Saturday, February 12, 2011

Off With Your Head, Dance 'Til You're Dead.


Living abroad has done wonders for me mentally, physically, and has created a better bond with my family and friends. For some, it is a terrifying time that can lead one to resent the new environment, but you have to let go of your fears and embrace the positive qualities before you can truly appreciate how blessed you are. I bring this up because the relationship between my parents and I have grown immensely after I returned.

This is the topic of today, because I have been feasting on everything my mom puts in front of me since I have returned. Many dishes that I took for granted or have forgotten about are resurfacing like buried treasures. The time spent in the kitchen listening to my parents talk about their homeland and our customs is fascinating.

Even though both of my parents grew up in South Vietnam, their lives varied dramatically. My grandfather, on my mother's side passed away when she was young. With my grandmother, an older half brother, older half sister, older sister, herself, younger brother, and younger sister they lived what sounds like a lower middle class lifestyle. My grandmother working difficult jobs such as roasting and packing coffee beans to support them.

My father grew up with both parents, an older brother, himself, three younger brothers, and two younger sisters. They, on the other hand, lived a more comfortable life with land and a nice house where a river ran through it. When the river flooded it brought with it an abundance of fish. My dad sometimes speaks fondly of these times, a time when he did not have to work two or three jobs.

In Vietnam, many families make due with what is readily available during the season. The country possesses a long coastline (approximately 2026 miles), and year round tropical weather, which affords them shrimp nearly year round. Shrimp proves to be on of Vietnam's greatest industries at 47.7% of all seafood caught bringing in over a million dollars.

It is no surprise that there are many dishes dedicated to this tasty crustacean. My mom makes a wonderful sweet, savory, and spicy shrimp where you can eat the shell too. In Vietnam, the combination of sweet and savory are iconic. Our sauce of choice, Nước mắm, is used as a dipping sauce, or ladled over noodles and almost everything else. Then there is Canh chua; a soup containing pineapple, tamarind, fish, seafood (shrimp is a popular ingredient), and a variety of herbs and vegetables. This simple dish takes no time to cook up and came from the Vietnamese people's intuition of utilizing what they have on hand. My friends come over often to eat and will always praise my mom for the magic that comes out of her kitchen. I never knew how lucky I was until being deprived of it for two years.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds of Whole Shrimp (head and shell intact)
3 tablespoons of White Sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons of Fish Sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons of Salt
2 tablespoons of Oyster Sauce
4 cloves of Garlic
A handful of Red Pepper Flakes
3 tablespoons of oil
2 Green Onions
1/2 Medium White Onion




When cleaning the shrimp use scissors to snip off the area from the eyes up, the legs, and the tail. Leaving them clean.

Cut off both ends of the onion and peel off the outer skin. Place the onion so that it is sitting upright and slice in half. Now put the half onion flat and cut into thick strips.

Wash the green onions, removing any dead sprigs or layers. Cut off the root end and cut in a diagonal direction.

Start by heating a large wok or fry pan with deep sides. Add the oil and let it heat up in the pan before swirling it around to coat the surface area. When the oil can move around at a high pace, add the garlic and red pepper flakes to warm up and release all the flavors and spice. After the garlic has browned, add the shrimp. Sautée the shrimp for a couple of minutes then add the sugar first to start the caramelizing of the flavors. Follow with the salt, oyster sauce, and fish sauce. Once the shrimp starts to turn a reddish orange, you can add the onions to cook. Make sure that the onion retains it's crunch. Then add the green onions and sautée for a minute to finish.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Mmm... Mmm...Good


Samgyetang (삼게탕), stuffed ginseng chicken soup, is a popular health food in Korea. It is the equivalent of what chicken noodle soup is for the western world. It does not matter what season it is, you will still see people eating this steaming hot dish. In fact, it is common for people to consume this meal on one of the three hottest days of the year. Some might ask why would you want to do something like that? The answer is simple, while the heat depletes us of our energy, this soup will replenish the vital nutrients that we have lost. Plus, when the weather is unbearable this piping hot meal will put into perspective how cool the air around us feels in comparison. I can attest to this reasoning, I felt refreshed when comparing my food to the sticky and humid climate. The same can not be said when eating ice cream or red bean shaved ice (팥빙수) in the winter. I found that out from first hand experience as well. Zero and frozen treats don't go hand in hand, but that didn't stop me.

Does that not sell you to go out and order a big bowl of your own? All over Asia, you will see that many people will eat soups all year round. I will make sure to bring this up when I talk about Phở or Bún bò Huế, classic staples of Vietnamese food.

No matter if you do not want to eat this in the middle of summer, or in a broiling hot desert, you can always put this recipe aside for when the bitter winds of winter comes sweeping by again.

Ingredients:
A small chicken per each individual. (A little bigger than a Cornish game hen or use a full size chicken for two or three people)
4 stocks of Ginseng
4 Jujubes or Chinese Dates
6 cloves of Garlic
1 cup or enough Glutenous Rice to stuff the chicken
2 Chesnuts
4 Ginko Nuts
Salt to taste
1 stalk of Leek
1/2 a medium Onion
2 pieces of Astragalus root(황기)(Can find in Chinese medicine store or you can leave them out)

Let's start by rinsing the glutenous rice in water and then letting it sit for fifteen minutes to extract the extra starches.

Now for the chicken, take some coarse sea salt and scrub the inside and out. Pluck any stray feathers and make sure the chicken is clean.

The ginko nuts should be boiled until soft, after the shell has been removed, use a toothpick to poke out the center. The center of the ginko contains a toxin that can cause illness if consumed in high amounts. It is all just for precaution.

The chestnut should be shelled and will cook within the chicken.

Take the clean chicken and stuff it with the 2 cloves of garlic, 1 1/2 stocks of ginseng, a jujube, the chestnuts, and then fill the rest of the space with the glutenous rice. Make sure not to over stuff the bird, because you will now cut a little slit in the skin near the foot of the chicken. Once you have done that, slip the other leg through the small hole so that the bird is cross legged and closed. This way, while everything is cooking the side absorbs all of the wonderful chicken flavor.

Cut the leeks in half across the green and white part. The greens keep whole for the soup. The whites chop to garnish at the end.

Cut off both ends of the onion and set it so that it is sitting upright and slice down the middle.

Put a pot large enough to submerge the chicken in on the stove. Do not put the chicken in yet. Let the water boil, then add in the remaining garlic, jujubes, ginseng, half an onion, leeks, and astragalus root. Once this has come to a boil place the chicken in and add a little more water if needed to make sure the chicken in covered.


Let it cook for roughly 30 to 40 minutes depending on the size of the chicken. if you are using a Cornish game hen, you might only need 20-25 minutes. Strain the soup so that none of the ingredients flavoring it is left before presentation. Serve the chicken in individual bowls and with the clear broth only. You can serve this with a side of salt and pepper, so that each individual can season the soup to their liking and dip the chicken if they want. This way if you are worried about the sodium, you can skip it. Kimchi is a great side dish for this meal to give it more flavor.

Colors of the world, spice up your life!


The essential and most fundamental aspect of a Korean meal lies in the side dishes or banchan (반찬) and no other condiment shines more brightly than kimchi (긴치). Families take pride in preparing a well made version of this traditional fare and if they are willing to share theirs with you, then you have definitely made it into their good graces. Travel anywhere, in Korea, and you will detect the subtle differences in styles depending on what is readily available to the people. Some people prefer the kimchi made along the coastline because they add oysters and other tidbits of seafood. Inland, it is not so common to find such embellishments, but the use of tiny shrimp (새우것) will be found instead. With the recipes to come, I would suggest you make your own and in a large quantity, because there are many items that will need kimchi as the base.

I know people are turned off by the smell and the thought of a fiery red, fermented cabbage dish, but it is a food that will help promote good health. For two years I was living in Korea while teaching English. I left to travel the world and eventually go back home to the states. While backpacking through Australia; I was missing Korea, and saw a sign promoting all the essential health benefits of kimchi and it dawn on me why I had become the most healthy I have ever been in my life. I cannot claim that kimchi did that by itself, but as a staple of Korean cuisine, it was a key factor. If you would like to read about the benefits yourself.(http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20410300,00.html)

It is becoming less common for people to make their own now-a-days when supermarkets will produce this time consuming fare for you. It is sad to think these treasured family recipes might be a part of the past since nothing beats food prepared with care. In the fall, families tend to come together to participate in kimjang (긴장) or the preparation of kimchi for the winter season. It is important to produce enough to outlast winter when fresh vegetables are less abundant. This is a concept that is almost unheard of in the west, but in most parts of the world, they use whatever is seasonal.

Let's get to work now. I hope you are ready because it is time consuming, but you will feel a sense of pride once you have accomplished this dish. I will try my best to give you measurements, but keep in mind that I learned to cook by feeling and sight. You can easily adjust this recipe if you wish to make however much you want.

Ingredients:
2 large Napa Cabbage
1 medium Radish
1/2 to 3/4 cup of Pepper Powder (고추가루)
12 cloves of Garlic
1 stock of ginger of Ginger
8 sprigs of Green Onions or Scallions
1/2 to 3/4 cup of Fish Sauce
1/2 cup of Tiny Shrimp(새우것)(It is ok to leave this out, I usually do not use it unless I have it on hand. It taste fine without.)
2 medium Asian Pears (Apple Pears as they are also called) or Apples
1 large white or yellow Onion

Salt Bath:
1 1/4 cups of Coarse Salt only for the bath (Prefer Sea Salt) with extra to put in between each leaf
Enough water to submerge the cabbage fully.

Binding agent:
1 1/2 cups of Water
2 tablespoons of Flour

Prep:

Begin by preparing the salt bath. Add the salt to 2 cups of hot water so that it dissolves. Add the mixture to room temperature or cool water. Now split the cabbage into quarters lengthwise while keeping the stock intact so that the leaves do not separate. Rinse the cabbage off with a little water and open each leaf to sprinkle sea salt within. Do not worry about the salt content because you are just using it to soften the cabbage. Once it has wilted down you will rinse it out anyways. When you have finished, place them in the salt bath and fully submerge the cabbage and let it sit for three to four hours. When the leaves look opaque, they are ready.



Peel the pears (or apples) and radish. Make it easy on yourself and use a slicing board set to a medium julienne cut.

The garlic and ginger needs to be peeled and chopped finely. You can use a food processor to do the job.



Clean the green onions of the dead or flimsy leaves and chop off the root end. Dice the whites into semi thin circular disks while leaving the greens to be sliced into strips.

Cut both ends off the onion, turn the onion so that it can sit upright on it's own and split down the middle. Now turn it so that the cut middle lies flat and slice into medium strips.

Place all of these ingredients into one bowl, adding the fish sauce, tiny shrimp (if you would like), and red pepper powder.



Next put the two cups of water into a small pot and bring to a boil. Add the flour slowly while stirring constantly until it dissolves and creates a nice glue like substance. Look for the consistency of Elmer's school glue. Let it cool, then add to the mixture spicy mixture, and mix throughout.

Once the cabbage has taken a semi translucent, yet cloudy appearance, take it out of the water and rinse out the salt thoroughly. Now this is fundamental, you need to squeeze all of the excess water out of the cabbage. The cabbage should have reduced in size from the extraction, so begin to open each leaf and rub the mixture in between leaving some behind.

Once finished rub the outside with the mixture and fold the ends of the leaves inward and put into an airtight container.

After you have finished with the rest, you can either cut some up and eat as fresh kimchi or store it in the fridge for a week and eat it when it has fermented a little. Kimchi will last a long time if you keep it properly stored on the last shelf of your refrigerator where it is not directly blown upon which creates ice crystals.

Do not worry when you see the kimchi has produced an abundance of juices. It is only natural for it to continue to release water and draw in the spicy seasoning. You will use this liquid for soups later. I promise you it is a good thing.