Black Sesame and Rice Porridge 흑임자죽 Heugimjajuk

Hey guys, so I am already up to day three of my week long blog post challenge. I hope that you have all enjoyed the recipe so far and the Olympics as well. ^^

Today I'm going to introduce you to a traditional Korean dessert called heugimjajuk 흑임자죽. It is made from black sesame and rice, and sweet in taste. According to Oriental medicine, heugimja (black sesame) promotes health, makes hair healthy, and keeps weight off. Perfect for summer when we want to go to the beach and show off a bit.

It is also great for winter because it can help you get better, especially since it has gotten colder where I am. It is a simple dessert to make, and you can impress your guests by whipping this out because we are all so used to the sachet;s of black sesame porridge.

Ingredients
180g non-glutinous rice and 1 cup water
95g black sesame seeds and 2 cups water
900ml water
6g salt

Method
1. Wash the rice and soak in water for 2 hours, drain water on a strainer for 10min
2. Wash the black sesame and drain water on a strainer for 10 min
3. Preheat the frying pan and stir-fry sesame seeds for 40 min. on low heat, make sure to not burn the sesame. (This step helps to make the sesame fragrant)
4. Grind sesame seeds with water in a mixer for 3 min. sieve finely
5. Put the rice and water in the mixer, grind it for 2 min. and sieve
6. Put the ground rice and water in the pot, boil it on high heat for 5 min. Stir to make sure it does not clump
7. When it boils, reduce the heat to medium, cover the lid on to be steamed. Boil it for 20 min. with stirring occasionally, add ground black sesame, boil it for 5 min. more.
8. When the porridge is well-done, season with salt. Bring it to a boil once more.



And there you have it, a quick and simple dish to try summer or winter.

That conclude day three of posting, but don't forget that I will be back tomorrow. Stay healthy, happy and safe until then. And keep watching the Olympics.

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.

Egg Bbang 계란 빵 GyeRan Bbang

Hey guys, so I am finally back after a really long break due to exams. I still haven't actually finished my exams yet, but I do have a week break in between the last two exams so I figured that I would take the time to kinda update this blog.

I'm going to try and do the same as what I did last time, where I updated every day with a new recipe. I really want to do the same this time because it pushes me to find new recipes and test them out as well.

Today I'm going to ease my way into blogging again my introducing you to something easy and simple, it still is Korean because I'm still in love with Korean food.Today I will introduce you to a simple snack called Egg Bread (계란 빵)It is practically an egg that has been set into a savoury muffin.

Egg Bbang is a much loved favourite with children and adults alike because it is so simple and yummy. anyways, to the recipe....

Ingredients
¾ Cup Flour
8 Small Eggs
2 Large Eggs (For the Batter)
½ Cup Melted Salted Butter
⅓ Cup Sugar
¼ Cup Milk
¾ tsp Baking Powder
Some Salt for Eggs
Some Melted Butter for Brushing

Method
1. Whisk 2 eggs in a mixing bowl until they are well mixed. Add the sugar and stir it until the sugar dissolves.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into the egg mixture.
3. Add the melted salted butter and milk. Mix it well. The consistency will be like crêpe batter.
4. Put the batter in a zipper bag.
5. Use a large cup cake or muffin pan, either with oval shapes or round shapes. Brush the inside of the cup cake pan surface with melted butter evenly.
6. Put about one or two Tbsp of batter to the bottom of each pan by squeezing the bag. Make sure that the batter completely covers about ¼ inch of the bottom surface.
7. Smooth the batter surface with a spoon.
8. Break and place one egg on top of each muffin.
9. Sprinkle one generous pinch of salt onto each egg.
10. Cover the egg with rest of the batter. Leave little bit of space for the muffins to rise on the top.
11. Preheat the oven to 180C. Bake the egg bread for about 25 minutes.
12. Turn off the oven and leave the bread in the oven for 5 more minutes to finish cooking the eggs.
13. Poke the center of the bread with a tooth pick, all the way through, to check if the egg is done cooking. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done.
NOTE: You can also add other ingredients such as bacon and herbs on top of the egg to give it more of a meal taste. This would world perfectly as a breakfast food.





And there you have it, a super simple snack to make over the weekend when you are having a break from watching the Olympics ^^

And remember I will posting all week long. Remember to stay warm, healthy and happy until next time.

Hobaktteok (호박떡)

I'm kinda in a crappy mood at the moment, and the only thing that I think can calm me down slightly is if I write up a blog post. Since I can't access my other bog for some reason, I will just post up a food blog.

The past couple of days have been cold in the morning but warmish in the afternoon so I thought that I would introduce you to a dessert that is perfect for weather like this. Hobaktteok (호박떡) is just pumpkin rice cake. This is a perfect way to enjoy the winter warmer like a dessert.

It is a pretty dessert so I guess that you can use it for special occasions by decorating it up once you have finished making it.

There isn't much to say about it so I guess that I will just move on to the recipe:

Ingredients
500 g short-grain rice powder
½ tablespoons) salt
100 g sugar
250 g sweet pumpkin (or normal pumpkin and sugar, about 50g sugar)
8 g (2 ea) jujube
8 g (16 ea) pumpkin seeds

Method
1. Scrape out the inside of the pumpkin.
2. Sprinkle salt on the rice powder and sieve.
3. Wipe the jujube with damp cotton cloths. Cut the flesh around seed and cut into flower shape. Wipe the pumpkin seeds with dry cotton cloths.
4. Boil water for steaming. Put the pumpkin, steam it for 15 minutes.
5. Scrape the flesh from the pumpkin.
6. Add pumpkin flesh and sugar into the rice powder. Mix thoroughly by rubbing, then sieve.
7. Boil water for steaming. When it boils, layer damp cotton (cheese) cloths on the bottom of the pot.
8. Put the put the mixture of rice and pumpkin into the mold, smooth the surface.
9. Make a slight criss crossing patterns with knife. Garnish with jujube and pumpkin seeds.
10. Steam for about 15 minutes.





And there you have it, quite a simple traditional Korean dessert that you can eat in Winter to warm you up.

Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

Hey guys, so today is the first day of my two week break. There is so much that I need to get done in this time, but I haven't forgotten you. I will try to keep on posting, but it might get a bit hard. At least I have posted once in the break ^^

Today I have decided to go with something different from usual. I am going to post about a dish that is NOT Korean. I feel that I should try to expand a bit more and also be posting about other dishes.

Today it is going to be a dessert. Bittersweet chocolate tart. This is a detectable tart that you will love to have as a dessert on a winter's night. It is the perfect way to cap off a week, so do try it some time soon.

Ingredients
250g plain flour
75g unsalted butter, cubed
pinch of salt
90g of sifted icing sugar
4 tbsp full cream milk, and 55ml extra
2 egg yolks
1 cup thickened cream
200g dark bittersweet chocolate crushed
1 extra large egg, beaten
cocoa powder (garnish)

Method
Pastry
1. Place flour, butter, salt and icing sugar in a food processor and process for 20 seconds.
2. Add 55ml milk and egg yolks and process for 30 second
3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured bench and form a ball
4. Wrap in plastic and place in fridge for an hour

1. Preheat oven to 180 Celsius and butter a 28cm tart tin
2. Roll out pastry until 2cm wider than tart tin
3. Gently ease pastry into tin and then rest it in the fridge for 30 min
4. Line tart tin with foil and add rice and blind bake for 20 min.
5. Remove rice and foil and brush with the egg wash and cook for 10 min
6. remove from oven and increase oven temperature to 200 Celsius
7. Make the filling; place cream and remaining milk in a saucepan and bring to boil
8. Remove from heat and add chocolate, stirring until it is smooth
9. Strain the egg into the mixture and stir until absorbed
10. Pour warm mixture into tart shell and smooth off
11. Turn off oven, and bale for 20 min or until set
12. Allow tart to cool, then sprinkle cocoa powder and leave it out until ready to eat (DO NOT REFRIGERATE)





And that is it from me. You now have a wonderful recipe for silky smooth chocolate tart that is perfect all year around.

I will try to post more, but if I can't I really am sorry. Until the next time I post remember to take care, keep healthy and happy!!

Bibim Guksu 비빔국수

Hey guys, so it has been a while since I have last posted hasn't it? Well the school term is almost over so there have been exams so I have been busy studying and haven't really had the opportunity to blog. But I do have some time today so I will be blogging again, finally.

Today I will be introducing you to the Korean dish "Bibim Guksu". Sounds sort of familiar right? Remember bibimbap? Kong Guksu? Well this dish is like a combination of the two. It is just mixed cold noodles really...simple and delicious. Perfect for a hot summers day when you don't want to do to much.

Bibim guksu is made with very thin wheat flour noodles called somyeon with added flavorings and is one of the most popular traditional noodle dishes in Korean cuisine. It is also called guksu bibim or goldong myeon, all of which literally mean "stirred noodles" or "mixed noodles". The dish is especially popular during summer, perfect for those of you in the Northern hemisphere now.

There are many kinds of cold noodle dishes in Korea however, spicy cold noodles have historically been appreciated by spice-loving people in Korea and recognized internationally. This dish is distinct from other cold noodle dishes from different cultures due to its strong spicy flavor produced from the combination of red pepper powder, gochujang, and minced garlic, along with a sweet-and-sour flavor created by vinegar and sugar. Most spicy cold noodles are prepared with a slight touch of sesame oil to enhance the richness of its flavor.

Typically the dish would be prepared by stir frying diced beef, julienned pickled cucumbers, and mushrooms in sesame oil, which is all mixed together with the cooked noodles, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds and sugar. Garnishes placed on top and around the spicy noodles include hard-boiled eggs, pickled mu (radish), dried gim strips (laver), sliced cucumbers, and sometimes sliced Korean pear or tomato.

Now, that is enough background, it is about time that I shared the recipe for it....

Ingredients
200g somyeon noodles or soba noodles
1 tablespoon gochujang (adjust to taste)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon corn syrup (use honey or more sugar if unavailable)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons rice or apple vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Optional
Hard boil egg
Julienned cucumber
Julienned carrot
Julienned red cabbage
Julienned lettuce

Method
1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.
2. Add the sauce ingredients and mix well.
3. Add the noodles to the pot of boiling water. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions (3 - 4 minutes). Drain quickly and shock in cold water to stop cooking. Drain and rinse in cold water again. Repeat until the noodles become cold. Drain well.
4. Combine the noodles with the sauce, and toss everything until the noodles are evenly coated with the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning to taste, if necessary. Garnish with your choice of the optional vegetables and serve cold.
NOTE: You can also try adding a bit of crushed ice to the noodles as you mix the sauce, this will make the dish extra refreshing and fun as as you also bite into ice.




And there you have it, a simple dish to serve up during the summer heat to keep you cool and refreshed.

This is it from me today, I will try and post more in the upcoming weeks, but I will have exams in about a month so I may not be able to post a frequently. I will try my best to keep on posting even though there will be major events going on such as uni entrance exams, but if I am missing it just means I am studying and I will be back sooner or later.

So until next time, remember to stay healthy, happy and warm if you are in the southern hemisphere and cool if you are in the northern hemisphere.