Mugwort Magic and Korean Twisted Donuts
Mugwort is a magical plant. The Romans used to stick it in their shoes to protect them from exhaustion on long journeys by foot, and in medieval Europe, it was used to ward off evil spirits — in Germany, it is sometimes called St. John’s plant, because it is believed that John the Baptist wore a girdle made of mugwort to protect him on his voyage into the wilderness. It had its practical uses, as well. It was a common ingredient in many beverages, including beer in place of hops.
It is still used in East Asia (including Korea) to ward off a variety of illnesses that can be summed up as general malaise. It is rolled into a stick that is burned (like sage by new-agers in the West), placed on acupuncture needles or ground into a fine fluff and burned on the skin of the sufferer. It is also used to make a variety of soups and rice cakes — most of the green rice cakes you buy here have either been flavored with mugwort or spinach.
But like all good magic, it has its dangerous side. Too much mugwort can be poisonous.
Folk medicine has its questionable aspects, but I tend to believe that there may be something to it when a particular ingredient has been lauded for its healing properties in both the East and the West for centuries, if not millennia. It’s still a bit early for fully grown mugwort, which is harvested mid-summer, but the young plants have been appearing in the markets here since April. It’s sold in huge bundles, which I can never manage to get through all in one go, so after using what I needed, I was still left with a giant pile. I thought about rice cakes, but me and rice flour are still not getting along so well, so I decided to make Korean kkwabaegi (twist) donuts instead.
There was a little street stand that sold these donuts on my walk home from school in my old neighborhood in Incheon. The smell of frying dough wafted down the length of the street, and by the time you got to the stand, you were helpless. You can also make these donuts with rice flour, which I think makes them nicer, but I didn’t have any on hand, so I opted for a wheat flour version instead.
Mugwort has a strong, biting flavor, a rough, abrasive texture and extremely potent aromatic qualities. I wanted to give the donuts a little of the first, none of the second and a lot of the third, so I ground the mugwort up in my food processor and infused the milk with it.
Kneading dough is one of my favorite things to do, but I broke a sweat while kneading yesterday for the first time this year. It’s unfortunate that the conditions that make dough rise the best are the same ones that make pulling it together less pleasant.
But if the yeast is happy, I guess I’m happy. And the yeast has been very happy in my kitchen lately. My sourdough starter bubbled up out of its jar earlier this week, and the rise you see above happened in less than an hour.
In fact, the dough was rising so quickly that I had to rush to get through the shaping and get them into the hot oil. By the time I got the last donut rolled and twisted, the first one has begun to over-rise and untwist.
Big, fat donuts, golden-brown and crispy on the outside and light green and spongy on the inside. The flavor was just barely there, but when I tore one open fresh out of the oil to be sure they were cooking through, the smell of mugwort wafted up and filled the area of the kitchen around the stove instantly.
I was only sorry B wasn’t home to try them while they were still hot, but he was happy enough with the baker’s dozen that greeted him when he got home.
Mugwort Twist Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups finely chopped mugwort
- 1 cup milk
- 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white sugar, for topping.
Instructions
- Finely chop the mugwort, or run it through the food processor until it is releasing its liquid. Heat the milk in a saucepan over low medium heat and stir in the mugwort. Reduce the heat to low and stir the milk continuously for about 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool.
- When the milk is still warm but cool enough that you can put your finger in it for 30 seconds without feeling any discomfort, strain out the mugwort and dissolve first the sugar and then the yeast into it. Let the mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it is frothy on top and nearly room temperature. Add the butter and then the egg, mixing as you go.
- Combine the salt and flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the milk and yeast mixture and mix with your hands until the dough comes together. Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Lightly grease the dough with olive oil and put it in a covered bowl to rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size (about an hour).
- When the dough has risen, dump it out onto a lightly floured surface, flour your hands and divide the dough into 12 balls. One by one, roll the balls through your hands until the dough is long and thin (a little over than a foot long). Pinch both ends of the dough together and hold it in the air while using your other hand to twist it around four times, starting from the pinched end. Set the donuts on a floured surface and allow the donuts to rise until they've nearly doubled in size again (about 20-30 minutes).
- While the dough is rising, fill a large wok or deep frying pan with at least 3 inches of cooking oil. Heat the oil on high until it sizzles and pops when a drop of water is added. Put the topping sugar into a large, shallow bowl. Cover a large plate with paper towels to absorb the oil from the donuts when they come out of the pan. Carefully place the donuts into the oil one at a time, making sure not to overcrowd the pan (I was only able to do two at a time without them touching). When the donuts have turned dark golden-brown on one side (about 2-3 minutes), turn them over and let them fry until they are well browned on the other. Remove the donuts to the paper towel and let them rest for a couple of minutes before tossing them in the sugar. The donuts are best eaten hot but will keep for three to four days.
