Korean Home Cooking

[nakji]

You're right! I was thinking she meant picture #5 - the kimchi with the baby radishes with their tops still on, but picture #16 is what I was thinking of. I'll have to get some of that started now that my mul kimchi is almost gone. Anyone else made any interesting kimchis lately?

It's also getting to the time of year when a nice bowl of mul nangmyeon is in order. I can't remember what kind of noodles are used, though - they aren't straight up buckwheat noodles, are they? Because I remember the noodles being quite chewy.

[melonpan]

It's also getting to the time of year when a nice bowl of mul nangmyeon is in order. I can't remember what kind of noodles are used, though - they aren't straight up buckwheat noodles, are they? Because I remember the noodles being quite chewy.

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im not too sure what naengmyeon noodles are made from. seems to depend on the individual companies and restaurants. some are chewier than others. can be made from something called chilk (arrowroot/kudzu, dont know what this is exactly), buckwheat or sweet potatoes or combinations of these items.

there are restaurants that make them and they will put in their own special powders into the noodles to make things more healthy, tasty.

i know you tend to make small batches of kimchi. make a little more than usual of the yeolmu kimchi because you can DEFINITELY add a bunch to your naengmyeon.

love summer time.

[nakji]

i know you tend to make small batches of kimchi. make a little more than usual of the yeolmu kimchi because you can DEFINITELY add a bunch to your naengmyeon.

You read my mind! I was remembering just that combination! Cucumbers are getting cheap here, so I'll probably put some oi kimchi on for my husband, who loves it.

Mmmmmmm, and bibimnangmyeon is refreshing as well.

Do you have any other favourite summer dishes?

[melonpan]

Do you have any other favourite summer dishes?

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time to make shikhye and kong guksu!

[melonpan]

time to make shikhye and kong guksu!

a recipe for kong guksu i put up some time ago: http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1096.html

i have had kong guksu with somen, udon, kalguksu and soba. i would NOT have this with naengmyeon type noodles, though. since i posted that i have also tried it warm (with udon) and its pretty good, but i prefer cold. as a condiment, add a few drops of sesame oil.

[SheenaGreena]

since its summer I like eating a lot of dressed korean style salads with grilled meats. Lots of homegrown chives, chinese watercress, korean lettuce, etc with a spicy tangy dressing. yum yum

[nakedsushi]

I made some naengmyun the other night for dinner. The BF's vegan, so I had to make the broth from my imagination since I couldn't find any non-meat recipes for naengmyun broth. Probably not the most authentic, but I thought it tasted good.

[Peter Green]

WHOO HOO!

Yoonhi's brought a new toy back from Canada.

A tabletop magnetic induction (MI) unit.

I'd been thwarted in my attempts to try this out back in February, when I'd passed on the chance to buy one in Texas, and then couldn't find it in Calgary. So, with Yoonhi home for the summer, it had to happen.

I have a good wife.

This make is Eurodib, so you know it's made in China. $130 (at Genesis in Vancouver, out on Powell St). They had a new model in, US made, for $500, but my intent is to battle test this first.

We ran through a series of test on different pans, and it worked with the ones we expected, and not with the ones it shouldn't.

There's lots of tech talk to be worked up, but let's concentrate on food.

I've been fantasizing about two things: Korean table top cooking and Sichuan hot pot.

For an inauguration, it was going to be Korean.

So gum gui.

I had them pick up a rib roast for this. We tossed it in the freezer after lunch, and then I used the santoku to thin slice the meat.

That, tossed in the pan with some sesame oil and about $30 in garlic (by Tokyo prices), and we have the makings for a good meal.

We tend to hit the meat with a bit of salt and a lot of fresh black pepper, which the meat clings to and shrivels about as it pulls in with the heat.

Spring onion with gochugaru (chili powder) and sesame oil,, little plates of sesame oil for dipping, kim chi,

and piles of rice.

You gotta have rice.

Comments on the IM unit: I need a bigger pan. The metal came to heat very quick, and very hot, so I'm in love with the cooking portion. But the skillet was cramped for what we needed to do. I need a big flat metal pan.

Overall, I'm content.

But I've only used it once.

[Anna N]

. . .

But I've only used it once.

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Trust me you'll learn to love it! There is no way I can afford a full size induction cooktop with multiple burners but I have removed all the coils from my electric range top and can fit 2 induction cooktops on its surface. They are my ONLY cooking burners now! I LOVE THEM. One is the Eurodib and the other is a Salton. They are different and I still think the Eurodib is the better of the two. Clean, responsive, cool to operate, and no scrambling for a landing pad for a hot pan since they cool down almost instantly! ENJOY but remember you'll be wanting more!

[yunnermeier]

I made kim chi fried rice today yum. also bought gochujang last week and can't wait to try some dishes:)

[sanrensho]

Trust me you'll learn to love it!  There is no way I can afford a full size induction cooktop with multiple burners but I have removed all the coils from my electric range top and can fit 2 induction cooktops on its surface.  They are my ONLY cooking burners now!  I LOVE THEM.  One is the Eurodib and the other is a Salton.  They are different and I still think the Eurodib is the better of the two.  Clean, responsive, cool to operate, and no scrambling for a landing pad for a hot pan since they cool down almost instantly!  ENJOY but remember you'll be wanting more!

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Can you tell us about the usability of the Salton unit? I think Canadian Tire had them on sale for about $60 this week, which puts it at half the quoted price for the Eurodib unit. Is the Salton unit still usable as an everyday cooktop, or is it a major step down from the Eurodib?

Thanks!

[CaliPoutine]

Trust me you'll learn to love it!  There is no way I can afford a full size induction cooktop with multiple burners but I have removed all the coils from my electric range top and can fit 2 induction cooktops on its surface.  They are my ONLY cooking burners now!  I LOVE THEM.  One is the Eurodib and the other is a Salton.  They are different and I still think the Eurodib is the better of the two.  Clean, responsive, cool to operate, and no scrambling for a landing pad for a hot pan since they cool down almost instantly!  ENJOY but remember you'll be wanting more!

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Can you tell us about the usability of the Salton unit? I think Canadian Tire had them on sale for about $60 this week, which puts it at half the quoted price for the Eurodib unit. Is the Salton unit still usable as an everyday cooktop, or is it a major step down from the Eurodib?

Thanks!

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I just looked at the CT ad. Its on sale for 69.99 ( in Ontario) and it comes with a cooking pot. I'm curious about this too. I was thinking of getting it for on site catering jobs.

[Anna N]

Trust me you'll learn to love it!  There is no way I can afford a full size induction cooktop with multiple burners but I have removed all the coils from my electric range top and can fit 2 induction cooktops on its surface.  They are my ONLY cooking burners now!  I LOVE THEM.  One is the Eurodib and the other is a Salton.  They are different and I still think the Eurodib is the better of the two.  Clean, responsive, cool to operate, and no scrambling for a landing pad for a hot pan since they cool down almost instantly!  ENJOY but remember you'll be wanting more!

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Can you tell us about the usability of the Salton unit? I think Canadian Tire had them on sale for about $60 this week, which puts it at half the quoted price for the Eurodib unit. Is the Salton unit still usable as an everyday cooktop, or is it a major step down from the Eurodib?

Thanks!

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It is perfectly useable. My one quibble with is that it automatically shuts off after a period of time! This can be a major pita when you are simmering something. I don't know exactly how long this takes - guessing somewhere between 1 and 2 hours so it's not too bad if you are using it over a short period of time. I warn you that the pan that comes with this unit is pretty chintzy. However, I have even put that to good use as it is wide and deep and I can pour stocks and such into it to chill off in the sink or to defrost meat using the cold water method. As a cooking vessel - BLEH!

I saw the sale and if money were easy to come by I would have bought another one!

[sanrensho]

It is perfectly useable.

Thanks for the info, Anna!

[Ce'nedra]

Wonderful cooking everyone -you're making me miss Korean food so much!

I found a site featuring a recipe (in Korean) and really great photos of the cooking process involved in making strawberry sujebi. What a surprise!

http://blog.naver.com/yeye3377.do?Redirect...gNo=20049715532

I wonder how it tasted...maybe a bit tart? Sweet? Really creative either way.

And here's the English version of the recipe (along with more great pictures): http://www.koreanhomecooking.com/2008/05/s...rry-sujebi.html

[melonpan]

today we used up the last of the fried rice and other fixins to make "볶음밥김밥" fried rice kimbap. my husband was dubious about the idea but i noticed that he finished his share! i guess it ended up alright bc the fried rice was made from short grain and i reheated it with water on the stove.

[melonpan]

I found a site featuring a recipe (in Korean) and really great photos of the cooking process involved in making strawberry sujebi. What a surprise!

http://blog.naver.com/yeye3377.do?Redirect...gNo=20049715532

I wonder how it tasted...maybe a bit tart? Sweet? Really creative either way.

And here's the English version of the recipe (along with more great pictures): http://www.koreanhomecooking.com/2008/05/s...rry-sujebi.html

the original posting (from the naver blog) said that the sujebi had a strong strawberry flavour and that it was fun eating it -- the seeds added another fun dimension according to her.

the sujebi sure are purdy.

[melonpan]

late lunch today: quartered red seedless grapes (about two cups worth) in korean curry. (also chicken thighs, a diced onion and two carrots.)

i was afraid that it would be too sweet, but it wasnt!

[Hiroyuki]

I got these two items from a relative.

The one item is Korean mochi.

Fortunately, the instructions are in Japanese.

My problem is this sauce.

Unfornately, the instructions are in Korean.

Can anyone tell me what I should do with them?

[nakji]

[cracks knuckles]

Well, Hiroyuki, my Korean is simply not good enough to give you a line-by-line translation, but here's my interpretation of the instructions, influenced heavily by my own preparation of ddeok bokki in the past:

It looks like the sauce you have there is made from tomato and nashi. It also may contain rosemary, I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it's not your regular adjumma's ddeok bokki.

Add 350g of mochi and 200 cc of water to a frypan. Heat the water up and add the seasoning paste - there's some in the pack, right? 150g worth, anyway. To this, add whatever vegetables you like - the package suggests onion, negi, and cabbage and something called dang myeon, which I think is some kind of noodle - maybe chinese yellow noodles - They could be suggesting a popular variation of ddeok bokki called"ra-bokki", a love child of ramyeon and ddeok bokki. But "street" ddeok bokki usually has negi, oden, and hard boiled eggs. Maybe a bit of onion.

Then you cook the lot down until it's got a nicely thickened sauce - it should cling thickly to the ddeok, which should be tender and chewy. It may take ten minutes of cooking to achieve this.

Enjoy with toothpicks.

[SheenaGreena]

ewwww tomato and pear dokbokgi. ):

I would just take some fish broth (traditionally you use broth from odaeng, which I believe is similar to oden) and add some gochujang to it. Pretty easy

You can add pieces of fish cake to it too and whole hard boiled eggs.

Tastes best eaten outdoors at some ajummas hut on a cold cold day on top of a plastic bag covered plate eaten with toothpicks (:

[melonpan]

nakji was correct with her translation.

there does seem to be rosemary (! wow. ive never seen rosemary used in korean cooking before) in there as well as pear puree.

the instructions also suggest oden ("eomuk"). and dang-myeon are those clear potato starch noodles you use in chapchae. here are some pics of dangmyeon: http://tinyurl.com/5vy4ln. i dont know if you can find it in a regular market. you can do without it. or you can add ramen noodles like nakji suggests. its not really vital.

lastly it says that the package of sauce should "happily" serve a family of 2-3 people. its a snack anyhow so you dont need to make too much.

[Hiroyuki]

Thank you, ladies. I cooked these Korean mochi with the sauce for supper tonight.

I added onion, cabbage, and fake crab meat (the only fish cake I had in the fridge). I skipped noodles because I wanted to serve the dish as an okazu (accompaniment to rice) rather than a snack.

The resulting dish was much spicier than I had expected. We only managed to have a small amount of it. It's going to last us for a week or so.

[melonpan]

i didnt mention this since your relatives already provided instant sauce but you can use other flavourings including more japanese style sauces.

pork or beef is usually stirfried. sometimes seafood is cooked as the meat, usually squid, shrimp or octopus. add sliced white onions, green onions and other veggies (cabbage, sliced satsuma imo, maitake, carrots, etc). when all is cooked through and tender add water, mochi and sauce ingredients. the resulting sauce should be thick and clingy to the mochi.

sauce ingredients can be a number of combinations. some roughly sketched ideas:

1) dashi, shoyu and mirin

2) kochujang, gochu ggaru (korean chile powder) and sugar

3) black bean sauce

4) gochujang and ketchup

5) gochujang, shoyu and cola

6) curry sauce

7) hi-rice sauce

[nakji]

You got the sauce just right! I hope you enjoyed it. It is quite spicy. I could never get over how the kids in Korea could eat so much of it, impervious to the heat.

I made some mul kimchi on Monday, and set it aside to ferment for two days, as my recipe calls for. Today when I opened it up, it was extremely bubbly, and a layer of vegetables had floated to the top and was sitting exposed out of the liquid. The carrots in the layer had lost their colour and were white! When I pushed down on the layer it bubbled excitedly. I wasn't sure if it was safe or not, so I had my husband try it. (I'm no fool) He said it tasted extremely fermented. I was planning to bring it to a dinner party tonight, but I don't want to poison the guests.

Is my kimchi safe to eat?