Bo-ssam (Pork Wraps)

Hello all! I hope you are having a wonderful week. I know my week has been pretty good. My new roommate has arrived from South Korea. I'm looking forward to getting to know her and to have someone new to taste my cooking. As you know I recently made kimchi. Well, what goes better with kimchi than bo-ssam! Bo-ssam is such an amazing dish. I remember the first time I tried it, I was amazed. It was so full of flavor and just melted in my mouth. So good! The flavorful pork belly combined with the slight spice of the sauce and tangy flavor of the cabbage leaves is the perfect combination. It easily become one of my new favorite dishes and now I can make it myself.
This recipe came from maangchi. I love all of her recipes and videos. She makes cooking fun. I love how much she enjoys making this recipes and sharing them with others. Cooking is such a wonderful activity and I would love to make delicious food all the time. Beyond making the food, sharing it with friends and family and having them enjoy the food that I've prepared is always a joy. I think food is something that can bring people together and I think that is why I enjoy it so much.
You can find the recipe that I used here.

Ingredients:
For cabbage
- 1 pound napa cabbage leaves, washed and drained
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3/4 cup water

For pork
-3 pounds pork belly rinsed and drained
- 1 large onion, cut into quarters or sliced
- 2 tablespoons ginger, sliced thinly
- 12 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons Korean Fermented soybean paste (doenjang)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant hazelnut-flavored coffee
- 10 cups of water


For oyster radish salad
- 1 pound Korean radish, peeled and washed
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 8 ounces frozen shucked oysters, thawed out in the fridge for an hour
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

For shrimp sauce
- 1 tablespoon saeujeot (fermented salted shrimp)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoon water
- a pinch of sesame seeds

For Cabbage
Step 1.
Combine sugar, vinegar, salt and water in a large bowl. Mix well until it turns into a clear pickle brine.

Step 2.
Add the cabbage and mix well by hand.

Step 3.
Let it sit for 15 minutes, then mix well and turn it over so the leaves pickle evenly. Repeat this every 10 to 15 minutes for 1-2 hours, until the cabbage leaves get soft and withered.

Step 4.
Squeeze out the excess water and refrigerate until ready to serve.

For Pork
Step 1.
Add the pork, onion, garlic, soy bean paste, brown sugar, hazelnut coffee powder, and the water to a large pot. Cover and cook for 1 hour over medium high heat.

Step 2.
When it boils vigorously, turn the pork over with a wooden spoon or tongs.

Step 3.
After 1 hour of boiling, turn down the heat to low and cook for another 15 minutes.

Step 4.
Take out he cooked pork and let it cool down until ready to serve.

For spicy oyster radish salad
Step 1.
Cut the radish into matchsticks and put them in a bowl. Mix with the salt and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Step 2.
Squeeze out the excess water and put it back into a bowl.

Step 3.
Take the the oysters out of the fridge and wash and drain.

Step 4.
Create a seasoning mixture by combing hot pepper flakes, fish sauce, sugar, garlic and green onion in a bow. Mix well with a wooden spoon.

Step 5.
Add the seasoning mixture to the radish and mix well by hand. Add the oyster and mix it in gently. Add the sesame seeds.

For shrimp sauce
Step 1.
Combine the fermented salted shrimp, sugar, hot pepper flakes, green onion, garlic and water in a small bowl. Mix it well with a spoon. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

To serve,
Step 1.
Slice the pork into 1/8 inch thick pieces. Put them on a large platter.

Step 2.
Add the cabbage, spicy oyster radish salad, and shrimp sauce side by side nicely. Sprint with sesame seeds and serve.

*Korean people often serve with Korean booze: soju, makgeolli or even beer.

How to eat
-Take a pickled cabbage leaf, add a piece of pork on top of it, add some of the oyster radish salad and some of the shrimp sauce. Make sure it is small enough to fit in your mouth all at once. Wrap the leaf into a small pouch and eat it whole.

Well there you have it, bo-ssam! It does take a few hours to make but it is so delicious. This is a great meal to enjoy with friends. I hope you enjoyed this recipe. I'll see you soon for my next dish.

XOXO,
Rachel

Tongbaechu-kimchi (Napa Cabbage Kimchi)

Hello! Long time no see. Things have been so busy. I have a lot of projects going on at work, my roommates just moved to Iowa and I'm getting into the groove with one of my new roommates while waiting for the other one to arrive from Korea. But with all that going on I have had the opportunity to cook some new dishes. Both of the dishes I have made recently are considered more difficult dishes to make. I am really proud of how both of them turned out. So lets talk about the first dish that I made, kimchi.
I love making Korean food but I was always intimidated by kimchi. I wasn't intimidated by the amount of work that goes into making it but the fermentation process. In order to make kimchi you need to ferment it and considering I have never done this, and I was always told leaving food out overnight is very bad, I was a little nervous. But when I read on Maangchi's recipe that if you can make this kind of kimchi well, then you can consider yourself good at Korean cooking I was determined to make it. I felt that if I didn't make kimchi then my Korean cooking skills would never be complete.
That being said, I really enjoyed making kimchi. It is a long process but I loved every minute of it. From buying the ingredients, to salting the cabbage leaves, to spreading the mixture on the leaves, it was fantastic. That's why I enjoy cooking so much. There is so much care put into making each dish. When I hear my roommate talk about her mothers cooking and how she worked very hard to make really delicious and nutritious food for them, it makes me want to strive for that with my cooking. It's seeing the enjoyment when people taste the food I've prepared that makes it all worth while.

Now onto the recipe! This one came from Maangchi and can be found here. You will need a couple very large bowls for the cabbage and some large containers with lids for the Kimchi. They have special plastic and glass containers made for Kimchi at Korean grocery stores. You will also need a large strainer.

Ingredients:
For salting cabbage:
-6 pounds napa cabbage (3-4 medium size heads of napa cabbage)
-1/2 cup Kosher salt.

Porridge:
-2 cups water
-2 tablespoons sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)
-2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (brown or white sugar)

Vegetables:
-2 cups radish matchsticks
-1 cup carrot matchsticks
-7 to 8 green onions, chopped
-1 cup chopped Asian chives (buchu), optional (substitute with 3 green onions, chopped)
-1 cup water dropwort (minari), optional

Seasonings and spices:
-1/2 cup garlic cloves (24 garlic cloves), minced
-2 teaspoons ginger, minced
-1 medium onion, minced
-1/2 cup fish sauce
-1/4 cup fermented alter shrimp with salty brine, chopped
-2 cups hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)

Prepare and salt the cabbage.
1. It the cabbage core sticks out too much, trim it down.
2. To cut the cable in half cut a short slit in the base of the cabbage, enough to be able to grip each half, then gently pull the halves apart until the cabbage is split.
3. Cut a slit through the core of each half, about 2 inches above the stem. You want the leaves to be loose but still attached to the core. (Don't pull apart, leave them with just the slit)

4. Dunk the cabbage halves in a large basin of water to get them wet. Don't worry about rinsing or cleaning just yet. Then sprinkle the salt between each leaf. Make sure the get the whole leaf, paying extra attention (more salt) to the stems, where the leaves are thicker.
5. Let the cabbage rest for 2 hours, turning it over every 30 minutes, so that they get well salted. You can also ladle some of the salty water from the bottom of the basin over top of the cabbage when you turn it.

6. After 2 hours, wash the cabbage halves under cold running water. Make sure to wash them well to remove the salt and any dirt. As you wash, use the slits to split the halves into quarts. Cut off the cores, and put them in a strainer over your sink so they can drain.

Making the kimchi mixture.
*While the cabbage is salting, make the porridge as it will need time to cool.
1.Combine the water and the sweet rice flour in a small pot.

Mix well with a wooden spoon and then let it cook over medium heat until it starts to bubble. (about 9 minutes) Then add the sugar and cook from 1 more minute, stirring. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.

2. Cut up all of your vegetables except the onion, garlic and ginger.

3. In a blender or food processor add the onion, garlic and ginger and blend until everything is a minced texture.

4. Combine the cool porridge, the garlic, ginger and onion mixture, fish sauce in a large bowl. Scoop the salted strip out of the jar (brine and all) and squeeze out the brine into the mixture you just made. Then cut up the shrimp finely and then add them to the mixture. Add in the hot pepper flakes, if you want less spicy kimchi then only use around 1 cup. I like mine spicy so I used 2 cups. Mix well, until it becomes a paste.

5. Add in the radish, carrot, green onion, Asian chives and water dropwort. Mix well. The radish has a lot of water so the mixture will become thinner.

Making Kimchi
1. Take each cabbage quarter and spread the mixture between all of the leaves.

2. When each cabbage quarter is well coated, wrap it around itself into a spall packet and put it in your container.

3. Make sure the container is well back and press the kimchi down before sealing the container.
*You can eat the kimchi now or let it ferment.

Fermenting the kimchi.
1. Leave the kimchi out at room temperature for a day or two depending on the temperature and humidity of the room. The warmer and more humid it is, the faster the kimchi will ferment. Once it starts to ferment it will smell and taste sour, and pressing on the top of the kimchi with a spoon will release bubbles from beneath.
2. Once it starts to ferment, store it in the refrigerator and use as needed. This will slow down the fermentation process, which will make the kimchi more and more sour as time goes on.

Well there you have it, kimchi! I am so excited to be able to make my own kimchi. I love fresh, spicy, well ripened kimchi. Making it was a huge accomplishment for me and I think it went really well. Next recipe will be bo-ssam. Bo-ssam. Kimchi and Bo-ssam are two dishes that go really well together. When my roommates family gets together to make kimchi, they also make bo-ssam to enjoy after. Stay tuned for my next post where I'll show you how I made it.

XOXO,
Rachel

Ham Ji Park

Hello! How have you been? It has been so long since I've posted and I apologize for that. Work has become increasingly busy and I haven't devoted as much time to writing and cooking as I would like. I'm hoping to get into a much better routine where I can begin writing and cooking weekly and possibly even more. Living in Koreatown is still amazing. I'm learning so much and my Korean is really starting to improve. When I feel more confident I may try writing some here.
This past Saturday I had the fortune of going to Ham Ji Park with my friend Alexandria. Ham Ji Park is one of my favorite restaurants! The dwaeji galbi is magical. It has this amazing sweet and tangy flavor. Its not as smokey as American style ribs. Its sweeter but not overly sweet. It's the perfect combination of flavors.

Don't they look amazing! I especially love pairing the flavor of these ribs with this spicy lettuce dish. I think the flavors blend well together. 

I think this side dish may be my favorite. I love the slight spiciness paired with the crispness of the lettuce. We also ordered kimchi jjigae to enjoy. 

I'm not usually a soup person but this dish is one of my favorites. It is so spicy and delicious. Maybe it's because it reminds me of Basque soup. Growing up in Bakersfield I ate a lot of Basque food. If you've never had it I highly recommend it. One of the main Basque dishes that I would eat all the time was Basque soup. It is a cabbage soup that is served with salsa and beans to add to it. While it is definitely different that kimchi jjigae it still has that cabbage and spice elements that, for me, make them similar. 

Overall it was an amazing meal. The food is so delicious and encompass all the right flavors. Next time you are in Koreatown I recommend taking a trip to Ham Ji Park. I hope you have a wonderful week! 

XOXO,

Rachel 

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