Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Cucumber Kimchi - (오이 소박이)

You're probably going to hate me for this, but I have a recipe without measurements for you. Another reason I haven't updated this blog as much is because it's SUCH a pain to 'measure' ingredients when you're a person who isn't used to measuring. =/ Even when cooking non-Korean foods, I hardly ever bust out the measuring utensils. I'm a taste as you go type of person.

Anyhow, I had a little free time today so I decided to make some cucumber kimchi.  My husband loves all types of cucmber based banchans, so I have an arsenal of cucumber recipes to keep him happy.


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First Cut a bunch of pickling cucumbers in half and then quarter them ALMOST all the way to the bottom. Let it sit in some salt water for a couple of hours like so.  I forgot to take pictures of a few steps, but after about 3-4 hours, rinse all the cucumbers under cool water.


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Meanwhile, prepare the *sok* - the insides were made with the following: (this is the closest you'll be getting to real measurements...sorry!)

  • 1 julienne carrot (I use my Japanese brand mandolin for this - it's the best!)
  • 2 cups of julienne moo
  • 1 bunch of buchoo cut into 1-inch sections
  • 1/2 cup of sliced green onions
  • 1 red pepper sliced thinly
  • 1/4 onions slice thinly (you don't really have to do this, I just used leftover onions from the ddukbokki I made today)
  • 1/2 cup of red pepper powder
  • 2 TB minced garlic
  • 3-4 TB of cooking wine
  • 1 TB sugar
  • 1 TB honey powder
  • dash of ginger powder and pepper and salt
  • 2 TB sesame seeds
  • 1 TB shrimp jut or just use fish sauce
  • a splash of sesame oil


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After you have each and every cucumber stuffed, leave it out for a night before placing inside the fridge.  You can start eating this about 3-4 days later.

 


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Enjoy! The MR said it turned out great and he devoured the last batch within a week.  In case I don't get back in time, HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!  I truly hope you and yours have a wonderful, fabtabulistic, awesome, dreamy NEW YEAR!  Hug and kiss the ones you love and cherish every moment you have. =)

Monday, December 14, 2009

Spicy Oxtail Jjim - (매운 쇠꼬리 찜)

I know it's been such a long time since I did a food update. It partly has to do with the fact that I'm not cooking much these days and also when I do cook, I'm in such a hurry that I don't have time to pause and take pictures every step of the way.

The cold weather (can't deny that I'm a SoCal girl) has been quite annoying so I haven't been leaving the house much lately.

        

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After lounging around and doing absolutely nothing all morning, I finally got my butt in gear and headed over to the K-market. I bought a package of ox tails and decided to step outside the box a little.  I have yet to taste the *spicy kalbi jjim* I hear everyone raving about, so I thought I would make my own version of it at home.

 


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As always drain the blood for about 30 minutes, then boil the meat until all the gunk rises.



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Meanwhile, get your sauce ready. Mix together the following:

  • 1.5 cup water
  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1 TB minced garlic
  • 3 TB cooking wine
  • 3 TB sugar
  • 3 TB honey powder
  • 1 TB red pepper powder
  • 1/4 minced Asian Pear
  • dash of pepper
  • dash of ground ginger



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After the meat boils, give it a rinse under cool water...


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Add it back to the pot with the sauce and bring it to a strong boil. Once it's boiling, close the lid and let it simmer on medium/low heat for about 1.5 hours.


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I then prepped baby white potatoes, baby carrots, and dried daechus (jujubes).


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I also decided to add some mushrooms – just because I had them.



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After an hour, it should start looking like this...


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Add the potatoes, carrots and daechus and continue to let it boil for another 30 minutes.


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Finally, add the mushrooms and let it simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes.


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After about two hours of simmering, you're ready to serve!


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If you've cooked it long enough, the meat should just fall right off and melt in your mouth!  Enjoy.  The little guy loved it today.  =P  Hopefully I will find time to be back sooner than later.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Anchovie Dwen-jang gook - (멸치 된장국)

Tap. Tap. Tap. Are you still there? It seems just as I start to build up site traffic on this blog, I go on a hiatus. It's tough trying to keep up this blog sometimes...especially when I don't step foot into the kitchen for two weeks at a time. =P Also, I realized that every since I upgraded my camera (50D baby!) that I'm afraid to take it into the kitchen for fear it might get splashed on, dropped, etc.

Anyhow, here goes a simple dwenjang gook using anchovy broth.    

 

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I add roughly 7 cups of water to a pot along with 5-6 dried anchovies and some dried sea kelp.


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After everything comes to a boil, add 1TB dwenjang, 1/2 TB minced garlic, 1TB gook ganjang, 1/2 TB minced garlic and let boil on low heat.


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I decided to use bokchoy today. I washed and cut up 3 bunches of it.


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Toss the bokchoy in and continue to boil.


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I also threw in a handful of chopped up moo (daikon radish).


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A handful of sliced onions...


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And finally some kongnamool.


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Let everything boil together for about 30 minutes.


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And you're ready to serve! It's a fresh and light gook perfect for picky little Korean toddlers. =)

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Chuseok Rice Cakes - 송편

I warned you, there are absolutely NO measurements so this 'recipe' might be a little useless. However, I wanted to put this up so that it can jog my memory when I attempt to make it one day (hopefully soon). When I make it, I promise to write down the measurements I use. =)          


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MIL (my friend's) started off with some rice flour. She said the flour was FRESH straight from Ktown. I guess there are places that sell fresh rice flour like this. Who knew?


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She took some HOT water and seasoned it with a little salt. The water was salty enough that I could taste the salt, but not overwhelmingly salty. "A little bit of salt" is what you need in the hot water she said. =P You then add "just enough" hot water to bring the rice flour to a dough consistency.


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You don't want it too firm, nor too pliable. You want it JUST RIGHT.


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MIL made three wonderful fillings. Too bad I can't tell you what they were because she said it in Korean and I forgot. Yeah, I'm beginning to think this recipe is REALLY useless. =)


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I know this one! It's red beans! She said all you have to do is soak the beans and then boil it. After it's boiled, you season it with a dash of salt and some sugar.


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I don't know what this was, but it was SOOOO good. It's some type of bean.


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Then you just take the dough and flatten it out. The key was to keep it a bit thick. I tried to make it thin like a mandoo and all the insides popped right out. =P


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Make them all like so...(aesthetics was obviously not our strong point). I think the UGLY ones were made by my dear friend Y. =P


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Then place them in a steamer for about 15 minutes. It was interesting because she just stacked them on top of each other. I thought they would stick to each other, but they didn't.


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After 15 minutes, the dduks were done!


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She washed them in a bit of water mixed with sesame oil.…



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After letting them dry for a while...


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We were ready to devour them. My pictures aren't that great because I was too busy popping these suckers into my mouth. They tasted wonderful all warm and sticky. Happy belated Korean Thanksgiving!!!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Baby Mushrooms

Here's a quick and easy banchan. I tend to take whatever vegetables I have in my fridge at the time and just mix them all up together. 
   

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I bought some baby mushrooms and decided to make it for a breakfast side dish one lazy Sunday morning.


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Heat up a pan with 1/2 TB sesame oil and about 1/2 TB of minced garlic.


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Wash and cut your mushrooms.


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Add the mushrooms along with some sliced onions to the pot and saute it it with about 1/4 TB of dwen-jang.


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Season it with some sesame seeds and you're ready to serve! A quick and easy banchan. =)

Monday, September 28, 2009

Clear Ojinguh Gook - (맑은 오징어국)

 

I know I've been gone a long time and I'm going to cheat and not even give a new recipe but something that I should have finished up long ago. It's crazy because I'm not working and my son is in preschool which means I have a LOT of time to myself. Yet, I feel busier than ever just going around and doing random things. I'm supposed to go back to work soon, but taking this last year off has been a blessing in disguise. I feel so much better and re-energized!

I keep saying how I wish there was a way that I never had to work again. Wishful thinking. In this economy, I guess I should be happy that I have something to go back to. =P 
 
Anyhow, here we go! Clear ojinguh gook. I have no idea what else to call it! All the women in my family make this soup for special occasions like choo-suk or my Grandpa's jae-sah. I think the reason is because it's quite time consuming because there are a lot of steps. It's a "special" gook that we eat once or twice a year. 


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First go and grab some book-uh.  This is the brand my MIL sent from Korea.  It’s great.  I don’t know if they sell it here.  =/


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Anyhow, grab about 1/2 cup of book-uh with some dashima (sea kelp - thanks to whoever pointed that out!) and boil it in about...oh let's say 8 cups of water. Boil it for about 20 minutes or so while you're getting everything else prepared. I didn't measure anything yet again. Sorry. Am I becoming a Korean mother on you? A little bit of this and a little bit of that! =)


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Wash and clean your squid and bring a pot of water to a boil.


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Drain about 1/2 cup of beef...


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Slightly boil the squid. This really helps in getting the fishy smell out and it also gets rid of all the excess liquid from the squid.


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Chop up about two cups of moo.


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In a pot, heat about 1 TB of sesame oil, 1/2 TB of minced garlic, and 2.5 TB of gook ganjang.


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Add the beef and saute until done.


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Chop up your squid like so....


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And add the squid and moo and mix it for a little bit.


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Then add the book-uh broth and some tofu and let it boil for about 30 minutes on low heat. The broth will eventually turn white.


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The finished product! Munchkin *LOVES* ojinguh so this is one of his favorite gooks. =)

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