육개장 YukGaeJang

Heyyyy dere sexy peoples.

It's been a really long time since I have posted a blog :/ I have been busy with finals for uni and completing assignments so there hasn't been any post for a really long time :( BUT I finished all of my exams yesterday, so I'm not back with a recipe. I'm going to be on break until August so I'll probably try and do a post a week, possible more sometimes.

I hope that you have all been well ~~~

Let's see how we are going in terms of seasons, it's now summer in Korea, so we probably want some summer food right? Even though it is not the hottest time of the year just yet, this dish can still be something that you can enjoy to help cool you down. And it is also great for the colder countries in the southern hemisphere where it is winter at the moment,

The dish for today is called yukgaejang (육개장). It is a spicy soup-like dish that is made with beef and scallions as well as other ingredients such as bean sprouts (kong namuel), bracken, taro stem, onion and dangmyeon (sweet potato noodles). It is usually served with rice and kimchi.

The dish can also be made using chicken, and in that case it could be called dak yukgaejang.

This is a hot spicy dish so you may be confused about why it would be eaten in the summer. Western cultures tend to eat cold foods to cool down in the summer, this cools you down from the inside. However in Korea, they also like to cool themselves down from the outside by eating hot spicy foods to sweat more and thus also be cooled that way.

Ingredients
600g beef brisket
1 small onion
100g bean sprouts
50g taro stem (found dried in Asian marts)
50g bracken (found dried in Asian marts)
3 green onions
1/2 korean radish
3 tbs chilli flakes (gochugaru)
2 tbs minced garlic
3tbs soy sauce
60ml sesame oil
60ml vegetable oil
3tbs salt
1tbs pepper
4L water

Method
1. Soak the taro stem and bracken in warm water for an hour.
2. In a large pot add beef, onion, green onions and all the water. Boil it for 30min on a medium heat with the lid on.
3. Blanch the soaked taro stems and bracken in water for about 10 minutes. Squeeze all the water out and then cut into 10cm pieces.
4. Cut the radish into 1cm pieces
5. Remove the cooked beef from the broth and let it cool for 30 min. After that, tear the beef into small strips.
6. In a bowl mix half the chilli flakes, with 3 tbs sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, 1tbs salt and the pepper. If you want you can add more chilli flakes.
7. Add the bracken, taro stem and meat in a bowl with half of the sauce and let it sit for 10 minutes.
8. Add the sauce mixture into the broth with the radish and boil it for 40min on a medium heat.
9. In a small pot add all the remaining oil and chilli flakes and stir fry for 2 minutes, constantly stirring to prevent burning.
10. Strain the chilli oil through a cheesecloth.
11. Add some more green onions, bean sprouts, rest of the spicy sauce and chilli oil to the broth and salt to season. Boil for another 10 minutes.
12. Serve with rice and kimchi.

And there you have it, a nutritious dish to eat in summer or winter to cool you down or to warm you up. Either way it is bound to satisfy you.

I hope that you like that dish because it is certainly what I'm going to have for dinner tonight as it is super-duper cold and rainy at the moment. Have a try of it when it is super hot or cold and you will feel the heat of the dish radiate throughout the rest of your body.

I'm going to post more in the coming days, and until then remember to keep warm, safe, healthy and happy!

Watermelon Punch 수박 화채 Subak Hwachae

Day 5 of posts, I'm almost done with the week of posting.

It has been super humid and hot in Seoul for the last couple of days so I'm going to introduce you to a refreshing dessert drink that you guys caa make to help cool down the summer.

Watermelon Punch or 수박 화채 is a refreshing drink that will take you away from the heat of the Summer and help cool you down. Hwachae is commonly made with various fruits and sweet drinks and served as a dessert or snack. There are many variations, and some are even made with edible flower petals or grains such as barley or rice cakes. Traditionally, the base drink is water sweetened with honey, syrup, or sugar. In modern times, carbonated drinks and fruit juices are also commonly used. Hwachae made with watermelon (subak) is a summer favorite.

Today I'm going to add some ginger ale, but other soft drinks such as 7 Up and lemonade will also work. you can also substitute it with some fruit juice. You can also add some rice cake balls to complement the dish and to help give it some chewiness to cut through the crunch from the watermelon.

Ingredients
2 cups watermelon, balled or cubed
1-1/2 cups honeydew, balled or cubed
12 - 16 rice cake balls (gyeongdan) - optional (Recipe follows)
2 cups ginger ale
3 tablespoons Korean drinking vinegar (or pomegranate or cranberry juice)
pine nuts for garnish - optional

Method
1. Scoop out watermelon and honeydew with a melon-baller. (Or, cut into about 1-inch cubes.) Place them in a large bowl along with any juice from the fruits.
2. Add the ginger ale and the drinking vinegar (or pomegranate or cranberry juice) to the fruits. Stir gently. Taste the drink and adjust acidity and/or sweetness by adding more drinking vinegar (or juice) and/or sugar.

Simple rise cake balls:
1/2 cup glutinous rice powder/flour (sweet rice powder/flour)
2 teaspoons sugar
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons boiling hot water

1. Mix the rice powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. Mix in the boiling hot water with a spoon. When cool enough to handle, knead by hand until a dough is formed.
2. Shape the dough into a 3/4-inch thick cylinder. Cut into (or pinch off) 3/4-inch pieces. Roll each piece between the palms to make a small ball.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the rice cake balls. Cook until all the balls float. Transfer to a large bowl with cold water to cool. Drain.

When you are ready to serve put everything together and add some ice cubes into the punch so that it keep cool in the heat.





And there you have it, a simple and fruity drink to keep you cool and refreshed in the summer. Tomorrow will be blog number 6, so don't forget to check back from more recipes.

Until tomorrow keep safe, happy and healthy. See you tomorrow!!

Cinnamon and Persimmon Punch 수정과

Hi, so I am already up to days four of the week, I'm more than half way ^^

Today I will be introducing you to a beverage that is muck loved by Kkoreans. I know that it has been a long time since I have last posted about a beverage, I think the last time was in my post about Sikhye. Anyways, on to today's drink...

Sujeonggwa is a Korean traditional fruit punch. Dark reddish brown in color, it is made from dried persimmons, cinnamon, ginger, peppercorn and is often garnished with pine nuts. The punch is made by brewing first the cinnamon, ginger and peppercorn at a slow boil. The solids are then removed for clarification and the remaining liquid is boiled again after adding either honey or brown sugar. The dried persimmons are cut into portions and are added to soak and soften after the brew has completely cooled. This is usually done several hours before serving, as extensive soaking of the fruit may thicken the clear liquid to a murky appearance.

Sujeonggwa is served cold and commonly as a dessert, much like sikhye, due to its sweet taste. It is also widely available in canned form.photo

The earliest mention of sujeonggwa dates back to 1849 in the book Dongguksesigi (동국세시기, 東國歲時記), a book of seasonal customs written by scholar Hong Seok Mo (홍석모). The sujeonggwa recipe mentioned in the book is a dried persimmon brew with added ginger and pine nuts.

That is a very through introduction to sujeonggwa and its history. I think it is time to get started on the recipe....

Ingredients
10 Cups Water
About 12 Cinnamon Sticks
About ⅓ Cup Ginger
½ Cup Sugar
½ Cup Dark Brown Sugar
Some Dried Persimmons
Some Pine Nuts (to Garnish)

Method
1. In a pot, bring water, cinnamon, and ginger to a boil.
2. Simmer vigorously for 30 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, strain and discard solids, and stir in sugar to dissolve.
4. Place persimmons into liquid and steep for at least two hours or store in refrigerator to serve cold.
5. To serve, ladle punch into small bowls or teacups and garnish with a few pine nuts per serving. (You can remove persimmons or slice and add to drink)



And there you have it, a sweet drink to serve either hot or cold according to the weather. You can always make more and bring it out when guests come over, or even have some at the end of a long day to relax.

That is it from me today, tomorrow I will be back with another post. Please look forward to it ^^