Bibimbap [RECIPE]

Ingredients:

• 2 cups medium-grain Korean (or Japanese) rice
• 1 large cucumber, sliced into thin strips
• 1.5 cups bean sprouts, parboiled and squeezed of excess water
• 1.5 cups spinach, parboiled and squeezed of excess water (3/4 lb before cooking)
• 2 carrots, julienned
• 4 shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated if dried and then sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced into thin strips
• 1/2 lb meat (optional, both and cooked ground meat work well)
• Fried egg as a topping (optional)
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• Sesame seeds

 

Preparation:

1. Cook rice in rice cooker or on the stove.
   
2. Give cucumber strips a saltwater bath for 20 minutes and then drain.
   
3. Season spinach with 2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp salt, and a dash of sesame seeds.
   
4. Season bean sprouts with 2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp salt, and a dash of sesame seeds.
   
5. Sauté carrots with a dash of salt.
   
6. Sauté mushrooms with a dash of salt.
   
7. Sauté zucchini with a dash of salt.
   
8. Place cooked rice in large bowl and arrange vegetables on top.
   
9. If desired, beef or egg can be placed in the center.
   
10. Serve each with small bowls of red pepper paste (kochujang) and sesame oil.
    
11. To eat, add a small amount of oil and desired amount of red pepper paste to your bowl and mix everything together with a spoon. 

Bulgogi

  Besides kimchi (pickled vegetables), bulgogi (barbecued beef) is perhaps one of the most popular Korean foods in the West. A soy and herbal marinade is the key to this tasty beef dish, but like many Asian marinades, only a small amount of liquid is used to flavor the meat. Grilled over a hibachi or in a grill pan, or stir-fried, until crisp (or to preferred doneness), the beef is wrapped in a tender lettuce leaf and may be eaten with a dab of pungent fermented Korean bean paste.

You will find thinly sliced beef, chicken, or pork in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese butcher shops. If you do not have these near you, ask your local butcher if he or she can slice the meat for you. If not, buy a large chunk and place it in the freezer for forty-five minutes to facilitate the slicing. Slice against the grain while the meat is still frozen.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup Japanese or Korean dark soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for grilling
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
  
• 3 medium garlic cloves, crushed, peeled, and grated
• 3 scallions, root and dark green ends trimmed, and 6-inch stalks minced
• 2 pounds marbled sirloin or rib steak, sliced paper thin against the grain

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Whisk together the soy sauce and sugar in a bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the vegetable and sesame oils, sesame seeds, garlic, and scallions until well combined. Add the beef, tossing it with your hands to make sure it is evenly coated on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it, allowing the meat to marinate for 30 minutes. Drain the beef, shaking off the excess liquid and scraping off the scallion and garlic.
2. Grill the beef, laying the slices flat on a table hibachi. If using a grill pan, brush a generous amount of vegetable oil on the cooking surface and heat it over medium-high heat. When it starts to smoke, add the beef slices and grill to your preferred doneness, but no more than 5 seconds on each side, so the beef remains tender.

 Makes: 4 to 6 servings

Variation: Japanese sukiyaki, pan-seared beef, is similar to bulgogi. Mix together in a bowl 1 teaspoon tapioca starch, 2 tablespoons Japanese dark soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon sake, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Add 1 pound thinly sliced beef sirloin and mix well. (There is just enough marinade; the beef should not be drowning.) Marinate for 30 minutes. Heat 1 tablespoon beef suet in a pan over high heat. Sear the beef until done, about 5 seconds per side.

Kimbap (Rolled Rice With Seaweed) [RECIPE]

Ingredients:
- 3 1/2 cups Kimbap rice
- 3 sheets roasted seaweed
- 140g lean beef
- 1 small cucumber
- 60g carrot
- 7 dried mushrooms
- 2 eggs, beaten
A:
- 2 T soy sauce
- 1 T sesame oil
- 1 t sugar
- 1/2 t cooking wine
- Crushed garlic, roasted sesame seeds, finely chopped green onion
B:
- 1 t sugar
- 1/4 t salt
- Salad oil, salt and pepper

Directions: 

Put cooked rice into mixing tub and sprinkle vinegar mixture generously over rice. With a large wooden spoon, mix with a slicing motion. While you mix, have a helper,(electric fan). This is not to cool kimbap rice, but to puff the extra liquid away. 

* Procedures
1. Cut beef into strips.

2. Combine A; add beef to marinate.

3. Halve cucumber lengthwise, then but into thin diagonal slices. Sprinkle with salt, let stand until soft; squeeze out water.

4. Cut carrot into 2 in (5cm) long strips.

5. Soak dried mushrooms in lukewarm water until soft. Discard stems and slice thinly.

6. Heat salad oil in a skillet and cook beef over high heat; set aside. Likewise stir-fry each ingredient lightly and season with salt and pepper.

7. Mix egg and B well. Pour over lightly greased square omelet pan thinly.

8. When half-set, roll from far aside tightly. When golden brown, remove from heat.

9. Cut lengthwise in three.

10. Lay seaweed over bamboo mat. Spoon over 1/3 amount (1 1/6 cups) evenly. Wet your fingers with vinegared water and press gently.

11. Leave 1/2 in (1.5 cm) on your side, 1 in (2.5 cm) on far side uncovered.

12. Arrange beef, cucumber, mushrooms, carrot and egg omelet in contrasting colors slightly below center.

13. Holding edges of fillings, roll in one motion so the uncovered seaweed meet each other.

14. Roll up and shape. Press ends.

15. Cut each roll into 8. Wipe the knife with wet cloth after each slice. Arrange on a plate cut side up.

Dakdoritang (Spice Chicken Stew) [RECIPE]

Dakdoritang is a traditional braised chicken dish that is full of spices and flavors which are exquisite in taste.  Succulent chicken pieces such as thighs, breasts and/or drumsticks are simmered in a base soup where the meat tends to fall off the bones. It is marinated with hot pepper and soy sauce, containing various vegetables such as potatoes, onions and carrots. Some may include jalapenos to this dish in addition to kochujang (red chili pepper paste) which will surely wake up your taste buds. As it can get quite spicy, be sure to eat plenty of rice to offset the heat.

Ingredients:

- 1 whole chicken
- 3 slices ginger
- 3 medium potatoes
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 yellow onion
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 11/2 cup (375ml) water
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) soya sauce
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon of Korean hot pepper paste
- 1 teaspoon of Korean red pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper

  Preparation method:

		1.  Cut the whole chicken into about 10 pieces, trim the fat and wash well. Put the chicken pieces in a large pot and put enough water in to cover the chicken. Add the ginger and boil for about 10 minutes on medium heat. Drain off the water and discard ginger, too.
		2.  Add water, soya sauce, sugar, Korean hot pepper paste, red pepper powder, garlic and sesame oil. Mix well and cook for 10 minutes.
		3.  Peel the potatoes, carrots and onion and cut into 2.5cm x 5cm (1x2 inches). Add the potatoes and carrots to the chicken and cook for 5 more minutes.
		4. Add onion, salt and black pepper, mix well and cook for another 5 minutes. Garnish the soup with the chopped green onions and sesame seeds.

Traditional Korean Seaweed Soup [RECIPE]

Koreans have long enjoyed the health benefits of seaweed soup, called mi-yuk gook.

In Korean culture, seaweed soup is considered a must for pregnant and nursing women, as eating seaweed is an effective way of stimulating healthy breast milk production.

Seaweed is also given to students, usually without fail on the night before an important exam, as seaweed is believed to support optimal brain function.

If you have access to a local Korean market and can find the variety of seaweed used to make mi-yuk gook, give the following traditional Korean seaweed soup recipe a try - it's an acquired taste for some people, but once it sticks, don't be surprised if it becomes a staple in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 package of dried seaweed (1 ounce is fine for four servings), available in all Korean food markets - ask for the kind used to make seaweed soup, or mi-yuk gook (you don't want the thin kind used to make sushi rolls.)
6 cups of vegetable broth or organic chicken broth
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
Naturally brewed soy sauce or sea salt, to taste
1 teaspoon of minced garlic (optional)

Directions:

Soak seaweed in water for two hours or until soft. Drain and rinse really well, as dried seaweed can come with a lot of dirt, just like spinach does.

Put all ingredients, including seaweed, into a large pot and bring to a boil, then simmer for five minutes to allow all the flavours to come together.

Koreans traditionally enjoy this seaweed soup with a bowl of white or brown rice, sometimes together in the same bowl.

Bibimbap

Bibimbap is a popular korean dish. The word literally means "mixed rice".  

Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautés and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. 

The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot.

Vegetables commonly used in bibimbap include julienned cucumber, zucchini, mu (daikon), mushrooms, doraji (bellflower root), and gim, as well as spinach, soybean sprouts, and gosari bracken fern stems).

Dubu (tofu), either plain or sautéed, or a leaf of lettuce may be added, or chicken or seafood may be substituted for beef.^.For visual appeal, the vegetables are often placed so that adjacent colors complement each other.