[Food]

[Food] Full Recipe of Budaejjigae (부대찌개, Korean Army Stew)

Story of Budaejjigae - http://www.peacebreeze.net/2018/09/food-budae-jjigae-general-infantry-stew.html

Today I'm introducing a recipe of Budaejjigae (부대찌개, Korean Army Stew) for you :) It's straightforward, step by step so it won't be hard to follow :) Let's start.

Ingredients: 

Zucchini, sliced bacon, sausage, baked beans, some kimchi, salt (I've used salted shrimp instead for more flavor), ham (can of spam is the best), minced pork, tofu and onion

Stock: Dried anchovy and kelp

Seasoning: Soy sauce, sesame oil, red chili powder, honey, pepper, salt, minced garlic, soju (Korean rice wine), minced ginger or ginger powder and scallion.

1. Prepare all ingredients

2. Parboil ham and bacon to remove chemicals in it for 5~10 minutes :) If they are handmade, it's not necessary.

3. Meanwhile, boil stock for budaejjigae with dried anchovy and kelp :) for 10 minutes.

4. Marinate minced pork with ginger powder, soju, pepper, little salt (I've used mixed herb too for more flavor) in a freezer.

5. Chop all the ingredients :) as small as you want

6. Roast parboiled bacon on a pan with some oil (bean, corn or canola oil) to increase its flavor and scent :)

7. Make spicy seasoning for the stew :)

8. Put all the ingredients into a big pot, and pour the stock :)

9. Please boil it on medium-high heat once, then you can season it with salt to suit its flavor :)

Bon Appétit!

[Food]

[Food] Dwejibaechudoenjangjjigae Recipe (돼지배추된장찌개, Korean-style bean paste stew with pork and Chinese cabbage)

Today's Korean dish is Dwejibaechudoenjangjjigae (돼지배추된장찌개, Korean-style bean paste stew with pork and Chinese cabbage). It's not a hard dish to cook and is great Korean gourmet cuisine:) Just follow my photos and you can make it, too :) Let's begin.

Ingredients: Pork (Neck is the best but you can use foreleg or hind leg instead), doenjang (Korean bean paste), Chinese cabbage, scallion, minced garlic, soju (Korean rice wine), sesame oil, salt, pepper, perilla powder (optional), green spicy chili (optional -adds spice) and water

1. Wash and chop Chinese cabbage and scallion :)

2. Marinate pork with soju, salt and pepper to remove the unpleasant fat odor of pork :) It also softens the pork.

3. When the pork is ready, stir-fry it with sesame oil :). When half-cooked, pour chopped Chinese cabbage and stir-fry with the pork till it is 100% cooked.

4. Pour water until the pork and Chinese cabbage is submerged. Then put doenjang (Korean bean paste) into them :) Don't forget to break doenjang down, so it can be dissolved.

5. Heat it over high-heat, put minced garlic, scallion, perilla powder and green spicy chili when it boils:)

6. Heat it over medium-heat, and boil it once again. Then it is finished :)

Bon Appétit!

[Food]

[Food] Kimchijjim (김치찜, Steamed Kimchi and Pork)

As you may already know, Kimchi is, for most, the soul food of Korea. Today, I cooked Kimchijjim (김치찜, Steamed Kimchi and Pork) at home for dinner. I used fully fermented kimchi and pork (front leg). 

Prepare ingredients :) Pork (Pork belly is the best for this dish but I used front leg because it's cheaper and more cost-effective), fermented kimchi, onion, spicy chili, dried kelp and anchovy, minced ginger and garlic, salt, pepper, soju (Korean distilled liquor, though you may use any white wine)

Grab dried kelp and anchovy, boil them in a pot to make stock :)

Chop other ingredients while the stock is being boiled.

Chop kimchi, onion, spring onion and spicy chili

Fully fermented kimchi smells sour, sea-like and milky

Marinate pork with salt, pepper, minced ginger and soju. They will help make the pork tender.

Put pork, kimchi and the stock into a big pot and boil for 20 mins :)

Then put chopped onion and minced garlic, and boil it at once. Add chopped spring onion and spicy chili, and boil it again to finish :)

Then put chopped onion and minced garlic, and boil it at once. Add chopped spring onion and spicy chili, and boil it again to finish :)

 

Bon Appétit!

[Food]

[Food] Soondubu-Jjigae (순두부찌개, Soft Beancurd Stew)

Soondubu-Jjigae (순두부찌개, Soft Beancurd Stew)

When you go to any Asian restaurant and Asian market to look for beancurd you might see somewhat like the following :)

Typical beancurd one would think of when hearing the word 'beancurd' or 'tofu'. It often looks like a white cube of soap

How many of you know of other types of beancurd? It's not a surprise that there are more types of beancurd as there are a lot of types of cheese or chocolate. Beancurd is called 'Dubu' in Korean, and there are 2 more types called 'Soondubu (Soft beancurd)' and 'Yeondubu (Silken beancurd)'. They are made in the same way as common beancurd, but the difference lies in its firmness and coagulation.

Dubu is the hardest, soondubu is softer and yeondubu is the softest as its English name 'Silken' attests :)

Freshly-made Soondubu (Soft beancurd)

Yeondubu (Silken beancurd)

Soondubu is usually used for stew (which is the topic of this article) and ice cream (a famous dessert in Gangneung province, Korea) or eaten alone with soy sauce. Yeondubu is eaten with soy sauce or used in salads and deep-fry (a typical Japanese food is deep-fried yeondubu, called 'Karaage Tofu')

Soondubu ice cream (Soft beancurd ice cream) in Gangneung

Yeondubu (Silken beancurd) with soy sauce

Yeondubu (Silken beancurd) salad

Today, I want to introduce you to Soondubu-Jjigae (순두부찌개, Soft Beancurd Stew) one of the typical dishes in Korea which is lesser well-known to non-Koreans. Koreans who love hot, spicy and savory (or salty) food with hot soup invented hot and spicy stew with soondubu. Fresh prawns, shells, red chili and minced pork with hot and spicy soup is more than enough to quench a Korean's appetite and let them sit in front of the dinner table with a bowl of rice and kimchi

Freshly-made soondubu (Soft beancurd)

Spicy soondubu-jjigae with pork

Koreans usually prefer soondubu-jjigae with seafood in it including shells, shirimps and squid because seafood gives a refreshing and deep flavor. To cook soondubu-jjigae, we need to make a spicy chili sauce in ttukbaegi (뚝배기, Korean earthen pot) with oil, red chili powder, chopped spring onion and minced pork, soy sauce and salt :) Then pour seafood stock into the sauce with the seafood and boil it until it is completely cooked. Garnish it with minced garlic and black pepper powder :)

It sounds very simple but the spicy chili sauce and seafood stock is the key to a delicious soondubu-jjigae :) Every Korean restaurant has its own secret soondubu-jjigae recipe.

Soondubu-jjigae doesn't always need to be spicy :) there is non-spicy soondubu-jjigae too

Soondubu-jjigae is always a typical lunch or supper dish though it's usually more popular in winter when good-quality seafood is in the market and people want a hot and warm stew. I'd also rather eat soondubu-jjigae in autumn or winter, because I don't want to sweat like a pig whilst eating soondubu-jjigae in the hot summer.

Soondubu-jjigae with doenjang (Korean bean paste) stew

The funny thing is that it's very hot summer in Korea but I cooked soondubu-jjigae yesterday because I missed this spicy and hot stew with soondubu (LOL). I don't sweat thanks to an excellent air conditioner :)

Bon Appétit!