1. What is your name and where do you live?
Gina from the beach in Southern California

2. What do you do and how many family members do you have ?
I’m semi-retired professional, married, no kids, love dogs.

3. How often do you cook Korean food following my recipes?
Finally I am cooking a lot again these days!

pan-fried tofu side dish

potato side dish

4. What are your favorite Korean dishes? Choose 3, please!
Twenjang chigae, kimchi chigae, yuk gae jang (Hmmmm, seems similar!)

5. What’s your best Korean dish, the one that everybody compliments you on when you make it?
I haven’t cooked Korean food for anyone but my husband – he likes jjajjangmyun!

jjajangmyeon (Black bean sauce noodles)

Potato with soy sauce
(“gamja jorim”)

Gamja jorim (potato side dish) used to be my regular lunch box menu. My mother sometimes added small dried anchovies and carrot, and sometimes she added ham cut into dice like potato. I used to make this all the time as my children’s lunch box side dish, too.

Ingredients:
2-3 medium sized potatoes, onion, 2 cloves garlic, soy sauce, 1 tbs corn syrup, 1 tbs sugar, half cup of water.

1. Peel the potatoes, wash, and cut them into 1 inch dice and make 2 cups.
2. Rinse the potato using colander in running water to remove starch.
3. Cut half onion into bite sized pieces.
4. Heat the pan and add 1-2 tbs olive oil and pour the potato into the pan.
5. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and sauté it until the potato look a little translucent, then add the onion and keep stirring it.
6. Add half cup of water into the pan, 2 tbs – 2½ tbs soy sauce (depends on your taste), 1 tbs of sugar, 1 tbs of corn syrup and mix it and simmer it over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the liquid is evaporated.Tip: Keep checking and stirring not to burn it and to cook evenly, if it needs more water, add some.
7. When the potato is cooked, turn off the stove and add 1 tbs of sesame oil and sprinkle a pinch of sesame seeds.

Potato with mushroom
(“gamjachae bokkeum”)

This potato dish can be made only using potato. I found the taste turns out very good when white oyster mushroom is added. By using white oyster mushroom, this color of dish is still clean white. If you don’t have mushrooms, just use potato as it is.

Ingredients:
1 medium size of potatoes, 2 cloves garlic, 2 white oyster mushrooms, half onion, ½ ts to1 ts of salt, 1 to 2 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs sesame oil, 4 to 5 tbs of water.

Tip: If you only use potatoes, use 2 medium size potatoes and ½ cup of water.

1. Peel the potatoes and wash and cut them into julienne strips.
2. Wash the potato in running water using a colander to remove starch.
3. Cut the mushrooms into julienne strips.
4. Slice the onion and mince 2 cloves of garlic.
5. In a heated pan, add 2 tbs of olive oil and add the potato strips. Stir it with a wooden spoon for 1 minute.
6. Add 4-5 tbs water and lower the heat over lower heat to cook and stir it.
7. Cover the lid of the pan and simmer it for a few minutes.
8. Open the lid and add garlic and the mushroom strips and sauté until potato strips are fully cooked.
9. Add ½ ts to1 ts of salt (depends on your taste), 1 tbs of sesame oil and turn off the heat.
10. Garnish with chopped red pepper and green onion.