Chijeu-buldak (Fire Chicken with Cheese)

I will admit that this is my absolute favorite recipe so far! I think the cheese maybe the reason why. Cheese is one of my favorite ingredients and I happen to think it makes everything taste better. That must be the American inside me talking. I also really enjoy sauces, but I get that from my dad. He puts some sort of sauce on everything. Not having access to certain sauces, like ranch dressing, was the hardest part of living in England for me. I probably failed to mention this but I lived in England for year during college. It was the most amazing experience and I highly recommend studying abroad to everyone! If I was still in college now I would definitely study abroad in South Korea. I think living their would be so much fun! I'm slightly jealous that they can get food delivered 24/7 in Seoul. Come one California, we need to step up our food game!
This week my playlist will be all about EXO. This is in large part due to the fact that I spent most of yesterday at their concert in Los Angeles. It was so much fun and I will write a post for you about it later this week. I'm going to share with you 3 songs. These songs don't have music videos but the live performances are some of my favorites. The first song is Transformer. This song has a really great beat and is more focused on the rapping as opposed to singing in most of their songs. It has a more hip hop vibe and I love it. The next song is Playboy. This is one of their sexier songs. I think it's their dance moves to this that makes it my favorite and the leather pants don't hurt either. Check them out for yourself and let me know what you think. The last song is Heart Attack. This is one of my all time favorite songs from them. It is so fun, I love the beat and I really enjoy the style in which they perform it. It's a music video within a concert. Check it out here.
Now it's on to the recipe. If you like chicken, cheese and spicy things, then this my friends is the recipe for you! I got this recipe from Maangchi.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of chicken breast, cut into 3/4 or 1 inch cubes

1/2 cup hot pepper flakes (I used 1/4 to make it less spicy)

2 to 3 tablespoons gochujang (hot pepper paste)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup rice syrup (or corn syrup, sugar, honey)

6 large garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons ginger, minced

1 pound mozzarella cheese, cut into small pieces

1 cup of sliced rice cake

1 green onion, chopped

1/4 cup water

Step 1.

Combine hot pepper flakes, gochujang, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, black pepper, rice syrup, garlic and ginger together in a bowl. 

Step 2.

Add the chicken and mix well. 

Step 3.

In a skillet heat up 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the rice cakes and fry them for a few minutes. Turning occasionally (I find that tongs are the easiest way to do this) cooking until they are crispy and light golden brown. 

Step 4.

Place the chicken into a heavy pan, preferably cast iron. (I used a regular frying pan) Use the water to rinse the bowl and get any remaining sauce into the pan. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. If you used a regular frying pan like me it will take about 7 to 8 minutes. 

Step 5.

Uncover and stir the chicken with a wooden spoon. Add the rice cakes to the top of the chicken. Turn the heat to low. Cover and cook the chicken and rice cakes for another 10 minutes or until the chick is fully cooked. If you are using cheese turn on the oven broiler to pre-heat while the chicken cooks. (I was overly excited and forgot to get photo evidence of these steps)

Step 6.

If you used a cast iron skillet you can place the cheese directly on top of the chicken and place in the oven. Since my pan has a plastic handle I transferred my chicken to an oven safe dish and covered with the pieces of mozzarella. 

Step 7.

Place the chicken in the oven and let cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Step 8.

Remove and sprinkle with green onion. Then it's ready to serve.

I ate this with rice and it was amazing. I think the cheese and rice cakes add nice flavor and texture to the dish. I'm so glad I didn't put a 1/2 cup of red pepper flakes because then it would have been too hot for me. This was just the right amount of spice for me. I also shared this dish with a few friends and they loved it. I think this may be my biggest culinary success yet! Thank you Maangchi for the recipe. 

I hope you all enjoyed this weeks adventure. Keep your eyes peeled for my EXO post later this week. Do you have any recipes you think I should try? Let me know in the comments below. Have a great week!

XOXO,

Rachel 

Lunar New Year!

Today is Lunar New Year! Welcome to the year of the Fire Monkey! Sounds awesome right? In Korean it is also known as seollal, the first day of the lunar calendar. Some people also refer to today as the Chinese New Year. If you hadn't noticed the theme within my blog, I felt that Lunar New Year was more appropriate. In Korea this is one of their biggest holidays. It is spent with family and honoring ones ancestors. Ancestor rites are an important part of this holiday. The purpose of these rites is to express gratitude to ancestors and pay for the family's well being throughout the year. In America I think we tend to remember our grandparents and maybe even our great grandparents but beyond that our site gets a little hazy. I think it's wonderful that many cultures still honor their ancestors and know the significance they have in our lives. On this day many people often wear traditional Korean clothing known as hanbok. For women this consists of an empire waisted skirt and a cropped jacket. They are so beautifully made and can be very fashionable. Food is also a large part of this holiday. A large meal is prepared for the family and this often includes tteokguk or rice cake soup. It is commonly said that you must eat a bowl to become one year older. Well I guess I've aged another year and it isn't even my birthday! If you would like to read more you can check out the article I referenced here.

For this weeks dish I decided to make tteokguk and mandu in honor of the Lunar New Year. Both recipes are from the Korean Bapsang and can be found here and here.

Tteokguk

Ingredients:
Beef Broth
1/2 pound beef brisket
1/2 medium onion
5-6 cloves of garlic
3 scallions - white parts
1-2 tablespoons soup soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste



Garnish:
Beef removed from broth (and shredded)
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
salt and pepper
1 egg
1 scallion
1/2 sheet gim(nori)

4 cups sliced rice cake (garae tteok)
-Soak in cold water for 10 to 20 minutes if hardened.

Step 1.
In a large pot, bring the meat, onion, scallions and garlic to a boil in 14 cups of water. Reduce the heat to medium low and skim off the scum. Simmer, covered, until the meat is tender enough for shredding. This can take 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove the meat and allow it to cool. You can discard the vegetables and then stir in the soup soy sauce along with the salt and pepper.

Step 2.
To make the egg garnish (jidan) you will need to separate an egg. Lightly beat the egg white and stir the yoke with a spoon. Lightly oil a nonstick skillet and then place over medium low heat. Cooking one half of the egg at a time, pour the egg part into a thin layer to form a circle. Cook each side briefly until no visible liquid remains. Slice into thin short strips
-I found the yoke to be much easier to cook than the egg white. The yoke formed a nice circle while the egg white wanted to run everywhere.

Step 3.
Shred the cooled beef into 1-1 1/2 inch long strips then mix with the garlic, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Slice the scallion diagonally into thin strips. Roast the gim on a hot skillet. You can use kitchen shears to cut it into 1 1/2 inch strips or crush them with your hands.

Step 4.
Return the broth to a boil. Add the rice cake slices and boil until soft. About 5-8 minutes. Then ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the shredded beef, egg, scallion and gim strips.

Mandu

Ingredients:

25-30 dumpling wrappers (slightly thick)

Filling:

1 cup (packed) finely chopped kimchi
6 ounces tofu
8 ounces mung bean sprouts
1/2 medium onion
3 scallions
4 ounces ground beef
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 egg (the rest is to seal the wrappers)
salt to taste
pinch of pepper

Step 1.
Finely chop the kimchi and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Place the tofu in a cheese cloth and squeeze out as much water as you can. Blanch the bean sprouts in boiling water. Then drain, chop and squeeze the water. Finely chop the onion and squeeze out any water. Finely chop the scallions.

Step 2.
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Step 3.
Place a large spoonful of the filling into the wrapper. Use the rest of the egg to wet the edges of the wrapper and seal the sides together, pushing out any air with your fingers, to form a half moon shape. You can stop there or you can bring the to ends together. Seal the ends with the egg and press tightly to create a round shape. Repeat this until you have used all the wrappers.

This makes a large batch and you can freeze some to eat later.*

I really enjoyed making these two recipes. It was fun to make food that is traditionally prepared and eaten on this day. This was my first time making both of these and I am proud of how they turned out. I think next year I will have an easier time preparing them. I would also love to know how they make the mandu so round. I think if I used a bit more filling they would have turned out more round. Oh well, there is always next year!

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I enjoy having you read along with my recipes. I hope to include more videos in future. I think it's fun to have you in the kitchen with me. If there is a recipe that you think I should try or would love to see me make please leave a message in the comments below. Until next week!

XOXO,
Rachel

Kimchijeon (Kimchi Pancake)

Hello! This week I have something fun an exciting for you. Instead of photos of my cooking I am giving you a video of me making the food. I'm so happy to be able to share this with you. I've had a few people tell me that it's so interesting what I'm doing and that people would actually enjoy seeing the face that goes along with the cooking. Well here I am! You can find both the recipe and video below. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel for new videos or you can follow along on Instagram.
I wasn't able to include any music in my video because I couldn't play music and film at the same time. But I do have a playlist to share with you this week. I am a relatively new BIGBANG fan and am still exploring all their music. I've recently found some of their older songs and I am loving it. The first song is Bigbang. Catchy title, right! I really enjoy how the song starts off with raps from both T.O.P and G-Dragon. The whole song is amazing, catchy and upbeat but the raps are the best part. T.O.P's parts are my favorite. He has an interesting style and I love how is voice melds with the music. The next song on the list is Good Bye Baby. Many of my reasons for loving this song are very similar to the previous song. I love how T.O.P's voice and lyrics bring you into the song. This song reminds me of a lot of 2000's American hip hop songs. Plus the video is amazing and I love the dance battle. You'll have to check it out for yourself!

Now time for the cooking!

Ingredients:

1/2 pound Napa Cabbage Kimchi, chopped into small pieces, plus 2 tablespoons of the brine

3 scallions, chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup water

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Step 1. 

Combine the kimchi, kimchi brine, scallions, sugar, flour and water in a medium size bowl and mix well with a spoon.

Step 2. 

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Pour the batter onto the pan and spread with the back of a spoon or spatula to form a large circle. Cook until the bottom is golden brown and crisp. About 3 to 5 minutes.

Step 3.

Carefully turn the pancake over. Drizzle the remaining oil around the edges of the skillet, then lift the pancake with a spatula to allow the oil to run underneath, and tilt the pan to spread the oil evenly. Cook until the pancake is light golden brown and crisp. Around 3 to 5 minutes. You can flip it one more time and cook for another minute.

Now your pancake is ready to serve. 

Thank you so much for joining me on this weeks adventure. Please let me know what you thought of the video in the comments below. I'd also love to hear your thoughts on what I should make next. I'm always on the look out for new recipes to try out. Next weekend is Lunar New Year. It is a big holiday in Korea. There is usually a big feast prepared for everyone that includes specific dishes that are made for this celebration. I'm hoping to share some of those with you next week. Until next time.

XOXO,
Rachel