Thursday, March 31, 2011

Say Kimchi ^_^v



Nothing is more Korean than kimchi, so it is no surprise that you will find it in everything from soups, fried rice, ramyun, and even in donuts. When you take pictures, instead of saying cheese, people will say kimchi.

Today's dish is one of the most simple and quickest to make. Soups are always present during meals, and kimchi jjigae (김치찌개)is a staple. My Korean co-workers and friends always laughed at me because this was my first attempt at cooking Korean food and the biggest flop. Due to that incident, I stopped trying to make my own and ate out for six months before I gathered the courage to try again and even then I did not attempt this dish again until just recently. So after two and a half years, I man up and made it for my parents.

The key to a good kimchi jjigae is the kimchi. It must be sour. If it is not old, sour, fermented cabbage, then your soup is going to be bland and flavorless. Can you guess what my mistake was all those years ago?

Prep is not time consuming like most other foods of this cuisine. Chopping, slicing, and cooking will take you about thirty minutes. Unlike Rachel Ray, I do not expect you to have all your vegetables and herbs washed and ready to go. Instead, it is simple to just prep as you go along. I am more of a Sara Moulton style cook.

Ingredients

2 cups or 1/4 head of sour kimchi
3 slices of samgyupsal (Korean bacon)
1/2 medium onion
6 cloves of garlic
1/2 block of tofu
2 sprigs of green onions
4 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoons of gochujang (red pepper paste)
1 1/2 tablespoons of red pepper powder (cut back on either of the red pepper ingredients if you don't want it too spicy)
1/4 cup of kimchi juice (the juice left that is extracted from the cabbage during fermentation)
3-4 cups of water

Start by squeezing out the extra juices into a bowl on the side. Then cut the kimchi into bite size pieces. Make sure to not waste any of the juices because you will need it for the broth later. Mince the garlic and put it aside.

Take the samgyupsal and cut off the layer of fat with the skin. You can leave it on if you like the fat, but I like my soup a little more lean. Then slice into bite size pieces as well.

Peel and cut the onion down the middle length wise. The slice them into medium size half rings.


Heat up a pot and add 2 tablespoons of oil. You can do all vegetable oil or do 75/25 with sesame oil. Be careful with sesame oil, because it has a lower tolerance for heat and will smoke up if it is too high. Add the dry, kimchi slices and sautee until the leaves starts to become translucent.


Add the bacon, garlic, and onions. Cook until the meat changes to a light brown and the onions start to soften.

Add the water to cover. Put in all the seasonings and the kimchi juice. While the soup is heating up, cut the tofu into large squares. You do not want them too small otherwise they are lost in the soup. Add to the soup and let it boil for 15 minutes.


Take this time to cut up the sprigs of green onion to garnish at the end.

This dish is so simple. Makes me feel uneasy now that I look back at my failed attempt. Hopefully with these instructions you won't fail as badly as I did. Fighting!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry 내가 내가 내가 먼저

Ok, enough with the K-pop references. I want to apologize for not updating this more often. I have just been eating out more and not cooking as much. I have received many new Chinese recipes, but I want to alter them to use less oil, sugar, and salt before posting. I promise once I tweak them, they will go up ASAP.

For today, I have a Vietnamese version of an Asian staple. Chinese call it congee, Indonesian bubur, Korean juk, Japanese kayu, Thai kao dom, Filipino lúgaw, Vietnamese cháo, and the western world know it as porridge. Most people only think of this dish when sick, but for the rest of the world, it is a breakfast classic.



I do not care for porridge too much, but this is a family favorite, because of the salad that goes with it. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of this dish? Not many positive adjectives come to mind, right? Scalding and bland tends to pop into my mind. When paired with this chicken or duck salad, the porridge does not take a backseat, but instead compliments it. There is a drastic contrast between the crisp cold cabbage, the tangy dressing, the warm poultry, and the hot congee.

Make the fish sauce first because it will need to be at room temperature or cool when you toss it into the salad.

Fish Sauce Ingredients (Nước mắm):
1 Cup fish sauce
1/2 Cup vinegar
1 lemon
4 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 Cup of water
2 fresh red peppers chopped(the smaller the hotter)
1/2 cup of sugar (less or more depending on how sweet you like it)

In a sauce pan combine the fish sauce, vinegar, and water. Wait until it comes to a boil, then add the sugar, and stir until it dissolves. Add the garlic, chili and lemon juice next. Once it has come to a boil, turn it on low and cook for another 10-15 minutes to extract the flavors of the garlic and chilies. If it is too sweet, add a little more lemon juice. If it is too acidic, add some sugar until it suits you.

Congee Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of oil
2 cups of rice
5-6 cups of water (Depends on how soupy you like it. We like more broth to rice ratio)
4 whole chicken or duck legs including thighs
Salt (To taste) 2 1/2-3 tablespoons
Sugar (To taste) 1 1/2 tablespoons
4 cloves of garlic peeled and minced
2 green onions to garnish sliced semi thin

Start by placing a pot onto the stove to heat, then add the oil. When the oil starts to move around freely, add the rice and saute until the rice starts to color. When the rice has started to absorb the oil, release it's starches, and brown, add the minced garlic. Let the garlic brown a bit, then add the water. While you are waiting for the water to boil, clean the poultry by rinsing and rubbing it with salt. Let it sit in a bowl of water to draw out any additional impurities. Remember to stir the porridge occasionally so the rice does not stick to the bottom. Add the poultry, salt, and sugar to the water. Let it cook, on medium heat, until the meat is done, and the rice has expanded. That should take roughly around 20-30 minutes. If you are unsure, you can always take the meat out and cut towards the center of each piece. It does not matter because you will be peeling the poultry into strips anyways. If it is red, cook some more. When the meat is finished, take out, place aside until it is room temperature, and peel into bite size strips. When the rice has expanded and open, it is finished. Do your final seasoning. If it is right to your taste, turn off the stove, and place a lid on it to keep it warm.

Fried Shallots Ingredients:
2 Shallots
5 tablespoons of oil

Peel the shallots and slice into thin strips. Heat a small skillet or pan on the stove. When it is hot, add the oil, and wait until it moves with ease. Turn the heat down to medium, and add the shallots. When the shallots begin to turn a medium brown, take off the stove, let it cool, and place into an air tight container.

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Salad Ingredients:
1 small to medium cabbage (can be green or purple)
1 medium onion
1 bunch of cilantro
Peeled poultry
1/4 cup of vinegar
Sugar (To taste) 1 tablespoon some like it sweeter
2 dashes of black pepper

Take the cabbage and cut it down the middle. Now you need to cut it into thin strips. If it is easier, use a mandoline, because they should not be too thick. Wash thoroughly, shake dry, and place aside to drain completely. It is best that the cabbage is completely dried.

Next peel the onion, cut in half and slice it thin. Combine the vinegar, sugar and pepper. Mix together until the sugar has fully dissolved and add a teaspoon of water to delude the dressing a little. Add the onions and let it sit in the mixture for 10-15 minutes. Once the cabbage is dry, place what you deem is enough for whose eating into a mixing bowl. Add the vinegar dressing to the bowl and squeeze the cabbage, so that it absorbs the flavor. It is necessary to do this step otherwise the cabbage will taste bland. Add 3-4 tablespoons of the fish sauce and garnish with chopped cilantro.



It sounds like quite a bit of work right? It just seems that way, because I introduced quite a few fundamental ingredients to Vietnamese cuisine in this blog. The fish sauce will keep for months if stored properly in the fridge, so you do not need to make them all the time. The shallots will be fine in an air tight container on the counter, or in the pantry. If you are like my family, we like to do it once, and not worry about it for a few months. Just multiply the quantity, and make as much as you will need ahead of time. I promise you, the fish sauce alone is worth making more of, because your house will need to be aired out after. You don't want to have that smell looming around constantly.