yusanseul — South Korea

Yusanseul is a stir-fried dish associated with Korean-Chinese restaurants, built from thin slices of meat, seafood such as shrimp or squid, and an assortment of vegetables and mushrooms, all bound together in a pale, glossy sauce thickened with a cornstarch slurry. The name draws on Chinese roots and reflects the dish's place within the wider Korean-Chinese repertoire that developed around banquet and set-menu cooking. It is typically found on the menus of Korean-Chinese restaurants alongside dishes such as jjajangmyeon and jjamppong, more often ordered as a shared course for a group or as part of a set banquet than as an everyday meal. It is commonly plated with the ingredients arranged neatly and served alongside a small dish of sharp mustard sauce for dipping. To prepare it, meat and seafood are cut into thin, uniform slices and blanched or briefly stir-fried so they cook evenly, then set aside. Vegetables such as carrot, bamboo shoot, wood ear mushroom and bok choy are cut to match and stir-fried in a hot wok with a little oil, garlic and ginger. The cooked meat and seafood are returned to the wok along with stock, salt and white pepper, and the sauce is finished by stirring in a cornstarch slurry until it turns glossy and coats every piece evenly. Compared with other stir-fried meat-and-seafood dishes of the region, this one is distinguished by its pale, delicately seasoned sauce, kept light rather than heavily colored or sweetened, and by the mustard sauce served on the side, which diners use to cut through the richness. The exact mix of meat, seafood and vegetables is said to vary by kitchen, with some versions leaning more heavily on seafood and others on pork or chicken.