Oh-ee Muchim (Spicy Cucumbers)

I made bulgogi last night (I bought it pre-marinated) and I always need something spicy to accompany it so I made some oh-ee muchim. I usually make a Korean style lettuce and green onion salad, but I was running low on green onions so I made this instead. I love this spicy little side dish.

Ingredients:

3 cucumbers (pickling variety)
2 stalks green onion
1/2 onion
1 jalapeno
1 tablespoon gochujang (red pepper paste)
1 tsp minced garlic
2 teaspoons vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
salt (optional)

Directions:

Slice cucumbers in half and then into thick slices. Cut green onions into 2 inch pieces. Slice jalapeno. Quarter onion and then slice. Put all veggies in a bowl, add the spices, and mix. I use a disposable plastic glove like the one pictured above to mix everything together. Taste and if it needs salt, add to taste. If you like it sweeter, feel free to add more sugar. Serve chilled.

Miyuk Gook (Seaweed Soup)

Miyuk gook is traditionally made for someone on their birthday and for mothers who have just given birth. It's one of the easiest gooks to make. I make it in big batches and freeze in ziploc containers to eat when I'm too lazy to cook or hungover or both.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried miyuk
4 cups water
1 tablespoon garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons gook ganjang (soup soy sauce)
1/3 pound beef (I use galbi sal)

Directions:

Soak dried seaweed in a bowl for at least 10 minutes. (It grows to more than triple its size in water) Cut seaweed into pieces. Heat sesame oil in pot and saute beef until browned. Pour in 4 cups of water, garlic, soy sauce and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer for another 20 mintues. Add more ganjang or salt to taste.

Note: This recipe can also be made with clams or mussels.
Note 2: My mom omits the garlic.
put the heat down really low and it boil for 45 min or so.. also, use 3/4 cup less water and add a can of chicken/beef broth in the last 15 min..

I always saute the meat, miyuk, garlic and sliced white onions until a whitish liquid is discharged from the mixture...my mother in law says that draws out the flavor of the miyuk.

Mabo Tofu

I make this often because it's a fast, easy crowd pleaser. Served with rice and kimchi, it's a complete meal. This isn't really Korean, but every Korean I know loves it.

You can find this sauce in most Asian grocery stores. There is a recipe on the box, but I add a couple of things to make it a little better.

Ingredients:

1 package mabo tofu sauce
1 package soft tofu - cubed
1 pound ground beef
6 chopped green onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon ginger

Directions:

Saute ground beef in pan until brown. Add mabo tofu sauce, garlic, and ginger. Saute for a minute or two. Add tofu and green onions, saute another minute.

Kong Gooksoo (Soybean Noodles)

Ingredients:

1 cup soybeans
2 1/2 cups water
1 package noodles
sea salt to taste

Garnish:
black sesame seeds
cucumber, thinly sliced
tomato 2 wedges

Directions:

Buy a bag of soybeans - I think it'll say meju kong on the bag. (I'm obsessed with putting everything in ziploc bags once I open a bag.) Place 1 cup of the beans in a bowl and fill with hot water. Allow it to soak for 1-2 hours. Drain. Put soybeans in a pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil. Drain and rinse well in cold water.

I use Pulmuone's all purpose noodles (as I do for most noodle dishes). Bring water to boil in a pot. Add the noodles and cook for 5-6 minutes. Drain.

Add 2 1/2 cups cold water and the soybeans into a blender. Puree until it is liquefied - you may add more water to achieve the desired consistency. I like the soup kinda thick so I just eat it as is, but you can strain the soup through a fine metal strainer if you prefer to get a thinner soup. It also gets diluted when I add in all my ice cubes anyway.

The soup should be served cold. You can either refrigerate it and serve later or do what I do and just toss in a bunch of ice cubes. Place noodles in a bowl and pour in soup. Garnish with tomatoes, thinly sliced cucumber, and black sesame seed. Mix in sea salt to taste and serve. When you order it in restaurants it comes garnished with black sesame seeds on top, but I didn't have any.

Kimchi on the side is a must. A refreshing dish on a hot summer day!

Kong Beeji Jjigae (Soybean stew w/ pork & kimchee)

****This dish takes a lot of TLC, prep time & dedication, but is worth it if you love beeji jjigae.

****You will need a blender to make this dish.

****Sheen (old) kimchee works well in this soup.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups raw, dry SOYBEAN

Gook-Ganjang (soup base) to taste

Gochoo-Garoo (red pepper flakes) to taste

1-2 cups cubed PORK tenderloin (depending if you like lots of meat or less)

2 cups chopped KIMCHEE (& kimchee gookmool if available)

3-4 tbsp SESAME OIL

2 tbsp minced GARLIC

1 cup cubed firm TOFU

handful chopped GREEN ONION (pah)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Rinse the dry soybeans to clean, then soak them in water for 6 hours or overnight. The soybeans will double in size so soak in plenty of water.

2. After soaking, put the soaked soybeans in a pot with water and bring to boil. (BEWARE! This pot of boiling soybeans tends to foam up and overflow so keep your eye on it! You can take discard foam as necessary. But once the pot is boiling, bring heat down to a low simmer and simmer for 30 mintues with TOP OFF... it still tends to foam/overflow. )

3. After cooking the soybeans for 30 minutes... cool it down a bit before blending.

4. To blend, do half of the beans first.... using the same water it had boiled in... the "kong kupjjeell" (bean peels) and all.... adjust the amount of water that goes into the blender with the beans so the mixture is NOT TOO WATERY ....& NOT TOO THICK. You can add water as you blend. The constistency should be NOT QUITE PUREED-- fluid yet w/ a distinctly grainy texture... a bit more grainy and a bit more fluid than hummace. (See picture for texture)

5. Once you have your soybeans all ground up and in a thick/grainy, yet fluid mixture... bring a new and roomy pot of water to a boil.... about 2 cups of water.

6. slowly, add your ground soybean mixture to the boiling water while stirring. This will be your base soup for beeji jjigae, so adjust the thickness by adding more water or more soybean mixture.

7. While your ground soybean soup is simmering, in a separate large pan... saute chopped kimchee, cubed pork, sesame oil, and garlic until pork is thoroughly cooked and slightly browned.

8. Add the sauteed ingredients to your pot of ground-soybean soup... bring to a simmer. Stir.... and add more water if too thick. If you have kimchee gookmool, add this into the soup instead!!!

9. Add cubed tofu.

10. Add gook ganjang to finish flavoring. Use sparingly so it doesn't get too salty. Taste as you mix it in.

11. Cook for a few minutes, let all the ingredients unite in the heat. At the very end, throw in the chopped green onion and a dash of Gochoo-Garoo... SERVE.

Haemul Kimchi Jigae

Ingredients

6 jumbo squid (see below for dissembling directions)

4-6 extra large prawns (with heads)

6-8 black mussels (scrubbed, beards removed)

½ cup sliced sangyupsal
1 zucchini- peeled & cubed, discard ends

5 mushrooms- sliced

2 potatoes- peeled & cubed

1 ½ cups baechu kimchi (napa)- sliced
½ cup kimchi juice
1 pack firm tofu, cubed
3 stalks scallions- slice in 2” bias, discard ends
1/2 jalapeno pepper
1/2 of large onion- sliced

1 shallot, sliced
3 cloves of garlic- minced
1/4 cup gochujang (red pepper paste)
2 tbsp gochukaroo (red pepper flakes)
1/8 cup dashida

4 tbsp hondashi

3 tbsp garlic salt

1 tsp sesame oil
5 cups water

fresh ground pepper

Directions

-In large pot, on medium high heat, add sesame oil and pork.

-When pork is just about done, add onions and shallots. Cook until almost translucent.

-Add minced garlic and kimchi. Saute for 2min.

-Add water, hondashi, gochukaroo, gochujang, garlic salt, and jalapeno. Stir, cover and let simmer on medium heat for 10min.

-Add kimchi juice. Add dashida in spoonfuls and stir. Adjust taste accordingly.

-Add tofu and potatoes. Cover and let simmer on medium low heat for 10-15min.

-Add squid, mussels, prawns, mushrooms, and scallions. Bring up to boil for 5min.

-Serve with rice and panchan.

Easy Kimchi Jjigae

This is the fastest, easiest kimchi jjigae recipe. I make it all the time because I always have the ingredients on hand (it's my favorite Korean dish). It tastes even better the next day.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil
1/4 head kimchi (must be old)
kimchi juice
water
1 can spam, 1 can tuna or sliced pork belly

Optional:

Tofu - I rarely add it because I don't really like cooked tofu, only raw, But you can add it if you like!

Directions:

Cut up kimchi into bite size chunks. Heat oil in a pot and saute kimchi. If you're using pork belly, add it at this time. Saute for 5 minutes. Add kimchi juice and enough water to cover the kimchi. Bring to boil. Add sliced spam or tuna and bring heat to low, simmer for another 10 minutes.

Note: Every kimchi batch tastes different, so quantities of kimchi juice will always vary. Start off with 4 tablespoons and add more according to taste. To speed up the fermentation process of your kimchi, leave it out of the fridge for a day or two. Then it'll be ready for you to make kimchi jjigae.

Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)

Ingredients

1 to 1.5 cups kimchi (old kimchi works best - tastes slightly sour)
kimchi juice
1 pack tofu
2 stalks green onions/scallions
1 jalepeno/chili pepper
1/2 of large onion
2 -3 cloves of garlic
oil
2 cups water
approximately 1/4 cup gochujang (red pepper paste)
2 - 3 tbsp gochugaru (red pepper flakes)
pork belly chunks (or any pork with fat)*
1 hobak (use zuccini, if you cannot find korean hobak)
dashida - optional

Directions

Prior to cooking, prepare the following.

Roughly chop kimchi into smaller chunks
Cube tofu into bite sized pieces
Slice scallions on a bias (on an angle) into 1-inch long slices
Chop onion into smaller slices
Mince garlic (use pre-minced if possible)
Slice chili pepper on a bias
Slice zuccini (hobak) into 1/4 inch slices, then cube them into bite sized pieces

In pot, add a little bit of oil (just a little - pork already has a lot of fat, so you wont need much). Add minced garlic to flavor the oil. Then add in pork belly chunks and cook until meat turns white. Then add in kimchi chunks and cook for about 2 - 3 minutes (this will help the soup cook faster). Add in water (approximately 2 cups serves 4 individual servings). Bring heat up to high and boil for a few minutes. Add one scoop (a little less than 1/4 cup) of gochujang (red pepper paste) and stir until dissolved. Add a couple tablespoons of gochugaru (red pepper flakes). Let it cook on medium heat for approximately 5 to 7 minutes (this will allow for the kimchi to cook through). Stir occassionally. Taste and if needed, reseason with kimchi juice and dashida. Then add in zuccini cubes, tofu, onion, and chili pepper slices. Let it cook for another 4 minutes or so before adding in the scallions. (add in scallions last because you dont want them to wilt completely).

Serve with Rice

*Note: Kimchi stew is best when made with pork, however, you may use tuna (they even sell tuna in a can made for kimchi soup), spam, or bacon. When using tuna, add in the tuna with the vegetables, since it is already cooked.

Kimchi Gook

Ingredients:

4 cups water
couple of dried anchovies
1-2 cups sheen (old) kimchi (I'm a goongmool person, but most are ggundehgee people)
1/2 onion
2-3 tb gook ganjang (soup soy sauce)
salt to taste

Optional:

1 sliced jalapeno (if you like it spicy)
handful of dried booguh fish
handful of kongnamool

Directions:

Add dried anchovies to water and bring to boil. Squeeze the excess juice out of kimchi and chop coarsely. Add kimchi to water with onion with gook ganjang. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cook for 10 more minutes and add salt to taste. Discard anchovies before serving.

This gook is especially she-won-heh (refreshing in that hot and spicy kind of way) if you add some dried booguh and/or kongnamool. Yet another gook that's great for hangovers. It's even better the next day after you've let it sit awhile like kimchi jjigae.

Kimchi Bokeumbap

ingredients: 4~5 servings

prep time: 5-10 minutes

overall time: 15~25 minutes max.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups old but not too old kimchee

1/4 cup (+/-) of kimchee juice

2 cups of spam ((about 1/2 can) diced into small pieces

1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of "secret ingredient" - peanut butter

2 tablespoons of sesame oil

2 1/2 ~ 3 tablespoons of corn syrup

1 "thing" of scallion (finely chopped)

3 (+/-) small bowls of rice

3~5 squares of seasoned seaweed

1~2 eggs

*optional toasted (non-salted) sesame seeds

Directions:

1. first put spam in heated pan. (medium~ meduim/high flame)
2. add in olive oil.
3. when spam goes from light pink to a dark pink, add kimchee.
4. add in secret ingredient (creamy not chunky peanut butter) mix in well with spam & kimchee.
5. add in rice. if you feel there isn't enough "sauce" to coat the rice, add in kimchee juice.
6. add soy sauce, sesame oil and corn syrup.
7. put heat on low, add in scallions.
8. (make sure your hands are clean) take your seaweed, crush them in your hand and sprinkle into your rice mixture.
9. fry eggs sunny side, over-easy or well done (your choice) and place it on top of your yummy kimchi fried rice.