Kimchi Sundubu Jjigae (Spicy Soft Tofu Stew with Kimchi and Pork)

Welcome to another week of my adventures in Korean cooking! This week I decided to go with a dish that has always captivated me. I think it is so cool that this dish is served bubbling. It's also spicy, delicious and the perfect go to dish. I had the fortune of tasting this dish at BCD Tofu House on Saturday. Normally when I cook it is the first time I am both cooking and tasting the dish. I enjoy it when I can taste a dish prepared by someone familiar with this style of cooking. It helps me to gauge how I well my dishes come out. I can tell you, this one turned out great!
This week on the playlist we have two songs that make me want to dance! I love to dance and music is very important when it comes to setting the tone of the dance. I really enjoy Kpop because the music always has the most amazing beat and it is one of my go-to's for dancing. The first song is by none other than the amazing BOA. She is so beautiful, talented and an amazing dancer. A friend of mine introduced me to this song and I am so thankful. BOA is amazing and this video showcases just how awesome she is. The song is Eat You Up. This song has all the great elements of a Kpop song but the lyrics are in English. I appreciate this because I love understand the words in a song and knowing what it is about. The dancing in this video is phenomenal. I think anyone who loves to dance will appreciate the choreography. The next song is If You Do by GOT7. I really enjoy the dancing in this video. I love how they use movement to convey the emotions of the lyrics. The music is emotional yet upbeat and I love it. But I will admit that I get frustrated with the girl that is the subject of the song. If a girl says "It's up to you if you want to break up. I don't care.  Just do whatever you want. It doesn't matter to me. I'll just go to sleep." That person is manipulative and please break up with them.
Now it's time for some stew! Are you ready? I got this recipe from Maangchi.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup anchovy stock (You find the recipe here)

2 tablespoons hot pepper flakes

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon vegetable oil.

1/2 cup ground pork or pork belly

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove minced garlic

1 green onion, chopped

1/2 cup well-fermented kimchi, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 tube of soft tofu (sundubu)

1 egg

Step 1.

Combine the red pepper flakes and sesame oil in a small bowl.

Step 2. 

Heat up a 3 cup earthenware pot on the stove over medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. 

Step 3.

Add the vegetable oil, onion and garlic. Stir and allow to cook for 1 minute.

Step 4.

Add the pork and allow to cook until the pork is no longer pink.

Step 5.

Add the kimchi and allow everything to cook for 1 minute. 

Step 6.

Add the 1/2 cup anchovy stock. Cover and allow this to cook for 7 minutes over medium heat.

Step 7.

Add the salt and sugar and mix well.

Step 8.

Add the soft tofu to the pot. Gently break it up with a wooden spoon.

Step 9.

Add the hot pepper mixture and spread it with a spoon.

Step 10.

Crack the egg onto the stew. Let it bubble and sizzle for 1 minute.

Just sprinkle with some green onions and it is ready to serve with some rice! I think this is one of my favorite dishes that I've made. Although there are lots of steps it's not too hard to make. It is so delicious and I imagine that I will make it a lot more. Thank you for joining me on my adventure. If there are any dishes that you think I should make please leave them in the comments. I look forward to seeing you next week for another adventure. 

XOXO,

Rachel 

Kang Doenjang

Hello! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I'm sorry that I haven't posted about the EXO concert. Things have been crazy busy and I haven't had to opportunity to sit down and write the post. But I promise it will be worth the wait. This weeks recipe is going to be a little different. I actually don't have a recipe for this dish. I saw it being made in a section of a YouTube video that I watched. It looked so delicious so I tried to recreate the recipe as best I could using only visuals. It turned out pretty delicious and I think it looks pretty close to how it looks in the video. You can check that out here and tell me how I did. The recipe I made is at the very end of the video.
This weeks playlist is a bit different. I've been branching out and listening to different groups so that I can widen my music selection to share with you.  The first song is Roll Deep by HyunA featuring Ilhoon of BTOB. The song itself is pretty fun. It's got a good beat and is fun to sing along to. The video is interesting. It touches on imagery seen in other artist's videos. Ilhoon's superman robe reminds me of G-Dragon's Wonder Woman robe in the Crayon video. HyunA at one point has a definite Miley Cyrus vibe. I enjoy HyunA because she's beautiful and badass. The next song is Just Right by GOT7. I really enjoy the message of this song. They're telling the girl that she's beautiful just the way she is and doesn't need to listen to people telling her she has imperfections. The song is fun and upbeat. The music video is a little funny but I enjoyed it. I always find it interesting to see the dance moves they pair with a song. This video definitely features some interesting ones. Both these songs are really great and I love dancing to them :) Maybe one day, if you're lucky, I'll post a video of me dancing and singing along with some Kpop songs.

Now it's time for my recipe!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
5 green Korean peppers
7 Shiitake mushrooms
2 tablespoons gochujang
3 tablespoons doenjang
1 tablespoon minced garlic
water

Rice and Red Leaf Lettuce to eat it with.

Step 1.
Combine the beef, peppers, mushrooms, garlic, gochujang and doenjang together in a medium sized pot and mix well.

 

Step 2.
Add enough water to cover the ingredients. I added about 2 cups.

Step 3.
Cover and cook on medium heat until the ground beef is cooked through.

Now its ready to eat. I took a piece of red leaf lettuce and put some rice and then some of the Kang Doenjang on it and ate it that way.

It turned out pretty well. It was very delicious. Next time I think I will add less water. This could also be made in a small portion, which I think would be better. What are your thoughts? Do you have any recipes you think I should try? What's been your favorite recipe so far? Leave it in the comments below.

XOXO,
Rachel

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

Chia Seed Products

Hello! Recently I purchased a couple products from The Face Shop. These were the first Korean skincare products that I purchased and I was so excited! I had been watching the Korean/Aussie beauty blogger Meejmuse talk about Korean skincare products and I desperately wanted to try them. I was slightly upset because I didn't think you could really get Korean skincare products in America. That was until I learned about The Face Shop. The Face Shop is a Korean cosmetics retailer and they have stores in the U.S. Woo Hoo!
I decided to go with the Chia Seed line because I had heard good things about it and I knew it would be a good brand to use since I have oily skin. The two products I chose were the Chia Seed Boosting Essence and the Chia Seed Watery Toner. In Korean skincare there can be many products used and everything has a specific order that it is put on in. I really loved the packaging of these products because there is a section that tells you the order in which to used the products. I don't follow the steps completely because I don't have all the products yet. I hope to gain a better collection as I become more acquainted with the types of products available. However, my skincare routine is far more complicated than it used to be. I used to wash my face and then put on a moisturizer and that was it. But as I get older I have started to pay more attention to my skin and try to take care of it. Prevention is easier than repairing the damage.

The first product that has been added to my skincare routine is the Boosting Essence. This essence is different because it goes on right after washing the face to help moisturize it. Normally an essence is put on after the toner, kind of like a serum. After I wash my face I will either leave it wet or lightly dry it so there is still some moisture on my skin and then I will apply this boosting essence. After that I will apply the toner. I try not to rub my face too much as apply the products. And especially with the toner I will use more of a patting or tapping motion. I allow the products to absorb into my skin and then I will go on to apply my eye cream and moisturizer.
I really enjoy these products. Shortly after using them I feel like my face looked more youthful. My face felt healthy and moisturized. I used to get dry patches on certain areas of my face but I haven't had any since using these products. I feel like my face has a more even tone and is more nourished. I think these products are great and I can't wait to try out more!
If you have any products that you think I should try please leave me a comment below and tell me all about it. Have a great week!

XOXO,
Rachel