Avocado appetizer and ginkgo nut skewers

Many people have asked me what kind of Korean appetizers I would recommend. Serving appetizers is not common in Korean traditional cuisine and Korean mothers likely say to their children: “don’t eat any sweets or snacks before dinner! If you eat them, your stomach will get full before eating your main meal.”

But you will see Korean restaurants serve side dishes after taking orders from their customers. While waiting for the main dish to be served, customers eat the side dishes.

When I lived in Korea, avocados were a totally unfamiliar imported fruit usually sold in the basement of huge department stores. I remember they were tremendously expensive. I think the fruit is more and more familiar to Koreans these days.

I usually eat an avocado by itself with a spoon after cutting it in half and putting some soy sauce in the hole where the pit sat.  I sometimes use avocados in California rolls or tuna gimbap. And the ginkgo nut skewers are so easy that I don’t even need to explain them here. Check the video!

Avocados and ginkgo nuts are very healthy fruits, and you’re going to love these appetizers.

Ingredients for avocado appetizers:
1 medium size avocado, 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup water, 1-2 ts soybean paste, 1 clove of garlic, egg, salt, and vegetable oil.

Ingredients for ginkgo nut skewers:
Vegetable oil, ginkgo nuts, skewers, salt.

Avocado appetizer:

1. Skin avocados and slice them into several pieces.
2. Make batter by mixing 1/3 cup of water, 1/3 cup of flour, 1 clove of chopped garlic, and 1 ts of soy bean paste.
3. Crack an egg into a bowl and add a pinch of salt. Mix it up.
4. Heat up the pan with some vegetable oil.
5. Dip sliced avocado into the batter and then coat them with the egg mixture. Put them on the pan and cook until both sides look light golden brown.
6. Transfer cooked avocado to a serving plate and serve.

Ginkgo nut skewers:

1. Heat up pan over medium heat and put in 1 tbs of vegetable oil.
2. Add a handful of ginkgo nuts and 2 ts of salt to the pan.
3. Stir them with a wooden spoon until the inner skins of ginkgo nuts are broken.
4. Wrap the cooked ginkgo nuts in a paper towel and rub it the top to remove the inner skins.
5. Skewer gingko nuts and serve them.