to combine. To a heated non-stick pan on moderately low heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Pour the egg whites into the pan and swirl the pan around to form a thin layer with the egg whites. Once the eggs have cooked through, turn them out onto a plate. Repeat the process with the yolks. Let cool, then julienne the whites and yolks. Set aside.


7. When ready to serve, place each filling into a compartment of the kujolpan dish, with the pancakes in the center compartment. Alternatively, pile the pancakes in the center of a large platter and arrange the 8 fillings around the pancakes. To eat, take a pancake and fill it with any combination of fillings to taste.

From this Japanese website

(1)
3 cups -- wheat flour
2 -- yolk of eggs
1/2 -- salt
3 cups -- water
　
Thoroughly mix the ingredients. After half an hour, sieve the mixture well and mix again. Put a small amount of oil on a hot flying pan, and fry the mixture. Cut the pancake to the size of the round center of the wooden bowl.
　
(2)
200g -- beef
1 tbsp. -- sesame oil
2 tbsp. -- soy sauce
1 tbsp. -- wine
2 tsp. -- toasted sesame
1 tsp. -- sugar
A little -- ginger juice, pepper, mashed garlic
　
Slice beef into thin strips and fry them in sesame oil after mixing them with the seasonings.
　
(3)
6 -- giant mushrooms
1 tbsp. -- sesame oil
1 tbsp. -- soy sauce
1 tbsp. -- sugar
1 tbsp. -- toasted sesame
　
Slice mushrooms into thin strips and fry them in sesame oil, and season them with soy sauce, sugar and toasted sesame.
　
(4)
100 g -- cucumbers
A little -- sesame oil, salt, pepper, toasted sesame
　
Slice cucumbers into thin strops and fry them in sesame oil, and flavor them with salt, pepper and toasted sesame.
　
(5)
100 g -- carrots
A little -- sesame oil, salt, pepper, toasted sesame
　
Prepare carrots in the same way as cucumbers.
　
(6)
150 g -- skinned prawns
A little -- toasted sesame, salt, vinegar
　
Wash skinned prawns in salt water, boil them in water with salt and vinegar, allow them to dry and season them with toasted sesame.
　
(7)
5 -- green peppers
A little -- sesame oil, salt, pepper, toasted sesame
　
Slice green peppers into thin strips after removing the seeds, boil and season them with sesame oil, salt, pepper and toasted sesame.
　
(8)
4 -- eggs
A little -- salt
　
Fry the yolk and white of eggs with salt and slice them. Put them into different sections of the bowl.
　
(9)
30~40 -- crown daisies
　
Put the wheat flour pancakes and crown daisies alternatively in the central part and al the other dishes in different sections.
　
(10)
3 tbsp. -- soy sauce
1 tbsp. -- minced green onion
1 tbsp. -- toasted sesame
1~1/2 tbsp. -- vinegar
A little -- lemon juice
　
Mix the ingredients. This is the dip sauce.