Bibimbap

I am very attached to bibimbap and samgyetang, and I need to eat them every once in a while. Typing this made me want to go and get a bowl of samgyetang. Usually I would just head out and buy them. But since I had gochujang, I figured I'd make the bibimbap myself.

Bibimbap

1 cup beansprouts
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks (I didn't put in)
1-1/2 cup spinach, cleaned
1 zucchini, sliced into thin strips
100g mushrooms, sliced
Green, yellow, and red bell peppers, cut into strips
Korean seasoned seaweed, shredded (I didn't put in)
Boiled gosari /Fern brakes (I didn't put in)
Cucumber, cut half lengthwise and sliced thinly crosswise (I didn't put in)
Cooked rice
Eggs, over easy
Sesame oil
Sesame seeds
3 cloves garlic, minced
Gochugaru/Korean chilli pepper flakes
Salt
Soy sauce

Gochujang sauce:
1/4 cup gochujang
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 or 2 tsp water to thin out the sauce

1. Rinse the beansprouts three times and put them in a pot with a lid. Cook the for 15 minutes. Mix with 1 clove minced garlic, gochugaru, sesame oil and salt.
2. Put spinach in a pot of boiling water and stir for a minute. Then, rinse in cold water for a few times and squeeze to drain excess water. Season with 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tsp of soy sauce and sesame oil.
3. Sprinkle the zucchini strips with salt and leave them for a few minutes. Squeeze out excess liquid and saute them in a pan over high heat until they become translucent.
4. Cut the gosari into 5-7 cm long pieces and season with 1 tbsp soy sauce and sesame oil.
5. Boil the mushrooms until cooked and drain.
6. Sprinkle salt on the cucumber slices and set aside for a few minutes. Squeeze out excess liquid and mix with 1 clove minced garlic, sesame oil and sesame seeds.
7. Saute carrot, and bell peppers separately with dash of salt.
8. Gochujang sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well.
9. Put rice into a bowl, add the assorted vegetables, seaweed, egg and gochujang sauce on top of the rice. Mix well before eating.

Original recipe shared by Maangchi, Sue, and Hyosun Ro.

Japchae

I learned to speak a little bit of Korean words, all the easy ones thanks to the drama series and songs. But then I doubt I can survive if I am stranded in Korea alone, unless I can somehow communicate with them using one-word and thousands of gestures. I need to learn more.

Korean food - now this, I can say I know a little bit more. Bibimbap, samgyetang, banchan, gamjatang, gochujang, ddeokbokki, sundubu jjigae, seolleongtang, juk, hoeddeok, bulgogi, kimchi, doenjang, naengmyeon, kalguksu, jajangmyeon, hwe, jeon, patbingsu, kimbap, bungeoppang, etc.

Japchae is made from sweet potato noodles (dangmyeon) stir fried with vegetables. It used to be part of Korean royal court cuisine, specifically invented in the early 17th century for a King. Source: Wikipedia.


Japchae

1/2 pound dried Korean sweet potato noodles
2 and a half tsp sesame oil, divided
1 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 large onion, sliced thinly
2 red chillies, sliced thinly
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
3 stalks green onions, cut into 1" lengths
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms (shiitake/wood ear), sliced thinly
1/2 lb spinach, washed well and drained
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

1. Fill a large pot with water and boil. Add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes. Immediately drain and rinse with cold water. Use kitchen shears to cut noodles into shorter pieces, about 6-7 inches in length. Set aside.
2. Blanch the spinach in boiling water. Rinse immediately under cold water. Squeeze the water from the leaves and form into a ball. Cut the ball into half. Combine the spinach, half the garlic, and 1/2 tsp of the sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside to let the flavors soak in.
3. In a bowl, mix soy sauce and sugar together. Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry onion, carrot and chillies until just softened, about 1 minute. Add the garlic, green onions and mushrooms, fry for 30 seconds. Then add the spinach, soy sauce, sugar and noodles. Fry for another 2-3 minutes until the noodles are cooked through. Turn off heat, toss with sesame seeds and the remaining sesame oil.

Original recipe by steamy kitchen

Remarks: You can also include strips of beef if you want. This recipe produce a huge amount of japchae.

Potato and pasta frittata

I love eggs for breakfast, and this recipe is a great way to finish off all the leftovers in your refrigerator. Actually, this would be great for brunch, like Sunny Anderson did with the hash. It's a 'clear out your refrigerator' recipe. The basic ingredients are eggs and seasonings. Everything else is up to you.

Potato and pasta frittata

4 large eggs
2 medium size potatoes, sliced 1 cm thick
1/2 cup of cabbage and red cabbage, roughly chopped
2 jalapeno chiles, deseeded  and chopped
1 cup cooked pasta
Splash of milk
Salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Freshly ground black pepper
50g shredded cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 160 C.
2. Boil the potatoes in salted water until they are tender.
3. Let the potato slices cool and arrange in a greased pan.

4. Sprinkle the jalapeno and cabbage on top of the potato slices. Add the cooked pasta.

5. Crack the eggs in a bowl, add the milk, salt, cayenne, smoked paprika and cayenne. Whisk the mixture to combine.

6. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
7. Take the pan out and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake in the oven until the cheese melted and the top is brown.

Vietnamese spring rolls

A recipe I got from a friend on Instagram, the land of drool-worthy food.

Vietnamese spring rolls

3/4 Japanese cucumber
1 carrot
100g rice vermicelli (blanched in boiling water and strained)
1 small bunch coriander (chopped)
1/2 cup medium-size prawns (boiled)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 packet of rice paper

Dipping sauce:
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp garlic (minced finely)
1 lime
1 tsp fish sauce
Warm water
2 birds eye chillies (chopped)

1. Cut the cucumber and carrot into matchsticks.
2. Prepare the sauce. Dissolve the sugar in some warm water. Add the garlic and juice of half a lime. Add in the chillies and mix well.
3. Combine the vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce and 2 tbsp of the dipping sauce.
4. Mix the cucumber, carrot, rice vermicelli, coriander and prawns in the vinegar mixture. Separate the vermicelli after mixing well.
5. Soak the rice paper and start assembling the spring rolls.

Recipe shared by Sara.