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