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While I reflexively convince myself that a chocolate croissant cures everything when I see one at work, I steam an Asian pear at home when I feel under the weather. It is an old, popular home remedy in Korea for common cold and flu, especially good for relieving fever, soar throat and cough.
Steamed Pear Recipe) Wash a pear well (to eat the skin too), cut the top off, scoop out the core with a mellon baller to form a little bowl inside the pear. Be careful not to puncture through the bottom of the pear. I put in a spoonful of honey, a couple of thin slices of ginger, and a cinnamon stick along with a couple of scooped out pear pieces. Other popular ingredients include pine nuts and dried Korean date (also known as jujube or dae chu, 대추). Place the pear in a bowl to catch any drop of pear juice that seeps out during steaming. Steam for about an hour or until the pear is completely soft.
This way, natural pear juice flavored with honey, ginger and cinnamon is drawn out to the pear bowl. After a few sips of the hot pear tea, enjoy the soft pear which lasts just enough to make you want a little more...
| DID YOU KNOW? | |
| Pear vs. Pear | |
| * Buy firm, blemish-free pears - Asian or European (what we know as regular pears), but eat them at the ripe state. Asian pears are firm whereas European pears become soft when ripe. | |
| * Because of the water content (88% for Asian pears vs. 84% for European pears) and the texture differences (more pronounced gritty texture for Asian pears vs. 'buttery' European pears), it is not recommended to replace one for the other in recipes that require cooking the pears. | |
| KOREAN WORDS | ||||
| pear | 배 | (bae) | ||
| steamed (dish) | 찜 | (jjim) | ||
| steamed pear | 배찜 | (bae jjim) | ||
