← Nouns Cooking · Korean

Ingredients

• 1 large Korean (Asian) pear
• 4 tbsp Honey
• 2 Dried jujubes (Korean red dates, daechu), pitted and sliced
• 3 slices Ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 Cinnamon stick (optional)
• 1 tsp Pine nuts (optional)

Method

1. Cut a 2 cm lid off the top of the pear. Scoop out the core with a small spoon or melon baller, leaving thick walls and the bottom intact.
2. Press the peppercorns into the pear skin all over, in neat rows, using a skewer to start the holes.
3. Fill the hollow with the honey, jujubes and ginger (and a small piece of cinnamon), then put the lid back on and set the pear in a small heatproof bowl.
4. Steam over boiling water, covered, for 35–40 min, until a skewer slides easily through the flesh and the bowl has filled with sweet juice.
5. Serve warm in the bowl with its juice, scattered with pine nuts; eat the flesh with a spoon and sip the syrup. Leave the peppercorns behind.

Tips

• For the cold royal-court version, simmer peppercorn-studded pear wedges in ginger water with honey for 10 min and chill the whole lot.
• A Bosc pear works if you cannot find a Korean pear; reduce the steaming time slightly.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Kimchimari Saveur