It’s been a while. I was a lil bit busy so i had no much time to post some new dishes! But now I’m back again with a very simple side dish called fried zucchini. Another side dish that you can eat with rice. And one of many missing pieces that you need for a real Korean meal!

Ingredients:

1 medium zucchini, tsp minced garlic

tsp salt, tbsp oil, ½ tbsp sesame oil

tsp sesame seeds, tbsp green onion

• Slice the zucchini thinly (thin, round slices).

• Put the sliced zucchini in a pot and mix with 1 tsp salt. Put it aside for about half hour.

• Squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini.

• In a pan put 1 tbsp of oil and fry the zucchini for about 5 minutes.

• When the it is cooked put 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp sesame seeds, 1 tbsp chopped green onion and half tbsp of sesame oil.

• Cook more for about 3 minutes.

Technorati Tags: Fried zucchini side dish

Everybody who knows something about the Korean food will defiantly recognize this famous dish! Kimchi was most certainly the introduction to Korean food for many of you when you had the first Korean meal! This is without doubt the number one dish of Korea. This is a “brand” no other country has! It’s like the American pie, French champagne or Italian pizza for Korea! There is no meal without kimchi for Koreans so to speak. I don’t know what it is but some of way kimchi is 100% fit for rice. Me personally, there is anything that matches so well together than kimchi and rice! If you look in western cuisine, rice has not found his perfect match. They don’t make ingredients that suite that well for rice. Don’t get me wrong, there are some sauces that go with rice which isn’t bad. But I could eat rice and kimchi alone forever. Day in day out, which I can’t say that with other ingredients! You probably ask why I didn’t put something so popular and good immediately. Because it takes a lot of time for this dish! The preparation itself is not that hard but you need several hours to soak the Chinese cabbage. There are of course more than handful versions but this is the traditional way!

Ingredients:

1 medium size Napa cabbage,

1 Korean radish (“moo woo”),

sweet rice flour,

Asian chives (“buchu”),

2- 3 cups of hot pepper flakes, salt

fish sauce, white onion, garlic, ginger,

green onions, sugar, water

How to handle cabbages and radish:

-Cut the cabbage in small pieces (about 2 inches).

-Soak in cold water and sprinkle with 1¼

cup of salt. Then set them aside for 2 hours.

-Skin radish and cut them into 1 inch cube shapes.

Put them in with kimchi and sprinkle them with ¼ cup of salt.

Then set these aside.

-2 hours later, turn the pieces of cabbages and radishes

over so they get salted evenly.

-Another 2 hours later, you will see the cabbage look

softer than before, and it should have shrunk

* the total salting process will take 4 hours.

-Rinse the salted cabbage and radish in cold water 3 times.

Now we need to make a paste for our kimchi:

1. Put ¼ cup of sweet rice flour (you can replace this with

plain flour) and 1½ cups of water into a skillet and mix them

up. Then cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.

2. When you see some bubbles, pour 1/8 cup of sugar into the

porridge and stir one more minute. Then cool it down.

3. Place the cold porridge into a big bowl. Now you will add

all your ingredients one by one.

4. Add ½ cup of fish sauce, 2-3 cups of hot pepper flakes,

½ cup of garlic, ½ tbs of ginger, and ½ medium onion.

*tip: much easier to use a food processor

5. Add 4 diagonally-sliced green onions, 1 cup of Asian

chives (cut into 2 inches in length), and 1 cup of shredded

Korean radish.

6. Mix all ingredients well, and your kimchi paste is done.

Finally mix the cabbage, the radish and the paste all together. That’s all!

You can eat it fresh right after making, or wait until it’s fermented.

Put the kimchi container at room temperature for 1 or 2 days

and then keep it in the refrigerator.

*How do you know if it’s fermented or not?
1 or 2 days after, open the lid of kimchi container.

You may see some bubbles with lots of liquids or maybe sour smells.

That means it’s already being fermented.

Technorati Tags: kimchi, korean recipe

I saw this on the streets of Seoul, Korea. I of course try it and it was delicious and sweet! I never ate a snack like that. Yes, like a lot other street vendors, they make this on the spot! You have to go to a Korean (Asian) supermarket to buy this product! It is called stuffed pancake mix. You will find 3 packets (1 big=the premix, 1 medium=the jam mix and 1 small=the dry yeast). It all comes in one box. You will need some time to ferment the dough! Be careful because the dough can be a little bit sticky!

Product information:

• Product name - stuffed pancake mix
• Purchase price - 2500 won (US $2.60)
• Weight - 540g (supposedly able to make 10 pancakes)
• Contents - Premix 402g , filling jam mix 130g , Dry yeast 8g
• water 250ml and some vegetable oil

1. Sieve the premix (the greenish packet), then add the dry yeast (red silver packet) and water, knead it with a wooden spatula.

2. Cover the bowl with wrap, and ferment it for 2 hours at room temperature (20-25 ℃) The volume of the dough needs to increase by 2 times.

3. When the dough is ready, put some oil on your hands (anti stick purpose) and separate an adequate amount of the dough (to allow ten to be made), then put it on your hand.

4. Widen the dough with your hands and put a spoonful of jam mix (the brown packet). Seal the dough. Repeat it for the rest of the dough. (You need to spread the dough more than in the picture. Otherwise it is hard to seal properly.)

5. Pre heat the frying pan for 20 seconds and add some oil.

6. Put 2-3 sealed dough balls onto the pan and turn them over when the bottom part is cooked. (Cook them on medium to low heat)

7. Press the dough with a spatula and when the both sides are golden brown you can serve them on the plate.

Recommendation: It is best if you consume all the fermented dough (dough without the jam mix) when you make it. However if you can’t finish it all, keep it in the fridge (if you are going to consume it within 24 hours), otherwise keep it in the freezer, and defrost it well before you use it

Technorati Tags: Sweet Pancakes (Hoddeok)

My second squid is a dried, deep fried one! Do you remember the sweet and crispy chicken that i posted earlier? Well, it is a bit same way but it’s now with squid. What i mean the same way is the method of preparation. Maybe dried squid is hard to find. Or that is what i thought. But when i was looking for dried squid I didn’t look far enough in the freezer. I didn’t know they put dried squid in the freezer. It is also very different of taste than a regular squid. I like those dried squid (like mashed spaghetti cheese shape) that they sell on Korean streets. Don’t be surprised when the volume will increase after fried. You eat can this as snack or appetizer.

Ingredients:

Dried squid, sweet potato, egg, starch powder, flour, salt, and water.

Fried squid:

-Cut a dried squid into bite size with scissors and

soak it in cold water for 1 hour.

-Beat 1 egg white until it foams and add ½ cup of

starch powder, ½ cup of flour, 1 ts of salt, and ½ cup

of cold water and mix it to make batter.

-Drain the squid and dry it with paper towel and add

2 tbs of starch powder and mix it.

-Pour vegetable oil in a pan and dip each piece of

squid into the batter and fry it twice.

*Serve with dipping sauce made of 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of vinegar.

Fried sweet potato:

-Slice sweet potato diagonally about ½ inch thick.

-Dip the pieces of sweet potato into the batter you

made for the squid, and fry it.

Technorati Tags: Fried squid (ohjinguh twigim) and fried sweet potato, korean recipe

This is another typical Korean meal. Maybe it’s not that famous or popular in the eyes of foreigners but it’s still a good one. It is made in a special ceramic pot which I don’t have (oops). Yes, I know, if you are a cooking fanatic (which i am) and you don’t have all the material for it. That’s not a good sign. But i’m not a pottery collector. I probably wouldn’t use it until the next time i make this dish again. I have most of the time a sort of cooking fling coming out just like that and when that happens, i start with cooking. With Korean cuisine i really enjoy that. I also do like that variety of food during a week for instance. My first dish with bean paste was a surprise (yes, this one!) which i defiantly appreciate. Also not a bean fan either but hey, i got hooked on Korean meals. So i got to try this one, right.

Ingredients:

1 medium size potato,

a zucchini or a squash,

1 medium size onion, garlic,

1 green chili pepper,

7 dried anchovies, 1 green onion,

100 -150 grams of tofu,

soybean paste (“doen jang”), and 4 shrimp.

1) Prepare a ceramic pot to put all the ingredients in.

2) Peel the potato, cut it into 2 cups worth of cubes, and

put them into the pot.

3) Cut zucchini into 2 cups worth of cubes, and put

them into the pot.

4) Cut your onion into chunks, and put them into the pot.

5) Slice your green chilli pepper, and put it into the pot.

6) Prepare 7 large dried anchovies by removing their heads

and intestines, chop them up, and put them into the pot.

7) Chop up 4 shrimp and put it into the pot.

Mince 5 cloves of garlic and put it into the pot.

9) Your pot will now be 2/3 full with your ingredients.

10) Submerge everything in water and cook it over high heat.

*tip: Don’t put too much water, just enough to cover everything

11) When it starts boiling, add 4-6 tbs of bean paste, stir

the stew, and keep cooking.

12) When the stew is sizzling and all ingredients are

cooked, cut your tofu into cubes, chop up 1 green

onion, and add them to the stew.

13) Occasionally stir the boiling stew with a spoon.

14) Serve it with a bowl of rice and other side dishes.

*tip: to check whether or not the ingredients are

cooked, taste the potato.

Technorati Tags: Bean paste vegetable stew, korean recipe

I don’t know if this is a traditional Korean recipe but it couldn’t be hurt trying some new dish. Although I don’t eat eggplant at all, it is a good add on many Korean meals. This is one of those spicy side dishes that i really like which is a perfect fit for rice. It takes about 20 minutes to cook It. And don’t forget some lettuce.

Ingredients:

3 medium sized Asian eggplant, 2½ tbs soy sauce, 1 chopped

green onion, 2 cloves of garlic, ½ tbs of roasted sesame

seeds, ½ tbs of sesame oil, and 1 ts of hot pepper flakes.

<Cut 3 medium sized Asian eggplants into 2 or 3 pieces. Then cut each piece in half lengthwise.

<Pour 2 cups of water into a steamer, and place the pieces of eggplant inside. Bring to a boil for 15 minutes over high heat.

<Turn the heat off and move the cooked eggplant to a bowl. Set it aside to cool down.

<After the eggplant has cooled, drain the liquid from the bottom of the bowl.

<Tear each piece of eggplant lengthwise with your fingers, and put the strips into a large bowl.

<Add these seasonings to the bowl: 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 ts of hot pepper flakes, 1 chopped green onion, ½ tbs sesame seeds, 2½ tbs soy sauce, and ½ tbs sesame oil.

<Mix it all together with your hand.

Serve with rice as a side dish.

Technorati Tags: Eggplant side dish (gaji namul), korean recipe

I like this recipe very much. I never had this so I didn’t know what to expect. And I must say this is a double thumb up soup.  It is an appetiser but I ate all as if it was a whole meal.  It is hard to describe what taste it is.  At least I can’t compare it with any western food taste. I even don’t know if there is an egg or rice soup? Maybe it comes close to Chinese egg soup. But much better! I think the fish sauce combined with eggs and rice cake makes it special. It is an alternative for hot and spicy rice cake if you don’t like spicy foods. You will need maybe a candle if you don’t have gas cooker to make laver powder.

Ingredients:
sliced rice cake, beef brisket, garlic, fish sauce, green onion, eggs, laver (dried sea plant), sesame oil, black ground pepper.

1. Boil 8 cups of water in a pot.
2. Soak 3 cups of sliced rice cake in cold water.
3. Chop 100 grams (about 1 cup-1.5 cup) of beef brisket into small pieces.
4. Prepare 3 eggs in 2 small bowls:
   In the first bowl, put 2 egg yolk;
   In the second bowl, put 2 egg white and 1 egg;
   Add a pinch of salt to each bowl and mix well.

While you’re waiting for the water to boil, you can make your garnishes, starting with gyeran noreunja jidan (thin egg yolk strips):

• Heat up a non-stick pan. Let it get really hot. Add a few drops of vegetable oil, and wipe off the excess hot oil with a paper towel.
• Turn the heat off. Pour the egg yolk mixture from “bowl 1″ above into the pan and spread it thinly. You want to make a thin yellow paper out of the egg by tilting the pan.
• When it’s cooked about 70%, turn it over and let it sit on the pan to cook the other side.
• Slice it thinly and set it aside.

Now let’s make kimgaru (laver powder). This one is easy:

• Roast a sheet of laver (kim) directly on the stove top. Both sides of the laver should be roasted so that it can be crushed easily.
• Put the roasted laver into a plastic bag and crush it! Then set it aside.

Good work! Now let’s get back to the soup:

1. When the water boils, put in the beef. Boil over low medium heat for 20-30 minutes.
2. Open the lid and add 1 clove of minced garlic, 2 tbs of fish sauce.
   *tip: the water will boil off but you want to keep it at 6 cups. You can add more water as you need it.
3. Drain the rice cake slices and put them into boiling beef soup. Close the lid.
4. A few minutes later, open the lid to check if rice cake slices are floating on the surface. You can taste a sample now.
5. Pour in the egg mix from “bowl 2″ above, a little at a time.
   *tip: Don’t stir it until the egg mixture is cooked a little in the broth
6. Chop some green onion and add it to the pot.
7. Turn off the heat and drizzle some sesame oil and grind a little black pepper.
8. Transfer the rice cake soup to serving bowls. Garnish with the roasted laver powder and the thin egg yolk strips.
   

Technorati Tags: korean recipe, Rice cake soup (Ddukguk)

Soybean is known for protein. And with some mixture it will also be known for its great taste! I really like to eat this with many side dishes with various tastes like kimchi, spinach, laver and etc… And yes, you need a lot time to cook all the dishes. But it is all worth for a great feast meal that you don’t want to miss! That’s one of the reason i like Korean dinner very much. You will need about a whole working day to set ready before the cooking. The actual cooking also need some time for a small side dish.

Ingredients:

1 cup of soy beans, ½ cup of soy sauce, 1 ts of vegetable oil, 2 cloves of minced garlic, ½ cup of sugar, and ½ tbs sesame seeds.

-Rinse 1 cup of soy beans and drain it and place in a skillet.

-Add 2 cups of water in the skillet and soak the beans for 8 hours.

-Boil the beans on the stove over medium high heat for 10 minutes.

*tip: about 5 minutes later, it may boil over, and then open the lid and turn down the heat over medium heat and cook another 5 minutes.

-Add ½ cup of soy sauce, 1 ts of vegetable oil, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and ½ cup of sugar and boil it over medium heat for 30 minutes (cover the lid).

-Open the lid of the pot and heat it up over high heat and stir the beans occasionally with a spoon until the beans look shiny.

*tip: Beans will be submerged with shiny and sticky seasoning sauce.

-Turn off the heat and add 1 tbs of toasted sesame seed and cool it down.

-Transfer it into a container and keep it in the refrigerator.

Technorati Tags: korean recipe, Soybean side dish

Popeye would appreciate the next dish very much. This is one of those side dishes that you cannot miss when you have a typical Korean dinner. I already feel stronger!

Ingredients:

1 bunch of spinach,

1 tbs of soy sauce (put more or less according to your taste),

2 cloves of garlic, 1 green onion,

½ tbs of sesame oil, and sesame seeds.

1) In boiling water, add 1 ts of salt and blanch a bunch of spinach for 30 seconds after removing the dead leaves and roots.

*tip: using scissors is an easy way to cut this up

2) Drain the cooked spinach and rinse it in cold water 3 times. Squeeze it gently to get the water out.

3) Cut the spinach a few times and set it aside.

4) Place 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 chopped green onion, 1 tbs of soy sauce and ½ tbs sesame oil in a large bowl and mix them all up with a spoon.

5) Place the spinach into the sauce and mix by hand.

6) Transfer the spinach onto a serving plate and sprinkle ½ tbs of toasted sesame seeds.

Technorati Tags: korean recipe, spinach side dish

You can give me your opinion on this one! It is a soup appetizer! You wouldn’t say it is a traditional Korean recipe. I never heard of this but I had to try of course.  I used a pumpkin (same kind of butternut, see Wikipedia).  You can tell that i really don’t use that much pumpkin, actually never. Although it is a simple dish but it took a lot of time to make this dish. Especially, making a lot of little balls! You need rice flour for that. I used ga ru chap ssal (see picture), normally used to make rice cake.

Ingredients:

2 or 3 small butternut squash, water, salt, sugar, sweet rice flour

How to prepare butternut squash:

1 Wash the exterior of the butternut squashes in cold water.

2 Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and stringy stuff with a spoon.

3 Place the butternut squash in a large pot. Pour 3 cups of water over them and bring to a boil over medium high heat for 30 minutes, until the contents become soft.

4 Turn off the heat and let it cool down.

5 When it’s cooled down, scrape the cooked insides out with a spoon.

6 Place 3 cups of the cooked squash insides into a large pot and add 4 or 5 cups of water and boil.

Make rice cake balls:

1 Boil some water.

2 Make rice cake dough by mixing 2 cups of sweet rice flour, ¼ ts salt, and ¾ cup of hot water. Mix it up with a wooden spoon at first, and then knead it for a few minutes with your hand after it cools down.

3 Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set it aside for about 20-30 minutes.

4 Put about 3 tbs of sweet rice flour into a large bowl (this will prevent the rice cake balls from sticking together).

5 Take a bit of dough and roll a rice cake ball (the size should be a little larger than soy bean). Put it into the bowl with the sweet rice flour.

*tip: to prevent the dough from getting dried out, always wrap the dough in plastic wrap while you are making the rice cake balls.

Let’s make porridge!

1 When the mixture of squash and water starts boiling, add the rice cake balls to the pot. Stir it with a wooden spoon and cook it for a few more minutes.

*tip: when it’s cooked, all the rice cake balls will be floating on the surface of the porridge.

2 Turn off the heat and add 1 ts salt and ¼ cup of sugar and stir it for a few seconds before serving

Technorati Tags: Butternut squash porridge (hobakjuk), korean recipe