One morning in Fortuna, Costa Rica, I asked my travel agent to find shuttle bus tickets for Quepos. He called a shuttle bus company and said all the tickets were sold out for the day. So I had to book tickets for the next day. Consequently I had a whole free day.

What shall I do? Hmm, a few seconds later, an exciting idea came up in my mind. How about cooking some Korean food for my friends I made there? Ooh whoo, it made me very excited! Then what shall I make without using special Korean ingredients? The recipe should be very easy! Yes! I had some leftover rice in my backpack from making kimbap lunch box the other day. Dakjuk! Yes, yes! Yayee! Let’s go to the supermarket!

I picked up a whole chicken, garlic, watermelon, and some other fresh vegetables and seasoning sauce to make Korean style salad (geotjeori); chicken soup for main dish, geotjeori for side dish, and watermelon for dessert! Oh my! Fuji mama! Perfect!  : )

Do I have any memories about dakjuk? Are you joking to me? Lol yes, of course I do! I can’t forget watching my late grand mother (father side) killing a chicken. The chicken was running around her yard just before it got killed! My grand mother was kind of a tough woman. She picked one chicken among the dozens of her chickens running and playing in her yard.

I watched her twisting its neck and waiting until it died. Then she put the chicken in hot water to remove all its feathers, and cut its stomach with a knife and took out all guts! It sounds horrible, but I never felt scared or disgusted at the time. Even though I felt sorry for the chicken, I remember, we were going to have delicious dakjuk soon for dinner, that’s all I was dreaming. When the chicken was boiling with lots of garlic, the smell spread in the village!

Her chickens were her live food resources just like her vegetables grown in her patch! : )

In Korea, sons-in-law are treated very well by their mothers-in-law. So when a son-in-law visits his mother-in-law’s house, he will expect her to cook chicken to welcome him. These days the custom may be changing.

My dakjuk in Costa Rica turned out great! All of my friends enjoyed the soup. They liked my geotjeori, too.

When you have many unexpected visitors, make dakjuk. You can feed so many people! If you want to add more side dishes, I recommend vegetable pancake or green onion (or Asian chives) pancake. What else? Of course don’t forget to serve kimchi.

Yield: 8-10 servings

Cooking time: 2 hours

Ingredients:
A whole chicken (about 3 pounds), 1 ½ cups of garlic cloves, 1 ½ cups of rice, 2 eggs, 3 green onions, salt, water.

For 2 kinds of  dipping sauce:
Salt and pepper, soy sauce, vinegar, hot pepper flakes, green onion, sesame seeds, sugar.

Directions:

1. Soak 1½ cups of rice in cold water for 1 hour.
   *tip: if you like thinner soup style, use 1 cup of rice;  if you like thicker porridge style, use 1½ cups rice

   

2. Wash and drain the whole chicken.
   
3. Trim the fat from the chicken’s stomach area with scissors; cut off the tip of bum part. : )
4. Place the chicken in a large pot and add 12-13 cups of water.
5. Add 1½ cups of garlic cloves and bring to a boil over high heat for about 40 minutes.
6. Turn down the heat to low-medium and cook 20 more minutes.
7. Rinse and drain the rice, and add to the boiling chicken porridge.
   
8. Remove any fat floating on top of the soup with a spoon or ladle.
9. Keep boiling with the lid closed for another 30 minutes.
   *tip: lower the heat if it boils over
10. Chop 3 stalks of green onion and beat 2 eggs and set aside.
11. Check if the chicken is cooked tender or not by poking the meat with a fork or chopsticks. It’s usually tender after 1½ hour of cooking, but if it’s not tender enough, cook a little longer.
12. Add 1 tbs salt to the soup and mix it with your spoon. The amount of salt depends on your taste, so use more or less as you like.

Ok, now time to serve!

Take the chicken out of the pot, transfer to a large plate, and put it on the table to serve.

Make 2 kinds of dipping sauce:

1. Mix 1 tbs salt and ¼ ts black ground pepper in a small bowl
2. Mix these ingredients in a bowl (this is my father’s favorite dipping sauce whenever  he had this dish):
   • 2 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs vinegar, 1 tbs chopped green onion, 1 ts sugar, 1 ts roasted sesame seeds, and 1 ts hot pepper flakes.

Now back to the chicken soup!

1. Add the chopped green onions (from #10).
2. Add the beaten eggs. Pour them in and wait for 10 seconds before stirring, to let them cook.
   
   

Your chicken soup (or porridge) is ready! Turn the heat off and serve.

Kongbiji is soy pulp. When tofu or soy milk is made, soaked soy beans are pureed and then filtered through a sack. The soy pulp left in the sack after being squeezed it looks like a lump of mozzarella!

I use pureed soy beans for this stew instead of soy pulp.

If I’m asked which dish was the most delicious food that my grand mother made, I will say, “kongbiji jjigae!”
I was fascinated with her kongbiji jjigae when I saw and tasted it for the first time in my life!

She bought a lump of kongbiji at a local tofu factory in her town. I used to follow her when she went shopping for soy pulp. When she made this stew for breakfast on a freezing cold day in the winter, it was always in the center of the table.

Whenever  she was ready to serve a meal, she said, “Open the table!” She had several different sizes of tables, stored between the rice chest and the wall. My uncles took out the largest circular wooden table. The table legs were folded, so several tables could be placed in the small gap.

One of my uncles unfolded the legs of the table, another cleaned the table with wet cloth. My uncles set spoons, chopsticks, and side dishes on the table. Then my grand mother scooped rice from her huge iron pot into small individual bowls. My uncles and I used to help her put the bowls on the table. Then the last dish was this sizzling stew! She always brought it at the last minute, so all family members could enjoy it hot, as long as possible.

When I tasted her kongbiji jjigae for the first time, I could not believe  such a delicious dish existed in the world! : )

Click here to view the embedded video.

Yield:
4  servings

Cooking time:
40 minutes

Ingredients:
soy beans, pork, kimchi, green onions, garlic, red chili pepper, green chili pepper, fish sauce, sesame oil, dried shiitake mushrooms, dried anchovies, dried kelp

Directions:

1. Soak ½ cup dried soy beans in cold water overnight (at least 12 hours).
   
2. Rinse and drain the soaked soy beans.  (They will expand to more than 1 cup)
3. Make stock:
   In a thick bottomed pot, add 4 cups water, 8 large dried anchovies (after removing the guts), and 4×5 inch pieces of dried kelp. Bring to a boil for 20 minutes over medium high heat.
4. Take the mushrooms out of the stock and chop them into small pieces. Set aside
5. Blend 1 cup of soaked soybeans with 1 cup of water until it turns creamy.
6. Chop about 4 oz  pork and set aside
7. Chop 1 cup of kimchi
8. Place a heavy bottomed pot (7-8 cups) on the stove and heat it up.
   *tip: It’s usually cooked in either a stone bowl or an earthenware bowl
9. When the stone pot has heated up, drizzle ½ – 1 tbs sesame oil and add 2 cloves of minced garlic. Stir for 10 seconds.
10. Add chopped pork, mushrooms, kimchi, and keep stirring for a few more minutes.
11. Add 2 cups of stock and close the lid.
12. Bring to a boil over medium heat for about 2 minutes.
    *tip: the stew will boil over easily, so watch out! If it boils over, lower the heat!
13. Pour the creamy soybeans into the the pot and lower the heat.
    *tip: do not stir the stew until the soy bean liquid is cooked (about 1 minute)
14. Let it cook with the lid open for about 2 minutes.
15. When it boils over, stir and turn the stew over with a spoon carefully (You will see some bubbles popping up).
16. Add 1 tbs fish sauce (or salt) and stir it with a spoon.
    *tip: You could use saewoojeot (fermented salty shrimp)
17. Add some chopped red chili pepper, green chili pepper, and green onion to the top of the boiling stew before serving

Serve with rice, kimchi, and more side dishes.

Enjoy the recipe!

Hi, everybody,

I’m introducing “mak kimchi” to you today! It’s made with napa cabbage (baechu in Korean), pre-cut into bite size pieces, so you can serve it without cutting. This way of making kimchi is really time saving compared to making whole cabbage kimchi. But the taste is exactly the same as whole cabbage kimchi because the ingredients are the same! So I am translating “mak kimchi” into “easy kimchi” I hope this recipe makes your life easier! : )

Since I posted my whole cabbage kimchi recipe in june, 2007, so many people have surprised me with their kimchi related stories and questions. A lot of my readers make their own kimchi on a regular basis and they email me the photos of their delicious kimchi!  Some people modify the recipe to their taste and some people add more ingredients to invent  their own kimchi!

For example, Julie made vegan kimchi. She skipped fish sauce and used a little soy sauce and salt instead. Smart! Isn’t it? Some people like Reinier, James, Sylvia, Clyde, Sara make kimchi on a regular basis. They say, “oh, my kimchi runs out, I will make it this weekend” If any of you reading this might want to be included the list of people who make kimchi on a regular basis, please email me. I will include your names here. : )

I’m surprised to see all these mouth-watering looking kimchi photos!

But as you know, the kimchi recipe was not using exact measurements. You remember?  I said, “use 2 medium napa cabbage and 2 radishes.”  The size of cabbage is actually huge by American standards! ; )  And the amount of kimchi paste you need to make is for both cabbage kimchi and radish kimchi. So some people want to make only cabbage kimchi. They sometimes ask me, “Maangchi, can you tell me how much salt do I have to use for only 1 napa cabbage? “
How can I know?
I didn’t measure when I filmed the first video recipe years ago! : ) Anyway, whenever I was asked the similar questions, I felt kind of bad and a little bit guilty and I always thought I should post a more accurate kimchi recipe!

Here you go! : )

So this recipe will be for a total beginner. Just follow the recipe step by step. This recipe is mine that I have been using for my kimchi for decades and popular among even my Korean friends.

If you want to use whole cabbage kimchi, you can check my whole cabbage kimchi recipe and this easy kimchi recipe, then you will figure out what to do. Only difference is how to handle cabbage: cutting , salting,  and how to put or mix the  kimchi paste with the cabbage!

Did you see how many questions and answers were made for my whole cabbage kimchi?  So far  831 comments!  These questions are the most frequently asked, so I’m letting you know this.

FAQ:

Q: Maangchi, do I have to make porridge to make kimchi? If I don’t want to use porridge, what shall I do?
A: No, you don’t have to. Some people don’t use porridge, but I always make porridge to make good kimchi paste. Porridge helps hot pepper flakes, fish sauce, garlic, ginger and all spices mix together. Otherwise, the kimchi paste will be too thick to put it between cabbage leaves easily.  So you can use sweet pear juice instead of making porridge if you want. I sometimes use pear to make kimchi paste, too.

Q: Why do you give a shower to the cabbage before salting? : )
A:  If you sprinkle salt on cabbage directly without pre-soaking in water, the salting process will take too long: this is “osmotic pressure.”

Q: Maangchi, kimchi never goes bad? How come there is some white stuff on the top of my kimchi?
A: If you keep your kimchi properly, it won’t go bad months and months. Don’t forget to press down the top of kimchi in the container with a spoon whenever you take some. It will prevent your kimchi from being exposed to air. If you see the top of your kimchi already has white stuff (mold), remove the top layer of the kimchi and you still can eat the rest of the kimchi.

Q: Maangchi, you used squid this time! Last time your kimchi was made with raw oysters! My other Korean friends never use oysters or squid.
A: Kimchi recipes vary from region to region, so some ingredients will be different. You can follow a few different recipes and choose the best recipe that fits for your taste.

Q: I’m interested in adding raw oysters or squid in my Kimchi, but afraid that it might go bad so that I may have a stomachache.
A: You should use very fresh oysters or fresh frozen product, then it will ferment along with your Kimchi.

Q: Ok, maangchi, can you tell me how to make the salty squid for kimchi?
A: Choose about 300 grams (2/3 pound) of very fresh squid. Then:

1. Remove the guts and backbone and rinse it.
2. Add 3 tbs salt and mix it with a spoon.
3. Put it in a container or glass jar and keep it in the refrigerator for a week.
4. Rinse the squid thoroughly until not slippery and drain it (you can skin it if you want).
5. Dry the squid with paper towel or cotton and chop it up.
6. Add it to your kimchi paste!

Ingredients:
Baechu (napa cabbage 10 pounds), salt, sweet rice flour, sugar, water, garlic, ginger, onion, fish sauce, squid, hot pepper flakes, leek, green onions, carrot, radish.

Directions:

1. Trim the discolored outer leaves of 10 pounds of napa cabbage.
2. Cut the cabbage lengthwise into quarters and remove the cores. Chop it up into bite size pieces.
   
   
3. Soak the pieces of cabbage in cold water and put the soaked cabbage into a large basin. Sprinkle salt.
   *tip: 1 cup of salt will be used for 10 pounds of napa cabbage

   
   

4. Every 30 minutes, turn the cabbage over to salt evenly (total salting time will be 1½ hours).
5. 1½ hours later, rinse the cabbage in cold water 3 times to clean it thoroughly.
6. Drain the cabbage and set aside.

Make porridge:

1. Put 3 cups of water and ½ cup sweet rice flour (chapssal garu) in a pot and mix it well and bring to a boil. Keep stirring until the porridge makes bubbles (about 5 minutes).
2. Add ¼ cup sugar. Stir and cook for a few more mintues until it’s translucent.
3. Cool it down.

Make kimchi paste:

1. Place the cold porridge into a large bowl. Now you will add all your ingredients one by one.
2. Add 1 cup of fish sauce,  2.5 cups of hot pepper flakes (depending on your taste), 1 cup of crushed garlic, 1-2 tbs of minced ginger, 1 cup amount of minced onion.
   *tip: much easier to use a food processor.

   

   

   

3. Wash and drain the salty squid. Chop it up and add it to the kimchi paste.
   *tip: ow to prepare salty squid  is posted on the FAQ above!

   
   

   
   

4. Add 10 diagonally-sliced green onions, 2 cups  amount of chopped leek, 2 cups of  julienned Korean radish, and ¼ cup of julienned carrot.
   
5. Mix all ingredients well and your kimchi paste is done.

Action! Mix the cabbage with the kimchi paste!

1. Put the kimchi paste in a large basin and add all the cabbage. Mix it by hand.
2. *tip: If your basin is not large enough to mix all the ingredients at once, do it bit by bit.
   3. Put the kimchi into an air- tight sealed plastic container or glass jar.
   

   
   You can eat it fresh right after making or wait until it’s fermented.

   

   

I usually put all my kimchi in the fridge except for a little bit in a small container. I like fresh kimchi, so this way the kimchi in the fridge ferments slowly and stays fresh, while the smaller container ferments faster and gets sour. I use this sour kimchi for making things like kimchi chigae where sour kimchi is better. Then, when the small container is empty, I fill it up again with kimchi from the big container. It takes a little management, but experiment and you’ll get the hang of it!

How do you know it’s fermented or not?
One or 2 days after, open the lid of the Kimchi container. You may see some bubbles with lots of liquids, or maybe sour smells. That means it’s already being fermented.

I’m going to introduce another side dish recipe to you. Cheongpomuk muchim is made with mung bean starch. It’s sugar-free and fat-free but delicious. What’s the taste like? Hmmm, if you like noodles, you’ll like it. As you see in the video tutorial, I add 1 teaspoon of salt for 7 cups water and the starch powder, so it’s not bland. But nobody serves it by itself. You’ll need sauce for it.

Even though I didn’t use any hot pepper flakes for this recipe, you can add some if you want.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you’re not satisfied with little dish of this that you usually get at a Korean restaurant, you’ll be very happy to see this recipe! In this video I’m making huge amount of mung bean jelly with only 1 cup of starch powder. You can take it to your potluck party (4 cups of mung bean jelly makes a huge plate), or serve the small plate as an appetizer.

I’m showing you 3 different ways to serve it, using 3 different plates: a large portion for a party and small portions for appetizers or side dish.

You want to make it with a half cup of starch powder? Then all ingredients are half! Easy!

Ingredients:
mung bean jelly:
mung bean starch powder, water, salt

Sauce:
soy sauce, garlic, honey (or sugar), green onion, roasted sesame seeds, sesame oil

Vegetables:
edible chrysanthemum (“ssukgat” in Korean), Perilla leaves (can be replaced with basil leaves)

Garnish:
tomato, green chili pepper, red chili pepper, and laver

Directions:

1. In a heavy-bottomed pot, place 1 cup of mung bean starch powder and 7 cups of water. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
2. Bring to a boil over medium high heat for about 7-8 minutes.
   *tip: Stir the liquid occasionally with the wooden spoon to stop it from sticking to the pot bottom

   

3. Add 1 ts of salt and cook for a few more minutes.
   *tip: total about 10 minutes cook over medium high heat
4. Lower the heat and simmer for 2-3 more minutes until the jelly looks bubbly and translucent.
5. Turn off the heat. Get out some rectangular containers and your favorite silicone cookie molds.
6. Pour the hot jelly directly into the containers and silicone cookie mold.
7. Let it cool down for 1-2 hours, then put it in the refrigerator.
8. Keep it in the refrigerator at least 4 hours to make the jelly firm and solid.

Make sauce (yangnyeomjang)

1. Place 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1 ts honey(or 2 ts sugar), 3 cloves of minced garlic, 1 stalk of chopped green onion,
   and 1 TBS sesame oil into a bowl. Mix well.
   *tip: you can add hot pepper flakes if you want

   

Are you ready to serve now? : )

1. Take the jelly out of the refrigerator and cut it into bite size strips
   *tip: I usually cut it into strips ½” x 2″ x ½” or 2″ x 2½” x 1/3″

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

2. Roast both sides of laver on your stove top.
3. Put the laver into a plastic bag. Crush it by rubbing the plastic bag with both hands.

The first way to serve: 8-10 servings:

1. Put 4 cups of mung bean jelly strips (½” x 2″ x ½” ) into a bowl and add ¼ cup  to 1/3 cup of the sauce.
2. Add 1 cup of edible chrysanthemum and a few perilla leaves, and about 3 tbs laver flakes.
3. Mix well and transfer it to a large plate.
4. Sprinkle some roasted sesame seeds over top and garnish with some shredded hot pepper (called shilgochu in Korean).
   *tip: In this video, I’m demonstrating how to make a beautiful rose with a tomato!

   

The second way to serve:

1. Cut mung bean jelly into bite size pieces 2″ x 2½” x 1/3″.
2. Put it on a plate and add the sauce, sesame seeds, and laver flakes.
3. Garnish with chopped red chili pepper and green mint leaves.

The third way to serve:

1. Take the bite size mung bean jelly pieces out of the silicone mold and put them into a small bowl.
2. Add the sauce, laver flakes, and sesame seeds to the top and garnish with shredded red pepper (shilgochu).

FAQ:

Q: Maangchi! How long can I keep the mung bean jelly in the refrigerator?
A: You can keep it in the refrigerator up to 4-6 days!

Q: Maaangchi, omg, the mung bean jelly that I made a couple of days ago has shrunk and the color looks milky.
What shall I do, what shall I do?
A: Haha, don’t panic! : ) Boil some water in a pot and dump your milky jelly into the boiling water. Cook for a couple of minutes until it looks translucent again. It’s more tasty than freshly made mung bean jelly in my experience!

Q: Maangchi, I don’t have laver now. Will it be still delicious without it?
A: No, laver flakes are very essential to this dish. The flavor of roasted laver and the sauce and mung bean jelly really go with each other.

Q: I don’t have shredded red pepper. Can I skip it?
A: Yes, you can! Forget about the damn shredded red pepper! : )

The best part of this cookie is that it’s very crunchy! If all family members sit around together after dinner and taste these cookies, the sound of crunching from each member will give so much fun! You can make this large amount of cookies in 1 hour if you use your food processor, longer if you have to knead by hand.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ingredients:
Flour, salt, sugar, ginger, pine nuts, water, cinnamon powder, and vegetable oil.

Directions:

1. In a large stainless bowl, place 2 cups of all purpose flour, ½ ts salt, 1 TBS sugar, 1 TBS ginger juice, and ½ cup water. Knead by hand for about 20 minutes.
   *tip: If you use a food processor, kneading takes about 2 minutes. Be sure to change the blades on your food processor to dough-making blades!.

   

2. Put the cookie dough in a plastic bag and set it aside at least for 30 minutes.
3. Chop 2 TBS of pine nuts to garnish the cookies. Set aside.
   
   
4. Take the dough out from the plastic bag and roll it out with a rolling pin, into a roughly rectangular shape (about 50 cm x 40 cm, and 2 mm – or 1/16 inch - thick).
   
5. Cut the sheet of cookie dough into little 2 cm x 6 cm rectangles.
   
6. Put the leftover dough edges into a plastic bag to protect them from drying out.
7. Make 3 slits in the middle of each piece of dough.
8. Push one  end of the dough through the center slit to a make ribbon shape.
   

   

9. Take the leftover dough out and spread it on the cutting board with the rolling pin. Cut it into any of your favorite shapes: triangles, squares, whatever – or use a cookie cutter.
10. Heat up vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan.
11. *tip: Put a sample of the cookie dough into the heated oil to check if it’s the right temperature. The dough should float slowly on the surface of the heated oil.
    
    
    
    Let’s Make syrup!
    Place ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water into a pot and bring to a boil over low heat for about 20 minutes. About half of the water should evaporate, so the syrup is nice and thick.

    

12. Turn the heat off and add 1 ts cinnamon powder and stir it well.
13. Gently toss the cookies with the syrup to lightly coat them.
14. Sprinkle the chopped pine nuts on top of the cookies.
15. Serve it with tea.
    

Click here to view the embedded video.

You could make so many different kinds of doenjang guk using different vegetables such as spinach, potato, radish leaves, fresh mugwort (ssuk)… Of all the vegetables, baechu (napa cabbage) doenjang guk is the most basic soup and every Korean loves it. (Let me know if you find any Korean who doesn’t like this soup) : )

I will give you a short quiz now. : ) What would you call doenjang guk made with spinach? … pause … yes, it’s called shigeumchi doenjang guk. Shigeumchi is spinach in Korean. Heh, it’s easy, right?

When my grandmother made this soup, she always used milky rice water instead of water. Every day she made a huge amount of rice to feed her family. When she washed, rubbed, and rinsed her rice grains, she got the milky water. When she made doenjang guk, she used that milky rice water in her pot.

When I was in middle school, the lady next door ran a restaurant. She sold baechu doenjang guk. She and my mother were friends, so we were like family. Most of her soup customers were male workers who needed a cheap and simple breakfast before starting work early in the morning. What time in the morning? Before dawn! To be ready to serve this soup, she probably should make it at 2-3 am? Her soup was very popular so that her restaurant was always crowded especially in the morning.

I saw her serving her soup to her customers. When her customer was sitting at the table, she ladled the soup into a large bowl from her huge pot and added a little barley rice (about 2 tbs?), and put it on his table. Only one side dish was there, kkaktugi (radish kimchi). That’s all! The worker’s stomach will get warm with the hot soup and a little bit of rice!

I used to wake up with the irresistible aroma from the soup she made. Sometimes the smell made me go crazy! : )

Her doenjangguk was not spicy and a little brown and milky. It was super tasty!
I saw she used flour instead of rice water. She made this doenjang guk exactly this way I’m showing in this video recipe. Only thing I skipped is MSG. : ) Instead of MSG, I use more dried anchovies.

I miss her now. We lost connection long time ago when my family moved to another place.

Ingredients:
700 grams of Napa cabbage (half of a medium size napa cabbage), 1/3 cup soy bean paste, 10 dried anchovies, 6 cups of water, 1 green chili pepper, 5-6 cloves of garlic, 2 tbs flour.

Directions:

1. Put about 700 grams of Napa cabbage directly into boiling water and stir it with a large spoon for 20 seconds. Boil it for a minute with the lid open.
   
   
2. Rinse it in cold water a couple of times to clean any remaining dirt from the cabbage leaves. Gently squeeze the leaves to get rid of any remaining water.
3. Chop the cabbage into small pieces and put them into a large pot.
4. Add 1/3 cup soy bean paste, 5-6 cloves minced garlic, 1 chopped green chili pepper, 10 large dried anchovies (after removing heads and guts), and 2 tbs flour to the pot.
5. Mix it by hand or a wooden spoon.
6. Add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil for 20 minutes over medium high heat.
7. Lower the heat and simmer another 10 minutes.
8. Serve hot with rice and other side dishes.
   
   

*tip: Do you like spicy soup? Then add some hot pepper paste right before simmering (step 7).

Tofu side dish

In this recipe, I am using 5 different colors from bottom to top: brown, green, yellow, pink, and white.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This rice cake is made on special occasions like a baby’s 1 year old birthday, or a wedding. As you see in this video, making this rice cake takes a lot of effort and time, even though the ingredients are comparatively simple. However, if you make this rice cake for someone very special in your life, you wouldn’t care much about time and effort. : ) You may wish this while you’re rubbing the rice flour with your palms:

“I wish my baby becomes healthy, smart, and a good, warm-hearted person!”

“I wish my parents have healthy and long life!”

“To show my love for my lovely husband (or wife) !”

Leave a comment and let me know what you wish when you make this!

Cooking time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients:
A 2 pound package of frozen rice flour, sugar, salt, water, liquid food coloring (green, pink, and yellow), lemon, mugwort powder (ssukgaru 쑥가루), cocoa powder.

Cooking utensils:
Steamer, sifter, 8 inch (20 cm) ring or springform.

Directions:

1. Thaw out frozen rice flour package and put it into a large bowl.
2. Sift the rice flour.
3. Add 10 cups of water in the bottom of a steamer, and place a wet cloth over the rack.
4. Place the 8 inch cake ring in the center of the rack.
   

Brown layer (the bottom layer):

1. Place 1 cup of rice flour in a medium sized bowl. Add 1 ts cocoa powder, a pinch of salt, 2 tbs of white sugar, and 4 ts of water.
2. Mix it all up and press out any wet lumps by rubbing the lumps gently between your palms.
3. Put the mixture into a sifter and sift into the center of the ring.
4. Flatten out the mixture so it sits level in the ring.
   *tip: a business card works well

   
   
   

Green layer:

1. Place 1½ cup of rice flour in a medium sized bowl. Add a pinch of salt, 2 tbs sugar, and 1 ts mugwort powder (ssukgaru).
   *tip: you can replace mugwort powder with green tea powder

   
   

2. Put 2 tbs of water and 1 drop of green liquid food coloring into a small bowl and mix well.
   *tip: Use a chopstick to get a very little amount of the food coloring
3. Add the green water to the rice cake mixture and mix it all up. Press out any wet lumps by rubbing the lumps gently between your palms.
4. Put the mixture into a sifter and sift into the center of the ring.
5. Flatten out the mixture so it sits level in the ring.

Yellow layer:

1. Place 1½ cup of rice flour in a medium sized bowl. Add a pinch of salt and 2 tbs sugar.
2. Put 1tbs lemon juice, 1 tbs water, and 1 drop of yellow liquid food coloring into a small bowl and mix well.
3. Add the yellow water to the rice cake mixture and mix it all up. Press out any wet lumps by rubbing the lumps gently between your palms.
4. Put the mixture into a sifter and sift into the center of the ring.
5. Flatten out the mixture so it sits level in the ring.

Pink layer:

1. Place 1½ cup of rice flour in a medium sized bowl. Add a pinch of salt and 2 tbs sugar.
2. Put 2 tbs water and 1 drop of hot pink (fuchsia) liquid food coloring into a small bowl and mix well.
3. Add the pink water to the rice cake mixture and mix it all up. Press out any wet lumps by rubbing the lumps gently between your palms.
4. Put the mixture into a sifter and sift into the center of the ring.
5. Flatten out the mixture so it sits level in the ring.

White layer (the top layer):

1. Place 1 cup of rice flour in a medium sized bowl. Add a pinch of salt, 2 tbs white sugar, and 4 ts water.
2. Mix it up and press out any wet lumps by rubbing the lumps gently between your palms.
3. Put the mixture into a sifter and sift into the center of the ring.
4. Flatten out the mixture so it sits level in the ring.

Now let’s garnish!

1. On the top of the cake place 5 dried cranberries to make flower petals. Put a few pine nuts in the center.
2. Cut a dried apricot into a thin strip, and place it as a flower stem.

Finally, let’s steam it:

1. Close the lid of the steamer and bring to a boil for 30 minutes over high heat.
2. Turn down the heat and simmer another 5 minutes.
3. Take out the rice cake and let it cool down. Serve with tea or coffee.
   

   

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.

The ingredients are very simple and it doesn’t cost much money to make, so it used to be regular food for some poor people who couldn’t afford rice. But Koreans still love this food and eat it all the time.

One day I read a magazine article about a famous Korean actress who passed away last year. She was asked by the reporter what dish she likes the most. Her answer was, “kimchi sujebi! When I was young, we were so poor that my mother always made kimchi sujebi. I got tired of it terribly at that time, but for some reason, I have craving for the kimchi sujebi. It’s my favorite food!”

Once I read it, I wanted to make kimchi sujebi. Whenever I eat my kimchi sujebi, I think about the actress! What she said in the magazine motivated me to like sujebi more than before.

My grandmother used to make sujebi in a huge iron pot. When she decided to make sujebi for lunch, she would start kneading the dough soon after breakfast. She put the dough into a basin, and brought it out of the kitchen. She sat down and was kneading and pressing, and talking to us at the same time. Koreans usually use a large bowl or basin to knead dough instead of a cutting board.

I stood next to her and helped her tear the dough and put it into the boiling soup, but couldn’t follow her speed.

She used to say, “Be careful, the soup is hot. Go out and play with friends!”
My dough usually turned out too thick and when the soup was done, I could easily see who got my noodles.

Oh, so many good memories about my grandmother! I should have learned more from her, if only I had known I would be blogging about Korean traditional food someday. She passed away long time ago, and her life was dedicated to feeding her husband and children. She was a real expert on cooking Korean food.

Sujebi (mild version): 2 servings

Ingredients:
Flour, salt, vegetable oil, water, dried anchovies, dried kelp, green onion, potatoes, onion, fish sauce, sesame oil.

Directions:

1. Combine 2 cups of all purpose flour with ¾ cup water, ½ ts salt, and 1 TBS of vegetable oil in a large bowl.  Knead by hand for 10-15 minutes until the dough gets softer and sticks together firmly.
   
2. Put the dough into a plastic bag and keep it in the refrigerator.
   *tip: Using a food processor is very convenient and saves time. If you use a food processor, use the dough blade and knead all the above ingredients for 1 minute until the dough sticks together and gets lumpy.
3. Let’s make stock:
   Place 10 cups of water in a large pot. Add about 4×6 inch square of dried kelp, and 10 dried anchovies (with the heads and guts removed).
   
4. Bring it to a boil for 15-20 minutes over medium high heat, then lower the heat to simmer for another 20 minutes.
5. Turn the heat off and take the anchovies and kelp out.
6. Peel 2 medium sized potatoes and cut them into 6-7 chunks each. Add them to the pot.
7. Add a half cup of sliced onion and 3 cloves of minced garlic to the pot.
8. Boil for 10 minutes over medium high heat.
9. Cut the kelp into bite sized pieces. Chop 1 stalk of green onion. Set them aside.
10. Open the pot and add 1 TBS fish sauce and the kelp strips.

Now it’s time to make noodles!

1. Put the dough in your left hand, and pull and stretch it with your right. Get it as thin as you can. Then tear it into bite sized pieces with your right. Drop it into the boiling soup. Repeat this until the dough runs out.
   *tip: If you make more than 4 servings’ worth, tearing the dough may take too long. So all family members should work together.
2. Close the lid and cook for a couple of minutes to let the noodles cook.
3. Open the lid and add the chopped green onion and some sesame oil.
4. Transfer to a bowl and serve hot with kimchi.

Hot spicy kimchi sujebi: 1 serving

Ingredients:
Flour, salt, water, vegetable oil, dried anchovies, potato, onion, green onion, kimchi, garlic, hot pepper paste, sesame oil.

Directions:

1. Combine 2/3 cup flour, a pinch of salt, 1 ts vegetable oil, 1/4 cup water in a large bowl and knead for
   10 minutes until the dough sticks together firmly and get soft.
2. Put it in a plastic bag and keep it in the refrigerator.
3. In a shallow pot, place 3 ½ cup water, ½ cup chopped kimchi, 2 TBS kimchi juice, 1 medium sized potato (peeled and cut into chunks), ¼ cup amount of sliced onion, and 5 large dried anchovies (after removing the heads and guts).
4. Close the lid and bring to a boil for 10 minutes over medium high heat. Lower the heat and simmer another 10 minutes.
5. Chop 1 stalk of green onion and set aside.
6. Take out the dough from the refrigerator and knead a few more minutes until the dough gets smooth and silky.
7. Put the dough back into the plastic bag.
8. Open the lid of the boiling pot and take out the anchovies and add 1-2 TBS hot pepper paste. Stir it with a spoon.
9. Put the dough in your left hand, and pull and stretch it with your right. Get it as thin as you can. Then tear it into bite sized pieces with your right. Drop it into the boiling soup. Repeat this until the dough runs out.
10. Close the lid and boil it for a few more minutes to cook the dough
11. Turn the heat off and add the chopped green onion and a few drops of sesame oil.
12. Serve hot!

If you want to, you can add an egg when it’s still hot:

Samgyeopsal can be literally translated as “3 layered flesh”! Whose flesh? yes, it’s pork bacon. Samgyeopsal gui is never eaten by itself, it always comes with a variety of vegetables.

Nobody can resist the taste of samgyeopsal gui (except vegetarians)! When she or he eats the grilled pork belly and garlic, green onion salad and soybean paste dipping sauce (ssamjang) in fresh lettuce, they will be hooked! In Korea, the price of pork is much cheaper than beef, so this dish is enjoyed by many people who can’t afford to buy good cuts of beef.

I already posted my “grilled beef” recipe  a long time ago on my website, and this one is very similar. Replace beef with pork belly and the recipe is the same.

To enjoy this dish, the main 4 components will be needed

1. pork belly(without this, what are you going to grill? : ) )
2. pajori (green onion salad)
3. ssamjang (soybean paste dipping sauce)
4. grill plate (optional): It’s devised so the grease from the meat flows into a trough.

Ingredients:
for 4 servings
3 pounds of pork belly (fresh or pre-sliced frozen), green onions, carrot, green chili peppers, garlic, lettuce, mushrooms, hot pepper flakes, soy sauce, sugar, honey, hot pepper paste, soybean paste, sesame seeds, and sesame oil.

Directions:
First, slice pork belly into bite sized pieces. Put it on a large plate and keep it in the refrigerator.

Make “pajori” (green onion salad)

1. Shred about 3 bunches of green onions to make 5 cups. Soak it in cold water.
2. In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 tbs hot pepper flakes, 2 ts sugar, 1 tbs sesame seeds, and 1 tbs sesame oil. Set it aside.
3. Drain the shredded green onion.
4. Add the green onion to the bowl and mix it with the sauce. Set aside.

Make ssamjang (soybean paste dipping sauce)
Combine these ingredients in a small bowl with a spoon until mixed well:

• 1/4 cup soy bean paste
• 2 tbs hot pepper paste
• 1 stalk of chopped green onion
• 1 clove of minced garlic, 2 ts honey (or sugar)
• 2 ts sesame seeds
• 1 tbs sesame oil.

Prepare vegetables

1. Wash and drain a head of lettuce.
2. Cut a carrot, a green chili pepper, some mushrooms into bite size pieces and put them on a plate.
3. Slice 2 dozen pieces of garlic and put them next to the carrot strips.
   *tip: cut each garlic lengthwise a few times

How to cook:

1. Heat up your grill plate.
2. Put a little sesame oil on the hot plate so your pork belly doesn’t stick.
3. Cover the grill plate with belly, turn it over often so it doesn’t burn.
4. As it gets ready to eat, take it off the plate and set it aside, or keep eating and grilling!

How to eat:

1. Put a piece of belly on a lettuce leaf.
2. Add a piece of garlic, some ssamjang, and a little pajori.
3. Fold the lettuce leaf over so you have one little package.
4. Pop it into your mouth in one shot.
   *tip: don’t bite it in half, it will break open