Korean Food Challenge, Home Stretch, Baby!

With only a short time left here, I've made it my mission to cook and eat as much Korean food possible... Except for my major fail.... Yesterday, I went to an Italian restaurant, while in Korea ::gasp!:: but it gets much worse! at the Italian restaurant... What did I order? A Greek Salad? What is wrong with me? I must have gotten out of the wrong side of the bed,  forgot to drink my morning coffee and walked under a ladder all in one day! But I'm hoping my failure will be forgiven because I've been hard at work on my Korean food cooking list and I'm almost finished! So close that my next food update I may be finished, finished! Asah!p.s. thanks to the lovely Lisa and Rosi for coming over to dinner and eating and cooking with me! ^^ 

100th post... Ni-Suh!

It only took me foooorever and year to get here, but woot, woot to being 100 posts-old! You can send your congratulatory presents to my personal assistant in Asialand, a Mr. Lee. He's super cool, he lives on all things rice, and he hates, hates, hates, fruit and chocolate. He eats all my rice gifts and gives me any fruit or chocolate that comes his way. It's a perfect working relationship. If only he had an avocado tree, I might marry him.Well in all my excitement of being 100, I decided this was a perfect opportunity to cook a feast for myself (but who do I kid? Like I really need an excuse to eat). The celebratory menu?Spring Banchan, Spicy Mackerel Stew, Spicy Squid Muchim, and Candied Lotus Root! Spectacular. Breathtaking. Marvelous. Excellent.. So, So Awesome. Euphoric!. Ok. you have the permission to punch me now, but punch the left eye please, because the right one already has a nice bruise that came from my last annoying blog post. And it would just make my face look so much more level, if I had 2 black eyes instead of one. I really look like the dog from the little Rascals today. It is just not a very attractive look for me. I much prefer the raccoon-look. More chic., stylish., and you know, I am very chic. ;)But back to cooking. Well, I've been knocking out so many of these recipes that I'll be done with my Korean Cooking List in no time. Or more likely, I'll just get hungry and then I'll have to extend my list longer and longer.. oh darn!Here are the recipes and I have again modified some of them, and taken them from delicious to uber delicious land :) Yes, humility is not my strongest of suits.The Spring Banchan, Candied Lotus and the Squid Muchim (O jingo Chae Mu Chim) were not very modified. I have just a little extra garlic here and there, but the bigger heresy came from the recreation of the Spicy Mackerel Stew the recipe's below.Spicy Mackerel Stew ~ the original with my modifications is below... My modification? I've added chopped pumpkin and carrots along with the radish and I put 4x the amount of fresh ginger and put extra garlic. Next time I'll add  mushrooms to the mix to see what happens!

1 can (14 oz) Mackerel, strained and the juice reserved
1/2 lb Korean radish, diced into 1/4" thick slices
1/4 lb pumpkin
1/2 large carrot
1/2 onion, sliced
2 garlic clove, chopped
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp Korean soy sauce
1-2 TBS minced fresh ginger
1 tsp Korean chili flakes
1 Tbsp Korean chili paste (gochu jang)
1 Tbsp rice wine or Mirim
1tsp honey
8-10 cabbage leaves for wrapping, optional
Put radish, pumpkin, carrots and onion slices in the shallow pan, and place mackerels on top.
In a small bowl, combine the reserved canned mackerel juice with garlic, soy sauces, ginger, rice wine, and chili flakes. Sprinkle the sauce all over the mackerels in the pan.
Bring them to boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes, covered, until the radish gets tender. Serve hot with rice and steamed cabbage leaves.
For the cabbage, Tear some leaves from the cabbage and cook them in the boiling water with some salt for 3-4 minutes until they get soft. Drain and rinse. Use these leaves to wrap around the mackerel, radish, and some rice.

Happy Cooking Everyone! And yeah for my 100th birthday! I look pretty good for 100, eh? That's what cheap plastic surgery does for you! and you wondered why I've stayed in Korea for so long? The surgeries, of course. They're cheap and fast!Oh and for those of you curious here is how the list is shaping up :) √'s mean I've successfully cooked it1) Kimchi (√cucumber, √cabbage, and spinach)2) √ KongNamul Banchan (Bean Sprout stir fry)3) √ Yuk Gae Jang ( Spicy Beef Stew) Probably my new favorite soup!4) Kamja Tang (Pork Back and Potato Stew)5) Dak Dori Tang (Spicy Chicken Stew)6) √ Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)7) √ Seaweed Salad8) √ Sauteed Sea plant 9) Soondubu Jjigae (Spicy Soft Tofu Stew)10) √ O jing chae muchim (Seasoned dried Squid) So delicious you don't even know!11) √ Pan-fried Tofu12)√ Spicy Mackerel Stew13) JangJoRim (장조림)14)√ Spring BanchanLet the cooking continue!view my portfolio here

Father, I have Sinned..Kimchi Jjigae My way!

Yes, it took me 3 whole weeks of cooking Wednesdays to finally deviate from God give Perfection or in other terms, the Korean recipe! I did it my way this time AND because I did, I have committed a sin, and I shall never be forgiven. No matter how much Kimchi I eat or how many times I finish my entire rice at school. I have committed the ultimate sin. God will have no grace for me.This sin is almost as bad simultaneously walking under a ladder, opening up an umbrella indoors, throwing away your rice and then cursing your mother to her face. Ohhhh! it's bad.. but OH! it was worth it!. I'm surprised it took me this long to sin. ;)So I have deviated from the right way to make Kimchi Jjigae, a most sacred fermented stew that is sipped all around wintry Korea, day in and out. Legend has it that it keeps you not only healthy and happy, but it also gives you mad chopsticks skills so that you can attract the proper mate and then marry in 2 months time. I swear it's true!How did I manage to mess this soup of the matchmakers up? You see, I have not only added mushrooms, but I also added Pumpkins! Yes, I'll never marry! I'll be an old maid for life. Gasp, yes! You have permission to Gasp again! ::Inge, pauses to hear the crowd gasp, again and again:: I should be slapped in the face, thrown out of the country or worse, be forced to clean a Kimchi factory with a toothbrush.Expect more delicious unholiness from me in the future. What will I do next? Perhaps make riceless bibimbap..?  ::all the Koreans in the room gasp and say "You wouldn't dare, Inge!" "Ha, just watch me! Muahahaha!" So here's the Traditional Kimchi Jjigae recipe from www.maangchi.com and just throw in some delicious Pumpkin and Mushrooms to take it up a notch!Ingredients:* 200 grams of Pork belly (about 1/2 pound)* 4 or 5 cups of chopped kimchi* 1 tbs sugar, 1 tsp of hot pepper flakes, 1 tbs hot pepper paste* onion, green onions* half a package of tofu* sesame oil and waterOk, let’s start!1. In a shallow pot, put some chopped kimchi and juice.2. Add sliced onion, hot pepper paste, and hot pepper flakes, sugar, and green onions.3. Pour water until all ingredients are submerged.4. Close the lid of the pot and boil it 25 or 30 minutes. (first 10 minutes will be high heat and then turn down the heat over medium heat)5. Add some tofu and boil it 5 minutes more and put some sesame oil right before serving.Ta Ta for now!

My Crazy Cooking Mission ~ Part 2!

 

It was a mad Wednesday morning! I had had no coffee; I had just one hour before I had to go to work to create 3 different Korean masterpieces; and I hadn't even gotten out of my pajamas!This  Wednesday Cooking Mission? Bean Sprout Panchan, Sauteed Seaweed and Fried Tofu.Could I, would I make it? or would I fail and be miserably late for school and be sent to the principle's office to stare at his white concrete wall? Please God, NOooooo! ::inge shudders as she thinks of the last time that happened!:: I had no time to dilly dally, fart around, smell the roses, nope. none of that crap!. There was no time to quench my thirst or to run to the loo! I barely had time to swallow my own spit, but lucky I managed that task because drool is just gross.So as I was furiously washing, chopping, frying, and crossing my legs and jumping up and down so I wouldn't need to go to the water closet, my computer rang! Low and behold it was my sister Emmy calling all the way in Amer-i-ca land. She was making an Indian curry for dinner at that very moment!Sigh, my heart melted! In fact, it melted straight onto the floor. What a mess! So as I was cleaning up my heart from my floor, thank God it's linoleum!, she proceeded to ask me of life and how to cook her curry.As I made up fantastical stories of my Korean life full of daisy picking and the proper method to follow her recipe (basically recipes are dumb), I scrambled to chop pounds of garlic, onions, bean sprouts, sea plant and whistle in order to distract myself from using the powder room..Somehow in that hour, I managed to not only talk to her,  but make all of these dishes perfectly (ok, ok, you're right, one dish was over salted~it tasted like I a glass of sea water ~ but sea plant is supposed to taste like that, right? ), then I managed to eat everything in record time.  I'm a champion food chewer, but my jaw is still sore from all the bean sprout chewing, I put my shirt on frontward and got to work on time! It was a rock star kind of Wednesday. Well except I never found time for the whole bathroom break...Ok, so here's my list of Korean food that I have committed to cook before I leave the land of Kimchi and Visors.. And my progress so far!My next mission? Well my Napa Cabbage Kimchi is getting quite fermented. In fact, it is almost 2 months old... I am so proud, my little baby is growing up! So I am thinking about a nice pot of Kimchi Stew.. What do you think?1) Kimchi (√cucumber, √cabbage, and spinach)2) √ KongNamul Banchan (Bean Sprout stir fry)3) √ Yuk Gae Jang ( Spicy Beef Stew) Probably my new favorite soup!4) Kamja Tang (Pork Back and Potato Stew)5) Dak Dori Tang (Spicy Chicken Stew)6) Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)7) √ Seaweed Salad8) √ Sauteed Sea plant 9) Soondubu Jjigae (Spicy Soft Tofu Stew)10) O jingo Chae Mu Chim (Seasoned dried Squid) So delicious you don't even know!11) √ Pan-fried Tofu12) Spicy Mackerel Stew13) JangJoRim (장조림)14) Spring BanchanLet the cooking continue!view my portfolio here

Only 5 little months left.....

Can you believe that it is the second to the last day of March and that spring will be gracing it's lovely face on South Korea very soon? Yet, what is much more crazy is that I only have 5 months (really 4.5 months) left in Korealand! I can't believe it. I have been here for over 1.5 years and now I only have 4.5 months to go! Part of me can't wait to bust a move and leave the land of fermentation and urbanization in the dust as I head for some tiny, whole-in-the-wall countryside town, where I'll know my next door neighbors by name, speak the local language and run to the sounds of birds and crickets. But then there is that other part of me that has started tallying and making lists of all the things that I have left to learn and all the places yet to go and most importantly all  of the food left to try.So in my haste to fill up the next 4~5 months with as much learning as possible before I head of to...??? (I'm thinking I might close my eyes and pin the tail on the world map and see where the pin gets stuck. No dart throwing for me, I would for sure miss the map, or hit Russia dead center, because you see, my throwing capabilities are probably on par with how good Richard Simmons is at straightening his hair. So I prefer the pinning proposition, that way I'll be sure to aim somewhere in the world that is both warm and tropical. Join me for Christmas in the tropics anyone? ) But back on task. So one of my goals before I pack my backpack? Learn to cook Korean food.I have decided that every Wednesday night I am going to cook at least 1 Korean dish that I don't know how to make yet. So tonight, which was a Wednesday. What was in order? Cucumber Kimchi and Seaweed Salad.. Yes, yes they sound terribly gross and disgustingly healthy, but really all Korean food sounds this way. So don't worry about the name, just taste it and your mouth will thank you and do a happy dance, and then you will know why I have been able to live in this arctic zone for the past 1.5 years.And of course, here are a few pictures to prove the validity of my cooking mission :)

Here are the links to the recipes if you want to taste the amazingness.Cucumber Kimchi ~~> Tip : I added a splash of sesame oil to finish the Cucumber Kimchi, the oil really takes the kimchi to the next level by mellowing the spices a bit and nuttifying the dish. http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/oisobagi-kimchiSeaweed or Seaplant Salad ~~> Tip: I added julienned cucumbers and carrots, and quartered cherry tomatoes for an extra burst of flavor... http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/miyuk-gukAnd Finally here is the list of the Korean foods that I am determined to learn to cook before I leave.. (all the √ ones I have completed) These shall be conquered with the help of the Korean cooking master of www.maangchi.comYes, yes, I admit that almost all of these foods sound really weird and icky, but just wait until you taste them, then you will stop all your wasteful doubting.1) Kimchi (√cucumber, √cabbage, and spinach)2) KongNamul Banchan (Bean Sprout stir fry)3) Yuk Gae Jang (Spicy Beef Stew) Probably my new favorite soup!4) Kamja Tang (Pork Back and Potato Stew)5) Dak Dori Tang (Spicy Chicken Stew)6) Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)7) Seaweed Salad √8) Sauteed Seaplant9) Soondubu Jjigae (Spicy Soft Tofu Stew)10) O jing-go Chae Mu Chim (Seasoned dried Squid) So delicious you don't even know!11) Panfried Tofu12) Spicy Mackerel StewLet the cooking begin!

Three Cheers for Fermentation!

This past week I moved one giant step closer to becoming Korean! No, I didn't dye my hair black, and I haven't suddenly become good at math. It is much more serious than that! I am both proud and ashamed to say I am have made Kimchi all by myself. Kimchi for those of you that don't know, is Korea's miracle food. Akin to Manna from Heaven, butter on bread, hot fudge on cake, but in a very healthy, garlic breath sort of way.They (the Koreans) say it (kimchi) will cure any aliment from a cold to the worst of cancers. This is perhaps why Korean hikers pack in pounds of kimchi from Korea when they go on treks up the Himalayan Mountains? You know just in case one of your limbs falls of due to frostbite or the werewolves, you can always rub some kimchi on it, then you'll be fine! This stuff will regenerate limbs! Incredible. Watch out doctors, you'll be out of business once the Kimchi mania spreads to the West!Every Korean meal by law.. er practically... must, I repeat MUST have kimchi.. So what IS this 'kimchi'? Well simply put, it is a mixture of Garlic, Chile Powder, Onions, Soy Sauce all smash together and then slathered onto a poor unsuspecting head of Napa Cabbage. The cabbage is then promptly thrown into airtight Tupperware, refrigerated for weeks or months on end in order to properly ferment and sour. The more fermented it is, the better chance of re-growing limbs and having 10/14 vision.. Errr.... on second thought due to the massive amounts of bi-focals I see in Korea, kimchi must not help the eyes. You think maybe they should consider fermenting carrots instead?p.s. If you're up for the Fermentation challenge here is the recipe --->http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kimchi-kaktugi it's so easy and delicious, in a special fermented kind of way.