Dduk Bbok Ggi - Rice Cakes with Soy Sauce - (간장 떡볶기)

As I've mentioned before, every time I take Munchkin to the K market with me we end up buying a package of dduk. This week was no exception. While you can make dduk gook or spicy dduk bbok ggi, today I decided to make a simple soy sauce dduk bbok ggi for Munchkin to enjoy.

Here's how you can make it at home...



In a cup mix together the following:

• 1/4 CUP soy sauce
• 1/4 CUP water
• 2 TB honey powder
• 1 TB sugar
• 1 TB corn starch
• 1 TB rice wine
• OPTIONAL: dash of beef bullion (pictured below)
  

I was at the K-market the other day and they were selling this powdered beef bullion (Korean style). I normally choose to avoid any beef or anchovy dashida since my Hubby is super health conscious and doesn't enjoy the preservatives packed in those products. But the lady selling this said that it's 100% organic with absolutely no MSG so I thought I would try it out this time.



First take 1 TB of sesame oil and 1/2 TB of minced garlic and saute about 1/4 cup of beef until well done.



Then add the soy sauce mixture to the beef and bring to a boil. Let it boil for about 15 minutes to ensure the beef is nice and tender.



Finally add your dduk (this is fresh dduk) and let it boil for about 5-10 minutes.



Once the liquid is almost gone you're ready to serve and enjoy!

Boo Dae Jigae - Base Soup - (부대찌개)

I finally went ahead and made boo-dae jjigae today.

Needed:

• 1/2 can spam
• 3 sausages
• 1 cup dduk
• 1 green pepper and 1 red pepper
• 1/2 small squash
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 cup kimchi and lots of kimchi juice
• 2 mushrooms
• 1 ramen
• sauce: 1 TB red pepper paste, 1 TB red pepper powder, 1/2 TB minced garlic, 1 Tb rice wine, 1 TB gook ganjang, 1/2 TB shrimp jut, 1 TB beef flavoring, 1 TSP salt, 1 TSP pepper
  

First cut up everything you need like so. I used about 3 sausages, 1/2 can of spam, 1/2 small onion, 2 mushrooms, 1/2 small squash, 1 jalapeno, 1 red pepper, and a fistful of green onions.



Add roughly 4 cups of water into a pot and bring it to a boil with some anchovies and dashima. Let the broth cook for about 15 minutes or so until the water is tinted slightly yellow.



Mix together the following: 1 TB red pepper paste, 1 TB red pepper powder, 1/2 TB minced garlic, 1 Tb rice wine, 1 TB gook ganjang, 1/2 TB shrimp jut, 1 TB beef flavoring, 1 TSP salt, and 1 TSP pepper for the sauce and set it aside.



In a pot, add the kimchi and bring it to a boil and saute it for about 5-10 minutes. I used a jungol pot on our dining room table, but if you don't have one just cook it in a large pot on the stove and serve immediately while piping hot.



Then add your spam and sausages and let it cook for another 5 minutes.



Add all your remaining vegetables and mix well.



Throw in the mushrooms last and then add the boiling anchovy/dashima broth from earlier.



Add the peppers and green onions....



Along with the sauce and bring everything to a boil.



Add your dduk...



...and your ramen.



And enjoy as soon as the ramen is done! It's extra spicy so be careful!

PS. You can add pretty much anything to this soup that you have on hand such as tofu, udon, different varieties of mushrooms, etc. Use your imagination and get creative!

Godeunguh Kimchi Jorim - Steamed Mackerel & Kimchi - (고등어 김치 조림)

Needed:

• 1/2 salted mackerel
• 1 cup fermented kimchi
• 1/4 chopped onion
• 1 stalk of green onion
  
• 3 TB sesame oil and 1 TB minced garlic

They were having a sale on mackerel at the K-market so I bought a package of it and decided to make some kimchi jorim. You can easily pan fry mackerel and enjoy it without anything extra, but every once in a while I like to change it up.



In a pot heat up 2 TB of sesame oil and 1 TB of minced garlic.



Once the garlic begins to sizzle, add about 3/4 cups of kimchi and 4-5 TB of kimchi juice and mix it around for a while.



Then set the onions and green onions on top of the kimchi.



Meanwhile, cut your mackerel into thirds. I ran it under cold water for about 5 minutes, but for the most part it was still halfway frozen. I only used one package (it comes in two separately wrapped packages) but feel free to use all of it if you have more people to feed.



Then set the mackerel on top of the kimchi and onions......


Cover it with the rest of the remaining 1/4 cup of kimchi and drizzle about 1 TB of sesame oil on top. Cover the lid and let it cook for about 30-40 minutes total.



Flip it over about halfway through to ensure even cooking.



After about 40 minutes the mackerel will be done. Plate it with the kimchi and you're ready to serve. Enjoy!

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Random...


I tried this Poulet Niçoise recipe from Williams Sonoma this weekend and it was pretty delicious. I highly suggest you give it a try

Al Tang - Fish Egg Soup - (알탕)

So I decided to make al tang today. I prefer to buy the FRESH al they sell in the banchan section of some of the bigger K-markets, but for some reason our local K-market stopped selling them sometime last year. Therefore, I'm forced to buy the frozen kind which always seems to burst open in the soup. =P

Needed:

• 1 8oz. package of frozen pollack roe - It can be found in the frozen fish section of most K-markets and there are lots of different brands.
  
• 1 cup sliced daikon radish
• 1 cup of bean sprouts
• sauce: 1.5 red pepper powder, 0.5 red pepper paste, 1 TB rice wine, dash of pepper and ginger powder
• 1 TB light soy sauce (Korean gook ganjang) and 1 TB minced garlic
• small red pepper or serrano chile

I chose to buy Wang tonight, but next time I think I'll try another brand. These exploded and I was left with hardly any big pieces of roe.



As you can see, this was preseasoned. Depending on the seasonings of the brand of roe you buy, you may have to add or decrease the amount of soy sauce you add.



In a small bowl mix 1.5 red pepper powder, 0.5 red pepper paste, 1 TB rice wine, and a dash of pepper and ginger powder.



First heat about 1TB of gook ganjang and 1 TB of minced garlic in a pot.



Then throw in your cut up moo (daikon radish) and stir it around for a bit.



Add 3 cups of water and the red paste mixture in the small bowl and bring it to a boil. Although you can see the anchovy and dashima in the pic, don't add it. It was too fishy and I think it tastes fine without the anchovy broth.



Once it starts boiling, add your bean sprouts and close the lid. Let it cook for about 5 minutes



Finally throw in your chopped up green onions and peppers and let it boil for about 10 minutes.

You are then ready to serve! As you can see a lot of the roe exploded and there were barely any big pieces left. It still tasted great (according to the MR) but if you use the fresh roe, it's less likely to explode like this. I hope you can find it!

Beef Curry....from the box - (카래 라이스)

I'm sure 99% of you know how to make curry, especially since the directions are right on the box, but I thought I would post a step by step anyhow since I made this and had my camera handy. Plus, one of my girlfriends (you know who you are) called me the other day and asked me how to make curry. =P At first I thought she was joking, but it turns out she wasn't. So this is for you, babe! ;)



There are lots of different instant curries out there, but I personally like this one the BEST. My 2nd choice would be Vermont Curry.



You can pretty much add whatever vegetables you prefer. I chose to use 1 whole large onion, 3 mushrooms, 4 celery sticks, 1 large potato, 2 small carrots, and about 1 cup of frozen corn.



The local K-market actually sells beef for curry. It's really convenient because it's precut into perfect bite size pieces. You need more or less 1 LB. of beef. You can use ground beef, beef stew meat, beef flank, etc. You can also substitute with chicken.



Start off with about 2 TB of oil and 1 TB of minced garlic. I'm sure you've noticed by now that I garlic and add it to just about everything.



First saute your beef with a dash of salt and pepper.



Then add your cut up carrots and potatoes and keep stirring.



Next add your onions and celery and continue to stir it around. At this point I like to add about 1 TB of red pepper powder.



You're now ready to throw in your mushrooms and corn. Stir, stir, stir and mix everything around evenly.



Add 6 cups of water and bring it to a boil for about 5-10 minutes. I also added 1 TB of Chicken Knorr at this point.



Break up all your curry pieces. Although I only took a picture of half the curry, make sure to use the WHOLE box. You will be using two of these.



Keep stirring it around and make sure to scrape the bottom off so the vegetables don't stick.



In about 5-10 minutes after adding the curry blocks, you should reach a thick consistency. You're now ready to serve over hot rice! Enjoy~ I was going to take a picture of it over white rice, but when I came home today the MR had already finished all the curry! I took half of it to work to share with my coworkers, so he didn't eat ALL of it by himself...but still.