Godeunguh Kimchi Jorim - Steamed Mackerel & Kimchi - (고등어 김치 조림)

Needed:

• 1/2 salted mackerel
• 1 cup fermented kimchi
• 1/4 chopped onion
• 1 stalk of green onion
  
• 3 TB sesame oil and 1 TB minced garlic

They were having a sale on mackerel at the K-market so I bought a package of it and decided to make some kimchi jorim. You can easily pan fry mackerel and enjoy it without anything extra, but every once in a while I like to change it up.



In a pot heat up 2 TB of sesame oil and 1 TB of minced garlic.



Once the garlic begins to sizzle, add about 3/4 cups of kimchi and 4-5 TB of kimchi juice and mix it around for a while.



Then set the onions and green onions on top of the kimchi.



Meanwhile, cut your mackerel into thirds. I ran it under cold water for about 5 minutes, but for the most part it was still halfway frozen. I only used one package (it comes in two separately wrapped packages) but feel free to use all of it if you have more people to feed.



Then set the mackerel on top of the kimchi and onions......


Cover it with the rest of the remaining 1/4 cup of kimchi and drizzle about 1 TB of sesame oil on top. Cover the lid and let it cook for about 30-40 minutes total.



Flip it over about halfway through to ensure even cooking.



After about 40 minutes the mackerel will be done. Plate it with the kimchi and you're ready to serve. Enjoy!

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Random...


I tried this Poulet Niçoise recipe from Williams Sonoma this weekend and it was pretty delicious. I highly suggest you give it a try.

Al Tang - Fish Egg Soup - (알탕)

So I decided to make al tang today. I prefer to buy the FRESH al they sell in the banchan section of some of the bigger K-markets, but for some reason our local K-market stopped selling them sometime last year. Therefore, I'm forced to buy the frozen kind which always seems to burst open in the soup. =P

Needed:

• 1 8oz. package of frozen pollack roe - It can be found in the frozen fish section of most K-markets and there are lots of different brands.
  
• 1 cup sliced daikon radish
• 1 cup of bean sprouts
• sauce: 1.5 red pepper powder, 0.5 red pepper paste, 1 TB rice wine, dash of pepper and ginger powder
• 1 TB light soy sauce (Korean gook ganjang) and 1 TB minced garlic
• small red pepper or serrano chile

I chose to buy Wang tonight, but next time I think I'll try another brand. These exploded and I was left with hardly any big pieces of roe.



As you can see, this was preseasoned. Depending on the seasonings of the brand of roe you buy, you may have to add or decrease the amount of soy sauce you add.



In a small bowl mix 1.5 red pepper powder, 0.5 red pepper paste, 1 TB rice wine, and a dash of pepper and ginger powder.



First heat about 1TB of gook ganjang and 1 TB of minced garlic in a pot.



Then throw in your cut up moo (daikon radish) and stir it around for a bit.



Add 3 cups of water and the red paste mixture in the small bowl and bring it to a boil. Although you can see the anchovy and dashima in the pic, don't add it. It was too fishy and I think it tastes fine without the anchovy broth.


 
Once it starts boiling, add your bean sprouts and close the lid. Let it cook for about 5 minutes


   
Finally throw in your chopped up green onions and peppers and let it boil for about 10 minutes.

 

You are then ready to serve! As you can see a lot of the roe exploded and there were barely any big pieces left. It still tasted great (according to the MR) but if you use the fresh roe, it's less likely to explode like this. I hope you can find it!

Beef Curry....from the box - (카래 라이스)

I'm sure 99% of you know how to make curry, especially since the directions are right on the box, but I thought I would post a step by step anyhow since I made this and had my camera handy. Plus, one of my girlfriends (you know who you are) called me the other day and asked me how to make curry. =P At first I thought she was joking, but it turns out she wasn't. So this is for you, babe! ;)



There are lots of different instant curries out there, but I personally like this one the BEST. My 2nd choice would be Vermont Curry.



You can pretty much add whatever vegetables you prefer. I chose to use 1 whole large onion, 3 mushrooms, 4 celery sticks, 1 large potato, 2 small carrots, and about 1 cup of frozen corn.



The local K-market actually sells beef for curry. It's really convenient because it's precut into perfect bite size pieces. You need more or less 1 LB. of beef. You can use ground beef, beef stew meat, beef flank, etc. You can also substitute with chicken.



Start off with about 2 TB of oil and 1 TB of minced garlic. I'm sure you've noticed by now that I garlic and add it to just about everything.



First saute your beef with a dash of salt and pepper.



Then add your cut up carrots and potatoes and keep stirring.



Next add your onions and celery and continue to stir it around. At this point I like to add about 1 TB of red pepper powder.



You're now ready to throw in your mushrooms and corn. Stir, stir, stir and mix everything around evenly.



Add 6 cups of water and bring it to a boil for about 5-10 minutes. I also added 1 TB of Chicken Knorr at this point.



Break up all your curry pieces. Although I only took a picture of half the curry, make sure to use the WHOLE box. You will be using two of these.



Keep stirring it around and make sure to scrape the bottom off so the vegetables don't stick.



In about 5-10 minutes after adding the curry blocks, you should reach a thick consistency. You're now ready to serve over hot rice! Enjoy~ I was going to take a picture of it over white rice, but when I came home today the MR had already finished all the curry! I took half of it to work to share with my coworkers, so he didn't eat ALL of it by himself...but still.

Roasted Beets

I apologize for the lack of updates. Like I mentioned before, contrary to what you see on this blog, I really do not cook that often. Often I cook in spurts. I'll make 2-3 things in one night and then take the next few days off. Tonight I made the following...and then I also made beef curry for tomorrow's dinner. =P This means no cooking tomorrow. Yay!



I was at Whole Foods today to buy some lamb chops and happened to see some fresh beets. I couldn't pass them up, so I brought a bunch home and chopped it up for dinner.



Generously pour some olive oil on top and season it liberally with some thyme, tarragon, and rosemary. Add a little salt and mix everything around.



I also splashed some truffle oil on top and then popped it into the oven at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes. Make sure to mix it up every 10 minutes or so to ensure even cooking.



You can just serve as a side or you can even throw it into a salad.



I chose to serve it with the lamb chops tonight.



Do you like lamb? If so, try this recipe HERE.

Dweji Boolgogi - Spicy Marinaded Pork - (돼지 불고기)

I decided to make some dweji boolgogi today. This is a really simple marinade for about 1 lb. of pork.


Just mix together the following ingredients:

• 1 Tb sugar
• 2 TB red pepper powder
• 1 Tb honey powder
• 2 TB minced garlic
• 1 TB gook ganjang
• 3 TB rice wine
• 1 TB corn starch
• 4 TB red pepper paste
• 3/4 TB soy bean paste
• dash of pepper and ginger powder

I bought sliced pork butt. Yes, I know I have 2 lbs. I just doubled the recipe.



Marinade the meat in small portions and make sure to thoroughly coat each piece. I also threw in about a cup of green onions.



Once it's marinated, you can transfer it into storage containers.



I left a little for dinner tonight (with some onions). All you need to do is pan fry it until it's cooked.



Then I took the rest and put them into ziplock bags to freeze for later use.

UPDATE: June 3, 2010 -

I left one of the dweji boolgogi packets I froze over the weekend in the fridge last night to defrost.

Turn up the heat and drizzle some oil on a pan and let it get HOT.

Meanwhile, cut up some veggies. I used 1/2 onion, 5 cloves of garlic, 1 red pepper, and 5 mushrooms.

Add the pork along with the pepper, garlic and onions and start cooking!

Once it’s about halfway cooked…

Throw in the mushrooms and some green onions.

Keep stirring away until all the meat is fully cooked.

And then plate it…

…you’re ready to serve! EAT. Eat. EAT!

We enjoyed it with some dwenjang jjigae tonight! (Yup, ran to the market and bought the dooboo AKA tofu!)

If you have some ssam jang in the fridge, bring it out! This is a quick, easy, and absolutely delicious dinner. Yay! Lakers won. =)