Spanish Tortilla

I think this is my favorite dish that I served at our goodbye dinner last weekend: the Spanish Tortilla. I've always wanted to make this dish well...I would hear stories from friends about their visits to Spain, and how there was always a Spanish Tortilla sitting on the bar, ready to be sliced and eaten with a cold beer. It was described to me as similar to 'very firm potato/onion pudding', but my attempts to make this before always ended up tasting like a fritatta. Finally, I found a great recipe on how to make an authentic Spanish tortilla. It was posted on the internet by Sarah Jay, who's husband is Spanish. It's delicious, and waaaay better than a fritatta. This would be great served over a nice spring mix salad with a tangy dressing.

Spanish Tortilla (or Tortilla de Patatas)
Sarah Jay has a lot of little tips on how to prepare the tortilla, and I followed all of them. I think the most important tip is to use a crapload of olive oil. Believe me, it seems like a lot at first, but it really makes all the flavors blend together, almost like a pudding.
Sarah doesn't give ingredient amounts in her recipe, so I sort of make them up. Next time, I would use more potatoes (like 10)..I used:
6 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced very thinly (like 1/8 inch thick, thicker slices will make a drier tortilla)
3/4 cup of olive oil (eye-ball this)
1 large onion, diced (if you are using 10 potatoes, use 2 onions)
5 eggs, beaten with a little bit of milk and some chopped chives and fresh parsley
Salt/pepper to taste
1 tsp of paprika or smoked paprika

Slice the potatoes and place them in a bowl of cold water for about 15 minutes. Heat about 1/2 cup of the olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Place drain the potatoes and place on potato slice in the oil in the frying pan. When the potato slice begins to sizzle, add some more potatoes, generously salt and pepper them, and fry until they are just cooked through. Remove these potatoes and set them on some paper towel to drain. Fry the rest of the potatoes in small batches. Set aside the cooked potatoes to cool.

Keep the oil heated and fry the onions (with the paprika) the same way, until they are just caramelized. Drain the onions on the same paper towels as the potatoes. Allow to cool slightly.

In a bowl, beat the 5 eggs with a little milk, chopped chives and fresh parsley. Add some pepper (not salt...it can make the egg too firm...always add salt after the egg begins to cook.) Add the cooled potatoes and onions. Mix together:


All the potatoes and onions to sit in the egg mixture for about 15 minutes, so that the potatoes can soak up some of the egg. Heat up your frying pan again on medium heat, and add the other 1/4 cup of olive oil to the remaining oil in the pan (there shouldn't be much oil left in your pan.) Pour the egg/potato mixture into the hot oil and fry for about 1 minute. Then lower your heat to low, cover and allow the mixture to cook and firm up. You want to start out with a higher heat so it doesn't stick, but then lower it so that it doesn't burn and the inside can cook.



When everything looks firm, go underneath everything with a spatula (taking care not to break up the tortilla) to make sure it's not sticking at all in the pan. Then place a large, flat plate over the frying pan and flip the whole thing onto the plate. Then, carefully, slide the other side of the tortilla back into the frying pan, so it can cook a little longer. After about 2 or so minutes, it should be cooked through (you don't want to overcook it.) Use the plate method to remove the tortilla whole from the plan. When it cools slightly, you can use a sharp knife to cut it into slices and serve it with some good roasted red peppers (or that Bravas sauce!) It should be served at room temperature for the best flavor.

Chicken Empanadas

There is an empanada stand at the Farmer's Market in Missoula that serves yummy chicken empanadas, but sells them for $5 a piece. That is a little too expensive for my blood. So, when snoops and I were living in Missoula last year, I decided to make my own. I think I came up with a good recipe for the filling, and after doing some research on the internet for a pastry recipe, I realized I could just adapt the one I was using (by adding egg and vinegar.) You can bake the empanadas (by brushing some egg on top of the pastry) or fry them. I think frying them is better! The empanadas above look a little messy...we were rushing because we were running late for our dinner party! They can look much nicer if you have the time to form them properly, and you can even stamp a little 'p' in the top of them, like they do at the stand in Missoula. Very cute...and delicious!

Chicken Empanadas
Filling:
-2 chicken breasts or about 8 chicken thighs, chopped into small cubes (brown meat is better in these types of dishes, because it doesn't dry out)
-1 medium onion, diced
-1 garlic clove, minced
-2 bell peppers, diced
-about a cup of chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
-1 tbs of smoked paprika (eye-ball this...you want everything to be covered with paprika and for the sauce to turn red, but you don't want to go overboard. If you have too much paprika, it will make the food have an astringent flavor.)
-salt/pepper to taste
-1/2 cup of raisins
-1/2 cup of chopped olives (I prefer Cerignola, but you can just use the green olives stuffed with pimento...the pimento will probably give the recipe a nice flavor)

In a large saucepan, heat up about a 1/2 cup of olive oil to medium heat. Add the chicken, onion, garlic, peppers and paprika. Season with salt and pepper and saute until peppers start to wilt and chicken is cooking through. Add raisins, olives and chicken stock. Lower heat to low, cover, and cook for about a half hour, or until chicken starts to fall apart, but the rest of the ingredients are still retaining their shape. Remove from heat. Pour the chicken mixture into a bowl and refrigerate until you need it. The mixture should be relatively dry (meaning, all of the stock has evaporated or been absorbed and the mixture is just a little oily.)

Filling:
Ok, let's move on to the filling.
-4 cups of all-purpose flour
-1 egg
-1 stick of cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
-1 tsp of salt
-1 tsp of white vinegar
-1/4 cup of milk

Pour the flour and salt into the bowl of a standing mixer. Mix together on low and add the butter, egg, and vinegar. Mix until everything is starting to combine. Add a tbs or 2 of milk. If the dough doesn't start to come together, add another tbs of milk. You want the dough to be able to be kneaded and rolled, so it has to be a moist, but not sticky, ball. Remove the ball from the mixer bowl, and start kneading it on a floured surface. Knead for about five minutes, or until it forms a shiny, smooth ball. Let it rest for about 10 minutes. After it rests, you can break the dough ball into four equal sections. Roll out each section into a circle that is about an 1/8 of an inch in thickness. You now have to cut out disks from this large circle. I used a coffee mug with a wide mouth as a empanada shell cutter. Place the smaller disks on a floured surface.
Now you are ready to fill the smaller disks with the empanada filling. Remove the filling from the refrigerator, and spoon about a tbs of filling into each disk. You want the empanada to be full of filling, but also be able to tightly close the dough. Place the filling in the middle of the disk, and then pull up each side of the disk, like how you would form a taco. When the edges come together, pinch them closed. Pinch the whole edge of the disk together, so that you form a half-moon shape. Set the empanada aside. Do this with the rest of the disks and filling.
When all of the empanadas are formed, you can either fry them or brush them with egg and bake them. If you fry them, fry over medium/high heat in about 1/2 inch of oil. If you bake them, brush them with egg and bake on a greased pan at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes (or until the pastry shell is lightly browned.)
The empanadas are good on their own, but I like to serve them with a dipping sauce. My friend, Inga, introduced me to a Bravas sauce that she used for Patatas Bravas. To make an easy Bravas sauce, you can saute some diced onion and minced garlic in some oil oil. Add a chopped or crushed tomato and some smoked paprika. Cook until the onion is wilted. Cool the mixture and then add it to a good mayo. Mix, and add a little bit of lemon juice. Sprinkle the top with some paprika and serve!

Homemade Ricotta Chesse

I'm soooo excited about this recipe!! I feel like it is the beginning of a new and wonderful world of cheese-making! Mozzarella is next! And, it is so easy, I'm embarrassed I never made it before. I mean, simple. And, cheaper than buying ricotta at the store. And, tastier (fresh and creamy.) So, people...from now on, we all have no reason to not make own own ricotta cheese!

Ricotta Chesse
I got this recipe online, and I honestly can't remember the website. It was one of those 'chatting about food' websites. Anyway, they called for a gallon of milk to start, and, made it seem like you would get a scant amount of ricotta even from a gallon of milk. But, I only had a quart of milk, and I got a nice cup and a half of ricotta from that! So, I think even a half-gallon of milk would be sufficient for most of your ricotta needs. It keeps in the fridge, though, so go ahead and use a gallon and store some for later!

-1 gallon of fresh, WHOLE milk
-2-3 tbs of lemon juice
-cheesecloth with a fine mesh (or your cheese will go down the sink) (or a scarf...that is what I used because I didn't have cheesecloth and it worked perfectly!)

Pour the milk in a heavy-bottomed pot and turn the heat onto medium. You have to heat the milk to 200 degrees (because if it's cooler than that, there will be no chemical reaction.) I know you are supposed to use a food thermometer, but I just eye-balled it. When the milk is a little hotter than would be comfortable to drink, add the lemon juice and mix slowly. The milk should curdle and separate. If this happens, then you can turn off the heat and let the mixture sit for a minute or two. If it doesn't, continue to heat the milk, stirring, and it will eventually separate. It looks like this when it's ready:
You want to keep all of those pretty curds! So, line a colander with your cheesecloth (or scarf!) and place it over a drain in the sink. Pour the milk mixture into the cheesecloth. All of the liquid should drain out and all of the curds should stay in the cheesecloth. When the curds have cooled slightly, wrap the cheesecloth around the curds like a package, and hang it from your sink faucet. Let it drain for an hour or two:

When the ricotta is of ricotta consistency (mostly dry), pour the curds out into a bowl. Add a pinch of nice salt and about a tsp of cream (makes it creamier) to the ricotta and mix gently. You can now refrigerate your ricotta or use it in a recipe! Next time, I'm going to bake it, drizzle it with a fine herbs/oil mixture, and serve it with roasted asparagus!

Bean and Truffle Oil Toasts

Oh, we are leaving Korea soon...it all came about so quickly! In a few days, we will be on a plane bound for the U.S.A., thinking about all of the memories we made while out here. Many of the good memories we made involved the friends that we met. We met some really kind, funny, smart, and wonderful people while here, and hopefully, we will all keep in touch. To say goodbye, we hosted a little dinner at our apartment last weekend. Our friends came, we talked and laughed, I accidentally stole a nice bottle of juniper liquor from our friend, Albe, and we received some very thoughtful gifts.

We also ate some of my food! It was interesting (interesting=sometimes cursing) to make the Western dishes to which I'm accustomed in South Korea. Many of the ingredients I needed could not be found, and I didn't have any of my usual kitchen equipment. But, sometimes being in a pinch can create the best dishes. One of the dishes that I made that night was a pureed bean dip with truffle oil on toasts. No, you can't find truffle oil in Korea. Yes, I am obsessed with my truffle oil and bring it with me wherever I go. Yes, good truffle oil is the nectar of the gods...

Bean and Truffle Oil Toasts
1 can of beans (I used kidney beans, but I think cannellini beans would be even better)
2 tbs of onion, minced
1/4 tsp of garlic, minced
1/2 tbs of fresh parsley
olive oil or butter to saute the beans
Good truffle oil
salt/pepper to taste
a baguette, cut into rounds, rubbed with a half clove of garlic and olive oil, and toasted in the oven
optional: fresh rosemary
garnish: chopped chives

In a saute pan on low/medium heat, warm up the olive oil or butter (or both). Add the onion and garlic, and when they just start to release their aroma, add the beans, salt/pepper and parsley (and rosemary, if you want-only add a little because rosemary is strong). Saute everything for about 5-8 minutes, until the beans become softer and the onion is soft. Remove the mixture from the heat, and pour into a bowl. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to cool. When the mixture is cool, mash it up (I put it in a plastic bag and pounded it). Bring the bean mixture to room temperature. Spoon the bean mixture onto the toasts, and drizzle a little bit of the truffle oil on top. I garnished it with a little bit of chives on top, but you can also top with a small bit of rosemary or parsley.

Homemade Tortillas!

I'm so excited about this! I've been trying to make homemade tortillas for years and they always turn out dry and tasteless. Thanks to fellow-foodie, Jenny, I've finally got a good recipe. Last night, we made chicken fajitas, and they were delicious...mostly because of the warm and wonderful homemade tortillas! And, for those of you who are worried about time, these are really easy to make. The dough took 5 minutes to make and 30 minutes to rise. And, it took about 15 minutes to fry up 10 tortillas (I rolled while snoops fried.) And, they keep well...I'm having one for lunch. You can probably make a bunch of these and freeze them.

Homemade Tortillas:
This recipe arrived in my hands after being passed down through a few people. I got it from Jenny, who got it from the 'Homesick Texan' blog, who got it from The Border Cookbook by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison. I think it was adapted all the way down, and I adapted it again.
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp of baking powder (the original recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp, but I don't think you need that much)
1 tsp of salt
2 tsp of oil (no flavor)
3/4 cup of warm full-fat milk (the more fat, the more moist the tortillas will be)

Combine the flour, baking poder and salt together in a bowl. Stir in the oil. Slowly add the WARM milk and keep stiring until the dough forms a ball. Knead the dough for about 2 minutes, until it's shiny and soft. Place in a bowl and cover. Allow it to sit in a warm area for 20 minutes. After it sits, break the ball into 8-10 smaller balls. Roll the balls into a sphere, and place them on a plate. Cover the plate and allow them to rest for 10 minutes in a warm area.

Ok, now you are ready to cook the tortillas. Roll out the tortillas as thin as you can, into a circle shape. Place a large, heavy skillet (like cast-iron) over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add a little bit of oil to the pan and one of the tortillas. Flip the tortilla over after about 30 seconds to a minute (it only takes that long to cook one side.) You will see the tortilla start to puff and steam. When both sides are cooked, place the tortilla on a plate and sprinkle with a little bit of salt. Keep cooking all the tortillas the same way, and serve however you would like. I'm sure these are great with some mashed avocados/garlic/salt/pepper/squeezed lime. Thanks, Jenny!!

Braised Chicken

One day, Snoops had too much Soju with his Vice-Principal and was feeling a little bit queasy. Korean food was out of the question for him, so I decided to make him some basic chicken and mashed potatoes. Then I remembered that we don't have an oven. Hmmm....

Enter Braised Chicken! I got some chicken from my local store, added some chicken stock and root veggies, and we've got ourselves a non-Korean meal!

Braised Chicken:

1 cut up chicken, cleaned and dried

2 carrots, chopped into rounds

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 regular onion, chopped

1 package of mushrooms (I'm not sure what kind I used...Korea is the land of unknown mushrooms)

2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 cup of minced chives

1 tbs of parsley

salt/pepper to taste

oil and butter for browning chicken

Heat a large skillet on medium/high heat. Add a pat of butter and 2 tbs of oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces (not all together...you don't want to crowd the skillet.) Salt and pepper the chicken, and fry until each piece is brown on both sides, but not cooked through. Remove the chicken and place it on a plate. Set aside.

Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and mushrooms to the skillet (and maybe a little bit more butter.) Cook until just browned. Add the chicken to the skillet. Add the chicken broth, chives, parsley and more salt and pepper to taste. Mix around and cover. Turn the heat down to low, and cook for about an hour, or until the chicken is falling off the bone. If the juices are starting to dry out, add more stock or water. Serve with some mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes. Enjoy!

Mandu-Korean Dumplings

Oh, for the love of god....Mandu, you are so delicious, but take so darn long to make! I would love to invest in one of those $1000 industrial mandu-makers (you just pour in the ingredients, and it wraps them for you.) Without that $1000 industrial mandu-maker, you will be left in your kitchen, forming mandu for hours. Rolling out dough, filling and wrapping. Rolling out dough, filling and wrapping. Note to self: next time I make Mandu, I will have five friends on hand to roll, fill and wrap. Mandu are Korean dumplings. They are filled with normal dumpling ingredients like pork, tofu, glass noodles....but, sometimes have kimche, which is distinctly Korean. I'm so happy that I now know how to make good Mandu (thanks to Brian's co-teacher, Bok Sun.) However, friends at home, if I serve them for you, you will know that it is because I really, really love you. Really, really....really.

Mandu Recipe:

Wrappers-Please, friends, do not buy the pre-made wonton wrappers from the supermarket. They are dry, stiff and taste like cardboard. The only time it is allowed is if you are going to boil your mandu in a broth. The broth will cover the cardboard flavor and the wrappers will turn out soft. But, in no other instance will this happen. Wrappers are pretty easy to make, so don't be a lazy-lump.
The dough for the wrappers is easy...it's just a combination of flour, water, salt and a little oil. Use an oil that doesn't have a flavor. So, mix together 2 cups of all-purpose flour, a tsp of salt, 1 tsp of oil. Then, slowly pour in some hot water...keep pouring until the dough clings together in a ball. Knead the dough for about two minutes, until you get a soft, shiny ball. Then roll the dough out into the shape of a rolling pin that is about an inch in diameter. Keep covered until you are ready to form the mandu.

Filling:
1 1/2 cups of ground pork
1/2 package of firm tofu (squeeze the life out of this tofu in some cheesecloth...you are trying to remove most of the water and crumble up the tofu)
1 cup of glass noodles, cooked and chopped into very small pieces
1 carrot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 bunch of chives, minced
1/2 cabbage, steamed until just cooked and minced
salt (add at the end) and pepper to taste
2 tsps of sesame oil
1 tbs of sesame seeds, toasted
3 tbs of soy sauce
1 egg
a little bit of hoisin sauce, to taste

Mix everything but the egg, pork, and salt in a bowl. Taste for seasonings...you may need to add more soy sauce or hoisin (black bean is good, too). You can now add the salt. You want to add it at the end because soy sauce is very salty and you don't want to over-salt the mixture. When the mixture has the right flavor, you can add the pork and the egg. Mix together. The mixture should not be very wet. Now you are ready to form the mandu.

Cut your tube of dough into 3/4 inch pieces. Roll out each piece into a circle. Expert mandu rollers use a little rolling pin specifically for this process. You want to roll the mandu wrappers so that they are thicker in the middle and very thin around the end of the circle. The whole wrapper should be very thin, though. You can place the circles on top of each other and cover with a towel.

Pick up one wrapper, and spoon some filling into the middle of the wrapper. You want enough filling to make it a thick dumpling, but also be able to close it easily. Pull up the sides of the circle, like you would fold a taco, and pinch together so that the wrapper is completely sealed in a half-moon shape. Then pull the two edges of the moon together to form a tortellini-type shape. Voila! You are done your first mandu! Keep doing this for hours, and you will have enough mandu for dinner. :)

To cook the mandu, you can steam them, boil them, or fry them. Serve them with some soy sauce/rice wine vinegar/red pepper flakes/sesame seeds sauce and chopsticks! Mashiseyo!

TAKE BACK OUR FOOD DAY-October 16th, 2010

Please pass the word on to your friends!

Nokcha Lattes and Coffee in Korea

I found two new loves in Korea: Nokcha Lattes (Green Tea Lattes) and Iced Caramel Macchiattos. I've never been a caffeine person...I don't really drink coffee or caffeinated tea in the U.S. because it always makes me feel uncomfortably buzzed. I really think that the coffee beans in the United States are more caffeinated than in other countries. In Korea, I was surprised to find that I can drink coffee easily. It 'wakes me up' without all of the jitters. And, for this I am most thankful, because the coffee in Korea is delicious! The Iced Caramel Macchiattos are creamy and cold, with a hint of caramel. There are also these little cans of cold cafe lattes that they sell in the supermarket and in dispensing machines on every corner. (But, they cost about .70 cents, so I don't count those when I drink them.)

I did become officially 'addicted', about two weeks ago, and my husband had to stage an intervention. After a two week hiatus, I think I'm ready to start again...in moderation.

My other love is the Nokcha Latte. I spoke about these in an earier post. A Nokcha Latte is green tea powder mixed with steamed milk. They aren't great in the summer, though. So, I'm going to buy a nice, big container of powdered green tea and I will make them back in Missoula during the crisp fall.

One other thing about coffee in Korea: Koreans seem to be experts at coffee art. Every cup of joe comes with a little ghost (see above), heart, leaf, face, flower, etc. made from the foam.

Kingdom Restaurant

One day, while we were walking along the river-walk in Chuncheon looking at this:

We came across a large amphitheater that appeared to be attached to a large music venue and restaurant. The restaurant looked very eclectic and relaxing, and we were curious, so we strolled in.

Above, the outside of the restaurant.

We found out that the name of the restaurant is Kingdom, and it's beautiful on the inside, with mix and match sofas, large plants, pictures of musicians...

We liked this crazy little place, so we decided to stay for lunch.

Above, Snoops sitting on a pretty sofa.

Above, the name of the restaurant on the little water glasses.

The menu was entirely in Korean characters, and although we can read Korean now, we don't always know the meaning of the words we read! Also, the tables in the restaurant are separated by the high backs of the sofas and by large plants...while we appreciated this privacy, we couldn't point to someone else's dish and say 'one of those'! So, we went with our tried and true 'Cheesy Donkass' (litterally how it's pronounced...it's a pork cutlet, pounded thin, fried in panko and topped with mozzarella cheese and a brown sauce.) Little did we know that our cheesy donkass for 6,000 won each (about $5) also came with a nice salad, a creamy broccoli soup, fresh baguette pieces, and some complimentary wine!

Above, Brian stirring his soup.

Above, the cheesy donkass.

Also, this donkass plate came with the customary sticky rice, but also with a little potpourri of sides that were all so tiny and interesting (a little bit of fruit compote, two little broccoli pieces with a little sauce, a tiny slice of acorn squash, a little jellied something (not sure..maybe sweet potato), and a few slices of strawberries.) We were situated right by the hallway to the kitchen, and the other dishes that came out looked like they were plated with just as much thought. Anyway, if you are in Chuncheon, you should check Kingdom out. I'm not sure how you can take a taxi there, but you will find it if you continue walking on the river-walk towards the ferry to Jungdo island.

The Tastiest Egg Sandwich, Korean-Style

Brian found this little shop that sells sandwiches and fried chicken on a stick. After a few failed attempts at finding something good on this menu (mental note: Korean hamburgers are NOT made with beef, but with a ham patty that is not so yummy...) Brian found the tastiest of egg sandwiches to which I am now addicted. Also, the woman who works at this little shop is really nice to us, and Brian overheard her telling other Koreans that her shop is very famous because 'western' people know about it. Funny.

Anyway, when I describe this egg sandwich to you, it will probably sound pretty disgusting...but, I promise you...it is really, really, really (had two in one day) good.

So, after ordering many of these sandwiches, I think I've got it all figured out. First, the owner whisks together one egg, some carrot shreds and a few corn kernels in a cup. Then she pours this mixture into a square fry-mold on a skillet. She also butters both sides of two pieces of toast and places them on the skillet. She never turns over the toast, but instead, brushes the top sides of the toast with a little bit of sugar/green unidentifiable herb paste (I think it might be thyme). Then, she takes the square mold off the egg and flips it, so it can cook on the other side. Then, she places a piece of cheese on one of the pieces of bread, flips the egg square onto the cheese, and tops it with the other piece of toast. She wraps it in some paper, we pay her 2000 won (about $1.75), and we walk away with our meal that we both usually finish before we get to the crosswalk. The sandwich is a perfect combination of buttery white bread, savory egg and sweet sauce that mixes with cheese....I can't describe it, but it's great. A mosquito flew into my sandwich the other day, and I just plucked it out and still ate the dang sandwich, because it is so good. 

Above, the woman who works at the shop.

Above, the beginnings of greatness...

Above, after the toast has been brushed with sweet-goodness and all is ready for some cheese and our mouths. 

Rice Cake Cooking Class

 Tonight, my friend Munyoung took me to my first cooking class in South Korea. Here is Munyoung in her cute apron: The cooking class took place at Peace of Mind, a "library cafe/restaurant" in Chuncheon. This place is my Snoops and my mother-in-law's fantasy: There are books from floor to ceiling throughout the restaurant, and little nooks with buddhist and other types of trinkets collected by the owners throughout their travels. Relaxing meditation music plays from the speakers. I loved this place instantly. The restaurant is owned by a husband and wife team. He used to be CEO of a company, but he always dreamt about opening a "library cafe". He and his wife decided to move to Chuncheon and, after opening their restaurant, "it just grew and grew". Now they serve Italian-style food (the steak with pasta sides looked amazing...I saw someone preparing it in the kitchen.) Apparently, Sue, (the wife of the duo) learned how to make this steak from the most famous steakhouse in Seoul. Sue is a culinary professor at Gangwon University, and teaches cooking classes at the restaurant every Monday. She told me that she always uses ingredients "from nature" and is currently studying at a Buddhist temple every Wednesday to learn how to make "temple food". Sue told me that temple food is very healthy and 'clears the mind'. She invited me to join her intensive temple food class this summer. 

Anyway, in todays' class, we learned how to make seasonal rice cakes for Spring, using springtime ingredients, like the purple flowers that are blooming all over Chuncheon right now. Korean rice cakes are soft and sometimes sticky cakes make of rice, honey or sugar, and fruits and/or nuts. There are hundreds of different types of rice cakes in Korea. We made two varieties tonight. One was just a plain ground sticky rice, flavored with berry or stamen juice, formed into small disks, decorated with those purple flowers and an herb I can't remember (stuck on with honey) and fried over a low flame. The other was a large rice cake made of ground sticky rice and ground pine nuts, flavored with nuts and fruit and a delicious citrus marmalade that Sue has been marinating for three years. This citrus marinate is unbelievably good. I'm going to learn how to make it in October. Anyway, this rice cake is placed in a steamer lined with a wet cheesecloth, and steamed for 3o minutes. The fried rice cake is soft and sticky and the steamed rice cake is soft and pillowy. 

So, first, we started with ground sticky rice. We had to push it through a large sieve so that we were left with a fine rice powder. 

Munyoung (above) and I (below) pushing the ground rice through the sieve. If you look closely in the middle of the picture above, you can see the jars of berries and stamen used to color the rice cakes. 

Next, Sue added some hot water to the ground rice, and a little bit of yellow and pink natural food dye she made from red berries and the stamens of flowers. The hot water mixed with the rice made a light dough, like the consistency of clay.

Above, I'm mixing the yellow rice cake dough.

Above is the unbelievably good 3 year old citrus marmalade that I'm dying to make. 

After mixing the dough, we molded it into little disks. These are the flowers and herbs we used to decorate the lightly fried rice cake disks.

Sue pouring more hot water into my bowl. 

Sue decorating a large rice cake that she is going to cut into flower-shaped disks and fry.

Frying the disks.
Munyoung preparing the large, steamed rice cake with pine nut flour, fruits, nuts and that wonderful marmalade. 

Warm rice cakes cooling on a bed of sugar.

Plated rice cakes sprinkled with cinnamon. Sue said she also sprinkles them with ground pine nuts. So pretty!

While we were waiting for the large rice cake to steam, we sat down to a little meal of freshly baked "dog bone" (Sue's description...it's shaped like a dog bone) baguette, salad and a foccacia. The 'dog bone' baquette was really, really good. Sue's husband told me that they import the organic flour from Australia. 

Sue unwrapping the steamed rice cake.

I'm very proud of myself for surviving my first cooking class in Korea (and, in Korean!) (Well, Sue and Munyoung speak almost perfect English, so I guess it wasn't entirely in Korean...) Anyway, with a cooking class every Monday, I will slowly become a rice cake making fool...

Dukgalbi

So, my first attempt at a Korea dish turned out pretty well! After some snooping on the internet and a few returns to our favorite Dukgalbi restaurant on Dukgalbi street (yes, there is a street designated for the Chuncheon specialty....the best is the one with the picture of the old woman), I think I've got a recipe that is pretty close! 

Dukgalbi is marinated, sauteed chicken (usually meat other than the breast) in a red pepper paste with cabbage, duk (rice cakes that are sort of like large noodles), sweet potato, onion, garlic and sometimes other things (we've had it also with carrots and greens). At the restaurant, it's fried on a large, iron skillet with a little oil. You eat it right out of the skillet, using your chopsticks. Or, you can wrap the chicken in a lettuce leaf (or sesame leaf...both are provided by the restaurant) with some additional red pepper paste, and raw garlic or onion. You are also served a side a kimchee and a bowl of 'water kimchee' (it's a watery, clear kimchee almost like a soup.) 

When you are mostly done your sauteed chicken, you can ask for a portion of 'bap' (rice)...but, this rice comes with some seaweed and additional sauce and is sauteed right in the skillet with the chicken. This is my favorite part.  I love fried rice, and this one is very tasty. 

Anyway, I found some recipes for Dukgalbi on the internet. Using those recipes and my own snooping at the restaurants, I created this recipe that I attempted at home with my wok. We enjoyed the results...I hope you will, too!

Dukgalbi at Home (for 2)

Chicken:

10 chicken thighs, chopped into smaller pieces

1 tbs of dry white wine or sake

2 minced garlic cloves 

Combine the chicken, wine and garlic and allow to marinate for a few hours in the refrigerator.

Sauce:

4 tbs of Gochujang (korean red pepper paste...you may be able to find this at an asian supermarket)

1 tsp of red pepper flakes

1 tsp of yellow curry powder

3 tbs of soy sauce

1 tbs of sugar

1 tbs of garlic, minced

1/4 tbs of black pepper

2 tbs of white wine or sake

1/4 tsp of ground ginger

Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. 

Chop up 1 sweet potato into small matchsticks, one onion into small chunks, about 1/4 cup of scallions into 1/4" pieces, 1/4 of a large cabbage into small chunks, and put aside. Also chop fresh (Important! Rice cakes bought at the supermarket that aren't fresh are terrible...) rice cake noodles into two inch sections. 

Also have on hand:

1/2 cup of water

1 tbs of canola oil

1 tbs of sesame oil

sprinkling of sesame seeds

About 10 lettuce leafs, torn whole from the lettuce head, washed and dried

2 cups of rice

1 egg 

some toasted seaweed, if available

When the chicken is done marinating, heat up a large wok to high heat. When heated, add the oil, sweet potato sticks, cabbage and onion and saute for about a minute. Add about two tbs of the sauce to the chicken, and then add the chicken mixture to the wok. Add the rice cakes. Mix in the wok. Add the 1/2 cup of water and the rest of the sauce (reserve one tsp for the rice) to the wok and mix again. You can lower the heat a little bit if things are starting to burn. Mix and mix until the chicken looks like it's cooked and you can easily cut through a sweet potato piece. Add the sesame seeds and the scallions. Mix a little bit more and transfer to a covered bowl. When you are ready to eat, use chopsticks and serve the chicken family-style with the lettuce leafs. 

While the wok is still hot, quickly add your two cups of rice, 1 tsp of reserved sauce and seaweed to the skilled with a little extra sesame oil. Crack an egg on top and mix quickly to break up the cooking egg into the sauteed rice. Add a little salt and pepper to taste. Quickly mix rice on high heat until the egg is cooked. Serve the rice on the side. 

Enjoy!

Above (adding the duk (rice cake noodles) to the chicken. Below, the finished product served with my own fried rice and some kimchee our friend gave us. 

This is what Dukgalbi is really supposed to look like:

KO-RR-EEEAAAA!

Snoops and I have a way of saying 'Ko-rr-eeea' in a sing-song-y way that expresses both our excitement and sheer confusion at the cultural differences. I guess it's an inside joke.

Anyway, we moved to South Korea to teach EFL in Chuncheon, the largest city in the Gangwon province. Instead of dreaming about a life where I get to make food for a living, I decided to quit my counseling profession and move to Korea to save money for a gourmet food truck. Yikes, wish me luck!

Snoops and I have, of course, been spending much of our time here sampling the local cuisine. 

Here are a few of my favorites....I'll post more later.

1. Banana Milk and Strawberry Milk-The milk here is much better than at home. It's creamy and fresh-tasting. Snoops with his Banana Milk:

2. Toasted Seaweed: Koreans take sheets of seaweed, and toast and salt them. It's really good and not fishy tasting at all. Me with my seaweed:

3. Green Tea Lattes-Snoops thinks they taste like fish, but I love them!

4.  Donkass-Thinly-pounded, fried pork cutlets with brown sauce, rice and cabbage salad. I love this. The best place for Donkass is in a restaurant in the underground market that has swing-chairs. They have every kind of donkass imaginable: pizza donkass, curry donkass, etc. Our friend, Shelf, would go hog wild over this (Shelf, think of the best pork schnitzel you've ever had...now you get the idea!)

5. Dolsot Bibimbap-Rice served in a hot iron pot with veggies and hot red pepper paste. This is a dolsot I got in Seoraksan park, and it had a mixture of different types of rice (black, blue, white) and wild mountain greens. Yum!

6. Toongulacha-Tea made from Solomon's Seal...I don't know what Solomon's Seal is, but it's served everywhere. The best I've had was in Seroksan park. It was being boiled over a fire and was made with fresh Solomon's Seal (the waiter gave us the scientific name for it: Polygonatum.) It's light and smokey.