Ggak Ddoogi–(깍두기)–Version 2.0

 

Is fall/winter (they sorta just blend in SoCal don’t they?) finally hitting SoCal?  About time, eh? 

It has been hot for so long that I’m sort of welcoming this cold.  SORT OF.  I’ll always be a SoCal girl and that means my body can only tolerate so much cold. 

On a side note, the MR has been out of the country for almost a month now leaving our house feeling a bit empty.  It has been just Munchkin and I for the last 23 days and counting.  Although it has been a bit trying at times, I’m relishing my one on one time with him.  He is now an almost five-year-old and I’m thankful every day that I was able to be here for three birthday parties after my diagnosis (I was diagnosed the day before his 3rd birthday party). 

I see Munchkin developing leaps and bounds every day.  He talks SO much.  SOOOOOOO much.  He talks about anything and everything under the sun.  “Can I ask you something?” is one of his favorite lines and you bet he will definitely ASK ME SOMETHING.  He drives me to the brink of insanity, but will then turn around and do something so sweet and inspiring that I thank God for each and every day.

To be honest, since it’s only Munchkin and I – our consumption of Korean food has been almost nil.  =P  With the exception of kimchi, Munchkin and I rarely eat Korean food.  We recently devoured the latest batch of my mom’s chong-gak-kimchi so I decided it was time to make some ggak ddoogi in it’s place.  I opted for a quicker and milder version this time since I was pressed for time and feeling absolutely lazy.

Ingredients Needed:

• 5 LBS of daikon radish (moo)
• 1/4 CUP red pepper powder, 4 TB minced garlic, 1 TB salt, 3 TB honey powder, 2 TB rice wine, 1/2 TB ginger powder, 3 TB minced shrimp jut plus about 1 TB of the shrimp jut liquid.

 

I bought about 5 lbs. of moo (daikon radish) at the K-market and went to work on my kitchen floor.  Yes, I did the kimchi squat.  =P

 

I chopped up the moo into smaller pieces than normal.

 

Try and make it about 1CM-ish.  It will get smaller once you salt it up.

 

Continue chopping it ALLLLLL up and dump it into a large bowl.

 

Dump about 1/4 cup of salt on top…

 

…mix it around and just let it sit.  No need to add water. 

 

Leave it for a few hours and when you come back, there will be all this liquid in the bowl.

 

Rinse all the moo pieces CLEAN.

 

Give it a nice bath a couple of times even.

 

And let it sit and drain out for about 10 minutes or so.

 

Then add all the following ingredients: 1/4 CUP red pepper powder, 4 TB minced garlic, 1 TB salt, 3 TB honey powder, 2 TB rice wine, 1/2 TB ginger powder, 3 TB minced shrimp jut plus about 1 TB of the shrimp jut liquid.

 

MIX, MIX, MIX!  I used this red pepper powder for the first time today.  I had brought it back with me earlier this year on our trip to Korea.  It looks a lot spicier than the one I used prior which is why I adjusted my recipe.  I actually used half a cup of red pepper powder, but I think 1/4 cup would have been plenty.

 

Transfer it over into a kimchi container…

 

And let it sit out in a cool area for 2-3 days.  You’re all set! 

 

I’m currently making beef soup with ox tails, do-gan-neeh (cow knee bone) and beef (eye of round?)  It will be a sul-lung-tang of sorts.  No recipe because it’s just boiling, boiling, boiling.  We’re going on 10 hours so far and I plan on boiling for over 24 hours.  =P

Hope you have all been doing well!

Steamed Egg – (계란찜) - Version 3.0

This California weather is sort of crazy, isn’t it?  EARTHQUAKE weather for sure.  =/  Growing up in Cali, I’m so used to earthquakes.  I’ve been through quite a few of the big ones so they hardly bother me anymore – but still the thought of the next big one is pretty scary.  =P

The rain has made it a lazy day today.  All of Munchkin’s sports activities this week have been cancelled due to rain.  This means the kid is going stir-crazy from 3PM until his bed time.  Stir crazy kid means a mom that has to get dinner on the table as quickly as possible. 

The following is a quick and easy way to make steamed egg all in one pot.  There are other ways to make egg jjim and I have VERSION 1 and VERSON 2 right here.

Ingredients:

• 2 Eggs
• 1 CUP water
• 2 TSP shrimp jut
• handful of green onions

 

First crack two eggs into a small stone pot.

 

Pour a cup of water into it.

 

Add 2 TSP of shrimp jut LIQUID ONLY.

 

Whisk it all around thoroughly using a fork and place it on the stove on medium heat.

 

Once it looks like it’s just about to boil, turn down the heat to low…

 

 
…and add a tin foil tent on top with a tiny opening to let some air out.  Just let it simmer on low for about 10-15 minutes.

 

 

When it looks just about done, throw some green onions on top.

 

Let it continue to simmer for a couple of minutes and you’re ready to serve!  This type of egg jjim tastes best when served fresh.

 

Even just after just a few minutes, it starts to flatten out. 

 

It still tastes great though!  This is the quickest and easiest way to enjoy egg jjim besides microwaving it.  Whenever I get around to it, I’ll post up the microwave version.  Enjoy and stay warm!

 

Munchkin’s dinner tonight also consisted of miyuk gook and clams.  =P  The kimchi jjigae was leftover from yesterday and was for ME.  =)

Spicy Chicken Gizzards – 매운 닭똥집 볶음

I started this recipe a couple weeks ago, but never had the time to finish up the post. I’ll attempt to finish it now from my memory.  =P

 

I’m reusing the pictures from my older post on Fried Chicken Gizzards because I completely forgot to take pictures during this stage.  Basically, cut your gizzards up wash in some flour/salt and then boil it for about 10 minutes to rid of all impurities.

 

 

Meanwhile, get your sauce mixture ready.  1TB red pepper powder, 1TB red pepper paste, 1TSP sesame oil, 1/2TSP sugar, 1TSP soy sauce, and a handful of green onions.

 

After the chicken is done boiling, add the sauce mixture to it and mix well.

 

Let it sit for about 15 minutes to allow the flavors to coat the gizzards.

 

Then throw everything onto a hot pan with some garlic cloves and onions and you’re ready to serve!  Enjoy~

Chicken Porridge with Vegetables

I haven’t made this type of jook in so long…since Munchkin was a baby?   

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 small chicken breast
• 1/2  CUP white rice, 1/2 CUP sweet rice
• 6 CUPS of various chopped vegetables
• 1 can vegetable broth
• 1 32 OZ box of chicken broth
• 2-3 CUPS water

 

We are a small family of three, so we hardly ever eat whole packs of any type of meat.  As soon as I get home from the grocery store, I saran wrap each individual breast filet and then store them in a large Ziploc bag with the date on it.  Whenever I need chicken, I just pull out however many breasts I need.  It makes cooking easier when you don’t have to defrost the whole pack of meat at once.

 

Begin by washing and rinsing equal parts white rice and sweet rice.  This was about 1 CUP total.  Let it sit in the water for a few hours to soften up.

 

 

Meanwhile, prep all the veggies you want to use.  There is no *measurement* for this part so use whatever you have on hand.  I also added some squash but forgot to take a picture of it.

 

Bring a pot of water to a boil and throw in the chicken and let it boil for about 10 minutes to rid of all the impurities.

 

Then rinse the chicken under cool water and just chop it up into small pieces and set it aside.

 

Now you can start chopping away at your veggies.  If you have a food processor, by all means throw it in there.  But I actually prefer to just CHOP, CHOP, CHOP.  There’s something therapeutic about standing in a kitchen and chopping away.  I started making this porridge after midnight yesterday and I was actually able to complete my MOH speech (in my head) that I have do next March.  LOL.

 

I then chopped some broccoli and threw that in there as well.

 

Some mushrooms…

 

Carrots and potatoes…

 

Start the porridge by placing the cup of rice & sweet rice mixture into a pot.

 

Then add one whole can of vegetable broth and bring it to a boil.

 

Once it starts boiling…

 

Throw in all your vegetables and the chicken pieces!

 

At this point, start adding some chicken broth a little bit at a time.  I ended up using all 32 OZ. PLUS an additional 2-3 CUPS of water. 

If you are going to feed this to a baby, skip all the store bought broths and just substitute with anchovy broth, real chicken broth or just plain old water.  I’m proud to say that Munchkin grew up eating this stuff and to this day, he’s still a pretty good vegetable eater.  =)  I would alternate with different meats and veggies, but pretty much I used the same concept for all his baby food.  I pureed everything when he was younger and after he started getting his teeth, I started to make his jook into a chunkier consistency.

 

Anyhow, just keep letting it simmer while stirring constantly so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. 

 

After about an hour and a half - it will get this nice, soft porridge consistency. 

 

I wasn’t sure how soft the food had to be for the person this porridge was made for, so I pureed two batches and left two as is.

 

 

Jook~ with chicken and a load of vegetables pureed for easy consumption.

 

Even though he’s no longer a baby, Munchkin will still devour this stuff.  This was his breakfast.

 

Tada!  It’s the perfect dish for infants or for someone who might have difficulty chewing.  You can substitute the chicken for beef, you can use a different broth, you can add a variety of different vegetables.  Some other veggies I use are edamame beans, corn, or even spinach.  Get creative!