Strawberry Jam

The MR's friends came over last week and like true Koreans they didn't come empty handed. =P They brought us a whole box of strawberries (since they knew Munchkin LOVES strawberries). The strawberries were delicious, and although Munchkin does love strawberries, even he couldn't finish the whole box. =) So instead of letting the strawberries go bad and throwing them out...I decided to make some JAM.

I got this recipe from Barefoot Contessa one day while watching her show and ever since I've always made jam at home. It's such a simple and EASY recipe! I thought I would post this up, because we all LOVE pictures, don't we?


First go and get 2 cups of sugar.



One large lemon.



Some strawberries~ BC's recipe calls for 1.5 pints of strawberries, but I found that to be too LITTLE. I think this is about 2.5 pints.



Put the sugar into a pot and squeeze all the lemon juice into there. Zest the lemon in there too!



Turn up the heat (medium) and keep stirring away.



About 10 minutes later the sugar will melt and it will become like this...



Add your strawberries and keep mixing!



Looks delish, no?



Keep it at a low rolling boil for about 40-50 minutes (sometimes even longer). BC's recipe says 20 minutes and I've found that it takes MUCH longer.



Eventually it will start to thicken...



Once it's thickened, turn off the heat and let it cool down.



Transfer it into a container and refrigerate it! You're all done! So easy, huh?

Yulmoo Kimchi - Version 2.0 - (열무 김치)

I was thrilled to see that the K-market had fresh yulmoo yesterday. I was going to make this last week and the yulmoo they had was old and yucky looking. Good thing I waited.

Ingredients Needed:

• 6 bunches of yulmoo, 1 CUP kosher salt & 10 CUPS water
• 1 TB flour & 1 CUP water + 3 CUPS boiling water & 6 TB red pepper powder, 3 TB fish sauce (I used Ggae nari sauce), 1/3 TB ginger powder, 1 TB minced garlic, 1 TB sugar, 2 TB honey powder, 1 TB salt.
• 1 serrano chile, 1 red pepper, 1 green onion (sliced thinly), some chives, and half an onion (thinly sliced)

Begin by washing your yulmoo and cutting it up into thirds. I used 6 bunches.



Get 1 cup of salt and 10 cups of water and mix it around really well.



Pour that onto the yulmoo and let it sit out for TWO hours...



Meanwhile get 1 TB flour and a cup of water and mix it well.



Add that to the 3 cups of boiling water and let it cook for about 5 minutes.



I then added about 10 cloves of sliced garlic to the mixture. I did this because I noticed last time the garlic still had a harsh bite (and spice) to it. I'm hoping that by kind of 'cooking' it the spice will be gone.



Then cut up the rest of your vegetables. I used 1 serrano chile, 1 red pepper, 1 green onion (sliced thinly), some chives, and half an onion (thinly sliced).



After the paste mixture cools down. Add 6 TB red pepper powder, 3 TB fish sauce (I used Ggae nari sauce), 1/3 TB ginger powder, 1 TB minced garlic, 1 TB sugar, 2 TB honey powder, 1 TB salt. (To see some pictures of these ingredients, click HERE.)



After the two hours are up make sure to wash the yulmoo THOROUGHLY. Wash it at least THREE times. If not, you're going to end up with really salty kimchi. Squeeze out any excess water before seasoning it.


 
Add the sauce in and mix it around really well.



I then added 1 cup of water. I wanted more of a 'mool kimchi' (watery kimchi) this time. Store it outside in a cool area for at least 3-5 days and serve! =)

Ggak Ddoogi - Seasoned Daikon Radish - (깍두기)

I finally wrote down (somewhat) how I make ggak ddoogi. This is basically a type of kimchi made with daikon radish (moo).



Get about 4.5 LBS of daikon radish. Peel it and then chop it up into manageable pieces.



Add about 1/4 cup of SALT and then add enough water to cover the moo (radish). Let it sit for about 30 minutes or so.



After 30 minutes, WASH the moo thoroughly and let it drain out for about 10 minutes. Throw AWAY the excess liquid that drains out at this point. Don't worry about it...once it ferments you're going to get LOTS of liquid.



Add 3/4 cup red pepper powder and mix it around well.



Then add about 1 cup each of chopped green onions and large green onions. Also add 1/2 an Asian pear (minced/grated) and 1 chopped up red pepper. I actually also added some leftover chives I had sitting in the fridge.



Then season it with 5 TB minced garlic, 2 TB fish sauce, 1 TB salt, 2 Tb honey powder, 1 TB minced ginger, 3 TB minced shrimp jut, 1 TB rice wine, and 1 TB sugar.



Add the above ingredients to the moo and mix it around really well using your hands. Store inside a container in a cool place outside to ferment for about 72 hours. Pretty easy, huh?



12 hours later, the ggak ddogi is looking pretty good. See all the liquid that has accumulated? Yummy! Hmmmm....maybe I'll make some gom gook next week to go with this. =P

Hwe Dup Bap - Rice mixed with Sashimi - (회덥밥)

This isn't really a recipe, but more like a 'how-to' assemble hwe dup bap.



Begin by cutting some fresh sashimi into bite size pieces. Set it aside (inside the fridge) until you need it.



Make some chogochujang sauce. It's 6 TB red pepper paste, 1.5 TB sugar, 2.5 TB vinegar and some sesame seeds. (You can even add a splash of 7up to make it a little sweeter).



Get some greens and wash and cut it up into small pieces. I used radish sprouts, perilla leaves, and red leaf lettuce.



Get a cup of rice and let it cool down. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and then drizzle some sesame oil on it.



Arrange your greens on top like so....



Add the cut-up sashimi and then add as much red pepper sauce as you can take. (I added about 3 TB)



Mix it around well and then you're ready to eat! If you have some masago caviar (those orange fish eggs) add that too. I ran out today. =(



This was perfect for the heat today. =) Enjoy!

Beef with Broccoli

I know that this is not a Korean dish, but Munchkin loves beef and he loves broccoli. So obviously, this is one of his favorite dishes.



Get about 1/2 to 1 LB of beef. Use either flap meat or some other thinly sliced beef.



Cut it up into smaller pieces. Make sure to cut against the grain. Then marinade it with: 1 TB rice wine, 1/2 TB sugar, 1/2 TB soy sauce, 1 TB water, and 1 TB corn starch. You can then set this aside for about 15 minutes or so while you prep everything else.



Wash and cut up one bunch of broccoli.



Make the sauce mixture using 2 TB oyster sauce, 1 TB light soy sauce (gook ganjang), 1 TB dark soy sauce, 1 TB water, 1.5 TB sugar.



When you're ready heat about 1/2 cup of oil in a wok and let it get HOT! Add the beef and cook until the beef is done.



After the beef is cooked, set aside on a paper towel to drain of excess oil.



Meanwhile, clean your wok off with a paper towel and then add some oil and about 1/2 TB of minced garlic.



Throw in the broccoli, sauce mixture, and 1/2 cup of water.



Cover and let the broccoli steam for about 2 minutes.



Add the beef and then add a 1:1 mixture of corn starch and water. I added about 1 TB of each.



Let the sauce thicken and you're ready to serve! You can add carrots and bamboo shoots also if you would like~