Vegetarian & food

Hi everybody! Today I have a short and simple – but fun – video recipe for doenjangbanga. When I was in the island of Roatan in Honduras, I chartered a boat and a few men for snorkeling and fishing. We started at about 11:00 am and came back about 4:00 pm. It was an awesome experience for me and I was happy to film this video so that I can share it with my readers.

As you can see in the video, I didn’t have a proper knife to fillet the fish, or a spoon to mix the dipping sauce! No kitchen tools! I used the flat bench on the boat as my cutting board. To be honest I didn’t expect that they would catch any fish. After negotiating the charter I quickly put some Korean ingredients and a plastic bowl into a plastic bag, and rushed on board the boat.

I was thrilled when I saw they caught snapper, lobsters, and a huge conch! I was so excited that I told them I would give them a $40 tip! Ow ow ow, then what happened? The captain Ronin immediately went to work to break open the conch so we could eat it!

When I was young, my father used to charter a fishing boat when he visited his hometown island of Namhae. He always asked me to follow him on his excursion and told me he would make delicious hoe (raw fish) on the boat. Even though I loved the idea of following him, I always refused because I have a problem with seasickness. I knew I wouldn’t be able to enjoy a trip in a bumpy small boat. My father came home with lots of fish he caught and he would fillet them for us.

He didn’t forget to say, “Oh, you missed the delicious hoe on the boat. The taste of raw fish eaten on the boat right after being caught can’t be compared to anything!”

I took a pill for motion sickness before going on this trip. No problem! OMG it was so fun! My late father would be proud of me if he saw me what I did!

“Father, I made it, but too late! You would have been very happy if I had followed you when you went fishing. How come you didn’t think to give me a motion sickness pill btw?” lol

This dipping sauce’s main ingredient is soy bean paste. Dipping sauce recipes for raw fish depend on what kind of fish you have. This sauce goes well with snapper, flounder, or permit.

Jovani caught conch!

… and snapper

… and lobster

Samuel caught lion fish

I had never known conch has eyes! eepy!

Ingredients

Soybean paste, hot pepper paste, vinegar, garlic, green onions, sesame oil, roasted sesame seeds, honey (or sugar)

Directions

Mix these ingredients on a bowl with a spoon:

• ¼ cup soybean paste,
• 1tbs hot pepper paste,
• 1 ts of honey (or sugar),
• 1-2 ts vinegar,
• 2 cloves of minced garlic,
• 2 stalks of chopped green onions,
• 1 tbs of sesame oil,

*tip: If you want some vegetables to wrap the fish in, prepare lettuce, perilla leaves, and green chili pepper. Put a piece of raw fish into the lettuce or perilla leaf, add some dipping sauce and a green chili pepper, wrap it and eat.

doenjangbangah (dipping sauce) and snapper

doenjangbangah, snapper, and conch

Today let’s make squash rice cake (Hobaktteok), using a small ceramic bowl or cup. I’m so excited to release this recipe because with it you can easily make fluffy rice cake and sweet squash filling. Ramekins work well, but you could try any other kind of similar-sized, heat-resistant bowl or cup, too. The nice thing about ramekins is that the final result looks pretty on the table.

I like the contrast between the clean, white rice cake and the sweet, tangy, lemon-flavored, gooey, golden squash filling. Add more filling if you want. I use squash but you could use kabocha, too.

Serve one small bowl per person as a light dessert or snack. It’s fun to scoop and eat, and the perfect size for one person.

Enjoy the recipe, and let me know if you make it at home!

Ingredients

• ½ cup cooked butternut squash
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon
• 2 cups rice flour (frozen rice flour sold at a Korean grocery store or make your own)
• lemon zest from 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon water
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. Run the zester across the lemon in long threads. Set aside.

Make squash filling

1. Wash 1 small butternut squash and cut it in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and stringy stuff. Cut the halves crosswise and put them in a heavy pot. Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the pot.
2. Cover and cook for 30 to 35 minutes over medium low heat, until the squash turns soft and tender. Remove from the heat and let cool.
3. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon and transfer it to a bowl, discarding the skins. Mash the squash with a wooden spoon.
   
4. Put ½ cup of the squash into a small pot. The remainder can be frozen for up to 1 month in a plastic bag, for later use.
5. Add the honey and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Heat up the pot and boil for about 5 minutes over medium high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the consistency turns into something a little thicker than apple sauce. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Make Rice cake

1. Put the rice flour into a coarse sieve over a large bowl. Sift through the sieve and stir with a wooden spoon so that rice flour goes through and gets well aired. Remove any hard solids left over in the sieve.
2. Sift and stir the rice flour a second time.
3. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice, salt, and sugar.
4. Mix it all up between your palms, gently pressing out any wet lumps, until the rice flour is uniformly wet. Sift the rice flour again.
   
5. Bring 6 cups of water in a steamer and boil.
6. Put 1 to 2 teaspoons squash filling into the bottom of each ramekin.
7. Use a spoon to fill each ramekin ⅔ full with rice flour, then add another dollop of squash filling. Top it up with some more rice flour, and garnish with the lemon zest.
   
8. When the water in the steamer starts to boil, put the ramekins into the steamer. Cover and steam for 30 minutes over medium high heat.
   

Serve

1. Serve right away. The rice cake will be fluffy for about 5 to 7 hours at room temperature.
2. If you want to save some to serve later, let the rice cake cool for 30 minutes and then wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze. When you want serve it later, first thaw it out at room temperature. The rice cake will still be fluffy, but you could also microwave or steam again to refresh it.

Hello everybody!
Today’s recipe is doraji-muchim. Doraji (known as “bellflower,” “balloon flower,” or platycodon in English) is grown wild in the mountains and fields of Korea. The root of the bellflower looks similar to ginseng root and tastes bitter with strong ginseng-like smell. It’s not only used to make delicious side dishes but it’s also used in Korean traditional medicine and home remedies.

You can make this dish with either fresh or dried doraji root. If you get fresh doraji, you’ll have to peel it and split it lengthwise into bite sized strips. Then soak the strips in salty water for a couple of hours, drain the water, rub them by hand, and rinse in cold water. Repeat this until they aren’t so bitter anymore. Taste a small sample of the root to test.

Dried doraji sold in a package is more convenient for making doraji side dishes because all you need to do is to soak the roots in water and rub them with a little salt to remove the bitterness. Then you can make delicious side dishes by mixing them with seasoning sauce, stir-frying, or making pancakes with them.

The most common side dish made with bellflower roots is doraji-muchim, so let’s start with this recipe. I’ll post more in the future. If you want to add cucumber, slice it and mix with some salt in a small bowl. Then squeeze out the excess water from the cucumber with a cheesecloth and mix with the bellflower root and the seasoning sauce.

Enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 3 ounces of dried bellflower roots (about 85 grams)
• ¼ cup hot pepper paste
• 3 Tablespoons of hot pepper flakes
• 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons of rice syrup or corn syrup
• 1 Tablespoon of sugar
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 3 Tablespoons of white or apple vinegar
• 2 stalks of green onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoons of sesame oil

Directions

1. Soak dried bellflower roots in cold water overnight (for 8 to 12 hours) until the roots are soft.
   
   
   
   
2. Drain and scrub with about 1 Tablespoon of coarse salt to remove the bitterness. Rinse and drain.
3. Combine the hot pepper paste, hot pepper flakes, soy sauce, rice syrup, sugar, salt, vinegar, garlic, green onion, and sesame oil in a mixing bowl.
   
4. Add the dried bellflower roots to the paste and mix it all together by hand.
   
   
5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and transfer it to a serving plate. Serve with rice, and the leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.
   
   

I’m going to introduce these 2 kinds of Korean style squash pancakes to you today:
zucchini pancake and butternut squash pancake.

Unlike zucchini, butternut squash is an unusual ingredient in Korean cuisine. When I saw butternut squash for the first time in my life in USA, I asked my friend Jenny to give me her butternut squash recipe.

She told me that she usually cooked it in the microwave or in the oven with some brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon on top. I baked my butternut squash as she told me to, and it was very delicious! I found the texture, sweetness, and even the orange color to be almost the same as the squash that I used to make my hobakjuk in Korea!

Ever since then, buying some good quality of butternut squash in the fall is a regular seasonal activity for me. I stack them in the corner of my kitchen or living room. They are not only edible but also decorative!

My favorite squashes are: acorn squash, goblin squash, zucchini, and butternut squash.

Make your doenjangjjigae with acorn squash! It’s unbelievably delicious. : ) And bake a goblin squash in the oven with some honey, butter, and cinnamon. I love it!

Ok let’s start cooking!

Butternut squash pancake

Yield:
2 medium sized pancakes.

Ingredients

Butternut squash, salt, flour, vegetable oil.

This is very unique style of pancake because you don’t use water!

Directions

1. Cut a butternut squash in half and remove the seeds with a spoon.
2. Peel the skin with a potato peeler.
3. Julienne the butternut squash.
4. Place 2 cups of butternut squash strips into a bowl.
5. Mix it with ¼ ts salt by hand, and set it aside.
6. In abut 20 minutes the butternut strips will be a little wet due to the process of osmosis.
7. Add 3-4 tbs flour and mix it slightly by hand or with a spoon.
8. Heat up a pan with 1 tbs olive oil.
9. Spoon half the butternut squash mixture on to the hot pan
10. Spread the batter thinly, smooth it out with your spoon, and cook for a few minutes over medium heat.
11. When the bottom of the pancake is lightly golden brown, flip it over.
12. Keep pressing the pancake gently and add more vegetable oil to make it crispier.
13. Serve it hot.

Zucchini pancake

Yield:
1 large pancake, for sharing.

Ingredients

Zucchini, salt, water, flour, sesame oil, vegetable oil.

I learned this recipe from my friend Heykyung’s mom, when I was in high school. I went to her house one day and her mother made this pancake for us. The taste was much better than any zucchini pancake that I had ever eaten. I found out the trick was just a little bit of sesame oil, in the right spot, at the right time! Actually her recipe used more flour and water, and a little bit of sugar in the batter. I modified her recipe to my taste by cutting down the flour and cutting out the sugar.

Directions

1. Julienne a small zucchini. Put 1½ cups of zucchini strips into a bowl.
2. Add ½ cup flour, ½ ts salt, ½ cup water and mix it well with a spoon.
3. On a heated pan, place about 2 tbs vegetable oil and put the batter on to the pan.
4. Spread the batter evenly and thinly to make a large circular pancake.
5. About 1 minute later, when the bottom part sets firm, add 1 tbs sesame oil on the pan, along the edge of the pancake.
6. Tilt and shake the pan so that sesame oil spreads underneath the pancake.
7. Cook another minute until the bottom turns light golden brown and crispy.
   *tip: keep pressing it down with a spoon or spatula while cooking
8. Turn over the pancake with a spatula, or flip it if you can.
9. Add more vegetable oil if you want to make it more crispy. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
10. Transfer the pancake to a large serving plate and serve with dipping sauce.
    
    

Dipping sauce:

1. In a small glass bowl add 2 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs vinegar, 1 tbs chopped onion, 1 clove of minced garlic, and 1 sliced green chili pepper.
2. Mix it up with a spoon.

Edible sea vegetable or (“sea plant”) miyeok (미역) is a very healthy food that contains high levels of calcium, iodine, vitamins, and other minerals. It is called “wakame” in Japanese, “qundaicai” in Chinese, and “fougère des mer” in French. In Korean cuisine, it’s usually used for soup or salads.

Julgi (줄기)  is “stem” in Korean, so miyeok julgi bokkeum means “sautéed sea plant stems.” Many people like the texture of the miyeok stems because they are chewy and a little crunchy. This side dish is one of the most popular Korean dosirak side dishes.

You can get this main ingredient “miyeok julgi” at a Korean grocery store. It’s usually sold in a package preserved with lots of sea salt.

Ingredients

Miyeok stems (1 pound package), onion, garlic, corn syrup (or sugar, honey), soy sauce, onion, sesame oil, roasted sesame seeds, and artificial crabmeat (optional).

Directions

1. Open a package of miyeok julgi (1 pound) with scissors. Rinse it in cold water a couple of  times until all the salt is gone. Soak it in cold water for 10 minutes.
2. Boil about 8 cups of water in a pot.
3. Drain the miyeok julgi and put them into a pot of boiling water.
4. Blanch them for 20 seconds.
5. Rinse in cold water, strain, cut them into bite size pieces, and set aside.
6. Mince 2 cloves of garlic and slice half of a medium-sized onion. Set them aside.
7. Split 3 sticks of crabmeat lengthwise into threads with your fingers. Cut them into bite size pieces and set aside.
   *tip: sometimes, if some miyeok julgi is not shredded thinly,  split thinly with your fingers
8. Heat up a pan over medium high heat. Add some vegetable oil.
9. Add the minced garlic and sliced onion. Stir it with a wooden spoon for 10 seconds, and then add miyeok julgi.
10. Keep stirring for about 3 minutes.
11. Add 1 tbs soy sauce, 2 ts corn syrup (mulyeot), and the crabmeat threads. Sautée another minute.
12. Turn the heat off and add 2 ts of sesame oil.

Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

I’m so happy to eventually introduce you to this recipe for bibimguksu. If you have a big party but you don’t have a big budget, I recommend this recipe, with the condition that the people at the party love spicy food.

I made these noodles for more than 30 people at Suzanne’s house in Rotterdam, when she hosted a meetup for me there. She made so many other Korean dishes to go with it, and people brought their own dishes, so we had plenty of food!

Suzanne and Reinier have their own wesbite called Koreaanskoken, where they translate my recipes into Dutch. If you can read Dutch, go take a look! They also have a Maangchi Hyve. If you’re Dutch and you want to find other Dutch-speaking Korean food lovers, you can find them at those websites!

“Ya ya ya! Let’s mix mix all!” : )  Susanne is mixing bibimguksu for 30 people!

The recipe is for 2 servings but you can use the same methods and techniques to prepare the dish for many more. Suzanne and I had fun at the meetup showing people how to serve so many guests. We had a huge amount of bibimguksu! You can feed a lot of people on a skeleton budget! Please let me know if you have a bibimguksu party with friends and family. Don’t forget to take a photo and send it to me.

Enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients

Thin noodles (somyeon), cucumber, egg, kimchi and kimchi juice, sugar, hot pepper paste, garlic, vinegar, sesame seeds, and sesame oil.

Directions (for 2 servings)

1. Add ½ cup chopped kimchi, ⅓ cup kimchi juice, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 ts sugar, ¼ cup hot pepper paste, 2 ts sesame oil, 1 or 2 ts vinegar, and 1 tbs roasted sesame seeds to a mixing bowl. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
2. Hardboil an egg, cut it in half, and set it aside.
3. Cut about ½ cup worth of cucumber into matchsticks and set aside.

Cook noodles:

1. Add about  7 oz (200 grams) of noodles into a pot of boiling water. Stir them with a spoon to prevent them from sticking together. Close the lid.
2. A few minutes later, they’ll start boiling over. Open the lid and stir the noodles. Cook a few minutes more with the lid open until they are cooked well.
   *tip: You can tell if they are cooked by tasting one or two. The noodles are very hot, so add a few noodles to a small bowl of cold water to cool them down before tasting. The noodles should be chewy and soft.
3. When the noodles are cooked, rinse them in cold water couple of times, strain them, and set aside. The noodles will expand and lose their chewiness as time passes, so the noodles should always be cooked last in this recipe, and then eat right away.

Put each portion of noodles on a serving plate and add the seasoning mix on top. Add cucumber and egg and serve.

One change that I would suggest when making this for a big group is that instead of preparing each dish separately, you can mix all of the noodles, seasoning mix, and cucumber together in a big bowl. Then portion some out for each person, adding some egg on top.