Ojinguh Bokeum Version 2.0 - Squid Stir Fry - (오징어 볶음)

Both the MR and Munchkin *LOVE* squid. When we go to a Chinese restaurant, Munchin is not like other kids. He doesn't ask for jja-jang-myun at all and will instead ask for jjam-bbong AKA the noodles with ojinguh. =P

We took advantage of the long weekend and headed out to Santa Monica Beach yesterday. We acted like total tourists and rented bicycles and zipped up and down the beach. If you haven't done this with your child yet, you must!

Munchkin had a blast! Next time, we will take his bike with us though since the rental was kinda old and rickety. I kept thinking that the training wheels were going to fall off any second. hehe.

Anyhow, after our day at the beach we headed to K-town to stock up on groceries.



They had *gook-san* squid so I bought 3! Two for the ojinguh bokeum and one for the ojinguh gook.



Start off by gutting your squids and on the stove bring a large pot of water to a boil.



While the water is boiling, get your veggies ready. I used 1/2 onion, 1/2 carrot, 1/2 squash, 5 mushrooms, 1 red pepper, and 1 green pepper.



Once the water is boiling, throw in all the ojinguhs in there and just sift it around flipping it over and making sure it's almost all done.



Rinse all the squid under cool water and then start cleaning it.



I like to take off all the skin and I will also cut off all the ends of the tentacles and take off all the suction thingies. Grossed out yet? ;)



After it's all cleaned, cut it up into pieces using a knife and cutting board.


 
In a little bowl mix together the following: 3TB of red pepper paste, 2TB red pepper powder, 1TB minced garlic, 1TB corn syrup, 1 TB cooking wine, 1TB honey powder, 3TB sugar, 2TB gook ganjang, 1TB soy sauce, 1 TB sesame seeds, 1 TB sesame oil and a dash of pepper.

Whew! That seems like a lot of stuff, huh?



I defrosted some dduk as well!



Get your skillet ready. Splash some oil and add a tablespoon of minced garlic.

 
Saute all the veggies except the mushrooms first.



Throw in about half the sauce and keep mixing!



After the veggies look about half done...



Throw in the squid (I used roughly 2 squids), the dduk, and mushrooms.



Add in the remaining sauce and keep mixing!



Throw in some green onions...



Get everything thoroughly mixed and cook it together for about 5-10 minutes.


 
And you're ready to serve!



Munchkin can normally eat this as is, but the new gochujang is a bit spicy so he takes a bowl of water and washes it off himself as he eats. Yes, there is no denying that my kid is Korean. =)

I hope everyone is having a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend! Don't forget to take a moment and give tribute to all the soldiers who gave up their lives for us.

Spicy Crab Soup - (꽃게탕)

I made this over the weekend, but I've been lazy to put it up. Like always, there are a variety of ways to make this dish, but I tend to cheat and buy the marinated crab at the K-markets.  Why?  Because it's already fully seasoned and all CLEAN and cut - bottom line, it saves me a lot of time.


 
I would say this is roughly about 1 lb. of spicy crab. When the K-market has fresh ggot-gae (crab) in the future, I'll buy it and show you how to make this at home as well. I don't like the frozen ones...



I had already washed and cleaned my veggies the prior night. This about 1/4 onion, 2 small red peppers, 1 green pepper, and 1/2 cup of sliced up daikon radish (moo).



In a pot, add about 3/4 TB minced garlic, 1/2 TB red pepper powder, 3/4 TB sesame oil and 2 TB gook ganjang.


 
First throw in the moo and saute it a bit.



Then add 3 cups of water and bring it to a boil.



Add about 1/2 TB of dwenjang and 1 TB of gochu-jang to the boiling water....



Then throw in all the crabs and bring to a boil again.



Throw in the onions, green onions, and dae-pa (large green onions).



Throw in the green and red peppers...



Let everything continue to boil for a bit...



Throw in some tofu! At this point you can add squash, mushrooms, kongnamool, soot-gat or any other vegetable you want to add. I didn't have any of those (time to go the market again!) so I made mine simple.



Continue to boil for just a little bit longer and you're ready to serve! Enjoy with a nice hot bowl of rice.

As always, if there are any questions regarding ingredients and brands...be sure to check out my Korean Cooking 101 section!

Uh-Mook Jorim - Fish Cakes - 어묵 조림

I apologize about the sporadic updates. One of my New Year's resolutions was to spend more time on this blog and hopefully make a mini-cookbook by the end of this year. =P We'll see how that goes since I'm not very motivated to do much these days.

I've put up an uh-mook bokeum recipe up before, and this following recipe is quite similar, only with more liquid. Instead of pan-frying the uh-mook, you're reducing it in liquid. I personally think it has more flavor.

Again, many ways to make the same dish!  You can add red peppers, green peppers, carrots, broccoli and whatever else meets your fancy.  I didn’t have any of that so I made do with what was available.

 

Needed:

• 4 Fried Fish Cake pieces
• sauce: 2 TB minced garlic, 2 TB rice wine, 1/4 cup water, 3 TB gook ganjang, 1 TB sesame oil, 1 TB corn syrup, and lastly 3/4 TB of red pepper powder (gochuggaru).
• 1/2CUP onions, 1/2CUP mushrooms, and 1/4CUP green onions       

 

I buy a big bag of uh-mook and leave it in my freezer to use whenever I may need it.



I used four pieces today.



Cut it once lengthwise and then slice it up like so.



Throw the uh-mook into a pan and add the following: 2 TB minced garlic, 2 TB rice wine, 1/4 cup water, 3 TB gook ganjang, 1 TB sesame oil, 1 TB corn syrup, and lastly 3/4 TB of red pepper powder (gochuggaru).



Mix it up well and then throw in about half a sliced onion and continue to let it boil on low heat.



At this point, you can throw in any number of vegetables. If you have red and green peppers on hand add them for extra kick (I didn't have any) or you can add mushrooms, broccoli, or squash. No limits!



Once all the liquid is almost reduced, throw in some green onions and mix it around one last time.



You're ready to serve! Enjoy!!! Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the weekend! Mother Nature is acting kinda freaky out here in LA isn't it?  =P

Seafood Kalgooksoo - 해물 칼국수

My friend and I were dining at Moo Dae Po II (I wonder why it got such a bad review on yelp?) the other week and they had this seafood noodle pot that they gave us at the end. They used thinner noodles at the restaurant, but kalgooksoo noodles is what I had in my pantry so it had to do.

 

Not to be a noodle whore, but these didn’t taste that great.  =/  I would suggest choosing a thinner noodle instead just like they have at Moo Dae Po.  =P


 

 
I used clams, shrimp, dried anchovies and dashima to make the broth.



First start off by boiling your noodles about HALFway done in a pot.



Rinse the noodles in cold water and let drain on the side.



Meanwhile defrost about three shrimps and six clams.



In about 7 cups of water, I added the anchovy and dashida packet. I probably used about 10 big anchovies and a 2 inch think piece of dashima (dried sea kelp).



While everything is boiling, get your kalgooksoo sauce ready. Look about halfway down the page on the link and there is a recipe for it from a couple years back.



I then transferred the broth to a larger pot and strained it through this. I wanted to make sure none of that white foamy stuff went into the broth.



Throw in the seafood...



Then the noodles...



Top it off with some veggies such as: mushrooms, squash, red peppers, and green onions.



Let everything come to a boil until the noodles fully cook and you're ready to serve!



Add some kalgooksoo sauce to your liking and dig in!



If you have some ggak ddoogi in your fridge, bring it out! I made SO many banchans this week that our fridge is overflowing. I even made bechoo kimchi on my own and I must say it came out pretty decent. One day I will write up a step-by-step how-to for kimchi. One day.