Boo Dae Jigae - Base Soup - (부대찌개)

I finally went ahead and made boo-dae jjigae today.

Needed:

• 1/2 can spam
• 3 sausages
• 1 cup dduk
• 1 green pepper and 1 red pepper
• 1/2 small squash
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 cup kimchi and lots of kimchi juice
• 2 mushrooms
• 1 ramen
• sauce: 1 TB red pepper paste, 1 TB red pepper powder, 1/2 TB minced garlic, 1 Tb rice wine, 1 TB gook ganjang, 1/2 TB shrimp jut, 1 TB beef flavoring, 1 TSP salt, 1 TSP pepper
  

First cut up everything you need like so. I used about 3 sausages, 1/2 can of spam, 1/2 small onion, 2 mushrooms, 1/2 small squash, 1 jalapeno, 1 red pepper, and a fistful of green onions.



Add roughly 4 cups of water into a pot and bring it to a boil with some anchovies and dashima. Let the broth cook for about 15 minutes or so until the water is tinted slightly yellow.



Mix together the following: 1 TB red pepper paste, 1 TB red pepper powder, 1/2 TB minced garlic, 1 Tb rice wine, 1 TB gook ganjang, 1/2 TB shrimp jut, 1 TB beef flavoring, 1 TSP salt, and 1 TSP pepper for the sauce and set it aside.



In a pot, add the kimchi and bring it to a boil and saute it for about 5-10 minutes. I used a jungol pot on our dining room table, but if you don't have one just cook it in a large pot on the stove and serve immediately while piping hot.



Then add your spam and sausages and let it cook for another 5 minutes.



Add all your remaining vegetables and mix well.



Throw in the mushrooms last and then add the boiling anchovy/dashima broth from earlier.



Add the peppers and green onions....



Along with the sauce and bring everything to a boil.



Add your dduk...



...and your ramen.



And enjoy as soon as the ramen is done! It's extra spicy so be careful!

PS. You can add pretty much anything to this soup that you have on hand such as tofu, udon, different varieties of mushrooms, etc. Use your imagination and get creative!

Persian Meatballs...

Sorry for the lack of updates again. We've been eating out almost every day this week. I haven't stepped into the kitchen except to make Munchkin some grilled cheese sandwiches. We're going grocery shopping tomorrow, so hopefully I will think of a new post for next week.

Until then....

I will cheat by recycling another post on my other blog~



Get 1 LB. of ground beef and add generous amounts of parsley, mint (lots), cilantro (just a little), garlic and onions. Season it with a dash of salt and pepper. Sorry there are no exact measurements. Just add enough of everything to give the meatballs color like shown above.



Form into little meatballs about an inch in diameter.



Heat a skillet with minimal oil since there will be oil coming from the fat of the meat...



And just cook until done.



Plate it with basmati rice, lavash (flat bread), and some yummy cucumber yogurt!

Cucumber yogurt: Just get plain yogurt and chop some Persian cucumbers and squeeze out all the excess juice. Add it to the yogurt and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. I actually added some chopped parsley into the yogurt too and it came out yummy. Next time I'm going to make yogurt with shallots and garlic.

Basmati rice: I like to sautee the rice in LOADS of butter and I add small bits of onion and brown everything. Then I add water (2:1 ratio. 2 parts water to 1 part rice. I use about 1.5 cups rice to 3 cups water) and let boil...when the water is almost all gone, reduce the heat to LOW and cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes until the rice is done. You can even season it with saffron water...which I didn't have the time to do tonight.

Dduk Bbok Ggi - Rice Cakes with Soy Sauce - (간장 떡볶기)

As I've mentioned before, every time I take Munchkin to the K market with me we end up buying a package of dduk. This week was no exception. While you can make dduk gook or spicy dduk bbok ggi, today I decided to make a simple soy sauce dduk bbok ggi for Munchkin to enjoy.

Here's how you can make it at home...



In a cup mix together the following:

• 1/4 CUP soy sauce
• 1/4 CUP water
• 2 TB honey powder
• 1 TB sugar
• 1 TB corn starch
• 1 TB rice wine
• OPTIONAL: dash of beef bullion (pictured below)
  

I was at the K-market the other day and they were selling this powdered beef bullion (Korean style). I normally choose to avoid any beef or anchovy dashida since my Hubby is super health conscious and doesn't enjoy the preservatives packed in those products. But the lady selling this said that it's 100% organic with absolutely no MSG so I thought I would try it out this time.



First take 1 TB of sesame oil and 1/2 TB of minced garlic and saute about 1/4 cup of beef until well done.



Then add the soy sauce mixture to the beef and bring to a boil. Let it boil for about 15 minutes to ensure the beef is nice and tender.



Finally add your dduk (this is fresh dduk) and let it boil for about 5-10 minutes.



Once the liquid is almost gone you're ready to serve and enjoy!

Teriyaki Sesame Chicken - (태리야끼 닯날개)

Sorry for the delay! I've finally updated and posted the step by step for the teriyaki chicken I made earlier this week. Here's what you need:

• 1.5 LBS of chicken drumettes
• 1/2 CUP soy sauce, 1/2 CUP water, 5 TB sugar, 3 TB honey powder, 1 TB sesame oil, 2 TB rice wine, 2 TB corn starch
• 3 TB sesame seeds         
  

First wash and clean about 1.5 LBS of chicken.



In a cup mix the following together:

• 1/2 CUP soy sauce
• 1/2 CUP water
• 5 TB sugar
• 3 TB honey powder
• 1 TB sesame oil
• 2 TB rice wine
• 2 TB corn starch
  

Mix the chicken with the sauce thoroughly and let it sit for about 15 minutes.



Throw the chicken and sauce into a pot and turn up the heat.



This is a picture about 15 minutes later...



Continue to boil on medium heat. This is what it should look like about 25 minutes later...



Keep boiling and making sure to stir it around for about 45 minutes total until most of the liquid is gone and it thickens into a teriyaki sauce.



Throw some sesame seeds on top...



Mix it around and you're ready to serve!



This was Munchkin's dinner.

Kong Jaban - Black Beans in Soy Sauce and Sugar - (콩자반)

Each week I TRY and make at least two new banchans (side dishes). This week I decided to use up the remaining black beans I had in the cupboard.

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 cup black beans (I ended up with slightly more than a cup)
• 3 cups water
• 6 TB soy sauce
• 5 TB sugar
• 1 TB brown sugar
• 2 TB honey powder
• 1 TB corn starch
• splash of sesame oil
• 2 TB sesame seeds
  

First go and get some black beans. I had this sitting in my cupboard and decided I wanted to use up the whole bag. I'm actually on a mission this week to clear out my freezer and pantry. I'm making meals up as I go because I don't want all the food in my freezer to go to waste.



I used what I had left in my bag and it ended up being almost 2 cups of beans.



Let it soak in water for about 4-5 hours and the beans will expand and double in size.



Then throw out the water it was in and give the beans a good rinse. Add 3 CUPS water and put the beans into a pot and turn up the heat on high.



While it's cooking and ready to boil add: 6 TB soy sauce, 5 TB sugar, 1 TB brown sugar, 2 TB honey powder and let it boil on medium heat for about 30 minutes.



Eventually all the liquid will reduce down quite a bit. At this point add 2 TB of cornstarch and keep boiling it on low heat. Keep an eye on it and make sure you don't burn it!



When there is barely any liquid left, you're ready to throw in 2 TB of sesame seeds. Mix it around thoroughly and then turn off the heat and let it cool down.



You're ready to serve! You can store it in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Bokeum Bap - Fried Rice - (볶음밥)

Finally...nothing special, but here you go.



Whenever I make fried rice, I dig through my fridge and try to add as many vegetables as possible. Today I added about 1 cup each of onions, potatoes, celery, carrots, edamame beans, squash, and corn.



Add 2TB of sesame oil, 2 Tb oil, and 1 TB minced garlic to a large wok and turn up the heat.



I'm sure you've noticed that we are a pro-Spam household. I added about 1/2 a can, but you can easily substitute the Spam for regular beef, chicken or shrimp.



First add your carrots and potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes until the potatoes are almost done.



Then add the rest of your vegetables.



Then add 2 TB light soy sauce (gook ganjang) and 2 TB soy sauce and mix it well.



Eyeball it and add roughly half as much rice as the veggies.


 
Keep stirring on medium heat until all the vegetables are done (about 10 minutes).

 

 
It looks delicious, no?  You can substitute the SPAM for any other meat or you can even skip the meat altogether.

You're now ready to serve! You can add egg to it if you wish, but with this version of fried rice, I prefer it without egg.



In case you're wondering why I make so much fried rice at once~

I actually store them in these Ziploc containers and then freeze them. They're single servings and can be reheated in the microwave. Heat on high for about 2 minutes with the lid slightly loose. Then mix it around a bit and heat on high for an additional 2 minutes and you've got instant fried rice. =P It tastes surprisingly good and fresh.

I told you I don't COOK often. This is a perfect cheat meal.