Levie Household Staple: Cook Su

Tonight we had Cook Su for dinner. For our family this is a comfort food like no other. While serving as missionaries in Korea in the 1930s, my dad's grandma learned how to make this "peasant" dish. In the 1940s when my grandparents were married, my great grandma passed the recipe on to my grandma. Growing up, my dad made this often and we always looked forward to it.

Here is the recipe Grandma wrote for my dad. It is difficult to read, but one of the last steps says "Add garlic powder, ginger, and sugar--taste and if you think it needs any additional ingredients, add them." We always laugh about this, as if perhaps you might think it needs some jelly beans or mustard.
For my Christmas present two years ago, my brother's girlfriend, Allison, made me a photobook of all my grandma's recipes. She included pictures of her cooking and pictures of us as children with her. The recipes were mostly scanned rather than typed so we could see her handwriting. Allison, her mom, and my dad worked on it together in secret, searching the house for old pictures and recipes, then using my dad's high-resolution scanner to digitize them. It was the most amazing gift I've ever received. Thank you SO much, Allison! And of course, the Cook Su recipe is included.

This is a humble dish and it is perfect for left over steak or pork chop (we usually save some of our steak when we eat out at a restaurant since you only need a little bit). It is so delicious--I highly recommend that you try it sometime. Sometimes I add fresh slices of mushrooms or baby bok choy, although my dad balks at those "fancy" additions. To each his own...

Cook Su

• 1-2 cups cooked chicken, pork, or steak, sliced very thinly
• 6 cups chicken, turkey, or beef stock
• 3 or 4 green onions, sliced thinly
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2T sugar
• 1/4-3/4 cup soy sauce (depending on how salty you like it)
• 1 lb angel hair pasta or spaghetti, cooked and drained

Heat stock to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and add green onions (and option veggies like bok choy or mushrooms, if using). Cook until onions are tender, 4 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, and soy sauce. "Taste and if you think it needs any additional ingredients, add them." Add cooked meat and pasta. Keep on burner for a few minutes until meat and noodles are heated thoroughly.

My preference is to cook the pasta only halfway in a separate pot of water. Then I drain off most of the water and dump the noodles into the cook su pot to finish cooking in the stock mixture. This way the noodles have extra flavor. Yummy!