Having a dinner party at home can be quite stressful but it’s also fun, so make it easier by planning well.

First, of course, work out how many people you will have and whether there will be a theme. Then decide how much you want to spend per head and start organising your menu.

I went to a friend’s house for a meal recently and their daughters had typed out menus, which was a great idea. If you’re going to invite friends over, it’s worth putting in a bit of extra effort to make your night rock.

Fancy up the table with simple table settings that match the food you are serving. At my house, we always decorate with Korean hanji, which is beautiful handmade thin paper with Korean characters. You may be able to find this in Asian supermarkets or homeware stores, or look for other decorative paper at speciality stationery and art stores such as Eckersley’s.

Korean hanji

Once the menu is decided, then it’s time to get shopping. To give you some inspiration, I’ll tell you what I’ll be cooking for my friends this weekend.

First, we will be kicking off with a fried kimchi mini burger. This is easy to do, and make sure you make your own bread, as that is always fun. Soft buns are best; what we call breakfast bread. I then fry up some kimchi, pre-make a tofu patty and put in some mayo. Yum – first course is ready.

Next comes fresh local squid from the Adelaide Central Market. Tossing it with teriyaki sauce and torching it a little at the end of frying makes it super special.

If you are not comfortable with cooking squid, a simple Korean pancake is great, too, as this can be pre-made (see recipe below). You really don’t want to be in the kitchen cooking while everyone else is sitting down enjoying themselves, so plan a menu that can be mostly made prior to everyone arriving.

My favourite meaty main at the moment is a tasty moist crumbed pork cutlet with a salad, and I like to finish off with a homemade lemon tart that you can cut up beforehand to make things easier on the night.

Don’t forget some tasty cocktails/mocktails or a couple of exotic beers to really impress your guests!

Haemalpajan – Seafood Pancake

This dish reminds me of a rainy day in Korea, as this is what we used to eat for afternoon ”smoko” with friends whilst sipping on one of our rice wines, Mokoli. The recipe makes two large pancakes.

Pancake ingredients

95 grams plain flour
30 grams sticky rice
200g water
3 eggs
5 grams salt
Pinch pepper
10 grams Korean beef stock
7 prawns
100 grams crab meat
5 pieces scallop
1 squid tube
1 bunch spring onion
1 bunch garlic chives
1 zucchini
85 grams oil

Sauce ingredients

20 grams Korean soy sauce
5 grams sesame oil
1 tbspn minced garlic
10 grams sugar
1 tspn toasted sesame seeds

Method

In a large mixing bowl combine the plain flour, sticky rice, water, eggs, salt, pepper and Korean beef stock. Whisk until the ingredients are well combined.

Wash the prawns in cold salty water and drain. Then finely chop the squid and wash in cold water with the scallops and drain. Now slice the spring onion in small rounds.

Cut the zucchini julienne-style and finely dice the chives, then add to the flour mixture.

Heat a large flat fry-pan, add oil and add spring onions for 30 seconds, then add half of the seafood and toss for about one minute. Reduce the heat to low and add half  flour and egg mixture. When the pancake starts to brown, it is ready; turn once.

Repeat for the second pancake.

Combine all the sauce ingredients together and serve in a small bowl.

Chung Jae Lee is former head chef and owner of Adelaide’s Mapo Restaurant and is the author of Korean Cookbook: A Twist on the Traditional. His last contribution for Indaily’s Food & Wine section was a recipe for curry-flavoured snapper.