Korean Home Cooking

[ChryZ]

omg, that looks so delicious, chryz!!!!!!!  Are you sure you're not korean?

I made pa jeon last night for an easy dinner.  I took the easy way out though and used the premade mix and just threw in some scallions (cut on the bias).  I love the seafood version with squid, clams, mussels, etc.

another fav version of pajeon is to throw in some old kimchi (juice included)

you should also try it with buckwheat flour.  It provides a lovely colour and is a different way to make pajeon.

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Your comments made my day. Thank you! Oh you are so right about the kimchi version, I've been there, well kinda ... without the pa, I did "kimchi-jeon". The hint about the buckwheat is great. I hoped for constructive feedback like that, I really appreciate it!

(jal meokkesseumnida)

that made me laugh (:

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Oh, I just copy'n'pasted it off the net ... is the romanization that bad or is it something else?

I really shouldn't quote languages, that I can't read or speak! ;

[SheenaGreena]

Oh, I just copy'n'pasted it off the net ... is the romanization that bad or is it something else?

I really shouldn't quote languages, that I can't read or speak! ;

I only laughed because it sounds like something my mother would say,its cute

[Domestic Goddess]

Chryz, the last pic of the crab dwenjang jjige looks like the ones served here in Janghowon.

Here's another tip for the pajeon, instead of whole leeks/green onions, try slicing it diagonally at an angle so that you get thin long slices. That way, when you mix it in the batter, the pancake will be nice and flat. It will also make it so easy to break apart with chopsticks when it's cooked.

[SheenaGreena]

yeah, cutting them into slivers is nice. But if you want to keep them whole, you can cut your pajeon with scissors like they do in korea.

[ChryZ]

Domestic Goddess, thanks for the hints.

To make them flat should be excellent when the pajeon is not the main dish, but more destined to be an appetizer or banchan,

I did that with my kimchi-jeon, cute little kimchi pancakes.

[Maria]

I read "Kochujang" and thought what the heck are they talking about? ... until I phonetically pronounced it. I was once conscripted by my mother into delivering a very large jar (it took two arms and hands to hold it) of it to my uncle's place. She had made it for him. I can't remember how it happened; however, that very large jar fell and crashed on my uncle's driveway with the entire ingredients. I was so embarassed.

Edited November 4, 2006 by Maria (log)

[ZenKimchi]

Oh, the humanity!

And I'm not being sarcastic.

[ChryZ]

Bulgogi was one the first korean dishes that I've tried to re-create at home.

So I've made Daeji Bulgogi last night and took a few pics in the process:

main ingredients

1 X pork tenderloin

1 X head ice lettuce

2 X garlic clove

4 X scallion (4 stalk)

1 CUP cooked rice

1/4 CUP roasted sesame

1/4 CUP veg or peanut oil

1/2 CUP sugar

3/4 CUP soy sauce

1 TSP pepper

1 TSP salt

1 TSP sesame seed oil (pressed from roasted seeds)

banchan #1 ingredients (mini side-dish, steamed bean sprouts)

1 X scallion (1 stalk, sliced lengthwise)

2 CUP bean sprouts

1 TBSP rice wine vinegar

1 TSP salt

1 TSP pepper

1 TSP sesame seed oil (pressed from roasted seeds)

banchan #2 ingredients (mini side-dish, fried garlic)

4 X garlic clove (roughly sliced)

1 TBSP peanut oil

ssamjang ingredients (sauce, dip, dressing)

2 TBSP gochujang

2 TBSP water

1 TBSP minced scallion

1 TBSP rice wine

1 TBSP sesame oil (pressed from roasted seeds)

1 TSP doenjang

1 TSP chili flakes

1 TSP garlic powder

2 TSP roasted sesame

cut the meat in thin slices, combine all other main ingredients (except the lettuce)

blend until smooth, it's not necessary to get every sesame seed though

marinate the pork slices, 30-60 minutes at room temperature should do the job, prep the rice

combine all ssamjang ingredients

mix well and set aside

combine all veggie ingredients from banchan #1 in a bowl,

cover the bowl and microwave it for 90 sec with 600W

the veggies will steam from their own water content and soften up,

dress them with the remaining banchan #1 ingredients, set aside

remove the meat from the marinade, wipe off each piece on the edge of the bowl,

try to remove a good lot of the marinade, too much left of it will cause a mess

heat/fire-up a bbq pan, gass grill or charcoal grill, make a little tin-foil cup

and add oil and garlic to it, it's like a mini deep fryer, keep an eye on it and

remove it from the pan once the garlic turned gold brown

the sugar from the marinate will burn quickly to bitter coal (Carbonization)

if the heat is too high or the cooking process is too long, timing and heat control for the win,

medium heat is hot enough to cook such tender/delicate meat, slow caramelization is the key

keep flipping the meat, such thin slices only take a minute or two

don't burn the garlic, flip it every now and then to check the browning process,

remove when gold brown, drain fat with some paper towel

the whole set, time to eat:

all the food can be enjoyed individually, but the most delicous way is to grab a lettuce leaf,

stuff it with rice, sprouts, ssamjang, roasted garlic and some bulgogi, then to wrap it up

and munch it away in one go ... with a big grin on your face

Comments, constructive criticism and hints are all most welcome!

[Domestic Goddess]

Chryz - your type of eating is definitely so Korean! If you ever come this way of my part of the world, I'd take you to the best bulgogi place in town - an EAT ALL YOU CAN Bulgogi-Kalbi and Samgyeopsal restaurant.

[ChryZ]

Chryz - your type of eating is definitely so Korean! If you ever come this way of my part of the world, I'd take you to the best bulgogi place in town - an EAT ALL YOU CAN Bulgogi-Kalbi and Samgyeopsal restaurant.

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That would be awesome, but I have to pass on the soju!

[Domestic Goddess]

No problem because we don't drink alcohol and I don't even drink Coca-cola.

[SheenaGreena]

anyone else out there eat their ssam without rice? next time go w/o rice so you can throw more stuff in it. also try grilling some old, sour, kimchi after you are done grilling your meat. This will lend a nice flavour to the kimchi. yum yum. This is what my family does after we eat korean bbq.

[melonpan]

anyone else out there eat their ssam without rice?  next time go w/o rice so you can throw more stuff in it.  also try grilling some old, sour, kimchi after you are done grilling your meat. This will lend a nice flavour to the kimchi. yum yum.  This is what my family does after we eat korean bbq.

i cannot commit. both ways are delicious.

[SheenaGreena]

i cannot commit. both ways are delicious.

can't commit to what? omitting rice from your ssam? too much filler! always when I have sam gyup sal or kalbi at home I don't ask for any rice. if I have rice while eating ssam, I will just dump the whole bowl into whatever soup I am eating

please people, try the grilled kimchi.

also, is there any way to get rid of smelling like bacon or grilled beef after grilling in the kitchen for over an hour? After I do this at my parents house, my little sister and I go out shopping or something and omg our hair smells like bacon. It is so delicious and so gross at the same time

also I hate chryz, because she (you're a girl right?) puts alot of effort and time into making her korean food and it shows.

Edited November 9, 2006 by SheenaGreena (log)

[SheenaGreena]

for my viewing pleasure chryz should make the following items:

kal gook soo

soon doo boo w/ assorted seafood or maybe pork

bossam with steamed pork belly and oysters (oh my god if you make this I will be so jealous)

Seolleong Tang - good for cold weather

I don't get to eat a genuine "mom" home cooked korean meal till dec 22, will I last this long? who knows. At least I get to bring a cooler full of kimchi home

[jkonick]

Soon dubu has been a recent favorite of mine, also been making a lot of bulgogi as I bought a ridiculous amount of pork recently. I also discovered Korean style nori, with sesame oil and salt. I think it's pretty much the greatest thing ever, I eat it plain constantly... Maybe if I can wrangle one of my roommate's cameras I will take some pictures next time I make soon dubu.

[ChryZ]

i cannot commit. both ways are delicious.

can't commit to what? omitting rice from your ssam? too much filler! always when I have sam gyup sal or kalbi at home I don't ask for any rice. if I have rice while eating ssam, I will just dump the whole bowl into whatever soup I am eating

please people, try the grilled kimchi.

also, is there any way to get rid of smelling like bacon or grilled beef after grilling in the kitchen for over an hour? After I do this at my parents house, my little sister and I go out shopping or something and omg our hair smells like bacon. It is so delicious and so gross at the same time

also I hate chryz, because she (you're a girl right?) puts alot of effort and time into making her korean food and it shows.

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LOL, you're feisty, eh? With or without rice, it's all good. I like to have some rice with my main meal. Too few carbs and I'll get easily grumpy. Agreed, grilled kimchi is great. I'm out of kimchi at the moment, I really need to make another batch soon. Oh, the grilled meat odour is also great to perfume cloth! Nooo, I'm a guy. And yes it's true, there is some effort involved, but it's inevitable since my ethnic background is 100% non-korean. I'm not complaining, it's a lot of fun.

for my viewing pleasure    chryz should make the following items:

kal gook soo

soon doo boo w/ assorted seafood or maybe pork

bossam with steamed pork belly and oysters (oh my god if you make this I will be so jealous)

Seolleong Tang - good for cold weather

I don't get to eat a genuine "mom" home cooked korean meal till dec 22, will I last this long?  who knows.  At least I get to bring a cooler full of kimchi home

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Nice! I was wondering for a moment what to try next. Problem solved.

Maybe if I can wrangle one of my roommate's cameras I will take some pictures next time I make soon dubu.

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Please do!

[SheenaGreena]

whoops sorry! I assumed you were a girl UNTIL I scrolled down and read your signature. I guess I should read people's signatures or entire posts for that matter before assuming their sex. Many pardons, Christian.

[Peter Green]

Good Korean home food......

some cuttlefish, cut into strips (nice, meaty strips), quickly blanched, and then dipped in gochujang/vinegar/sesame.....

And a beer would go well with that......

[Domestic Goddess]

Sheena - I just discovered the joys of grilled or fried kimchi. I must admit, it does add to the ssam (wrapped bulgogi or samgyeopsal). I too, omit the rice since I can eat the rice with the assorted side dishes (pan chan) or with the complimentary dwenjang jjige soup that comes with the meal.

I usually make small ssam packages (tear the lettuce in half and find the tinniest meat and kimchi pieces) that my koreans tease me that I am wrapping up candy. I cannot eat the regular ssam than koreans make, some as as big as my fist and they (my korean friends) have no trouble popping the entire thing in their mouth. LOL They think I am too chicken to make ssam as big as they can. I tell them I don't wanna choke on the good food.

[SheenaGreena]

Sheena - I just discovered the joys of grilled or fried kimchi. I must admit, it does add to the ssam (wrapped bulgogi or samgyeopsal). I too, omit the rice since I can eat the rice with the assorted side dishes (pan chan) or with the complimentary dwenjang jjige soup that comes with the meal.

I usually make small ssam packages (tear the lettuce in half and find the tinniest meat and kimchi pieces) that my koreans tease me that  I am wrapping up candy. I cannot eat the regular ssam than koreans make, some as as big as my fist and they (my korean friends) have no trouble popping the entire thing in their mouth. LOL They think I am too chicken to make ssam as big as they can. I tell them I don't wanna choke on the good food.

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well at least you don't take bites out of it like a burrito. I hate when people do that! It's like they are eating a low carb burrito or something, it is very un-korean.

on one of my first dates with my boyfriend, he took me to a korean restaurant here in boston. Of course we had to order the kalbi and the sam gyup sal. He had never had korean food before so this was a treat for him (and he ended up never eating korean food again ). I had to explain to him that you are supposed to eat the wrap in one bite, like a package. He said that it was impossible, and lo & behold I popped a huge ssam in my mouth and looked like a chipmunk as I chewed for 30 seconds.

that has to be one of my biggest pet peeves btw: eating ssam in more than one bite and eating kimbap or sushi & nigiri in more than one bite. If you don't put it in your mouth all at once, then you don't get to savour all the flavours all at once

I have been doing alot of egullet ranting lately

[ChryZ]

Kalguksu (other romanization: kal gook soo) means in korean: knife (cut) noodles. In this case with seafood broth and veggies.

soup ingredients

250-500 G clams (0.55-1.1 LBS)

2 L water (8.5 CUPS)

10 X fresh anchovies (dried ones are okay too)

1 X scallion

1 X zucchini

1 X onion

1 X carrot

1 X red chili

2 X potatoes

2-3 X soy sauce

noodle ingredients

1 CUP water

2 CUP wheat flour

1/2 CUP starch

1 TBS salt

soak the clams in salt water for 30-60 min

chop the veggies into quick cooking stripes and chunks

combine water and flour from the noodle ingredients

knead until smooth, dust with some starch

wrap the dough in plastic wrap, let it rest in the fridge for up to 30 min

fillet the anchovies, it's not pretty so click here for visualisation,

slit the fishs' belly up to the head, snap the "neck" close behind the end of the head,

use the end (not the tip) of your knife for that, pull the head off, the innards will

follow attached to the head if done right, open the fish like a book and remove the

spine tail-wards, repeat:

scrub the clams to remove any sand or dirt, examine every single one of them,

discard open or cracked ones, they are dead already ... only 4 in my batch, yay

roll out the dough and slice into noodles

bring water from the soup ingredients to boil, add sliced onions and anchovies

add the clams after a few minutes

when the clams start to open, then add the noodles, stir them

a little to make sure that they don’t stick to each other

add the rest of the veggies closely afterwards,

lower the heat and simmer until the veggies are done,

season to taste with a little salt and pepper,

add 2-3 table spoons of soy sauce for some umami

serve piping hot, a second empty bowl or plate is handy to pill up the clam shells,

(watch out for still closed clams, discard them as well, fortunately only three here)

second serving with clam shells pre-removed, bowls loaded with goodness

this was my first take on the dish, I'm pretty happy, it was delicous

[melonpan]

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<center>d r o o l</center>

when we make kalguksu / sujebi, it is usually with canned chicken broth or anchovy dashida and bagged frozen assorted seafood (nothing fresh like at your place). so sad, no?

yours looks so homey and comforting! looks like moms. i am inviting myself over for dinner!

[ChryZ]

yours looks so homey and comforting!  looks like moms.  i am inviting myself over for dinner!

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Thanks for the kind comment. You're right, there are many ways to make this dish less time consuming. I'm going to cut a few corners from now on to make the dish more weekday friendly ... and reserve the "full" version for special occasions, like when you come over for dinner

Edited November 19, 2006 by ChryZ (log)

[Domestic Goddess]

Wow! That looks so good Chryz! Here in Korea, there are home-delivery of massive bowls/pots of Kalguksu complete with individual bowls, seasonings, spoons & chopsticks, the works. You eat, put the dirty dishes outside and that's a no fuss meal.