Yuke / Yook Hwe

[torakris]

"What does not kill me makes me stronger."

"Let me tell you it is the most incredible feeling! "

Yeah, I clearly remember Leatherface (Tx.Chainsaw massacre) sayin that once. Or was that Jeffrey Dahmer.

Hey don't knock til you've tried it!

My in laws are taking us out to yakiniku (Korean BBQ) tomorrow night, I wonder how many portions I will order?

[skchai]

It can be had in the form of yuke bibimbap, or  yuke ishiyaki (sorry, the Japanese word for the heated stone bowls?) bibimbap.

Yukhoe (the weird, official romanization) literally means "meat sashimi".

K <-> J: Yuk <-> niku, hoe <-> kai (?) = sashimi.

teolseot <-> ishiyaki

[torakris]

skchai,

have you officially been welcomed to egullet yet?

If not, WELCOME!

It is going to be nice to have someone help us with our Korean spelling and word meanings!

nice to have you!

[skchai]

skchai,

have you officially been welcomed to egullet yet?

If not, WELCOME!

It is going to be nice to have someone help us with our Korean spelling and word meanings!

nice to have you!

Thanks so much for the warm welcome Kristen. I glad to have found this

community and hope to learn a lot from people like you!

[Suzanne F]

Finally had "yook hwe" last night, at Kori, a hippish restaurant in Tribeca (a block north of 66). Thank you, Kristin, for turning me on to it.

The presentation was beautiful: a rounded mound of bright red julienned beef atop a leaf of red Boston lettuce; pure white sliced raw mushrooms on either side of the leaf; a pile of lightly dressed Asian pear at one end; a little cup of rust-colored chili paste; and a quail egg nestled in the top of the meat. Looking at it was good, but eating was better! Mixed the egg into the meat, which was already mixed with sesame oil and a little soy sauce, not much else. But the meat itself was almost sweet, and had much better texture than when ground or chopped for tartare. Also, it was 100% lean and 100% trimmed of integuement. Cool, but not ice cold.

He Who Only Eats is more of a worrier than I, even though I'm the one who got gastroenteritis from steak tartare. So at first he only wanted a taste. But after that first taste, he changed his mind to going halves. Well, I love him, what can i do?

Kang Suh, here I come next!

[torakris]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[_john]

Yook Hwe: Raw beef half frozen and cut into long rectangular strips, marinated with salt, sesame oil, green onions, chili pepper, garlic, and tossed with jullienned asian pears or cucumbers and topped with a raw egg yolk.

I love Yook Hwe (also romanized Yuk, Yuke, etc). Once I come to trust the quality of a Korean restaurant I will order their yook hwe, either as just yook hwe or as yook hwe bibimbapp, and enjoy one of my favorite Korean dishes. Sometimes they are reluctant to let me order it (I am not Korean) possibly because serving raw beef with raw egg is a possible health code violation.

Let's discuss this great dish. Recipes and tips on preparing it at home? Favorite places you have had it? Variations? General musings?

[Ptipois]

I toss it with coarsely chopped garlic (no green onions) and some pine nuts. I always add a little soy sauce to the marinade and I don't marinate for too long. I don't use Asian pear but Comice pear, and I often skip the cucumber. I use beef tenderloin. I don't make the dish too hot, I think that kills the taste of raw beef.

Yuk hwe is probably my favorite dish. It grows hair on the chest. At the Gompachi brasserie in Tokyo they make a red tuna version that is undescribably delicious.

[glossyp]

I haven't had restaurant-prepared yook hwe since I left Guam where excellent preparations of this dish could be found at any number of Korean restaurants. I have yet to find a Korean restaurant here in Honolulu that I like and/or trust that much so I just replicate the classic recipe at home. The ingredients are easy to find and when combined with a fresh Island egg it's excellent. I haven't tried any variations but the pine nuts sound like a good addition.

[chefzadi]

Come to think of it beef tartare is possibly the only dish Koreans and French have in common, so to speak.

Basic preparation

Soy

a little sugar

a little sesame oil

garlic

Korean pear and egg yolk garnish

[torakris]

Yook hwe is probably my favorite dish in the world and if I ever had to choose one last meal this would be it.

I have eaten this in a multitude of restaurants and my favorite version is at a yakiniku chain restaurant (in Japan, chain restaurant is not actually a bad word ) in Yokohama called Ichigoya. The yook hwe isn't cheap at $10 a serving but it is to die for. Very simple and just like Chef Zadi described, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil marinated julienned beef strips with a garnish of finely shredded garlic, sliced Asian pear, a quail egg yolk and a couple pine nuts. You mix it all together before eating.

I think I need to get to Ichigoya soon......

[_john]

Pine nuts are the most common addition that I have seen, they really match well with the pear. I love commice pear, that is a good idea for substitution. My korean friend says that the asian pear adds a needed mildness and crispsess next to the texture of the semi-frozen beef. On that note; sometimes the beef is semi-frozen and other times it is only slightly chilled, I'm not sure which is the "correct" preparation but I assume as with most things on eGullet the "correct" version is whichever tates the best

[chefzadi]

Pine nuts are the most common addition that I have seen, they really match well with the pear. I love commice pear, that is a good idea for substitution. My korean friend says that the asian pear adds a needed mildness and crispsess next to the texture of the semi-frozen beef. On that note; sometimes the beef is semi-frozen and other times it is only slightly chilled, I'm not sure which is the "correct" preparation but I assume as with most things on eGullet the "correct" version is whichever tates the best 

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Pine nuts are. I forgot to add it. The "classic" version includes both pine nuts and pear.

[torakris]

My korean friend says that the asian pear adds a needed mildness and crispsess next to the texture of the semi-frozen beef. On that note; sometimes the beef is semi-frozen and other times it is only slightly chilled,

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I have never eaten it semi frozen, only lightly chilled...

[Soup]

My mom use to make it at home and would serve it at room temp or slightly chilled. I'm assuming the frozen thing comes from freezing the meat to get it to cut thin.

She no longer unfortunately makes this dish. I am too chicken to make it for fear of getting sick.

It is amazingly yummy dish though.

[nakji]

I've lived in Korea for three years now, and this is the first time I've heard of this dish...of course, now I want to go eat it! Any suggestions on the kind of restaurant that might serve this? A Galbi jib? Or will there be some sort of restaurant that specializes in it?

*edited to try and get my hangeul script to come up - no luck! serves me right for buying a Japanese import computer!

Edited January 13, 2006 by nakji (log)

[chefzadi]

I've lived in Korea for three years now, and this is the first time I've heard of this dish...of course, now I want to go eat it! Any suggestions on the kind of restaurant that might serve this? A Galbi jib? Or will there be some sort of restaurant that specializes in it?

*edited to try and get my hangeul script to come up - no luck! serves me right for buying a Japanese import computer!

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Try yook hwe bibimbap first. I lived in Korea too for a few years, but I don't remember where you can just get yook hwe. I have to ask my wife.

Hmmm, do Japanese computers resist things Korean?

[_john]

I'm guessing that if a place specializes in bibimbap they will most likely have yuke hwe bibimbap. I have seen just straight yuke hwe (without rice and accompaniments) at "korean bbq" places that specialize in grilled meats. how do you call this sort of place in hangeul?

[Fengyi]

She no longer unfortunately makes this dish.  I am too chicken to make it for fear of getting sick. 

It is amazingly yummy dish though.

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Don't be scared It's really easy to make at home - and at least you know the meat is good and your own kitchen is clean!

I make both Korean and French steak tartare at home (as I live in a small town where there are practically NO decent restaurants) and they work out really well. Mind you, I think we've decided that Yook Hwe is nicer than the French version (hee!hee!) .

I always tell my butcher that I am eating the beef raw and they always give me good, clean meat which is freshly cut.

Lately I have taken to doing the tartares with rump and sirloin rather than the fillet, because I think the texture is much nicer and more interesting. Either way, we've never gotten ill ever from it.

You should just go for it Think of the yumminess you are missing!

[Soup]

Fengyi,

Thanks for the encourgement but I'm still not all that sure. I do order it from time to time when I go to a nice korean place. It is interesting, eating a rare steak (which I also love) and eating yook hwe is completely different experience even thought at the heart of it, it is still eating raw meat.

I also like yook hwe better than steak tartar but that's just me.

Nakji,

I get yook hwe at most generic korean BBQ places. Check the appetizer section of the menu.

I am drooling thinking about this dish as I type this. YUM.

[nakji]

Ah, thanks. When I'm at a beef barbeque restaurant, someone more senior than me is usually ordering - so I never see the menu. My friends and I usually hang out in the pork houses - much cheaper. I'll definitely have to check this out, though - I'm leaving Korea in 6 weeks, after three years of living here.

[Marco_Polo]

Yook hwe is probably my favorite dish in the world and if I ever had to choose one last meal this would be it.

Hi Kristin, I'm entirely with you on this. Yuk hoe is absolutely awesome and far better than any other steak tartare concoction. Your restaurant examples sound incredible. I like to make yuk hoe at home.

For me, yuk hoe is furthermore evidence that genetic culinary roots run deep. My Korean grandmother used to recall that when I was just a young boy of 5 or 6, I'd follow her around her kitchen in LA, reaching into the cooking pot to snitch pieces of raw, marinading bulgogi beef to gnaw and devour, just so. Years later, she chuckled and told me that I always had yangban tastes. For how else could I have known or even cared that such raw, marinaded meat was a classic anju or drinking nibble. It seems that her father, my great-grandfather, particularly enjoyed yuk hoe as a chaser after downing cups of soju in their summer house in the cool mountains of Sochang, between Pusan and Ulsan...

Halmoni would have agreed with the comments above: rump was her preferred cut of meat as she found fillet or sirloin too softly textured for yuk hoe. Incidentally, for those timid souls who are wary of eating raw meat, her tip was to serve with bowls of steaming white rice. For those who cared to, the strips of meat could be laid briefly on the rice to 'cook' it ever so slightly.

The key to making yuk hoe is, as already mentioned, in the slicing. I certainly don't like it served frozen or even slightly frozen. However Halmoni would place the meat in the freezer simply to stiffen it up to aid in slicing. It is essential to use the best, preferably organic meat from a reliable butcher. The meat must be trimmed of every scrap of gristle, fat or sinew. Then slice across the grain into thin slices, then cut these slices into the thinnest matchstick strips possible. Mix with marinade ingredients - soy sauce; sesame oil; peeled, crushed and finely chopped garlic; finely grated ginger; a little sugar; a little rice wine; some toasted sesame seeds; heaps of freshly ground black pepper. Massage these seasonings into the strips of meat, mixing well with the hands. Form into a loose ball, and chill in the fridge for an hour or two before serving.

Presentation is important. Peel, core and thinly slice some Korean pear, then cut into thin matchsticks. Arrange on a plate so that the matchsticks of pear come out from the centre like spokes to form a circular pattern. Place the meat, still in a losely formed ball, on top of the pear strips in the centre. Garnish with shredded spring onion and toasted sesame seeds.

MP

[Fengyi]

Marco Polo, you've made me hungry for this again....and I only made it last Sunday for dinner....!

Your descriptions of your grandmother's cooking and her family background were terrific.. and I must add that I too was one of those kids who stole raw meat from the pot (hee!hee!).

[Marco_Polo]

... and I must add that I too was one of those kids who stole raw meat from the pot (hee!hee!).

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Hi Fengyi, glad to hear you were a meat thief too. You know, sometimes people worry about young people and food, but often kids just know instinctively what's best!

Edited January 24, 2006 by Marco_Polo (log)

[torakris]

It is so nice to know I am not the only one who used to sneak raw meats from the kitchen counter.....

I just started a new thread on this topic