Jajangmyeon (Korean Black Bean Paste Noodle)

05/21/201005/27/2010 | Doyd

Have you ever tasted that interesting instant noodle sold in Asian markets called “Chapagetti?” The first time I tried it, it was a bizarre experience for me. But then, after realizing what it is made of, I wanted to know where they derived this instant noodle from.

The name Chapagetti as I’ve discovered it, is the combination of Chajang (black bean fried sauce) and Spaghetti. A lot of kids like this and so does my precious one. To them, it is like the asian version of the Italian Spaghetti. So, since my daughter wanted to eat this, I needed to learn how to make the real one so we will not rely on buying instant versions of this at the market. Jajangmyeon (자장면) as they call it in Korean is the recipe I was looking for.

Here’s how I made mine:

INGREDIENTS

Pork Belly cut into 1cm. cubes
1 Large Onion
1 Large Sweet Potato
1 Small Korean Zucchini
1 Small Korean Radish
Black Bean Paste
Sesame Oil
Cucumber (for garnish)
White wheat flour noodles (sutamyeon)

In a small saucepan, heat 1 tsp. of olive oil. Saute 6-8 tbsp. of Black Bean paste for 1 minute. Set aside.

Using a wok, stir fry the pork belly with a little bit of olive oil. Let it cook until medium crispy. Set aside.

Cut the Radish, Onion, Sweet Potato and Zucchini into bite size cubes. Using the same wok, saute the radish and sweet potato. After a minute or two, add in the onions and zucchini and saute for another minute. Add 3 cups of water into the wok. Cover the wok with a lid and let it cook for 10-15 minutes on medium high heat.

Add the fried black bean paste and mix well. While boiling, add some cornstarch (or potato starch) and water mixture to make the sauce a thick consistency. Add in a little bit of sugar (1 tbsp.) DO NOT add salt for the chunjang is already salty. Serve the sauce over hot noodles and garnish with thinly sliced cucumber.

Note: Cook the sutamyeon according to package instructions. It will depend on what kind of noodles you get from your local market. Do not overcook or else it will be too mushy.

By the way, when you serve this, please note that the sauce and the noodles are heavy on the stomach so take it easy when plating 🙂 ENJOY!!

Jade Avenue

05/21/201005/21/2010 | Doyd

jade avenue
Originally uploaded by doyd74

I’ve been swamped! Yes, I was so busy… I couldn’t even find time to write up a short blog thru my iPhone. I’ve been meaning to share some photos on my blog but I truly want to spend at least 10-15 minutes of quiet time writing something and not thinking of other work to do.

I chose this new picture I took last April, I hope you like it. My brother and sister-in-law gave this “Jade Avenue” sign to Jade during our trip to their home in New Jersey. I wish I had seen the Amish County on that trip but our schedule was too tight.

I will try my best to post another recipe this weekend. My daughter advised me to post the Filipino Pork and Chicken Adobo recipe. I cooked it last night and she had two servings 🙂 You should try it! It’s really tasty…

I will buy ingredients this weekend and will share my American Adobo recipe 🙂

Samgyetang (Korean/Chinese) Ginseng Chicken Soup

05/14/201002/24/2015 | Doyd

I’m sure most of you will like this recipe because it’s one of the easiest, nutritious and delicious soup of all time.

I consider this as one of our family’s comfort-soup aside from our classic Sinigang and Tinola.

This soup is made with Ginseng or other Traditional Vegetable Root Tea available in your Asian Market. It is believed by a lot of Asians to help cure and prevent ailments.

If and only “IF” your closest Asian Market do not have fresh or dehydrated ginseng, you can also use a couple of pure ginseng tea bags as a replacement.

Here’s how to make Korean/Chinese Ginseng Chicken Soup:

INGREDIENTS:

1 Whole medium size Chicken (or large cornish hen)

2 Stalks of Green Onion

1/4 cup of Garlic Cloves

1/3 cup of Glutinous Rice

7-10 pieces of Red Dates (Jujube)

Ginger

Ginseng (Fresh or Dehydrated)

5 pieces of Chestnuts

Cold Water

Salt and Pepper (optional)

Prepare all ingredients. Soak Glutinous Rice for 5 hours or overnight.

Wash your chicken and remove any excess fatty skin. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the soaked glutinous rice, some garlic, half of the dates and chestnuts and some ginseng. Don’t forget to crush the ginger and add it as well.

Close the opening of the chicken with toothpicks. If you don’t have toothpicks, you can keep it open but place the chicken in a big pot carefully. Put in the extra garlic, ginseng, dates and chestnuts with the whole chicken then pour water enough to cover all the ingredients.

Start to boil for 20 minutes with a foil on top of the pot to cover. When boiling, make sure to remove all the scum to keep the soup clean and clear. Add more water if necessary. When it boils back, cover again with foil then simmer the soup for another 40 minutes to an hour on medium to medium high heat (depending on the kind of pot you’re using).

Before serving, you may add some freshly ground pepper and sea salt and some minced green onion.

Enjoy each slurp of this nutritious soup and each bite of the ginseng, dates, chestnuts, and tender young chicken. I love to eat the garlic on this soup because it melts in your mouth 🙂

If you have questions, feel free to comment and I will be glad to help answer your question/s so you can make your own version of this recipe.

Thanks for reading!!!

Homemade Kimch’i (김치)

05/11/201006/07/2015 | Doyd

This is one of my favorite recipes and I’ve been saving to write about this on a special day like today. But before I start, I want to thank Maangchi, my favorite cooking mentor for teaching me how to make this.

Not all people like Kimchi because of the strong sour smell. I cannot blame them but a lot of other people (like me) love that smell anyway. Years before, I honestly did not mind about what Kimchi is all about but when I started reading about Korean dishes, I became curious.

I first tried Kimchi at Korean restaurants as a side-dish. It was appetizing to me because of the savory kick of spicy and sour sauce. Then slowly, I appreciated the taste of the sauce and my palate started to want for more.

I only like the ones from the restaurant because it tastes more fresh. I never had a store-bought Kimchi in our home and because of that, I realized I had to learn to make my own Kimchi 🙂 To me, it’s comforting to know what ingredients I have used on my recipes. Then I am more confident serving food to my family knowing that they are eating homemade dishes by me.

I hope you enjoy learning this recipe as much as I did. I will make a new batch this weekend 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium Napa Cabbages
2 medium Korean Radishes (Daikon), cut into 1 inch cubes (leave some for the porridge, julienned)
Sea Salt
1 big Onion
Ginger
10-15 pieces of Garlic (I like to use a lot!)
Green Onions
Asian Chives
Hot Pepper Powder (pick a nice one that’s bright red)
Fish Sauce
Sweet Rice Powder

Cut the cabbages in half, then slit each half through the core, but NOT through the rest of the leaves. Soak each piece in cold water and liberally sprinkle some salt (about 3/4 cup of Sea Salt per medium cabbage), then set aside for 2 hours.

Salt the diced radishes too and leave for 2 hours as well. After 2 hours, turn the pieces of cabbage and radishes over so they are salted evenly. Leave for another 2 hours (Total of 4 hours of salting).

Prepare the porridge. Put 1/2 cup sweet rice powder and 3 cups of water in a sauce pan and cook over medium high heat while stirring constantly. Add 1/4 cup sugar then cool it down. After 4 hours, wash the cabbages and radishes in a cold tub of water… wash 3-4 times making sure you soak it well in water to REMOVE ALL the salt.

To the porridge, add 1 cup good quality fish sauce, 2-6 cups of hot pepper flakes (depending on your taste), 1 cup of crushed garlic, 1-3 tbsp. of minced ginger, 1 large minced onion. (I use my food processor to mince and crush the ingredients on this part)

Mix the porridge and continue washing the cabbages and radishes.

Take a look at my photos and see how I soak the cabbages in water to make sure all the salt is removed.

Prepare the following:

7-12 diagonally sliced green onions
2 cups asian chives cut into 2 inches in length
2 cups of shredded korean radish (left-over from the cubes that you used before)

Combine the porridge and the ingredients above.

Make sure the water from the cabbages drip off before starting to spread the paste on the leaves. You will see on my slideshow how my paste looks like (it will make you salivate if you love Kimchi like me – LOL!)

Start spreading the paste on the leaves and leave some paste for your cubed radishes (Kaktugi). Put your homemade Kimchi into an air-tight sealed container or glass jar.

Make sure you use a clean spoon each time you get a portion of your Kimchi when you eat. Also, press down on your Kimchi after getting your serving to make sure there is no air in between your cabbages. Eat this fresh or wait until it’s bubbly and fermented.

Put the Kimchi container at room temperature for a day then keep it in the refrigerator after the first day of fermentation. In a few days, you will see some bubbles and you will start smelling the sour Kimchi. That means it’s ready being fermented.

Enjoy your Kimchi!!!!

MAANGCHI where I learned how to make Kimchi

Japchae Recipe (jabchae, chapch’ae, 잡채, 雜菜)

05/10/201005/10/2010 | Doyd

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Japchae Recipe“, posted with vodpod

I first tasted this as a side-dish at a local Korean restaurant here in Irvine. Then back in 2008 after downloading the podcasts at Maangchi’s website, I tried her version of Japchae and loved it!

My family loves noodles and we cannot live without it. After eating all rice as our staple, we often crave for noodles for a change.

This recipe I am sharing is a recipe I got from the backside of a pack of my favorite Korean Vermicelli and I’d like to share it to you with a few of my personalized touch.

INGREDIENTS:

300 g. of Korean Vermicelli

1 medium Carrot

150 g. of Beef or Pork (you may adjust the amount)

1 medium Onion

5-8 pieces of Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

1 Egg (I use egg substitute)

1 bunch of Spinach (to me, the more the merrier!)

Olive Oil

Slice meat into bite sizes or strips and mix well with the meat seasoning (see below). Slice the re-hydrated mushrooms and season with soy sauce and sugar. Wash and blanch spinach in boiling water, drain and squeeze the excess water. Season with sesame oil and salt.

Slice the onion and the carrot into strips, stir fry with a pinch of salt. Since I use an egg-substitute, just spread the mixture into a frying pan with oil on medium heat to make a thin flat egg crepe. When done, fold and slice into thin long strips. Stir fry the seasoned meat and mushroom separately on the frying pan. Cook the dry vermicelli in boiling water for 6 minutes (or depending on the package instructions of the brand you are cooking). Rinse in cold water and drain. Boil 3 tbsp. of soy sauce, 1/4 cup water, 4 tbsp. of sugar (splenda), 1/2 tbsp. of sesame oil, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, 1/2 tsp. grounded roasted sesame seed on the deep frying pan and add the cooked vermicelli and stir well under low heat until it is shiny.

Mix all ingredients prepared separately. Garnish with the strips of egg and some chopped green onions.

*** Meat Seasoning – 1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce, 1 Tsp. Sugar, 1 Tsp. minced Garlic, 1 Tsp. Sesame Oil, Black Pepper and Salt

Egg-coated Pollock Fish Nuggets

05/07/201005/07/2010 | Doyd

Pollock Nugget
Originally uploaded by doyd74

This is a very easy child-friendly dish. Again, this is a sure win for kids 🙂
Here’s how to make it:

INGREDIENTS:
Pollock fillet (I buy it from the Korean market at the frozen aisle)
2-3 Eggs (I use egg substitute)
2/3 cup all purpose Flour
1/2 cup of fresh milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix together the flour, milk, eggs, salt and pepper to create a batter.

Cut the pollock into bite-size pieces, dip into the batter and pan fry with a little olive oil until cooked, golden and crispy.

I add a tiny pinch of salt onto the nuggets before serving.