While I was born in South Korea, my family immigrated to Australia when I was just 4 years old, therefore I never really had a chance to spend much time with my extended family – especially my mother’s parents, whom I’ve always loved and yearned for more time with.

We did go back to Korea for a few years, and that gave me a chance to spend a bit more time with my maternal grandmother which helped me to understand more about the role that food played in our culture, as well as where my mother had picked up her flavour instincts from! Sadly, nanna was taken from us unexpectedly while we were living there, so the only way that I can find out more about her now is through the stories and recipes that my mother shares.

This is one of them. My mother says this is utterly unaltered from the way that nanna made this all her life, and so when I make this recipe, I sometimes like to imagine her busy hands in the place of my own, and wonder whether she would approve of the way that her granddaughter was making this dish

I’m posting this recipe in reply to a special request by Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness, who wanted it to introduce her son to Korean food. I hope he and the rest of your family enjoy it

Korean Braised Potatoes

Ingredients
2 large potatoes (or 3 medium)
3-4 cloves garlic
1 – 1 1/2 tsp gochugaru (finely-ground Korean chilli powder)
3 tbsp Korean or Japanese dark soy sauce (not Chinese – it has a completely different flavour)
1 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp malt syrup
1/2 cup water
A pinch of salt
Toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

1. Peel the potatoes, then cut in half lengthways. Take one half of the potato, cut it lengthways again, then turn and cut into fairly evenly-sized pieces (to ensure relatively even cooking). Repeat with the remaining potatoes.

2. Rinse the chopped potato in a bowl of water, then either steam/boil/microwave until the potato is half cooked. This is definitely not a traditional step, but using this shortcut will cut your cooking time in half!

3. Meanwhile, take 3-4 garlic cloves and use your kitchen knife to finely mince them.

4. Once the potatoes are half-cooked, drain them and sit them to cool for about 5 minutes. While they are cooling, mix together the soy sauce, gochugaru (Korean chilli powder), garlic and sugar.

5. Heat a large pot or work with a little olive oil over a very low heat, then slowly sautee the potatoes with a pinch of salt until they can be poked through with a fork without them breaking in half.

6. Once the potatoes have reached this stage, pour over the soy sauce mixture and stir to coat.

7. Add the malt syrup to the water and stir to mix, then add it to the pot and stir well to combine.

8. Put the lid on and allow to slowly cook, making sure to give it a stir occasionally so that the sauce evenly coats the potatoes, and that they do not stick to the pan. You will notice that the longer you braise them, the more the sauce will reduce and the darker it will become.

If the sauce disappears entirely before the potatoes are cooked, add a little more water to the pot and stir it through and keep cooking. You do not want these potatoes to be overcooked – just cooked enough so they hold their shape and are soft to bite all the way through with no crunchiness.

9. DO NOT SERVE THIS DISH HOT! Instead, allow this to cool at least to room temperature (as this is when the flavours will shine most), then plate up and garnish very simply with a pinch of toasted sesame seeds.

[tags]Korean recipes, spicy, savoury, potatoes, vegetarian, side dish[/tags]

Others who have tried this recipe:

• Stephanie @ Dispensing Happiness

Move over, Colonel and KFC. Your days are through.

Why?

Because Korean deep-fried chicken is taking your place!

Whilst not a ‘traditional’ dish (in that the history of the dish comes from the influence of the US in Sth Korea rather than from hundreds of years and generations of perfection), this is still a food that has been around in the country for certainly almost as long as I’ve been alive, and as such, every family has their own unique twist to how they make it.

This is a recipe that my mother somehow put together and has worked on during my lifetime – the flavours in the dish have morphed so slowly that I can’t really remember what it tasted like the first time I made it. However, the current method we use is just so popular with friends and family that I’m fairly sure my mother is happy enough to now leave it be!

But then again, this *is* my mother we’re talking about…

Anyway, on to the recipe!

Our ‘Secret’ Recipe – Korean spicy deep-fried chicken

Chicken Marinade Ingredients
3kg chicken wings
1 cup milk (can substitute with soy milk if lactose intolerant)
2 tsp salt
3 tsp ground pepper
2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
5 cloves garlic
1/2 finely grated brown onion

Chicken Coating Ingredients
3 tbsp Korean curry powder (Ottugi Korean curry powder is the one we use, I’ve tried other curry powders but it just doesn’t taste right)
1/2 cup potato starch
1  1/2 cup tempura flour

Tempura flour is a pre-mixed low-gluten flour that contains some seasonings and leavenings (the brand I use contains baking powder). You should be able to purchase this at any Chinese/Japanese/Korean grocery store. If you can’t find it, then substitute it with 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup corn starch, sifted together twice.

As far as Korean curry powder, I’ve only seen it stocked online or at Korean grocery stores – though your local Asian grocer might have it on the shelves if you’re lucky.

Sweet & Spicy Sauce Ingredients
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/3 cup tomato sauce (Western-style, not the Asian ones which taste completely different)
1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire/Worcester Sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tsp dried chilli flakes

Important Cooking Notes:

The process to make this dish is rather long, but it important that you do not miss any of the steps as this will alter the final outcome. The difference between this dish and Western-style deep fried chicken is that it is twice-fried to give it an exterior that stays crisp and crunchy despite being left overnight in a thick, spicy sauce! Our family also prefers using a dry coating to any sort of batter, as this gives an extremely thin end coating and doesn’t compete with the flavourings of the chicken and the sauce.

Also, in case you are tempted to use larger portions of chicken – don’t. The small and fairly uniform size of chicken wings is what allows for fast and even cooking. There’s no rule that says you can’t use other cuts, but in that case, I take no responsibility for whatever happens to your cooking times and the potentially dry and/or undercooked meat you will have in the end.

The utensils you will need for this dish are:

• deep-fryer (we use a wok which we use just for deep-frying)
• wire cooking net (found in Chinese grocery stores and excellent for deep-frying) or a slotted spoon
• a large, flat, metal strainer (found in Korean grocery stores), or a few large metal colanders lined with kitchen towels
• mixing bowls
• chefs knife, meat cleaver and chopping boards
• a large, clean plastic bag
• garlic press
• grater
• Measuring spoons & cups

1. The first thing that you need to do is prepare the chicken. Of course, if you buy pre-cut and prepared chicken wings then you’re fine, but I prefer to cut and trim them myself…just because

A chicken wing has three sections – the ‘drumette’, the mid-wing and the wing tip. Use your meat cleaver to cut through each joint so that each wing is cut into three pieces.

2. Once your wing has been split into three pieces, cut off any thick chunks of skin from the wingette and mid-wing (there is usually 2-3 bits that can come off, you want the remaning skin to be just paper thin segments). Discard the removed skin and wing tips as they will not be used.

3. Cut three slits into each side of the drumette and mid-wing section – this will allow the pre-frying marinade to get right into the meat to keep it moist and impart a little flavour. Once you’ve prepared all the chicken wings, set aside for now.

4. Mix up the marinade in a large bowl – milk, salt, pepper, sugar, ginger, garlic and onion. Stir to combine.

5. Add the chicken and turn a few times with your hands to ensure that the chicken is evenly covered. Allow to sit for 1 hour, then drain well for at least 15 minutes.

6. Toss together the potato starch, Korean curry powder and the tempura powder in the clean plastic bag, then add the chicken and toss it around to ensure it is evenly coated.

Preheat the oil to approx 160 degrees C. Dust off any excess flour from each chicken piece, then add a few pieces to the hot oil (being careful not to overcrowd as this will make the temperature of the oil drop and affect the cooking process). Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side to ensure even cooking.

7. Once the chicken has been deep-fried for about 10 minutes and is very lightly golden, use the slotted spoon to remove from the oil and place in your metal strainer/colander to cool. Try and keep the chicken pieces in a single layer – this avoids oil dripping from piece to piece during the cooling process, and also allows steam to escape so that the chicken coating stays crisp. Allow the chicken to sit and drain for about 10 minutes.

8. Increase the temperature of the oil to 180 degrees C, and fry the chicken for a second time for another 8-10 minutes, or until each piece is golden brown in colour (the picture below and to the right shows the colour difference between the first fry and second fry).

Once all the chicken pieces have been deep-fried for a second time, set aside on your metal strainer/colander.

9. While the chicken is resting, finely dice 1 1/2 onions and saute in a a frying pan with a little olive oil.

10. Once the onion is soft, add the ketchup (tomato sauce), sweet chilli sauce, water, Worcestershire/Worcester Sauce and chilli flakes. NOTE – add chilli flakes according to taste. If you’re a wuss when it comes to things hot & spicy, then you should reduce the amount to 1 tsp. If you love your chilli, you could even bump this up to 3 tsp (no more though, as this is a very strong sauce as it is). Allow the sauce to simmer until slightly thickened.

11. Once the sauce is ready, add a few chicken pieces at a time to the sauce and give them just a very thin coating of sauce – if there is too much, then it will overpower all the other flavours in the dish.

Plate up and enjoy with rice, banchan, and lots of pickles (which will be a post all of their own!)

As far as garnishes are concerned, you should stick with finely sliced spring onion or toasted sesame seeds…but it’s really not necessary, as once people catch a whiff of the amazing smell of this dish, I doubt you’ll have time to garnish before they start digging in!

As for those leftover wing tips? Well, why not give them to your friendly neighbourhood dog? I know Mr Woofy certainly wouldn’t say more to a few more such morsels

[tags]chicken wings, spicy, deep fried, Korean recipe, brothers, golden retrievers[/tags]

HAH! I am the funniest ever.

*hears the bells of corny-ness pealing in the distance*

Okay, I’ll shaddup now. Well, with the bad lyrics anyway.

The blood orange curd is still sitting in my fridge, and the butter has been put back in the fridge. I’ll do it tomorrow, I promise. And whilst you ‘tsk tsk’ away, let me show you what’s been occupying my little hands in the stead of making pastry -

Home-made ‘chapsal dduk’ with sweet red bean paste

Mom had been speaking to her friend during the week, and her friend had shared her excitement about discovering the ‘idiot-proof’ method of making Korean-style daifuku! Idiot proof? Hrmph, we’ll see!

So, we mixed and whisked and filled and patted and…

Guess what? They really are utterly foolproof!

Ingredients for Chapsal Dduk (Korean daifuku/mochi)
2 cups glutinous rice powder (sticky rice powder)
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 pinch of salt
potato starch

1. Whisk together the sticky rice powder, water, salt and caster sugar in a large, microwave-proof glass bowl. Make sure that there are no lumps at all, it needs to be completely mixed together and smooth.

2. Once it’s all mixed up, microwave it for 1-2 minutes on your microwaves ‘high’ power setting, then remove it, give it a thorough stir and mix it all up, then microwave for another 3-4 minutes, or till it has tripled in size.

3. Remove it from the microwave, and give it a good stir before emptying it onto your starch-covered tray. Cover the surface of the mochi with potato starch, then push it to the corner and pull off a small handful.

4. Using your fingers, press it into a circle with a hollow in the middle, then place a heaped tbsp of filling (in this case, we were using sweetened red beans) in the hollow, and then pinch closed the edges around it.

5. Lightly dust any sticky bits of the surface with corn starch, then quickly wrap in clingfilm as exposure to air will dry them out and make them form a rough skin.

You have to work quickly with these as you need to get them wrapped in clingfilm as quickly as possible, but it makes for some misshaps and some laughter, especially if you’re making these with someone else.

Filling - you can use almost anything, from tinned sweetened red beans, chestnut paste (not puree), sweet potato mash – or even peanut butter and nutella! They store wonderfully in the freezer, and you just need to remove them and leave them to thaw for 1-2 hours (depending on their size) before serving!

In the style of Japanese ichigo daifuku, the addition of a whole, fresh strawberry to the middle makes for a lovely & fresh summertime treat!

Proof – peanut butter and nutella mochi!

[tags]mochi, daifuku, red bean, Asian sweets, sticky rice, chapsal, Korean cooking[/tags]

These two are adaptations are variants on Japanese dishes – soybean and wakame salads, but with slight twists to make them slightly more Korean (though I have to admit that the wakame dish is a well-loved Korean standard, that sort of dish transfer tends to happen when one country occupies another.

Edamame Salad
(Adapted from What Did You Eat)

Ingredients
1 cup fresh/frozen shelled edamame (soy beans)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1-2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1-2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup flaked almonds (toasted or untoasted is up to you)
1-2 spring onions, thinly sliced on a bias
1 tsp gochugaru (substitute with chilli flakes if necessary)

1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and season with a generous pinch of salt, then add the edamame and boil for 3-5 minutes, or till tender. Rinse in cold water, then drain well. At this point you may want to remove the outer skin – I did as I had frozen beans and I find the skins on frozen beans to be icky but if you had fresh beans then it should be fine.

2. Tip the beans into a small bowl, then add the salt, sugar, sesame seeds and vinegar and toss to combine. Give this a taste, then give it a taste. The flavour you want to achieve here is a good balance between sweet and sour, with a certain depth and nuttiness added by the sesame. Add the gochugaru/chilli flakes and half the sesame oil, toss and taste again, and if it’s OK now, add in the spring onion and flaked almonds and toss once more to combine before serving.

3. Serve immediately, but it can also be stored in the fridge for up to a week – though the almonds can get a little soft in the moisture.

Wakame and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients
20g dried wakame leaves (get a good quality Japanese product as the Korean brands tend to have the thick, stringy stems attached)
1 small Lebanese (or similar sweet, thin-skinned cucumber)
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp gochugaru (can be substituted with chilli flakes)
1-2 tbsp brown sugar

1. Soak the wakame in 2-3 cups of cold water (this will expand a LOT in size!) and leave to sit for about 15-20 minutes.

2. Once the wakame is fully rehydrated and soft to the touch, drain and carefully squeeze out any excess water – you don’t want to mush the wakame, but any water will dilute the flavour and make the whole dish…watery. Funny that, ey?

3. Set aside the drained wakame, then cut the cucumber lengthwise in half and again across the width so you have four fingers, then use a teaspoon to carefully scoop out just the seeds (they too will dilute the flavour and make this dish watery). Slice each cucumber length into thin strips (as in the photo), then add to the wakame.

4. Place the wakame and cucumber in a bowl, then add the flavourings and toss well to evenly combine. Give it a taste and adjust as necessary (you want to achieve an equal balance between sweet, vinegary and spicy), then serve immediately. This can also be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

There you have it – two quick and easy banchan to add flavour to your meals!

[tags]recipes, Asian, Korean, Japanese, side dishes, vegetarian[/tags]

• The Food in my Beard

Not only did I pass my 2 year milestone last month, but was stunned to discover when I made my last post that my next would be my 300th! Yeouch! That is a LOT of writing, photos and recipes – who would’ve thunk that a website that essentially started out as a project for a uni (college) media class would end up becoming such a big part of my life! Reflecting about the content that I have put on here, I’ve been a bit disappointed in myself to discover that the number of Korean family recipes that I’ve shared is still very much in the minority, despite releasing a facebook application (Kimchi Restaurant…new recipes coming soon) and making promises to share more of my mother’s very treasured family recipes. Okay, so part of the reason that the Korean recipes have been a bit sparse is that I am working on a little something to do with them, but considering the fact that we eat a Korean meal almost every day, there’s still a lot of recipes that could be shared!

In celebration of the fact that this is indeed my 300th blog post, I’ve decided to blog about my favourite food in the whole world – kimchi! While I’ve already put up our treasured (and, till it was blogged, quite guarded) family kimchi recipe, I often get emails from browsers and readers asking what they can do with the kimchi once it’s been made! In my opinion, kimchi is fabulous and can be eaten on the side to almost any dish, but you can also utilize it’s wonderfully pungent flavour to create a number of other dishes – three of which I’ll be sharing with you today!

• Kimchi Jeon – Similar to the haemul pajeon, this is a ‘jeon’ (battered dish/pancake) made with kimchi as the main component. This dish needs no dipping sauce as the kimchi contained in the batter provides more than enough flavour!
• Kimchi Bokeum Bap – Kimchi fried rice. Fast, easy and delicious – ’nuff said.
• Kimchi Jjigae – Kimchi stew which will knock your socks off with it’s concentrated flavour. All you need is a bowl of rice and you’re good to go!

Also, a final note – while I appreciate that the food blogging world is all about the sharing of recipes, the Korean recipes that I post are part of my family history and heritage, they’ve been developed by generations of women through my mother’s side of the family and the flavours, techniques and ingredients reflect that. If you do want to repost any of the recipes or an adaptation, all I ask is that you credit and make sure to link back to my site. Not to much to ask, right?

Kimchi Jeon
(Kimchi pancake)

Ingredients
1 cup kimchi, liquid squeezed out and diced
1/2 white onion, finely sliced
100g pork mince
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tbsp gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 – 2/3 cup water
Sunflower, olive or any other mild-flavoured oil for frying

1. Put the mince into a bowl, season with freshly ground black pepper and garlic and massage in. Add the kimchi, gochujjang and onion and mix together till evenly combined.

2. Add the flour and egg and mix altogether, then slowly add the water, stirring briskly after each addition. Stop once the batter has thinned a bit but isn’t quite as thin as normal pancake batter.

3. Heat up some oil in a large skillet/frying pan over low-medium heat, and once it’s nice and hot, pour a ladle of batter into the pan in the shape of a circle, using the back of the ladle to spread out the mixture and thin out the pancake (you want a nice thin pancake to get a good ratio of crispy outer to soft inner).

4. Once the edges have become set and the bottom is nice and crispy, carefully flip the pancake and fry for another 2-3 minutes or till it has also crisped up nicely.

5. Place on a bamboo tray lined with paper towels to drain (or just a plate lined with paper towels), slice into squares before serving.

TIPS FOR THIS DISH:

‘Jeon’ is traditionally drained on trays made from thin strands of bamboo woven together – the reason for this is that this allows the steam from the hot batter to get away and not make the fritters/pancakes soggy.

While the amount of gochujjang you use does depend on taste, it is what gives this dish it’s beautiful colour, without it the pancakes will be an awful pale pinky white, and not how you’d ever find it served by any self-respecting Korean cook.

Kimchi Bokeum Bap
(Kimchi fried rice)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups day old dry cooked rice (ideally a medium grain like calrose – we eat brown calrose at home as it’s the closest to Korean rice we have found in Australia)
100g protein (usual/popular choices are crumbled firm tofu, mince or pork belly)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp toasted/dark sesame oil
150g kimchi, liquid drained and reserved and diced
1 spring onion, finely sliced
2 eggs

*Optional: Any variety of diced/sliced veg that you want. None but blanched spinach or any other ‘namul’ would be traditional, but is perfectly acceptable. These should be added at stage 2 after the kimchi.

1. Season your protein with the garlic, pepper and sesame oil and massage in. Heat some oil in a skillet/frying pan over a medium-high flame and when it’s nice and hot, add the protein and fry till cooked.

2. Add the kimchi and continue to saute till it softens, then add the rice and mix quickly with a very light touch (you don’t want to mush the rice grains). Pour the reserved liquid from the drained kimchi into the frying pan and quickly mix in.

3. Turn off the heat and with a very light hand, quickly stir through the sliced spring onion. Divide the mixture onto two plates, fry the eggs and top each serve with a fried egg.

4. Enjoy whilst piping hot, breaking the yolk and mixing it through the cooked rice

TIPS FOR THIS DISH

You cannot make this with fresh rice, this dish (like bibimbap) is one that Korean mothers use to make the most of rice leftover from the previous night’s meal. Ideally, you want to make your rice, allow it to cool then leave it out overnight (covered with cling film). By the next evening it should be nice and dry/firm enough to withstand this cooking process without going mushy.

Kimchi Jjigae
(Kimchi Stew)

Ingredients
100g pork rump, diced (can be substituted with tofu or beef)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp dark/toasted sesame oil
Freshly ground black pepper
350g kimchi, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups water
1/2 tsp gochugaru (Korean chilli powder – PLEASE do not think you can substitute this with cayenne or any other chilli powder)
1 tsp gochujjang (Korean chilli paste)
1 spring onion, rinsed and finely sliced

1. Massage the garlic, black pepper and sesame oil into the pork and set aside. Heat a little sesame oil in a stoneware/earthenware/regular metal pot and once it’s hot, add the pork, gochugaru and gochujjang and fry till cooked.

2. Add the kimchi to the pot and saute with the pork till it has cooked and softened. Add the water and carefully stir through, then lower the heat and allow to simmer for 30-45mins.

3. Once cooked, turn off the flame, garnish with sliced spring onion and serve with bowls of rice.

TIPS FOR THIS DISH

While using a stone pot is the traditional method for this dish, there’s no problem with just using a regular pot to make it. Just bear in mind that you’ll need to be careful that the kimchi does not stick to the bottom and give it the occasional stir.

Also, this is a very strongly-flavoured dish and consequently, not meant to be served in individual portions (as they’d be quite small and cool down too quickly). It is generally eaten communally, with 2-3 people spooning from a serve. This is incidentally why many Koreans don’t eat their rice with spoons when there is a jjigae (stew) on the table, medium grain rice has the ability to stick together and therefore they’ll eat it with their chopsticks and use the spoon for the stew. No, we’re not a culture that’s particular scared of cooties!

[tags]kimchi, recipes, Korean, food, culture, heritage, family[/tags]