닭갈비 Dak Galbi

Hey guys, so it has been a while since I have lasted posted a recipe and I'm really sorry but things have been really hectic with uni about to start next week and me just freaking out about it in general. This may be the last post in a while, so regular posts may not occur until I have settles into uni, but I won't ever stop posting that's for sure.

Today I'm finally going to post up a recipe that is a very popular dish in Korea, and I can't believe that I have never posted about it before. As you can tell from the title the recipe is going to be of dak galbi (닭갈비)

It is said that dak galbi appeared after the late 1960s as an inexpensive anju (food that is eaten while drinking) in small taverns, on the outskirts of the cities to replace the comparatively expensive gui dishes which are grilled over charcoal. The dish has spread to the main districts of Chuncheon, where the livestock industry thrives and offers fresh ingredients with no need for refrigeration. There is a street known as dak galbi golmok (dak galbi alley) which has a high concentration of dak galbi restaurants

That's the history of the dish, I think that it is about time that I get on with the recipe:

Ingredients
6-8 chicken thigh
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon rice wine
salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon gochujang
4 tablespoons gochugaru (chilli flakes)
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 tablespoons rice wine (sake) ground black pepper
2 cups broccoli, cut into bite sizes
1/2 onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin cooked rice

Method
1. Place thawed chicken thigh in bowl. Pour the milk over the chicken and set aside for 20 minutes. Drain milk.
2. Add 1 tablespoon rice wine evenly on the chicken. Season with salt and ground black pepper.
3. Heat oil in large pan. Add onions, broccoli and red bell pepper and stir well over high heat, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Add the chicken, brown chicken on both sides, but not cooked thoroughly at this point.
5. Make sauce by combining gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, garlic, sesame oil, rice wine, and black pepper.
6. Add the sauce to the pan with chicken.
7. Cut the chicken into bite sizes using kitchen scissors, stirring occasionally. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through.
8. Add cooked rice to the pan when you’re almost done with the chicken and stir together, if desired.

And there you have it, irresistible dak galbi to share with family and friends or to eat by yourself. The perfect balance of spice, sweet and everything nice.

I hope that you like that recipe, it is quite nice and you can always adjust the level of spice that you like. It may be a while before I post a blog post up again, but I will try to make time in my week (if not once a week then once a fortnight) So until next time I hope that you stay safe, happy and healthy. And to other people in the same shoes as me I wish you the best of luck!! 

Spicy Chicken Skewers 닭꼬치 Dakkochi

Hi there. I'm back with another blog post because it seems that I just have a lot of time these days. Not much has been happening in my life really, but I do start my job in about 2 weeks so there may be a slow down of posts depending on when I have to work. Or there may be no change. We shall see what happens.

I've decided to come back with a Korean favourite today. You can make it at home or you can buy it from street vendors, it is a popular dish with all ages because it encapsulates the Korean cravings for spicy food. It will be a nice inclusion in your meals as the days are getting colder in the Northern hemisphere and where I am it still doesn't feel like summer yet.

The dish that I am talking about is dakkochi or 닭꼬치 which is spicy chicken skewers. Pieces of chicken are brushed with a slightly sweet red sauce while being grilled over an open flame. The result is a tender, juicy treat bursting with flavor. And is is so simple that you will be able to replicate it at home. You may not be able to exactly replicate the smoky flavour of the skewers found in street vendors at home, but the taste will still be delicious regardless.

And now to get on with the recipe:

Ingredients
500g chicken, preferably from the drumstick
1 tablespoon minced garlic
pepper
salt
3 tablespoon milk
Marinade
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
3 tablespoon water
3 tablespoon chilli flakes (you can adjust this)
2 tablespoon gochujang (you can adjust this)
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon parsley

Method
1. De-bone and remove the skin of the chicken and chop it into bite-size pieces or the size you want for your skewers.
2. Marinade the chicken in the salt, pepper, garlic and milk.
3. To make the spicy marinade mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a bowl.
4. When ready to cook, make the chicken skewers. You can decide how many you want.
5. Preheat an oven to 180 degrees Celsius and then add the skewers.
6. Coat each skewer in the marinade just before you put it in the oven.
7. Continue to brush marinade onto the skewers in 5 minute intervals as they cook in the oven.
8. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cooked whist rotating the skewers.
9. Take it out and garnish if you wish.

And there you have it, simple make at home dakkochi.

This will be it from me today, I hope that you guys will enjoy the recipe. Remember to stay safe, happy and most important of all healthy until I blog again. 

Sweet and Sour Pork 탕수육 Tangsuyuk

So guys, I'm back today to continue my week of posts. Yesterday was a pretty simple dish that would have worked perfect for breakfast this morning. Today I'm going to continue with the Korean food theme and I'm going to teach you guys how to make tangsuyuk (탕수육) which is sweet and sour meat with vegetables.

It is very much the Korean variation of your sweet and sour pork from Chinese restaurants. This dish is more of a crowd-pleaser, consisting of a pile of battered, crispy fried pork or beef strips in a sweet, tart apple & vinegar based sauce.

The dish is also laced with pickled snippets of cucumber, carrot, and sometimes cubed pineapples that offer a variety of color as well as taste. It is usually eaten as an appetizer, ample enough for a quartet of diners to share. When eating, the meat is usually dipped in soy sauce mixed with vinegar and crushed or powder red pepper flakes which will add some spiciness to each bite.

Today I'm going to introduce the pork version of this dish.

Ingredients
12 oz pork
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ onion, sliced
¼ carrot, sliced
¼ cucumber, sliced
1 cup corn starch
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Vegetable oil for deep-frying meat
Salt & pepper
Sauce
1½ cup water
½ tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
5 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp salt

Method
1. Mix 1 cup corn starch and 1 cup water, stir well, and let sit for 1-2 hours.
2. After the corn starch and water are separated, carefully drain water.
3. Heat oil in a large pot to fry. Don't fill more than a half way.
4. Cut pork into thin strips, add 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/16 teaspoon pepper and egg, mix well.
5. Put meat in a corn starch batter, mix well with hands.
6. Once you are done consistently coating the meat with batter, deep-fry it in oil until golden. *The key for crispy meat is to fry twice, so before serving it, fry once again.
7. Add 1 tsp of vegetable oil to a hot pan and sauté vegetables briefly for about 1-2 minutes.
8. Add sauce ingredients, stir to dissolve sugar and bring to a boil.
9. In a separate bowl, mix 2 tbsp of corn starch and 2 tbsp of water to make slush.
10. Then add the slush to the boiling sauce and stir until it gets thick.
Important thing is to put corn starch mixture to the boiling sauce. The slush may not mix well if you put in lukewarm sauce.
11. Continue boiling for 4-5 minutes.
12. Once the sauce is complete, pour it over onto the meat and serve hot.





And there you have it, a simple dish to serve with dinner tonight.

Remember that there will be another post tomorrow, so keep happy, healthy and safe until then.

Clay Pot Bulgogi Ttukbaegi Bulgogi (뚝배기 불고기)

I know that I promised a blog post in time for Mother's Day but I am sorry that I am posting this ON Mother's Day. I have been busy with school and with the approach of exams again.

I will be making a quick post today that is perfect for the approaching cold weather in Sydney. Today I will be introducing you to a dish that I believe should be familiar to you, but with a twist. The dish is clay pot bulgogi 뚝배기 불고기 (ttukbaegi bulgogi). You may remember that I posted a recipe for normal bulgogi, you can find it here.

Clay pot bulgogi is perfect for a quick meal when you don’t have time to prepare too much because you are too cold. You can use leftover bulgogi meat from another time that you have in excess.

Now to the recipe:

Ingredients
2 Cups Marinated Bulgogi (including some juice from the marinated beef)
1 Cup Water
1 Handful Spinach
1 Handful Enokitake Mushrooms
1 Handful Cellophane Noodles (DangMyun)

Method
1. Prepare 2 cups of marinated bulgogi, 1 handful of spinach, 1 handful of enokitake mushrooms, and 1 handful of cellophane noodles.
2. Remove the bottom of the mushrooms.
3. In a pot, add 2 cups of marinated bulgogi and 1 cup of water.
4. Cut 1 handful of cellophane noodles in half with scissors. Before you add the noodles to the stew, boil the noodles in water for about 5 minutes. When the stew starts to boil, add the noodles.
5. Boil the stew on medium until the beef is completely cooked.
6. Once the beef has complete cooked add all other ingredients. Boil for 2 more minutes on high, and then turn off the heat.





And there you have it, a quick and tasty dish that you can have ready in no time as the cold approaches.

I really am sorry that I have not been posting much lately, but school still is the priority. I will try to post again next week. Until then remember to stay warm, healthy and happy!!

Hot & Spicy Chicken Buldak 불닭

Soooo I said that I would post more in the holidays, but I was't really bothered to. But I am posting today. I don't actually have that much time to blog today because i am going out later today, but I do have all morning I can devote to this, but let's hope that this won't take up too much time.

Today I am going to be posting about a meat dish. The dish is Hot & Spicy Chicken (buldak) 불닭. The literal translation of the name is fire chicken, bul means fire and dak means chicken. It is a heavily spiced chicken dish and it is known to be VERY spicy. Keep in mind that this is so spicy that even some Korean can't eat it.

Although this is a very spicy dish, I have come up with a mild version, that is not too spicy. Although if you are scared that it may be too spicy, take care in adding the marinating ingredients and taste it as you go so you only make it as spicy as you wish.

And now to move on to the recipe:

Ingredients
Chicken
6 chicken drum sticks (de-boned) or 2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp traditional corn syrup (substitution honey)
2 tbsp cheong ju (clear rice wine similar to Japanese sake)
1 stalk green onion
Black pepper ground to taste
Olive oil
Roasted sesame seeds (optional)
Marinating Sauce
3 tbsp gochugaru (red chili pepper flakes)
2 jalapenos
½ cup Korean pear (substitution Asian pear)
¼ onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp spicy yellow mustard
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp mul yut (substitution honey)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar

Method
1. Rinse chicken drum sticks in cold water and de-done meat with a sharp knife. Cut into 4 even pieces per leg drum -OR- rinse chicken breasts in cold water and cut into bite-size pieces
2. In a large bowl, mix chicken with soy sauce, sugar, mul yut, cheong ju and ground pepper.
3. Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
4. Puree all marinating sauce ingredients together in a blender. Once completed, leave aside for later use.
5. On a non-stick frying pan or skillet, cook prepared chicken over medium heat until meat is just short of desired completion.
6. Take out chicken only and leave excess ingredients in frying pan or skillet.
7. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix chicken with marinating sauce.
8. In the same frying pan or skillet, add olive oil to taste and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes in medium high heat.
9. Serve hot on plate.


And there you have it. A simple dish to try out when you are feeling peck-ish for spicy food.

That is it from me today, but I will try my best to post tomorrow. I might post up a recipe for what I ate for dinner, I'm going to a Korean restaurant. I hope you guys look forward to it. Until next time remember to stay warm, healthy and happy.