Kimchi Bokkeumbap (Kimchi Fried Rice)

Hello lovelies! Thank you for joining me for another week of cooking adventures. I've been dying to make this recipe. I've been seeing Kimchi Bokkeumbap everywhere. It looks so delicious! It's also the one dish that almost everyone knows how to make. And now I know how to make it too :) I also really enjoyed that this dish was simple and easy to make. I have been so busy lately with work and looking for an apartment that I haven't had as much to devote to my cooking and writing blog posts. This is why I still haven't written about the EXO concert. But good news is, once I move I will have much more time to cook and blog since I will have a significantly smaller commute. Woo Hoo!
As you may know I am a huge BIG BANG fan. Most of the music I have mentioned in my posts has involved at least one member of BIG BANG, if not the whole group. This weekend they had their final concert of their MADE tour in Seoul. It was a huge event. This year is BIG BANG's 10 year anniversary and they have big things planned. They will have a new album coming out and outdoor concert later this year. This especially exciting because soon some of the members will have to do their mandatory military service and we don't know when BIG BANG will be all together again. They talked about this as well as their music in an article by the Washington Post. It's a pretty interesting read and only makes me love them more. I've talked a lot about their new songs as well as some of their old. This week I'm going to introduce you to an older song. It is called Cafe. There is just something about this song that makes me love it. I love T.O.P's English speaking part as well as his coffee themed rap. I also really enjoy G-Dragon singing the chorus. Taeyang and Daesung are amazing singers and their parts have so much feeling behind them. It is an interesting mix of all their talents and one of my favorites.  The next song on the list is Call You Bae by Jimin featuring Xiumin. I can't help but love this song because I love Xiumin. It's great to see him getting more singing parts. He's more talented than what he is given credit for. I also find this interesting because Jimin is a female rapper. Often times you'll find a song with a male rapper and female singer and in this song it's reversed. The video is interesting but a little strange. But the song is catchy and I'm currently enjoying it.
Now for the recipe! This week I tried out a recipe from a different blog. I think it turned out well. You  can find the recipe here.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups steamed rice
1 cup chopped kimchi
1/4 cup kimchi juice
1/4 cup water
2-3 tablespoons gochujang
3 teaspoons sesame oil
2 eggs
1 green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
1 sheet roasted dried seaweed, shredded

Step 1.
Heat up vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat.

Step 2.
Add the kimchi and stir-fry for 1 minute

Step 3.
Add the rice, kimchi juice, water and gochujang. Mix everything together and fry for 6-8 minutes.

Step 4.
Lightly beat the 2 eggs in a small bowl. Move the rice to one side of the pan and add the beaten eggs to the other half. Allow the eggs to cook, moving around with a spatula occasionally as you would with scrambled eggs. Once cooked stir the eggs in with the rice.

Step 5.
Add sesame oil and remove from heat.

Step 6.
Sprinkle with green onions, sesame seeds and seaweed.

Now it's ready to enjoy. I have to say, I love this dish. It is spicy, filling and simple to make. This is a great dish to make with leftover rice. I know that I always make too much rice and this is the perfect way to use it. I also always have kimchi on hand. I've seen this made with tuna and it looked delicious. I think I may try that next. Thank you for joining me on this weeks adventure. Do you have a dish you think I should try? Mention it in the comments below. Have a wonderful week!

XOXO,
Rachel

Kimchi JJigae (Kimchi Stew)

As you may have noticed there has been a name change for the blog. In addition to music and cooking, I love makeup and skincare products. I recently got some amazing Korean skincare products and makeup and I wanted to share them with you. So now I will share all my passions with you! You will still get recipes every week but I will also post about new skincare products that I like or makeup that I love from Korea. Sound good? Ok, great! Lets get started on this weeks recipe.
This week I decided to make Kimchi JJigae. It's getting colder here and what better way to warm up than with this spicy, hot soup! This dish is really great because you can use older Kimchi to make it. Kimchi is a staple in most Korean homes and used all the time. If you have a container in the fridge and its been there for a while, instead of throwing it out, you can make kimchi jjigea.
If you have read my other posts you know that I usually listen to BIGBANG or EXO. This week is no different. I am on a BIGBANG/G-Dragon kick at the moment. The music is so GOOD! I can't get enough. Recently BIGBANG performed at the MAMAs(Mnet Asian Music Awards) and their performance was spectacular! I really love that they started with their song LOSER. I hadn't really noticed this song before seeing their performance but it has quickly become one of my favorites. It's such an emotional song and I think many of us can relate to feeling like a loser. We all have times where we feel alone, and are down on ourselves. I read an article that discusses the meaning behind the song. It was inspired by their lives in the spotlight and even though they are held in such high regard, they are still human. I think in this digital age where we are granted access to so much information we forget about privacy. It is great that these musicians and celebrities share themselves with us but we need to remember they are human too and deserve privacy and compassion just like everyone else. I think many fans are so demanding and often forget that their are such things as boundaries. I hope that in future fans will be able to appreciate them but still allow them space to live their lives.
Now it's time for the cooking! This recipe is from the Korean Bapsang and can be found here.

Ingredients
2 cups packed bite size kimchi (fully fermented)
4 ounces fresh pork belly (or other meat with some fat)
1 to 3 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes) adjust depending on heat preference
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 cup juice from kimchi
2 cups of water (use 1/2 cup more if kimchi juice not available)
6 ounces tofu
2 scallions
salt and pepper to taste

Step 1.
Cut up the pork belly and kimchi into bite size pieces. Slice the tofu and cut up the scallions

Step 2.
Place the kimchi, pork, gochugaru, ginger and garlic in a pan and place on medium high heat. Cook until the pork is cooked and the kimchi has softened. This should take about 10 minutes.

(mmm looks yummy!)

Step 3
Add the kimchi juice and water. Reduce the heat to medium and let it all boil for about 20 minutes.

(it's getting there)

Step 4
Add the tofu and scallions. You can also add salt and pepper to taste but I did not. Allow this to boil until the tofu is cooked. It should take about 5 minutes. Serve while bubbling from the heat.

I found this dish to be very enjoyable and easy to make. It was delicious, spicy and filling. I think this dish will be amazing to make all year round. Next time I'll add more red pepper flakes or try to use more kimchi juice. Kimchi is so flavorful and delicious and next time I make this I would like to get even more of that amazing taste.

I hope you enjoyed this weeks adventure. Let me know what you thought in the comments below. If you have any dishes you would like to recommend please leave them in the comments. Until next week!

Xoxo,
Rachel

Haemul Sundubu Jigae (Seafood Soft Tofu Stew)

Since the weather is starting to turn colder here in Southern California (Yes, I know it's still not that cold because it is Southern California) I decided to make a stew. I don't often cook seafood but this looked so amazing that I had to try it. So I took a little trip to the Korean market it Northridge. I love going to the Galleria Market because it always has everything I need and everyone is so nice. I love going to the Korean market far more than going to the regular grocery store. Maybe the fascination factor hasn't worn off yet. I can't wait to keep exploring the aisles as I cook different recipes.

One thing you should know about me is that anytime I cook Korean food I listen to K-pop. I feel the two go together nicely and it makes the cooking process a lot funner. My current playlist has a lot of BIGBANG on it. If you don't know who they are I highly recommend checking them out. They are so incredibly talented! Not only are they awesome singers and rappers, they are also incredible song writers. (I totally look up the lyrics in English but do appreciate the songs in Korean) They have such a commanding presence when they're performing and create the most elaborate music videos. Check out their song Bang Bang Bang to see what I mean. Some of the members have also done solo projects or collaborations with other members. I love the song Good Boy by G Dragon and Taeyang. It is so good! I warn you, it is highly addictive. So now you can picture me dancing around the kitchen to these songs while I make the following dish.

I found this recipe on the Korean Bapsang. I think it was pretty easy to make. The hardest part for me is preparing all the ingredients, there is a lot of chopping. One of the main ingredient in many Korean dishes is anchovy broth or stock. It can seem a little intimidating but it can be very simple. I've only made the broth with just anchovies and water. I have not attempted it with dashima yet, maybe next time. This is what my finished broth looks like.

Ingredients
1 package (11 ounces) sundubu (extra soft/silken tofu)
2 ounces beef or pork (rib eye, sirloin, pork loin or pork belly)
7-8 pieces of seafood assortment (shrimp, mussels, clams and/or oysters)
1/2 small zucchini (2-3 ounces)
1/4 onion (2-3 ounces)
1 scallion
1 tablespoon red chili pepper flakes (gochugaru)- adjust to taste.
1 teaspoon sesame oil ( use more if using more gochugaru)
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 cup anchovy broth
Salt
Pepper

I used clams and shrimp for the seafood. I used a little more seafood than what the recipe called for. I had about 14 clams and 13 shrimp. I let the clams soak for 30 minutes to encourage them to spit out any sand and then I scrubbed them to get any debris off.  While the clams were soaking I cleaned the shrimp and took their shells off.

 I cut the pork belly into strips (about 1 inch) and I cut up the onion, zucchini and scallions in large chunks. I used a whole zucchini for this recipe.










In a pan over medium heat I combined the red pepper flakes and sesame oil until it formed a paste.

Then I added the pork, onions, garlic and soy sauce. I stir fried it until the pork and onions were almost done, about 2-3 minutes.

 I added the anchovy broth and brought it to a boil. I then let it boil for 3-4 minutes.










The I added the zucchini and soft tofu in large chunks. I brought this all to a boil again and let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Stirring occasionally to make sure the tofu didn't stick to the bottom.

 I put in the clams and shrimp and let it cook until the clams opened, about 2-3 minutes. A little salt and pepper to taste. I put in the scallions right before turning off the heat.









I am very proud of how it turned it. It was super delicious! Warm and spicy, just what I needed on a cold day. I hope you have enjoyed this recipe and the insight into my current playlist. I have enjoyed sharing it with you. Have a great week!

Xoxo,
Rachel