Dakgalbi (Spicy stir-fried chicken with vegetables)

Hello! I hope your week has been wonderful. I've had so much going on lately. I am working a lot, learning Korean and keeping up with all the holiday and social events going on. Before I had moved to Koreatown most of my spare time had been spent cooking. Now my time is spent eating, going out with friends and learning Korean. I thought I would be doing much more cooking. Instead I am eating and enjoying all the wonderful Korean food around me. I hope that as I take in more delicious flavors it will pave the way for much more delicious cooking.

I have always loved food. It was always a sense of comfort for me. Every since I discovered Korean food it has become so much more to me. It still a source of comfort but it has also become a source of enjoyment. With Korean food it becomes a social occasion. I am so used to eating alone. Especially since moving out of my parents house. Even though I had roommates most of my food was prepared and enjoyed only by me. Now I have friends that enjoy going out to eat. We talk and enjoy delicious food together and I find that this has a great effect on my mood. I feel happier and more fulfilled getting to share these moments with such wonderful people and enjoying just amazing food.
Recently me and a couple friends went to this restaurant called Mapo Galbi. It was a small restaurant but comfortable and parking was pretty easy to find. I love when places have good parking, especially in LA. This was my first time eating dakgalbi. I hadn't even heard of this dish before going there. As with many Korean restaurants the food is cooked in front of you. I love that! I enjoying seeing all aspects of a meal being prepared. It starts off with marinated chicken, tteok and I believe a type of potato.

They allow this to cook for awhile before adding some cabbage and a spicy sauce.

Then they add some perilla leaf and cook it some more.

 

Everything continues to cook until all the vegetables and chicken are done.

The whole dish was amazing. It is very flavorful. I love how the chicken, tteok, perilla leafs and sauce all come together to give this dish amazing flavor and texture. Then afterward they make rice with the left overs.

I really enjoy how nothing is ever wasted. All of it can be used to make this really delicious food. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post. I enjoy getting to share these experiences with you. I hope to have more consistent posts for you soon. Have a wonderful week!

XOXO,

Rachel 

Gamjatang (Pork Bone Soup)

Hello! I'm so sorry I haven't posted in while. I have been so busy with work and exploring Koreatown that I haven't had as much time to devote to my cooking. I am having so much fun! I love exploring Koreatown and eating at different places. I'm learning about all sorts of new dishes that I can't wait to try and make. I also recently got some new skincare products that I can't wait to share with you. So stay tuned for lots of fun posts over the coming weeks.
Last week I went out with some friends and we went to a restaurant called Buchun Gamjatang.  It is a smaller restaurant but had a nice atmosphere. There were 4 of us and we ordered Gamjatang. We opted for the 2 person portion because the servings are very generous. This dish also came with a side of bossam which is free if you pay with cash.

 


I have to tell you, everything was amazing! All of these foods were new to me. I was a little concerned about how I was going to eat the soup with the meat still on the bone.

But my fear subsided when I actually had some meat in my bowl. The meat is so tender that it comes right off the bone. So I just used my chopsticks to clean the meat of the bone and into my soup.

It was so delicious and flavorful. It all blended together nicely. It was hardy and filling. It had potatoes, soybean sprouts, pepper and perilla leaf.  I don't know if I'm brave enough to attempt cooking this one just yet but I will definitely being eating it again soon. 

The bossam was so good! I had never had boiled pork belly before. There is something in the way they cook the meat that gives it such a beautiful flavor. It like melts in your mouth. I think they must season whatever they boil it in to give it such a wonderful taste. 

Then, if all this food isn't enough for you, they make rice with the left over soup. 

It was so yummy! I love how they never waist anything. It can all be used for something and it is all delicious. 

There is nothing like good food and good friends! I think those are the essence to a great life! I don't think I have ever been happier. I have met so many wonderful people since moving to Koreatown. I have wonderful roommates, I get to eat amazing food all the time, and I have such wonderful friends. I'm learning so much. I am also learning Korean and I love how helpful everyone has been. People are so encouraging when I attempt to speak Korean and waiters don't scoff at me when I order something in Korean. It's all still new but I love it and I love that I get to explore this place everyday!

Thank you to everyone that reads my blog. While you may not say much I still see you. I see the page visits and it brings me joy to share this with all of you. I hope you have an amazing week!

XOXO,

Rachel 

Yukgaejang (Spicy beef and vegetable soup)

Hello! I'm so glad you could join me for another adventure into Korean cooking. I love spicy food so when I go looking for recipes I'm usually attracted to the recipes that look like they have a little heat to them. That's what attracted me to this recipe. I also really like Kimchi Jjigae so I look for recipes that have a similar structure. This recipe had all of the elements I wanted so I decided to try it out. I was a little nervous about the ingredient Fernbrake. It's not a plant that I am familiar with and wasn't sure what it would taste like. But I went with it anyway and was pretty pleased with the end result.
This week on the playlist I'm going to start off with a song by Red Velvet. I love their song Dumb Dumb. It is so much fun and I enjoy the Michael Jackson reference. I will admit when I play this song it makes me feel rather sassy. The video uses interesting visuals. To me it has a bit of an 80s feel to it. But overall it's a great song. The next song on the list is Fire by BTS. This is the first song I've heard by BTS. I'm still becoming familiar with all the different groups. I thought it was a pretty interesting song. It has a nice beat to it. The video is pretty cool. I always love checking out their dance moves. There were a couple different elements used in this video that remind me of videos from other groups, especially some of the outfits. The preppy looks reminded me of GOT7 and the Hawaiian shirts reminded me of G-Dragon and T.OP.  When I just looked at iTunes it seams that BTS is dominating the charts. I'll have to check out more of their songs.
Now onto the cooking! This weeks recipe is from Maangchi and can be found here.

Ingredients

1 pound beef brisket, cut into several pieces along the grain 3 inch long, soaked in cold water for 10 to 20 minutes, washed and drained.
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 medium onion, cut in half
12 ounces (about 3 cups) mung bean sprouts washed and strained
3-4 large green onions or 14-16 regular green onions, cut into 2 1/2 inch long pieces.
6 ounces of soaked (or fresh) gosari (fernbrake) about 2 cups, cut into 2 1/2 inch long pieces.

*This is what store bought pre soaked gosari looks like.

8 cloves of garlic, minced.

Sauce

1/4 cup hot pepper flakes
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon olive oil

Step 1.
In a large pot, bring 3 quarts (12 cups) of water to a boil. Add the beef along with the dried shiitake mushrooms and the onion.

Step 2.
Allow this to cook for 1 hour over medium high heat.

Step 3.
While that boils, combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

-cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Step 4.
Put the mung bean sprouts, great onions, gosari and garlic in a large bowl.

Step 5.
After the 1 hour has passed, check the beef. Take a sample chunk and split it with your fingers or fork. If it splits nicely, it's done. If it's a little tough to split, let it cook for 10 more minutes. As stock boils off, you want to maintain about 10 cups' worth, so add some water. When its done, remove the beef, onion and mushrooms with a slotted spoon.

Step 6.
Let the beef and mushrooms cool down and discard the cooked onion.

Step 7.
Mix the vegetables with the seasoning sauce by hand until well incorporated. Add to the boiling stock.

Step 8.
Cover and cook for 20 minutes over medium high heat until the vegetables are cooked through and tender, but not mushy.

Step 9.
Like the mushrooms and pull the beef apart into strips. Add to the boiling soup and cook for another 10 minutes.

Step 10.
Now the soup is ready to serve!

This recipe turned out so well! It tasted really good and both my roommates approved. I will definitely be making this again. It is spicy, delicious and feeling. Plus it keeps really well so you can eat it for a few days. I recently ordered some Korean skincare products so I will be posting about them soon. I can't wait for them to arrive in the mail so I can start testing them out :) I hope you all have an amazing week. Until next time.

XOXO,
Rachel

KKangpung Saeu (Sweet and Spicy Shrimp)

Hello all! I'm sorry that I have not posted in a week. Things have been a little hectic around here. My roommates have had a guest staying with us while he was visiting from Japan. We had a really fun time but this also meant a lot of going out. So while I did make some food I wasn't as diligent about writing about it here. I don't know how other bloggers do it. How do they cook this delicious food, photograph it beautifully, and still maintain a full time job, while making time for friends and family? My hat's off to you bloggers. You make it look beautiful and easy. Maybe one day my blog game will be on par with theirs. But regardless of how my blog looks or reads, I love it. I truly enjoy cooking and eating this food. Korean food makes up the majority of my diet and to be honest I feel great. While I may not make the healthiest dishes I do think that most Korean food is healthy and has many benefits. I think it's all the fermented ingredients like kimchi. I also think that most Korean food is made with love. There is so much time and effort put into these dishes. My roommate says that growing up her mom always made the most delicious, healthy food. That's my goal. I want to create beautiful, delicious, healthy meals made with love. I'm still getting the hang of creating a full meal but I'm improving.
I'm going to make an acceptation regarding my playlist this week. Normally I only talk about Kpop but since Prince passed away this week I am going to dedicate this week to him. My mom is a big Prince fan and I grew up listening to his music. I loved the movie Purple Rain! Prince is incredibly talented. The first song on my playlist is Raspberry Beret. I loved singing this song when I was younger. There was just something about this song. Maybe it was how he chose to describe this woman. I definitely wanted to have a Raspberry Beret. The next song on my playlist in U Got the Look. I love the line "I've never seen such a pretty girl look so tough." I really enjoy how prince described women. It always painted the picture of a real woman as opposed to some ideal image that was dreamed up. His songs were so sexy and real. I also feel that for the most part they were empowering to women. I know that for me his song made me feel like I could be a strong, independent woman and still be loved by men. I didn't have to cower down or hide myself to be loved in his world and that was so awesome! We need more of that.
Ok, now onto the cooking. I got this recipe from the Korean Bapsang.

Ingredients
1 pound large shrimp (about 22 large shrimp), peeled and deveined.
Oil for frying

Batter
8 tablespoons potato starch
1 egg

Aromatic vegetables
4 to 5 small dried red hot peppers, roughly cut
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 inch ginger, thinly julienned
1 scallion, finely chopped
1/4 medium onion, finely diced
1/4 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 green chili pepper, finely diced

Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons rice or dry white wine (or use more water)
2 tablespoons water (or chicken or dashiki broth)
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil.

Step 1.
Clean the shrimp, drain and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let it sit until ready to coat with the batter

Step 2.
Prepare the vegetables.

Step 3.
In a small bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients, except the sesame oil, well until the sugar is dissolved.

Step 4.
Add the starch and egg to the bowl with the shrimp. Mix everything well by hand until there is no visible starch powder and the shrimp is evenly coated with the batter.

Step 5.
Add 4 cups of oil to a deep fryer, wok or large pot. Heat over high heat to 340 degrees Fahrenheit or until a drop of batter in the oil moderately bubbles up to the surface. Using metal tongs or chopsticks, drop the shrimp in the oil one at a time, in two batches. Cook until lightly golden, about a minute.

Step 6.
Remove them quickly with a wire skimmer or a slotted spoon. Drain on a wire rack or in a large mesh strainer set on a bowl. Reheat the oil to 340 degrees Fahrenheit between the batches and for the second frying.

Step 7.
Add the shrimp and briefly deep fry again until lightly golden brown. Drain on a wire rack or in a large mesh strainer.

Step 8.
In a large pan or wok, add the dried pepper and 3 tablespoons of deep-frying oil over low heat until the oil starts to turn red. The only takes a few seconds. do no burn the peppers.

Step 9.
Turn up the heat to high. Add the garlic, ginger, onion and scallion, and stir fry briefly until fragrant. Stir in the green chili pepper and red bell pepper, and cook for an additional minute or two.

Step 10.
Add the sauce, and boil for a couple of minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened, about two minutes.

Step 11.
Drop the shrimp into the pan, and quickly stir everything together until the sauce is almost absorbed. Drizzle the sesame oil, and toss everything together again. Serve immediately.

I really enjoyed how this dish turned out. It is so colorful and flavorful. I wasn't able to find dried whole chili peppers so I used these peppers cut until strings. I think that if I had used dried peppers is would have come out spicier. I would have liked this dish to have a little more heat to it. The sauce didn't thicken as I had anticipated. If it had been a little thicker I think it would have coated the shrimp better. Overall it turned out delicious and I am happy with it. Thank you for joining me for another adventure.

XOXO,
Rachel

Budae Jjigae (Army Stew)

Last week I was introduced to a dish called Army Stew or Army Base Stew. I had hear mention of this dish before but it didn't seem like something I wanted to eat. But then I went out with some friends and we ordered this along with a couple other dishes and it was amazing. It tasted so good! So I decided to try my hand at making it. Apparently this dish was created during the war. There were American soldiers mixed with Korean soldiers and they created this by mixing together whatever they had on hand. You can see both the American and Korean influences in this dish.
This weeks playlist is all about the girl power. The first song on my list is OOH-AHH Like OOH-AHH by TWICE. This song is so bubbly and upbeat. I can help but dance and sing along with it whenever I hear it. The video is pretty interesting. I didn't expect the zombie theme would go well with the song. I love the dance moves and costumes. It's definitely the kind of video I would make if I were a Kpop musician. The next song on the list is My Type by Jessi, Cheetah and KangNam from Unpretty Rapstar. This song is pretty badass. I love seeing powerful, beautiful, talented female rappers. This song is so much fun and I love rapping along with it in my car. Check out their performance here.
Now time for some Budae Jjigae. I got this recipe from My Korean Kitchen. You can find the recipe here.

Ingredients:

4 cocktail franfurt sausages (I used hot dogs)
200g Spam
200g Enoki Mushrooms
200g King Oyster Mushrooms
100g Shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup Bite sized Ripe Kimchi
250g Tofu
50g Korean Sliced Rice Cakes
30g Green Onion
110g Ramen Noodles
2 slices American Cheese
4 cups Chicken Stock

Sauce
1 tbsp minced Garlic
2 tbsp Korean Chili flakes
2 tbsp Rice Wine
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 tbsp Korean Chili paste
1/2 tbsp sugar

a little bit of black pepper

Step 1.
Cut up the sausages, spam, tofu, mushrooms and kimchi into bit size pieces and add them to the pot.

Step 2.
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

Step 3.
Add the sauce to the middle of the pot and then add the chicken stock around the sides of the pot.

Step 4.
Cover and cook on media, high heat until the mixture comes to a bowl.

Step 5.
Add the sliced rice cakes, ramen, green onion and let it cook uncovered until the noodles are cooked.

Step 6.
Add the black pepper and slices of American cheese then it is ready to serve.

This was pretty easy to make and it will feed a lot of people. You can swap out ingredients for others. Some people like to add addition vegetables or use anchovy stock instead of chicken stock. I think everyone has their own version of this recipe. Play around and make it your own. I hope you have a wonderful week! Until next time :)

XOXO,
Rachel

Yangnyeom-tongdak (Korean Fried Chicken)

Hello! Welcome to my first recipe in my new kitchen. We've had a few guests visit so I made us a lovely dinner Sunday night. Since most of these recipes are new to me I usually only make one in a night. So making a full meal was different. But it was a fun experience and everyone enjoyed it. It wasn't a traditional Korean meal but all of the dishes were Korean. I can't wait to develop my skill set to the point where I can make a traditional Korean meal, complete with appropriate presentation.

Recently Baauer released a song called Temple featuring M.I.A. and G-Dragon and I am loving it. It has an amazing beat. I love how M.I.A. and G-Dragon's style meld together and compliment one another so seamlessly. M.I.A. always has the most interesting lyrics and her style is unique. G-Dragon is one of my favorite rappers. He just has this captivating energy that he brings to each song. The other song that I've been listening to recently has been Rhythm Ta by Ikon. It's a fun, upbeat song. I think Ikon is a good group and they produce rather catchy songs. I enjoy listening to Rhythm Ta while I drive and singing along with it. It helps me to get out of my head and just enjoy myself. 

Now onto the recipe!

This recipe comes from the Maangchi cookbook.

Ingredients:

For the chicken

2 pounds chicken wings or chunks of chicken, rinsed in cold water and patted dry, tips removed, drumettes and flats separated. 

1/2 cup potato starch or cornstarch

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Corn oil for deep frying. 

For the sauce

2 teaspoons corn oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup ketchup

1/3 cup brown rice syrup (ssal-yeot), corn syrup, or sugar.

1/4 cup Korean hot pepper paste (gochujang)

2 teaspoons distilled white or apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds.

1. Make the chicken: Combine the chicken, potato starch, flour, salt, pepper, baking soda and egg in  a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or your hand until the chicken is well coated. 

2. Heat about 4 inches of corn oil in a deep pot over high heat until it reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don't have a thermometer, test it by dipping one piece of chicken in the oil. If it bubbles, it is ready. Carefully add the chicken to the oil. Add one piece at a time. Fry the chicken in batches to avoid crowding. Cook the chicken until golden. 10-12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a strainer and shake to drain. 

3. Meanwhile, make the sauce: While the chicken is frying, heat a large heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the corn oil and garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the ketchup, brown rice syrup, hot pepper paste and vinegar. Turn the heat down to low and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the sauce bubbles and becomes shiny, about 7 minutes.

4. Fry the wings again: Fry in batches, turning a few times, until the chicken is golden brown and a very crunchy on the outside, 10-12 minutes. Transfer the wings to a strainer and shake to drain, then add them to the pan with the sauce and stir until the chicken is coated.

5. Arrange the chicken on a serving platter, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

The chicken turned out delicious. It was sweet, spicy, crunchy and full of flavor. This also made a lot of food which makes it perfect for parties. I will definitely be making this one again. In addition to the chicken I made cheesy corn and Tteokbokki with cheese. All of it was amazing, delicious and great for a group of people. Thank you for joining me on another journey. Have a wonderful week!

XOXO,

Rachel 

Koreatown!

I'm so sorry that I haven't posted in a few weeks. I've been moving into my new apartment. If you've ever moved you know how stressful and time consuming it can be. For one person I have a lot of stuff. I don't know how or why I've acquired so many things. I've even tried to get rid of things recently and I still have so much stuff. My roommates are always surprised by how many things I own. It worked out well for my new roommates because I provided everything for the kitchen. I love to cook so I have a lot of kitchen stuff. It feels weird to not cook a new dish each week. But I'm looking forward to cooking many new dishes in the coming weeks.
I'm so excited to have roommates that can taste my cooking.  I think they are looking forward to it too. I also have a new kitchen to film my videos in :) The best part about my move is that I now live in Koreatown! I'm close to the Korean market and I'm in walking distance of so many amazing restaurants. I think it will be so much fun living here. It's an exciting new adventure. I'm also planning on posting about the new restaurants that I try. So get ready for all the fun new stuff coming to my blog.
I hope you have a wonderful week!

XOXO,
Rachel