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