← Nouns Cooking · Korean

Ingredients

• 500 g Yuja (yuzu) or thin-skinned lemons
• 500 g sugar (or half sugar, half honey)
• 1 tbsp baking soda, for scrubbing
• 1 tbsp coarse salt, for scrubbing
• 250 ml hot water per cup, to serve

Method

1. Scrub the fruit well with the baking soda and salt, rinse and dry completely; any water left on it can spoil the jar.
2. Halve the fruit and squeeze the juice into a bowl, picking out the seeds. Slice the peel and flesh as thinly as you can.
3. Mix the sliced fruit and juice with most of the sugar until evenly coated.
4. Pack into a sterilised jar and cover the top with the rest of the sugar. Leave at room temperature for about 3 days, stirring once a day with a clean, dry spoon, until the sugar has dissolved into a syrup. Then keep it in the fridge for up to 2 months.
5. To serve, stir 1–2 heaped tablespoons into a mug of hot (not boiling) water and eat the softened peel too. It is also great with sparkling water and ice.

Tips

• Can't find yuja (yuzu)? Thin-skinned lemons, or a mix of lemon and orange, make a good version.
• Tie the seeds in a little muslin bag and leave it in the jar for a few days: their pectin thickens the syrup.
• Use all sugar, not honey, to keep it vegan.

Sources

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

Chopstick Chronicles Taste Korean Food