Produce
Apple or Korean pear
배
Also called Korean pear, nashi, bae, grated pear, grated apple
A temperate pome fruit, and in Korean marinades a stand-in for grated bae (Korean pear). Recipes that say apple often want the juice and enzymes more than a dessert slice.
Origin
Central Asia for the sweet apple; East Asia for the crisp pear that bulgogi traditionally uses. Supermarket apples are the easy substitute in kitchens without nashi or bae.
Flavour
Floral, juicy, a little tannic in the skin. Tart cooking apples hold shape; ripe eating apples dissolve into a marinade.
How to use it
Grate a ripe apple — skin on if you want perfume — into bulgogi or galbi marinade with soy, garlic, sesame and rice wine. Strain if you want a cleaner sauce without pulp. For mul-naengmyeon or a Japanese curry, apple adds round sweetness; add it early enough to melt. Toss cut flesh with a little acid if you are holding it, or it browns. A flavourless out-of-season apple will not tenderise a marinade — use pear juice or a pinch of sugar instead.
Storage
Fridge for apples you want to keep crisp; a cool bowl if they still need to ripen. Keep them away from leafy greens they will ethylene-ripen into yellow.
Recipes using it
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