It’s kimchi season right now, which means many Korean families will be making enormous amounts of that famous spicy fermented cabbage. We’re in the middle of making our own right now, and I must say, it is quite a fete. I can see why many families forego the whole ordeal and just buy some at the supermarket. It’s not only a long process, but we’re dealing with pounds and pounds of cabbage, more than you would believe you’d eat in a lifetime. However, nothing beats food made at home. There’s that love and trust that is absent elsewhere.
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November 11 2009 | Asian and Korean and Recipe and Thoughts and Vegetarian | 6 Comments »
Mushrooms are one of my favorite ingredients. They’re easy to work with and perfectly accompany almost any savory dish out there. They’re amazing on pizza, in pasta, soup, stews, pies, casseroles, you name it! It enhances a dish by supporting and deepening the main flavors. Mushrooms, however, are always given that role, the sidekick. They rarely take center stage and shine on their own. That’s why I love this recipe because it’s all about the mushrooms.
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November 07 2009 | Asian and Korean and Recipe and Side Dish and Thoughts and Vegetarian | 5 Comments »
Have you ever cooked too much rice or left it out until it became stale? Well don’t throw it out! Instead make nurungji, 누룽지, and save it for a rainy day. Nurungji is cooked rice that is dried out. The steps are simple and it keeps for months. Rice porridge is usually made with the dried rice, however, you can always make some sweet munchies by frying them slightly in vegetable oil and sprinkling with sugar. My mom used to make that for my sister and me when we were little. They’re absolutely great for sharing in front of the TV, or maybe even speckled on top of ice cream…I’ll have to go try that and report back to you.
Nurungji porridge is perfect for cold and dreary winter days or even better for those sick days spent in bed. You can leave it on the stove and come back to it an hour or so later. Just make sure you keep the burner on low.
There are no exact measurements to making nurungji. Just spread a thin layer of rice in a stainless steel pan and cook it over low heat. Over time, the rice will brown and start pulling away from the edges. You can leave it until all the rice has turned brown, or until the bottom and sides are brown. I left mine for about 45 minutes.
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November 04 2009 | Asian and Korean and Recipe and Soup and Thoughts and Vegetarian | 6 Comments »
One of my roommates is in dental school and for the past couple months she’s been busy preparing for the board exams. We’ve been living together for two years now and have shared quite a few food memories. We occasionally make dinners, go out for Restaurant Week, and even took a couple of cooking classes together!
When she asked me if I could pack her lunch on the day of her board exams I was happy to do it. I kind of felt like a mom sending her kid off to take the SATs. I couldn’t sleep the night before because I planned to cook in the morning so the food would be nice and fresh. I was afraid I might not wake up in time, which is silly because I’m one of those people who don’t need an alarm to get up. I kept on looking at my clock throughout the night and finally at 6 am (1 hour before I planned to wake up) I got out of bed and started cooking.
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August 31 2009 | Asian and Beef and Korean and Recipe and Side Dish and Thoughts | 5 Comments »
Korean summers are excruciatingly humid and hot. Temperatures will rise above the 90s and for a few weeks monsoon season hits so it rains cats and dogs. Fortunately, throughout my life I have only spent a handful of summers there. I love being there and it’s where I call home, but summer is just not its best season.
One great thing about summer in Korea though is the cold noodle soups. They’re cool, refreshing, and very flavorful. The most common and popular cold noodle soup is probably, naengmyun, 냉면. It is made with buckwheat noodles and a cold broth garnished with julienned cucumbers, asian pear slices, half a hard boiled egg, and pieces of steamed pork belly. It’s a bit complicated to make naengmyun from scratch, which is why they sell packages of naengmyun “kits” in Korean/Asian supermarkets. Everything is included, so all you have to do is boil the noodles and pick your garnishes.
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August 23 2009 | Asian and Beans and Legumes and Budget and Korean and Noodles and Recipe and Soup and Thoughts | 4 Comments »
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