Hope everyone had a very happy July 4th!! (at least for the people in the US ;) ) So now on to the 2nd post for my girl's getaway trip to the Central Coast area of California. On Day 2 of our trip, we made our way to Carmel which brings back many memories for me. Carmel is right by the sea and is a very unique small town with great galleries, pretty shops and most of all, excellent ...
Brown Gosari – Korean Samsaek Namul
Gosari or Bracken fiddleheads namul has a wonderful earthy flavor and chewy texture that all Koreans love (well most anyway..). It is the brown colored vegetable out of the 3 colored namuls.Gosari (고사리)/Kosari or Bracken Fiddleheads namul is the last of the Korean three color vegetables (samsaek namul 삼색나물) dish that I have been blogging about. What is Gosari or Bracken ...
A visit with a Korean Rice Cake Mold (Tteoksal) Artisan
One item on my "Must Do" list while I was in Korea was to make a trip down to Damyang (담양) to visit a renowned artisan who owns his own craft shop called Moksan Gongyakwan (목산공예관) as seen in the picture above.FYI - The doggie is a Korean breed called Sapsalgae (삽살개) - very cute isn't he?Mr. Kim Gyuseok is a famous Korean Rice Cake Mold (Tteoksal 떡살) Artisan who has been collecting and ...
Galbi Jjim (Best Korean Braised Short Ribs)
This is Korean food at its best. Galbi jjim(갈비찜) /Kalbijjim was certainly one of my favorites as a kid and is still very much at the top of my list to this day. As a kid, I loved to eat just Galbi jjim, rice and Kimchi. It was a perfect balance of flavors for me. The combination of sweet yet savory, juicy yet melt in your mouth tender beef ribs with a great depth of flavor and the crunchy, spicy ...
Holiday Gift Idea: Home Made Salad Dressings
These 3 salad dressings make wonderful gifts for the holidays! I have a soy mustardy dressing for a tofu asian salad, a oniony nutty sweet sesame dressing for a spinach salad that goes wonderfully with Korean or Asian food. Finally, a very simple lemon vinaigrette that just goes well with any meal. Do you need ideas for holiday gift for someone who love Asian food?? Well.. my Salad ...
No Crazy Kimchi – How to Ripen or Ferment Kimchi Properly
How to Ripen Kimchi Everyone has a different preference as to when Kimchi(김치) tastes the best - some love eating freshly made, raw kimchi (kind of tastes like a salad); some love eating it when it is just perfectly ripe and then there are those who love sour kimchi (신김치 shin kimchi) which has basically over fermented and obviously tastes quite sour. But one thing is for sure - no one likes the ...
Soondubu Jjigae with Kimchi (Spicy Soft Tofu Stew)
Soondubu Jjigae with Kimchi (김치 순두부찌게) Soondubu Jjigae with Kimchi is one of the variations of the spicy soft tofu stew (순두부 찌게 Soondubu Jjigae) that I wrote about some time ago. I know that my original recipe may taste a bit bland to some people and if that's the case for you, you really have to try this version with kimchi and beef. As with many things, adding kimchi makes the jjigae explode ...
Stir-fried cucumbers (오이나물 oyi namul)
This Oyi Namul(오이나물) is also sometimes called Oyi Bokkeum (오이볶음) which literally means cucumber stir fry. When you saw the name of the dish, you might have thought - "What? Stir fry cucumbers? How can that taste good?". But you will be surprised how good this tastes - the slightly pickled cucumbers have such a wonderfully crunchy and chewy texture. Any raw cucumber taste (that some people don't ...
Pan-Fried Beef Patties (Wanja Jeon) and Stuffed Perilla Leaves (Kkaennip Jeon)
Pan-Fried Beef Patties (Wanja Jeon) and Stuffed Perilla Leaves (Kkaennip Jeon) Wanja Jeon and Kkaennip Jeon are easy to make and produces a great side dish to any Korean meal with spicy soups or jjigaes. They are also great for lunch boxes because they keep well and taste good even when they are not warm. The only thing is that it takes a bit of effort and time to make it, and that's why I don't ...
Dried Pollock Soup – Bugeo Gook (북어국)
Dried Pollock Soup or Bugeo Gook or Bugeo Guk is a wonderful soothing soup that's not just soothing in taste but also nutritionally known to be a detoxing soup among Koreans. It's also my daughter's favorite and she requested for this recipe when she was in college.My daughter called me the other day and asked me to post my Bugeo (dried pollock) Gook (Guk) recipe because she wanted to make ...