Tag: korean recipes

Douceurs au miel et aux epices, recettes medicinales coreennes
Dans la tradition de la cuisine coréenne, ou la cuisine asiatique en générale, le terme « dessert » n’existe pas… cependant, il ne manque pas de recette sucrée ! En les découvrant, nous pouvons voir une autre utilisation du sucre se mêlant avec du sel et des ingrédients inhabituels, comme par exemple, le haricot azuki (pat) ou le soja qui sont désormais bien connus.
Yaksik traditionel
Alors, deux mets sucrées coréennes sont les belles du jour à découverir : Baesuk (poire pochée) et Yaksik (gâteau de riz aux épices).
Le Baesuk, poire pochée à la coréenne est une sœur jumelle de la poire pochée que vous connaissez déjà, les coréens y mettent du poivre, du miel, du gingembre et du jujube.
Le Yaksik est un gâteau de riz gluant aux fruits sec, aux saveurs du miel et du sucre non-raffiné. Il n’y a pas de laitage, il est agrémenté de l’huile de sésame grillé, et pour rehausser le parfum, on utilise…la sauce de soja ! En Asie, la sauce de soja s’emploie naturellement à la confection des mets sucrés. Par exemple, la recette de tapioca au lait sauce caramel beurre salé à la sauce de soja que j’ai déjà publié (voir la recette).
Thérapeutique Selon la coutume, on les déguste comme spécialité hivernale, car la plupart de leurs ingrédients employés a le caractère « chaud » selon la médecin traditionnelle. A l’époque, les épices, le miel ou le sucre étaient les denrée rares et précieux, entrant dans la pharmacopée. D’où son nom yak (médicament) sik (repas). La poire pochée aux épices est un remède d’antan quand les maux d’hiver guettent les hommes.
Le Yaksik à la fleur de poire
Est un arrangement de ces deux recettes pour mieux adapter au gout actuel.
L’époque a changé, nous avons maintenant besoin des aliments légères, mais tout en ayant richement des micronutriments. Baesuk et Yaksik, recettes indépendantes, sont réunies ici pour renaitre en un plat plus léger. L’autre avantage, c’est que, grâce à la présence de la poire poché, recette bien connue ici, il facilite d’initier aux desserts asiatiques ceux qui ne les connaissent pas.
Les recettes restent authentiquement coréennes, c’est au niveau de dressage que j’ai arrangé à ma manière. Suivons donc dabord les deux recettes.
RECETTES
Baesuk, poire poché à la coréenne
Ingrédients pour 4 portion
2 grandes poires fermes Comice ou 4 petits
Sirop aux epices
500ml d’eau
130g de miel d’acacia
2g de gingembre (1/3 c à café)
10 graines de poivre noir
2×10 cm d’écorce de clémentine (à défaut citron)
-Epluchez les poires
-Coupez en deux et enlevez le trognon, les pépins (ou vous pouvez les enlevez après la cuisson lors de la découpe de poire)
-Portez le sirop à l’ébullition
-Plongez les poires et laissez frémir 10-15 min selon la grosseur et la fermeté de vos poires

-Retirez délicatement les poires et laissez refroidir (une fois refroidis, conservez hermétiquement hors jus, remettez dans le jus au moment de servir, ils reste ainsi plus fermes)
-Réduisez encore un peu le sirop en continuant la cuisson (un tiers réduit, reste 70%)
-Filtrez, laissez refroidir et réservez à part
Yaksik, gâteau de riz aux épices
Note : La recette à l’ancienne est assez compliquée et prend 3-4heures (hors trempage). Aujourd’hui la plupart de famille coréenne utilise le four à micro-onde ou l’autocuiseur de riz pour faire ce gateau. Cela ne prend que 30minute et le résultat est même, surtout celui du micro-onde, car on peut travailler en deux étapes comme à l’ancienne)
Ingrédients pour 4-6 pers
150g de riz gluant
150ml de thé de noyaux de jujube (6 noyaux de jujube bouillis doucement avec 200ml d’eau, 15 min, à couvert)
Sauce
30g de sucre non raffiné muscovado
30g de miel d’acacia
1 c à soupe de sauce de soja foncée
1 c à soupe de huile de sésame grillé
Un peu moins de 0,5 c à café de poudre de cannelle
Fruits secs
6 jujubes dénoyautées découpées en 8morceaux + 2jujubes pour décoration
2 c à soupe de raisin sec
15g de pignon + une vingtaine de graine pour la décoration
8 châtaignes frais
des grains de courge pour la décoration
-Lavez le riz gluant et laissez tremper 4h dans 4 fois volume d’eau
-Faites cuire les châtaignes et épluchez
-Égouttez bien le riz et mettez dans un grand bol allant au four à micro-onde
-Ajoutez-y 150ml de thé de noyaux de jujube (s’il en manque la quantité, complétez avec de l’eau)
-Couvrez et chauffez au puissance maxi 4min30sec
-Mêlez dans un bol tous les ingrédients de la sauce
-Dans le riz, incorporez la sauce, les fruits sec, les châtaignes et mêlez-les
-Couvrez, remettez au micro-onde et chauffez au puissance maxi 2min
-La cuisson est fini, laissez ainsi reposer 5min, toujours à couvert
-Sorti du four, mêlez délicatement l’ensemble en aérant
-Façonnez en le mettant dans un moule carré, rond ou de forme spéciales etc. Ou tout simplement dans une boite large (chemisez du papier sulfurisé huilé), vous le découperez après le refroidissement complet.
-Serrez les graines de riz et les fruits sec sans pour autant écraser, ça aide à tenir la forme
-Laissez refroidir (ne mettez surtout pas dans le frigidaire, le riz devient dur)

-Enroulez la chair d’une jujube sur elle-même
-Tranchez-la en épaisseur de 2mm et décorez vos gâteaux, on peut y ajouter 2-3 pignons comme décoration
Maintenant, yaksik à la fleur de poire
-Préparez le yaksik comme la recette ce-dessus, sauf que vous mettrez à part les châtaignes et les rendrez en purée en humidifiant avec un peu de miel (1-2 c à café, quantité juste pour pouvoir les agglomérer)

-Avec vos mains mouillées (sinon ça colle), prélevez une boule de diamètre 6cm de yaksik, aplatissez légèrement et creusez le milieu
-Mettez-y 2-3 c à café de purée de châtaigne (resserrez bien les grains de riz)
-Posez à l’envers le demi-sphère sur l’assiette
-Emincez les poires en 3mm d’épaisseur, puis couvrez le demi-sphère de yaksik
-Arrosez 2 c à café de jus de cuisson de poire sur les tranches de poire (pas trop de jus, car le liquide fait éparpiller les graines de riz)
-Finissez en décorant avec la (les) fleur(s) de jujube, les graines de pignon et de courge
Conservation : La poire pochée se garde au frais. Le Yaksik, comme tous les mets de riz, devient dur dans le frigidaire. En le gardant propre, sans toucher à la main, toujours enfermé, il peut rester deux jours dans la température ambiante. Au delà, on le garde au frais et, au moment de manger passe TRÈS brièvement au four à micro-onde ou à la vapeur. La congélation est possible.
Lors de montage du yaksik à la poire, vous pouvez préparer à l’avance les demi-sphères (gardez couvert pour empêcher le dessèchement) et la découpe de poires. Montez les tranches de poire sur le riz juste (ou 1h maximum) avant les servir.
December 22, 2013
Recipe: Kale Kimchi
Recently, I joined a CSA (community-supported agriculture) farm affiliated with our local community college. Our CSA promises, “a share of whatever is ripe and ready to eat.”
Much ado about kale? Try turning it into a very spicy, garlicky kimchi. (Tammy Quackenbush photo)
That share recently included a small bunch of kale. Hubby is not a fan of kale, and I have never cooked with it before. So I was at a loss as to what I could do with it — really at a loss.
Initially, I thought I would make kale chips with it, given how ridiculously expensive store-bought preparations are compared with the simplicity of the recipe. To make kale chips, you remove the stem, chop the leaves into large bite-sized pieces, smear them with a flavored paste then dry the pieces in a food dehydrator or at very low heat in an oven.
However, I didn’t have all the ingredients in my pantry for the several Asian- and Korean-inspired kale chip recipes I found. For the paste, one recipe called for almond butter and another, tahini.
Those aren’t in my well-stocked Korean-style pantry. So I decided to use ingredients from such a pantry to make kale 김치 kimchi.
The following recipe for kale kimchi was adapted from the Week of Menus blog. Mostly, I cut the recipe in half, because my CSA kale bounty wasn’t as large as called for in the original recipe.
Don’t like the taste or texture of kale? The bold spiciness and garlic of this recipe might cultivate a kale craving. And salivating over this “superstar vegetable” is a good thing, according to dietician Kathleen Zelman:
One cup of chopped kale contains 33 calories and 9% of the daily value of calcium, 206% of vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and a whopping 684% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

Kale kimchi
by Week of Menus
Makes about 2 cups of kimchi
1 bunch kale
1/4 cup fish sauce (or 1/8 cup fish sauce and 1/8 cup soy sauce)
1/8 cup mochiko (“sweet” flour from cooked sticky rice)
3/4 cups water
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons 고추가루 gochugaru (Korean red chili powder) (or 2–2.5 tablespoons of cayenne powder)
1/8 cup garlic, finely chopped
Wash the kale, trim the stems to the leaves and chop the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
Place the washed, chopped kale in a large bowl. Drizzle fish sauce over the leaves and toss them to lightly coat them with sauce. Set aside for about 45 minutes to allow the kale to wilt.
While the kale is softening, add rice powder, water and sugar to a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Whisk and stir constantly, until mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Continue whisking for another minute after the bubbles form. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
After kale has rested in the fish sauce and the rice flour mixture cools to barely warm, carefully drain the fish sauce in the bottom of the kale bowl into the rice flour mixture.
Finely chop a handful of garlic cloves by hand or in a food processor.
To rice flour mixture, mix gochugaru and finely chopped garlic, making a red paste. Mixture should taste salty, so add a bit more fish sauce, if necessary.
Using a spatula, mix the red paste with the kale, using a gentle folding motion, until all leaves are coated.
Pack the kale kimchi into a small wide-mouthed jar. Do not overstuff it; leave about 1/4 inch of space at the top for fermentation.
Leave the jar on the counter for about two hours.
Refrigerate the jarred kimchi. Periodically taste-test it for the level of fermentation preferred. Ours was ready in about three days.
August 23, 2013
Sesame Truffles
This Thursday, February 3rd, is Seolnal/Seollal (설날), Lunar New Year’s Day, marking the beginning of the year of the rabbit.  It is celebrated with a long holiday weekend in Korea and festivities of memorial services for ancestors, sharing tteok guk (떡국; rice cake soup for New Year’s Day) and wishing another great year with extended family members gathered together.
For me, it is the day I get to re-set my new year resolutions that I renewed from the previous year but already forgot. We’ll be eating tteok guk (떡국) and savory pancakes to celebrate our own Seolnal, a token effort to recognize another chance to set my mind back to the beginning of the year.
This year, I also have gangjeong (강정), a sweet treat made by mixing seeds, grains and nuts with syrup. Although the balance between the seed mix and the syrup can be quite tricky, it can be made quickly and easily – and the result won’t disappoint you.  You can play with different mixes of seeds, sweeteners and shapes and find your favorite, creating your own gangjeong or a treat similar to granola bars with a Korean twist.
I rolled sesame seeds (깨; ggae) and sunflower seeds into little balls, looking like chocolate truffles, with mini chocolate chips inside. The nutty flavor of seeds and chocolate chips are always a great match, and these sesame truffles take much less time and effort to make than chocolate truffles.
You can use a mix of sugar and corn syrup as a binder. If you can find it from a nearby Korean grocery store, try using Korean rice syrup (조청; jo cheong or 쌀엿; ssal yeot). Traditionally this natural sweetener is made by reducing the liquid strained after soaking malted barley powder and cooked short grain rice. From what I can tell, Korean rice syrup is a cross between rice syrup and barley malt syrup sold in the U.S. Rice syrup is lighter in color and taste whereas barley malt syrup is rather thicker and stronger in taste, closer to molasses, compared to Korean rice syrup.

SESAME TRUFFLES
Makes 20
Seed Mix) Toast 1/2 C of sun flower seeds, 1/4 C of sesame seeds and 1/4 C of black sesame seeds separately. Mix together.
Syrup) Add 1/3 C Korean rice syrup (조청; jo cheong or 쌀엿; ssal yeot), 1 TBSP sugar and 1/4 ts salt together in a pot over low heat just enough to dissolve sugar. Alternatively, use 3 TBSP corn syrup, 3 TBSP sugar and 1/4 ts salt. These syrup mixes will give you a rather sticky (vs. crunchy) consistency, which is also easier to handle. Feel free to reduce the amount of syrup depending on your preference.
Pour the sesame mix and stir to combine quickly and thoroughly. Remove from heat and pour the mix on a plate to cool enough to handle with your hands.
While the mix is still warm, take about 2 ts of the mix and roll with your hands to make a ball.  If the mix is too sticky to handle, wet your hands with sugar water (1 TBSP of sugar stirred into 1/2 C of water).
Optional) Before shaping the mix into a ball, flatten out just enough to insert 2-3 mini chocolate chips. Seal and roll with your hands to shape it into a ball. You’ll need about 1/4C of mini chocolate chips total.
Any leftover can be stored in the freezer, which will also help the sesame truffles get crunchy.
KOREAN WORDS
sunflower 해바라기 (hae ba ra gi)
seed           씨       (si)
February 2, 2011
Kimchi Fried Rice (Kimchi Bokkeumbap)
You could say that kimchi is the Swiss Army Knife of the Korean food. It is almost always offered up as banchan on the dinner table, but it can be transformed into myriad of other dishes. One fine example of kimchi becoming the main ingredient in a dish would be kimchi fried rice. If you have some old rice in the rice cooker, some sour kimchi, and some pork, you’re more than halfway there.
Kimchi Fried Rice (Kimchi Bokkeumbap)
INGREDIENTS
Kimchi – 3 cups, chopped into 1/4 – 1/2 inch cubes (sour or old kimchi preferred)
Pork – 2 cups, diced into 1/2 inch cubes (samgyupsal preferred)
Onion – 1 medium, diced into 1/4 – 1/2 inch cubes
Rice – 5 – 6 cups, cooked (preferably a day or two old)
Oil
Salt and Pepper
Optional:
Eggs – 1 each per person
Green Onions – 1 or 2 stalks, chopped into 1/4 – 1/2 inch pieces
TOTAL PREP TIME
15-30 minutes
SERVES: 4
- Coat the bottom of a pan or a wok with cooking oil, in high heat
- When the pan/wok is hot, throw in the onions and pork
- In about 2 – 3 minutes, add the kimchi
- After about 5 – 7 minutes, add the rice and green onions
- Break up the rice and mix it well with the fried/sauteed kimchi
- Salt and pepper to taste, but depending on the kimchi, you may not need to season it any further
- As soon as the rice is thoroughly mixed in with the kimchi, give it another minute or so… and plate it
- On a separate frying pan, fry some eggs (sunny side up or over easy) and top your fried rice
Notes:
This recipe is pretty simple… but you may customize it anyway you want. For example, if you can’t eat pork, substitute with some canned tuna, beef, sausage, or leave it out. I have used some Spam on occasion with very good results.
February 1, 2011
Cheonggukjang Jjigae–Revisited
It’s been years since I’ve been allowed to cook Cheonggukjang Jjigae in the house. Actually, I’ve never been allowed to cook it since EJ and I moved in together in 2006. She actually wasn’t a fan of it until this past year when I started getting back into ordering it when we went out for lunch.
This is the famous “dead body soup” that was on Bizarre Foods. It’s not called that, but there’s an urban legend that Koreans in Germany made it in their apartment, and their neighbors called the police, fearing there was a dead body in the apartment because of the smell.
I’ve not only gotten used to the smell, it really gets me going. It’s as rustic Korean as you can get. Barely crushed soybeans that have just started fermenting. They haven’t had time to mellow into doenjang. The taste reminds me of pinto beans as a kid.
In markets they market it by its freshness, sold in disc-shaped cakes or in small tubs like yogurt. In fact, you can make your own Cheonggukjang in a yogurt maker. Someday I may tackle that project.
EJ has been houseridden much of the time because the baby’s so young. She’s been depending on me to shop for groceries, but it’s hard to figure what you want when you’re not in the store. Her diet has been super boring. At least the MiyeokGuk stage is over. It was only in this state of desperation that I was allowed to cook some Cheonggukjang that I had brought home. EJ loved it, and now I’m allowed to cook it in the house.
I had written a recipe for this in the early days. It’s been revised a bit.
Cheonggukjang Jjigae
INGREDIENTS
1 package Cheonggukjang
1 piece Dried Kelp for stock, aka Dashima (approx. 5-inches x 5-inches)
10 Anchovies, dried
Oil for stir frying
1/2 cup Kimchi, aged
1/2 Onion, sliced
3 cloves Garlic, sliced or chopped
1/2 Zucchini, sliced
4 Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced
1 Fresh Chillie, sliced
1 tsp. Gochugaru
200 g Tofu, sliced
- Rinse the Kelp and put it in 3 cups cold water with the Anchovies. Bring to a boil.
- Strain and reserve the stock.
- Heat the oil in a pot and fry the Kimchi, Onion and Garlic until the onion gets a little transparent.
- Add the Cheonggukjang and stir fry some more.
- Add the stock and bring to a boil.
- Add the Zucchini, Mushrooms, Chillie, Gochugaru and Tofu. Boil for 3 minutes.
- Take the heat down and skim the scum off the surface.
- Serve with rice.
January 28, 2011
Yukgejang (Korean Shredded Beef Soup)
The Korean phrase ‘ulken hada’ (얼큰하다), which means ‘it is refreshingly spicy’, is a phrase appropriate for any season. In summertime, Koreans enjoy bowls of hot spicy soup to sweat out the heat. And in the winter, hot spicy soup is consumed to warm up the body. Yukgejang (육개장, shredded beef soup), is the perfect “refreshingly spicy” soup to warm your body.
Gosari (고사리) is the primary vegetable in yukgejang. Gosari is the Korean word for bracken, or fiddlehead ferns. Only the young shoots are eaten. Sometimes they are sautéed in garlic and set on the dinner table as one of the optional banchan (반찬) on the dinner table, but most Koreans recognize gosari as a crucial ingredient in bibimbap and yukgejang.
I don’t think gosari has any wondrous medicinal benefits, other than as a good source of some minerals and fiber. Someone told me that in the old days Koreans used gosari as a meat substitute, although it’s not a good source of protein. Also, of note, gosari eating populations maybe linked with high rate of stomach cancer.
My girlfriend’s question about the gosari in my bibimbap inspired me to make some yukgejang. Personally, I don’t like making yukgejang, as it is too time intensive. I also think purchasing the ingredients costs more than ordering it at a Korean restaurant. But if you are serving more than two people, do not trust the restaurant ingredients, and/or just want to make this wonderful soup, this is how you do it.
Yukgejang (Korean Shredded Beef Soup)
Main Ingredients:
4 qts. Water
1/2 lbs. Gosari (saeng gosari – 생고사리) *
2 lbs. Flank Steak
6 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 medium Onion, sliced
6 stalks Green Onion, chopped into 3-inch pieces
1/2 lbs. Mung Bean Sprouts, rinsed
Spices:
2-3 Tbsp. Salt
1 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
3 Tbsp. Korean Chili Powder (Gochugaru)
Optional:
2 Eggs, beaten
1/2 lbs. Pyogo (Shitake) Mushrooms, sliced
1 oz. Dangmyun (당면) or about ½ lbs. reconstituted in warm water.
2 tsp. Hondashi or Dashida**
Total Prep Time: 2-3+ hours
Serves: 4-6
1.       Bring about 4 quarts of cold water along with the flank steak in a stock pot
2.       After about 30 minutes to an hour, take the steak out and put it in a bowl to cool

3.       Skim the blood and other impurities from the beef stock
4.       Add garlic and onion to the stock, and salt and pepper to taste
5.       When the flank steak is cool enough, shred the beef into long strips of about ¼ inch in width
6.       Add beef and gosari into the soup (pyogo mushrooms goes in at this time)
7.       Skim for additional blood and other impurities from the soup
8.       After about an hour of boiling under medium heat, check for more impurities, then add the chili powder, mung bean sprouts, and green onions
9.       Adjust the seasoning or add water to taste with salt (hondashi or dashida, if necessary)
10.   Add the beaten eggs in the soup at the last minute, stir (not too much), and then serve
* Notes: Use saeng gosari to save time. If you can only find the dried kind, soak it in water overnight. You may also cut the gosari and shredded beef into 3 inch length to match the green onions and mung bean sprouts.
** Use hondashi or dashida only if you messed up on the water levels. I do not believe in using them as soup base, but as a flavor enhancing agent of sorts. I mainly use them when I’m pressed for time.
January 20, 2011
Stuffed Squid

Usually sundae/soondae (순대) refers to blood sausages in Korea, commonly made by boiling or steaming cow or pig’s intestines filled with a variety of ingredients. It can be one of the most popular street food with the basic ingredients of glass noodles and pork blood (and the intestines would likely be replaced with cheaper sausage casings) or a shared dish offered at restaurants with fancier stuffing ingredients like perilla leaves (깻잎; ggaenip) and sweet rice (찹쌀; chap ssal).  Although somehow this Korean blood sausage has gotten an undue reputation for just being what it is, other blood sausages – such as boudin noir from France and boudin rouge from Louisiana of the U.S. – seem to be going about their ways just fine.
But I digress.  Back to sundae. There are other kinds of sundae reflecting regional specialties. There is myeongtae (명태) sundae I’ve only heard about, steamed pollack filled with stuffing, originated in Hamgyeong Province of now North Korea.  Ojingeo (오징어; squid) sundae comes from Gangwon Province, the east coastal province known for cold, blue water and beautiful Sorak Mountain.  Squids are filled with stuffing of chopped up tenticles, vegetables and meat or sweet rice (찹쌀; chap ssal).
The dish takes two big steps and only about 10 minutes of steaming and another 10 minutes of resting time. One is cleaning the squid and the other one is making the stuffing.  I have measurements below so that you can get an idea of ingredient ratios, but take note that it all comes down to the number and size of squid you’re using.

To make 4 Stuffed Squids (medium size – good for about 2 main portions),
Cleaning the Squid) Hold the body tube with one hand and pull out the innards and tenticles from the body tube firmly, but gently with the other hand.  We are using the body tube and tenticles, so cut the tenticles from the innards. Discard the innards. Peel the skin, take out the cartilage from the body tube.  Wash the body tube inside and out with cold running water.  Pat-dry the inside with paper towel.  You can find a step by step instruction with pictures here.
Making the Stuffing) Soak 3 dried shitake mushrooms in warm water for about 30 minutes until they become soft. In the meantime, cut 3 stems of garlic chive to small pieces.  Squeeze excess moisture out of 1/2 cup of firm tofu. Grate 1 clove of garlic, finely chop 1/2 of red chili (don’t forget to wear gloves for this!) to get about 1/2 teaspoon. Cut a small onion to small dice to get about 1/2 cup. Squeeze out water from soaked shitake mushrooms. Discard the stems and cut the mushrooms to small dice. Combine all of the above ingredients thoroughly. Taste and season with salt and pepper, slightly saltier than your normal seasoning.
Mix in chopped up tenticles from 4 squids and 1/2 cup of ground beef to the vegetable mix.
Assembly and Cooking) Get the steamer going by setting up a steamer and turning on the stove to boil water.
While water is heating up, fill the squid body tube with the stuffing. Add about 1 teaspoon of flour for each squid in the body tube and gently shake it to coat the inside. This will help keeping the stuffing and squid together after cooking. Carefully add the stuffing and seal with a toothpick. Repeat the process with the rest of the squids.
Once water comes to a boil, add the filled squids in the steamer and cover. Steam for 10 minutes or until the squid color turns opaque white. Take out the squids and let them rest for another 10 minutes so that the stuffing and its juice have time to settle.
Slice the squids. Serve with soy sauce with a splash of lemon juice, which is how I like the sauce for ojingeo sundae.  It is also served with gochujang sauce mixed with vinegar, sugar, grated ginger and sesame seeds.
TIPS!
Don’t fill the squid with too much stuffing.  As the squid cooks, it will shrink whereas the stuffing will expand, which will lead to squid explosion (ok, I exaggerate. It looks more like a torn shirt, which is still not pretty after going through all that effort).  Fill about 2/3 of the squid tube and shape it to make sure the stuffing is well spread out. Also, leave some room at the end to get a toothpick through to seal the squid tube.
KOREAN WORDS
glass noodles 당면   (dang myeon)
onion                 양파   (yang pa)
garlic chive      부추   (bu chu)
January 10, 2011
Making kimchi with California ingredients
This video was filmed in the hills of Lake County California, just north of Napa Valley to make a point about “regionalizing,” or adapting recipes for local ingredients. “Regionalizing” is a trend in culinary circles. Fermented foods are becoming popular for their health-promoting benefits.
Baechu kimchi, the commonly recognized Korean red-pepper spiced picked cabbage side dish, brings the growing intrigue of Korean food together with pickling. This video shows how you can substitute commonly available chilis for Korean ones to achieve the desired spiciness and flavor.
December 23, 2010
Biji Cookies (비지 쿠키) – Cranberry Orange & Sesame Mugwort
After making tofu and soy milk at home, my experiments to utilize an inordinate amount of soy pulp (비지; bi ji or okara) began. In addition to biji jjigae (비지 찌개; stew made with soy pulp, kimchi and pork as main ingredients), I found a way to put soy pulp in mini zucchini cupcakes, where it adds a soft crunch and subtle nutty flavor. This time, soy pulp finds its way in butter cookies.
These soy pulp cookies are based on sable cookie recipes, also known as French sand cookies or butter cookies. Simple as they are just using butter, sugar, egg and flour, the basic recipe leaves plenty of room for variations. Biji gets hidden in the cookies, and people won’t know the presence of it unless you tell them. They are still buttery and sandy as they should be. My cranberry orange cookies have bright citrus flavor with chewy cranberries. The sesame mugwort cookies are more subtle, with exotic herbal flavor and nutty, fun sesame bites. They look pretty good for upcoming holidays.
Even if you don’t make your tofu at home, you should be able to find soy pulp in packages in Korean markets. In Korea, I hear that some restaurants that specialize in home-made tofu give out biji for free. It shouldn’t be hard to find biji – after all, it’s just boiled, ground soybean.
To make about 50 cookies of 2 inches (5cm) in diameter and 0.2 inch (0.5cm) in thickness
As always when I use soy pulp, especially in baking, spread soy pulp (비지; bi ji or okara) on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Toast biji in the preheated 350F (180C) oven for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice to dry them evenly. Take it out of the oven, give another stir, and let it cool down.
Soften 1 1/2 sticks of butter (12 TBSP). Add 1/2 C of sugar. Whisk until light and fluffy. Mix in 1 egg and 1/4 ts of salt completely. Add 1 cup of soy pulp and mix well. Combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour until the mix comes together.
Optional Flavoring) I divided the dough into 2 equal portions and kneaded to mix in the flavorings. For the cranberry orange cookies, I added 1 teaspoon orange zest and 1/4 cup of dried cranberries. For the sesame mugwort cookies, I kneaded in 1 teaspoon of mugwort (쑥; ssuk) powder first, then added 2 teaspoons of toasted black sesame seeds (검은깨; geom eun ggae). You can find mugwort powder in Korean grocery stores.
Knead to form a log and wrap in plastic. Let it rest in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to overnight.
Roll out the dough on a clean, floured surface and punch out with a cookie cutter. Transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet with about 0.5 inch (~1.5cm) space in-between.
Bake in the pre-heated 350F (180C) oven for 7 minutes.  Flip to the other side and bake for another 7-8 minutes. They may still look soft, so check the bottom of the cookies for doneness. Be careful not to burn the bottom of the cookies. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes.  Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
You can store the log of cookie dough in the freezer and cut to circles to bake. It’s an easy way to take care of your cookie fix, if you are not so concerned about most perfectly refined cookie shapes.
I had these cookies for my breakfast the other day, telling myself that it’s full of soy protein…ignoring another part of me saying ‘plus full of butter, sugar and flour…’
KOREAN WORDS
protein              단백질 (dan baek jil)
dough               반죽    (ban juk)
sesame seed    깨        (ggae)
November 22, 2010
Mushroom Hot Pot
It is often the case where I should just let the ingredients speak for themselves. Gather together a few seasonal ingredients in a pot and boil down with water. Season with soy sauce. One spoonful with a piece of vegetable and hot, earthy broth, you will see how quickly you can put together autumn in your bowl.
Jeongol (전골) is something in-between hot pot (thinly sliced meat and vegetable ingredients are dipped in hot broth) and stew (ingredients are simmered for a long time). Water or stock is added just enough to bring out the flavors of ingredients – usually lots of vegetables in addition to a few main ingredients, which define the name of jeongol from seafood (해물; hae mul) to cow or pig intestines (곱창; gop chang) to mushroom (버섯; beo seot). Its most fun feature is that jeongol is cooked at the tableside to be shared with everyone.
A proper – as commonly described in cookbooks – mushroom (버섯; beo seot) jeongol would start by sautéing ground beef. Add stock. Sliced Napa cabbage leaves are another common ingredient, along with a variety of mushrooms and other greens.
I was lacking a few things to make a ‘proper’ mushroom jeongol for this unplanned dinner, but that wasn’t going to stop me.  Luckily I had just gone to Chinatown for my big grocery shopping, so I had fresh shitake mushrooms (표고버섯; pyo go beo seot), button mushrooms (양송이; yang song e) and enoki mushrooms (팽이버섯; paeng e beo seot) to use as feature ingredeints. For greens, I had scallions, garlic chives and perilla leaves. I also took out a block of tofu and cut to thin slices. Sprinkle of chili powder on top. This would be more than enough.
With some extra time I had, I made mushroom tofu pockets.  I poured hot water over frozen tofu skins (유부; yu bu) to get excess oil out and quickly thaw them. Press tofu skins with paper towel and cut off one end, which allows the skin to open like a little pocket. With the stems I had after cleaning the mushrooms, I chopped them finely and sautéed with onion which would fill the tofu pockets.  I tied the pockets with garlic chives after quickly blanching in boiling water – this makes the garlic chives easier to handle but still sturdy enough to tie the tofu pockets.
I found a packet of udon noodles which, of course, was added to the pot. After a bowl of udon noodle soup with mushrooms, I added some tteokguk tteok, thin oval shaped rice cakes, most widely used for the New Year’s Day rice cake soup in Korea. After a bowl of mushrooms and rice cakes, we felt all warm and full and happy. Sorry, no pictures of those as I was too busy eating.
Yet if you are familiar with the Korean jeongol process, the end is only marked by rice.
I reduced the rest of the broth and chopped up a couple of mushrooms that were still in the pot. I added a big handful of finely chopped kimchi. A bowl of steamed rice goes in. Enter eggs, chopped scallions and toasted laver flakes. Finish with sesame oil, ground pepper and toasted sesame seeds.
I see long winter months with many variations of jeongol coming my way…
KOREAN WORDS
scallion         파    (pa)
garlic chive    부추 (bu chu)
perilla leaf     깻잎 (ggaenip)
November 18, 2010