Yulmoo Kimchi - Version 2.0 - (열무 김치)

I was thrilled to see that the K-market had fresh yulmoo yesterday. I was going to make this last week and the yulmoo they had was old and yucky looking. Good thing I waited.

Ingredients Needed:

• 6 bunches of yulmoo, 1 CUP kosher salt & 10 CUPS water
• 1 TB flour & 1 CUP water + 3 CUPS boiling water & 6 TB red pepper powder, 3 TB fish sauce (I used Ggae nari sauce), 1/3 TB ginger powder, 1 TB minced garlic, 1 TB sugar, 2 TB honey powder, 1 TB salt.
• 1 serrano chile, 1 red pepper, 1 green onion (sliced thinly), some chives, and half an onion (thinly sliced)

Begin by washing your yulmoo and cutting it up into thirds. I used 6 bunches.



Get 1 cup of salt and 10 cups of water and mix it around really well.



Pour that onto the yulmoo and let it sit out for TWO hours...



Meanwhile get 1 TB flour and a cup of water and mix it well.



Add that to the 3 cups of boiling water and let it cook for about 5 minutes.



I then added about 10 cloves of sliced garlic to the mixture. I did this because I noticed last time the garlic still had a harsh bite (and spice) to it. I'm hoping that by kind of 'cooking' it the spice will be gone.



Then cut up the rest of your vegetables. I used 1 serrano chile, 1 red pepper, 1 green onion (sliced thinly), some chives, and half an onion (thinly sliced).



After the paste mixture cools down. Add 6 TB red pepper powder, 3 TB fish sauce (I used Ggae nari sauce), 1/3 TB ginger powder, 1 TB minced garlic, 1 TB sugar, 2 TB honey powder, 1 TB salt. (To see some pictures of these ingredients, click HERE.)



After the two hours are up make sure to wash the yulmoo THOROUGHLY. Wash it at least THREE times. If not, you're going to end up with really salty kimchi. Squeeze out any excess water before seasoning it.



Add the sauce in and mix it around really well.



I then added 1 cup of water. I wanted more of a 'mool kimchi' (watery kimchi) this time. Store it outside in a cool area for at least 3-5 days and serve! =)

Strawberry Jam

The MR's friends came over last week and like true Koreans they didn't come empty handed. =P They brought us a whole box of strawberries (since they knew Munchkin LOVES strawberries). The strawberries were delicious, and although Munchkin does love strawberries, even he couldn't finish the whole box. =) So instead of letting the strawberries go bad and throwing them out...I decided to make some JAM.

I got this recipe from Barefoot Contessa one day while watching her show and ever since I've always made jam at home. It's such a simple and EASY recipe! I thought I would post this up, because we all LOVE pictures, don't we?


First go and get 2 cups of sugar.



One large lemon.



Some strawberries~ BC's recipe calls for 1.5 pints of strawberries, but I found that to be too LITTLE. I think this is about 2.5 pints.



Put the sugar into a pot and squeeze all the lemon juice into there. Zest the lemon in there too!



Turn up the heat (medium) and keep stirring away.



About 10 minutes later the sugar will melt and it will become like this...



Add your strawberries and keep mixing!



Looks delish, no?



Keep it at a low rolling boil for about 40-50 minutes (sometimes even longer). BC's recipe says 20 minutes and I've found that it takes MUCH longer.



Eventually it will start to thicken...



Once it's thickened, turn off the heat and let it cool down.



Transfer it into a container and refrigerate it! You're all done! So easy, huh?

Soon Dooboo Jjigae - Soft Tofu Soup - 순두부 찌개

I finally got a chance to update the soon dooboo recipe, but I messed up today (will explain below).



First, get 2 cups of water and throw in some anchovies and dashima to make broth. Boil this for about 5-10 minutes and it should reduce to about half.



Prep your beef (about 1/2 cup) and seafood.



In a pot heat 1 TB sesame oil, 1 TB minced garlic and throw in the beef.



Add about 1/2 cup of kimchi and about 3 TB of kimchi juice.



Throw in some onions...



And then add only 2/3 cups of the anchovy/dashima broth. You really don't need a lot of water because the tofu itself will release water too.



This is 1 TB red pepper powder with 4 TB of sesame oil. I brought it to a boil, but here's where I messed up. While trying to take a picture, I let it BURN. It tasted OK, but it definitely made it LOOK bad. =P Keep an eye on it because it burns quickly...

(Note: you can just use bottled red pepper oil if you would like, but I prefer making it this way because it really brings out the flavor)




Add the oil to the soup and then add the seafood. It looks DARK because of the burned oil...yours should look normal. ;)



Add your tofu and bring it to a boil. I use two packs because my boys eat a lot. =P



Add 1 TB of shrimp jut. If you want to omit this, then just adjust flavor with gook ganjang. But shrimp jut really brings out the flavor in soon dooboo jjigae.



Finally, throw in 1 egg (or 2) and you're all done! I actually used 1 full cup of water which is why it looks so watery. =P

Jo-gae Tang - Clam Soup - (조개탕)

Since Munchkin LOVES clams, I decided to make him some clam soup for breakfast.



Throw some salt on top of the clams and then wash it thoroughly under cold water.



Bring 2 cups of water to a boil with some anchovy/dashima and 1/2 TB of minced garlic.



Throw in the clams and let it boil.



Throw in some large green onions and sliced jalapenos and let it boil for about 10 minutes or so.



Pretty soon the liquid will turn cloudy like so.



You're done and ready to serve! You can enjoy the soup too, but Munchkin just likes the clams.



Here he is in action~



And YES...he finished ALL that by himself. Apparently this wasn't enough for him so he went on to eat 2 egg whites and 2 sausages. My boy sure knows how to EAT and he's not even 3 years old yet.

Kimchi Jjigae - Version 2.0 - (김치 찌개)

Total Cooking Time: 1 hour

I didn't really want to think of dinner last night, so I resorted to kimchi jjigae again. This time I made it with pork galbi and thought I would post it up. Next time I'm going to make it with canned mackerel. =P



In a separate pot, place your pork galbi (pork ribs basically) into just enough water to cover it and add 1 TB of soy bean paste. Bring this to a boil and let it boil for about 20 minutes.



Meanwhile, prepare your jjigae. Add 1 TB sesame oil and 1 TB minced garlic to your pot.



Throw in some chopped onions and 1 TB of red pepper paste.



Put in some kimchi (about 2 cups) and add about 6 TB of kimchi juice. Stir-fry this for about 5 minutes or so and then add about 3 cups of water.



Bring the jjigae to a boil.



Clean your pork under cold water.....



Add it to the jjigae and let it boil for about 30 minutes. If you boil it long enough, the meat will tenderize and will fall right off the bones when you're eating it.



You can add some jalapenos and sliced garlic (I happened to have some leftover in the fridge).


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Some mushrooms and tofu...



And then finish it off with some green onions. All done!



I also made the leftover boolgogi meat I had in the fridge. I pan-fried it with some of the cabbage, onions, and green onions that I had already chopped up for the pancit.