Pyeongyang Onban

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs and 4 chicken wings, or 1 small chicken jointed
• 2.5 litres cold water
• 1 onion, halved
• 1 leek, halved
• 6 garlic cloves
• 15g fresh ginger, sliced
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 100g skinned split mung beans
• 150g mung bean sprouts
• 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 2 eggs
• 600g cooked short-grain rice
• 3 spring onions
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce for soup (guk-ganjang)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 4 tbsp neutral oil

Before you cook

• Soak the split mung beans in plenty of cold water for 4 hours, then drain them.
• Soak the dried shiitake in warm water for 30 minutes, squeeze them dry and slice them thinly, keeping the soaking liquid.
• Blend the drained mung beans with 120ml water to a coarse batter with some texture still in it, and season it with 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Season the shiitake slices with 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sugar, the minced garlic and the sesame oil.
• Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt.
• Shred the spring onions finely.

Steps

1. Put the chicken, 2.5 litres of cold water, the onion, leek, whole garlic cloves, ginger and peppercorns into a large pot and bring it to the boil.
2. Skim the foam, lower the heat and simmer for 35 minutes.
3. Lift out the chicken and strain the broth into a clean pan, adding the reserved mushroom soaking liquid.
4. Pull the chicken meat off the bones in coarse shreds once it is cool enough to handle.
5. Season the broth with the light soy sauce, the remaining salt and the white pepper, then keep it hot.
6. Blanch the mung bean sprouts in a small pan of boiling water for 2 minutes, drain them and press out the water.
7. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over medium heat and ladle in the mung bean batter to make pancakes about 10cm across.
8. Fry each pancake for 3 minutes a side until the edges are crisp and the centre is set, then lift them onto kitchen paper.
9. Wipe the pan, add a film of oil and cook the beaten egg in a thin sheet for 2 minutes, then roll it up and slice it into ribbons.
10. Add the last of the oil and stir-fry the seasoned shiitake over medium-high heat for 3 minutes until dark and glossy.
11. Warm the cooked rice through and divide it between four deep bowls.
12. Lay a mung bean pancake over the rice in each bowl.
13. Arrange the shredded chicken, the shiitake, the bean sprouts and the egg ribbons around the pancake.
14. Pour the hot broth down the side of each bowl until the rice is submerged.
15. Scatter the spring onion over the top and serve immediately, while the pancake is still crisp at the edges.