Easy Peasy Kongnamulguk (Improvisation)

I haven't been cooking for a while and I felt so rusty that I thought that I should prepare something very easy to begin. Mild to the taste, spicy to the smell, kongnamulguk an easy dish to prepare and to get initiated to Korean cuisine if you haven't yet discovered it!

The classic Kongnamulguk is usually made with soybean sprouts, but this time, as we only have regular bean sprouts, I gave it a try and I must say that it tastes pretty similar, except that the sprouts are softer and the stock is slightly sweeter. Also, I have replaced dried sardines with fish sauce, since I didn't have them anymore and also, I remembered that for Kimchi recipes, most modern Korean recipes replace sardines with fish sauce.

Alright, less talk.


Kongnamulguk (4 servings)

Timeline:
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
at least 100 g of beansprouts
5 cups of water
1 piece of kelp (about 5 g)
1 tbps soysauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp gochugaru
Salt to taste
a drop of sesame oil
Green onion to taste

1. Rince the beansprouts and the kelp, put them in a stockpot with 5 cups of water and bring it to boil.
2. When everything is boiling, remove the kelp from the water. Lower the heat to low, add in soy sauce, fish sauce, gochugaru, sesame oil and salt. Let it simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat. Serve it with chopped green onion. If you have sesame seeds, you may crush them between you palm before topping them. Crushing the sesame seeds helps release a nuttier taste which would be a great combination with the soup. (Note: there are no sesame seeds in the picture)

Good luck and enjoy! 

Summer Salad: Home-made Wafu dressing (improvisation)

It's been a hot summer and the hot weather won't leave for the next few weeks! Food is hardly delicious under such condition, which is why one should turn to something nutty and easy to make. No cooking required -- unless you consider boiling water "cooking".

Alright, less talk. 

Timeline:
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Ready time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
2 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp Konbu water
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp cup soysauce
1 tbsp freshly grinded onion
1 tbsp sugar

1. Wash the piece of Konbu and soak it in hot water for about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, grind about 1 tbsp of onion, be sure to keep the juice -- it will help create a sweet after taste.
3. Grind the sesame seeds. You can do it with a coffee grinder, which will take you less than 10 seconds, or you can do it manually in a mortar with a pestle, which will result a more interesting taste.
4. After 20 minutes, when the Konbu water is ready, remove the kelp and add in rice vinegar, soysauce, onion and sugar. Mix well and finally add in the grinded sesame.
5. It can be served right away, however, in order to get a more sophisticated onion sweet taste, it is suggested to let it sit for at least 20 minutes. Serve it with a cabbage salad or boiled spinach.

Good luck and enjoy! 

Leftover onigiri: What to do with leftovers? (Improvisation)

Growing up in a very economical family, I have more than often brought leftovers for lunch. However, over the years, I grew tired of eating rice and leftovers the same way: in a container with leftovers in the bottom and rice on the top (if you hate having your rice soggy, that's the best way to place your leftover lunch). And being a fan of convenience, I found a new way of eating leftovers the next day without intensively microwaving and without using utensils. Plus, it is a much cuter way to eat your lunch!

Alright, less talk.


Timeline:
Preparation time: 5-10 minutes (if rice is ready!)
Ready time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

Rice (preferably calrose or sticky rice)

Leftover

(optional)

Nori sheets

Soy sauce

Sesame seeds

1. Prepare the rice, it is preferable to use calrose rice or sushi rice due to its sticky texture. However, if you have glutinous rice, it works out as well. As for jasmine rice, it could work, but it would not give a very satisfying result at the end.

2. Prepare the filling. Depending on the type of leftover you have, make sure that it turns into tiny chunks. I had salmon leftover, so I used a spoon to tear the salmon into tiny pieces. If you have something that contains a lot of liquid, squeeze out the juice to use it later. 

3. If you have some juice from your left over, pour a small amount (1 tsp for 1/2 cup cooked rice) in the hot rice and mix well. Make sure that the rice is hot so that it could absorb the sauce in. Otherwise, if you do not have sauce from the leftover, you can add soy sauce. I like the taste of seaweed and sesame, so I added some nori chunks with sesame seeds. With the rice paddle, mix well.

4. Now mould the onigiri by placing some rice in your hand. Place approximately one tbps of leftover in the middle and bring all the rice around the filling. There are two ways to wrap your onigiri. The traditional way is to wet your hands with salted water and mould the rice balls. The other way, without wetting your hands, you can use a plastic wrap to work it out. 

5. Shape well by pressing the rice, not too much to keep the leftover in the middle and uncrushed. To make it in triangular prism, place the rice ball in between adjacent hand position. 

6. After shaping the onigiri, take a nori sheet to partially wrap. It is now ready to serve.

I usually wrap them in plastic wraps to bring to job or class. The convenience of onigiri is that you do not need to heat it before eating, as long as you leave it at room temperature for at least an hour. 

Good luck and enjoy! 

Chewy Matcha Mochi Cake

Can you imagine a chewy, soft and warm texture of a piece of cake? Very, very chewy. So chewy that you wonder whether your teeth are in Dreamland.

I actually got the recipe from another blog and just fell in love with the idea of using Mochiko to replace all purpose flour. Furthermore, having always been a fan of glutinous rice's chewiness, I just told myself "Eureka" when discovering this recipe.

I however have modified the recipe, to suit my own taste as well as people surrounding me; less sweet and less buttery than the original instructions. I have also added one step to make the mochi cake last longer. In a way, this mochi cake tastes quite similar to the Chinese Niangao (年糕). Easy, sweet and yummy!

I was in a rush that day, so I referred to cups instead of weighing the ingredients. This gives 12 matcha mochi cakes.

Alright, less talk. 

Ingredient:
1 1/2 cups glutinous rice flour
1 tsp green tea matcha powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
knob of melted butter

1. In a bowl, sift in matcha powder, baking power, salt and the glutinous rice flour.
2. In a big bowl, mix vegetable oil with sugar. When the sugar is dissolved in the oil, add in the egg and milk.
3. Combine the dry ingredient in the liquid ingredient. Stir well. You may feel that the batter consistency is very thick. Do not worry, it is the thickness that makes it chewy.
4. Leave the batter in the fridge for at least 6 hours, but ideally leave it overnight. This step consist in "activating" the glutinous rice powder, making it last longer and taste chewier after several days. If you cook it right away, the cake will become hard after a day or two (from my own experience).
5. After letting it sit for a few hours or overnight, take it out from the fridge and stir again. You may need to add a bit of milk if it is too thick, but I highly don't recommend it.
6. Preheat the oven at 350°F.
7. Melt a knob of butter and spread it in the cupcake cups or sheets. This will help make it easier to remove from pan or cupcake sheet.
8. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
9. Let it sit for 1 hour. It is best consumed within 4 days of baking it.

Good luck and enjoy!

Cake Pop with Fillings!

The excitement of unboxing a new cookware: the cake pop maker! Actually, the intention of getting the cake pop maker was mainly to make something else, something savoury that you will soon discover! As a test, cake pop is in the menu for today. A simple and adorable recipe that both adults and children will enjoy. For those who are curious, the result of my recipe is a bit like a mini size round shaped Taiyaki! And if you do not want fillings, you can just take this recipe and make regular cake pops, it works as well.

I initially found the idea of cake pop superficial, but overtime, discovering new diets, I concluded that cake pops are actually great due to its small size. To some, a smaller size is bad because they tend to gobble bites down one after another; to others, it allows them to take smaller bites in diminished quantities. It depends of the lifestyle that one adopts. Bigger bites and large quantities are usually the description of a stressful lifestyle, when taste becomes secondary and the need to eat is more prominent. I won't say more about this.

It looks like those cake bites have become trendy because of Sugar Crush Saga, a quite addictive game spreading all over social networks. I do not have any opinion over that, besides the remark that people do not seem to look at where they are standing or sitting when taking the bus or the subway. I sometimes wonder how they do not get motion sickness when the bus is moving (because I do). And when people play, they have the screen so close to their face that it reminds me of my childhood when mom told me not to sit too close to the TV because it would destroy my eyesight (damn you, Pokémon!). It looks like those people don't have their mom to tell them that (because I still do).

Alright, less talk.

Ingredients:
170 g all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
65 g sugar
50 g oil
1 1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

(optional)
red bean paste (or any desired fillings)

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together
2. Add in the egg. The more you whisk, the chewier the cake will be later.
3. Add in the oil, milk and vanilla extract and mix until everything is incorporated.
4. Preheat the cake pop maker. When ready, brush some oil and bake the cakes for 5 to 7 minutes.

** Details: cake pops with fillings, using only one side of the device**
1. You will need two skewers to make it work easily. Plug the cake pop maker.
2. When the cake pop maker indicates that it is ready, brush some oil on the lower surface only and fill each mould to about 1/3. Do not worry if the batter is expanding, but make sure you work quickly enough so that it does not cook fully. The best way to work is to make 5-6 at a time.

3. Add in the desired amount of fillings and pour in the batter to cover the fillings.

4. It takes approximately 2-3 minutes to cook the surface of the batter, so after that lap of time, use the skewer to turn the cakes to 90°, add batter and turn the cooked part to fully cover the newly added batter.
5. It will take 3-4 minutes to cook the cakes, so make sure to flip it from time to time.

6. When it is well browned, it is ready to serve. Repeat the steps to make more!

Good luck and enjoy!

PS: Sorry, someone forgot to take pictures with the inside of the cakes...

Of Whipping Cream and Sponge Cake: The Classic Fruit Birthday Cake

Kids like me who grew up eating the stereotypical Asian fruit birthday cake would feel nostalgic about it. I remember envying other kids who got a chocolate cake or a cake full of buttercream icing for their birthday, I told myself that I would get that one day. And when it happened, well, things have changed! Thereafter, never again, I envied those kids. I started to have a strong liking for that typical American Asian birthday cake.

The recipe itself contains 2 parts, one is a sponge cake and the other is the whipped cream.

I completely forgot to take a picture of a slice of cake, but I'm sure you can imagine how it looks, or at least, try to do it to see how it looks! For your information, it has two layers of sponge cake with a filling of fruits and whipping cream in between.

Ingredients:

For sponge cake:

120 g all-purpose flour

2 g baking powder

2 g vanilla sugar

4 large eggs (separated into egg white and egg yolks)

130 g granulated sugar (separated into 45 g and 85g)

50g milk

25g vegetable oil

1 g cream of tartar

For whipping cream:

500 mL heavy cream

100 mL granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar and sift them.

2. Then prepare a meringue: separate the egg white from the egg yolk. With a mixer, start beating the egg white. In a bowl, combine 85 g of granulated sugar with the cream of tartar. When the egg white starts to turn white, gradually add in the mixture of sugar and cream of tartar. Do not add it at once, add it in 3 or 4 times to let the dried ingredients mix well with the egg white. This will take approximately 10 to 15 minutes, until the meringue reaches stiff peak. Let it aside.

3. Now beat the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar (45 g). When it is well mixed, add in the vegetable oil. Let it beat for several minutes until the egg yolk mix becomes pale yellow and fluffy.

4. Preheat the oven at 375°F.

5. Add the milk and lightly beat it. Then by hand, mix the dried ingredients from step 1. When the batter is well mixed, add some meringue. The meringue must be added in at least 3 times. Gently fold in one direction. This step is very delicate, changing directions of folds or overdoing the mixing could cause the sponge cake to lose its volume while baking. Once the batter is mixed well, pour it in a 12 inches cake pan.

6. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the top becomes golden brown. Once you take it out, do not forget to tap it from the bottom so that the hot air can escape and prevent the cake from flattening. Let it cool for an hour before manipulating it.

7. Meanwhile, wash some strawberries and kiwis and wipe them dry. You can use other fruits than strawberries and kiwis, it is all up to your taste. Select the best looking strawberries to decorate them on top. Slice the rest of the strawberries and the kiwi. Take some paper towel and tap on the sliced fruits to remove the extra moisture.

8. Now, let’s prepare the whipping cream. Pour the heavy cream in a mixer to beat it. Add in some vanilla extract and start adding sugar when the heavy cream gradually thickens. Add the sugar in several times. Beat until the whipping cream reaches the consistency that you desire and put it in the fridge until the cake is completely cool.

9. When the cake is cool, slice it horizontally. Spread a thin layer of whipping cream on the top of the bottom slice of cake. Then place the sliced strawberries. Then before placing the other slice of cake, spread some more whipping cream. When placing the second slice, gently pat to make it even. Now spread the rest of the whipping cream and decorate it with the rest of the fruits on top. To make it even better looking, sprinkle some powdered sugar and cocoa powder.

Good luck and enjoy! 

Kabocha Cheesecake

Someday in October, I came back home to the fragrant smell of spices. I could tell that it was the perfume of Thanksgiving, as the room stank like pumpkin. My sweet old landlady came to me and said: “[My neighbour]’s oven crashed and so I offered her to use mine instead!” Boy, it smelled so good that I needed to know how to cook that delicious thing in the oven!

A pumpkin coconut cheesecake was the treat. I must say that it tasted really good, but I wanted to add an exotic twist to it. Plus, I have a big preference in preparing everything from scratch and cutting pumpkin tends to be a difficult task. And so, I replaced the pumpkin with kabocha butter squash, and it turns out that the marriage between kabocha, coconut and cream cheese is perfect. In the case where you don’t like kabocha, you can always replace it with pumpkin.

It is a long recipe, but I find it totally worth it!

Ingredients:

(Purée)

1 cup steamed kabocha

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp sugar

½ tsp grinded ginger

½ tsp nutmeg and salt

1 tsp vanilla

(Base crust)

1 ½ cup oatmeal

½ cup all purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

A pinch of grounded cinnamon

½ cup shortening (soften at a room temperature)

1 egg

(Cheese filling)

4 eggs

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

500g mascarpone cheese

Shredded coconut

Whipping cream

1. Cut the kabocha into half and steam it for 30 minutes or until it becomes soft and tender.

2. When the kabocha is ready, cut it into pieces and place it in a blender to prepare the purée. Add all the ingredients for the purée and blend until smooth.

3. Preheat the oven at 350°F.

4. For the base crust, you will need to mix all the dry ingredients together. Use your hands to mix the shortening with the dry ingredients and finally add in the egg. Then in a 10 inch diameter cake pan, layer the crust. Press firmly and use a fork to poke the crust, it will help baking evenly. Bake it for 10-15 minutes, do not overcook it since you will need to bake it one more time later. Let it cool in a rack and now set the oven at 325°F for baking the cheesecake later.

5. While waiting for the crust, you shall prepare the cheese filling. With a mixer, beat the eggs, brown sugar and granulated sugar. When everything is combined, add in the mascarpone cheese. Beat until the texture becomes smooth and incorporate the kabocha purée. Then add the shredded coconut and whipping cream. When everything is mixed, pour the filling on the crust.

6. Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes or until the top becomes golden brown.

7. Let it cool for a few hours before placing it in the fridge for at least four hours. It tastes best if you let it cool overnight.

Good luck and enjoy!

Gaji Namul: Eggplant Side Dish (Improvisation)

Cooking is an art. It is spontaneous and free to interpretations. It should be international and not always associated with one specific nation or culture.

Living in such a multicultural place, I should call this dish a soy sauce marinated eggplant. Whether it is Korean-authentic or not, I doubt that the authenticity would overweight the importance of the taste, which has been inspired by the Korean eggplant side dish Gaji Namul. So if you are looking for something easy to cook, throw yourself in.

Since this recipe is an improvisation, meaning that I made it without measuring the ingredients, I will only list the items needed, but not the quantity. Basically, everything is according to your own taste. In the picture above, I've used two eggplants. I personally suggest eating Gaji Namul with rice and beef, since the chemistry between beef and eggplants is simply amazing!


Ingredients:

Chinese eggplants
Chinese soy sauce
Rice vinegar
Sugar
Sesame oil
Korean pepper flakes (Gochugaru)
Garlic
Sesame seeds
Green onions

1. Slice the eggplants into quarters and steam them for 15 to 20 minutes or until it becomes soft. Let it cool and drain for a bit and when it is cool enough to handle, tear the quarters of eggplants into strips (about the size of a finger, or thinner if you like it finer). Let it aside to drain from the excess of water.

2. In a big bowl, mix soy sauce, rice vinegar and sugar altogether, everything is up to your own taste. Don't forget to add garlic to bring up the taste of the eggplants. When it reaches the taste you like, add the eggplants in the sauce. Mix well and then add in some sesame oil and a bit of Gochugaru.

3. Let it rest for at least 20 minutes. If you put it in the fridge, let it rest for at least 1 hour. The longer it sits, the more the taste will penetrate in the eggplants.

4. Serve it with chopped green onions and sesame seeds sprinkled on top of the Gaji Namul. It is better served cold.

Good luck and enjoy!

Kimchi and Kkakdugi

Ingredients

1 Medium size cabbage

1 large daikon (optional)

2 tbsp of sugar (optional)

1 cup of Salt

1 tbsp of sugar

1 tbsp of glutinous rice flour

¼ cup of water

1 carrot

6 spring onions

6 garlic cloves

1 knob of ginger

1 cup of chili flakes/gochugaru

¼ of a large onion

¼ cup daikon juice

¼ cup dried opossum shrimps

¼ of an asian pear

1. Cut the cabbage into quarters. To do it, simply slice the stem in half and use your hands to separate the cabbage into half. Then slice the halved stems into half and separate again. This is to help the cabbage leaves keep their natural form and makes it easier to work with.

2. Soak the cabbage in a big pool of salted water. About 10 cups of water for 2 tbsp of salt. Make sure that each leave is well soaked. Then remove the cabbage from water after 2 or 3 minutes, then sprinkle salt to each leave and specifically at the stem. Having salt well spread would make the cabbage crunchy. The amount of salt may sum up to 1 cup. Let it sit for 2 hours.

3. (if you want to prepare Kkakdugi) Peel the daikon and cut it into 1 inch wheels. Leave two wheels aside for the kimchi paste later. With the other wheels, cut them into cubes for making Kkakdugi. Then add 2 tbsp of salt and 2 tbsp of sugar. Let it sit for 2 hours.

4. After 2 hours, shake the cabbage and daikon. Let it sit for another hour. This process serves to dry out all the water from the vegetables, making them crunchier.

5. Rinse the cabbage at least 3 times to remove the excess of salt. Then let it aside for all the water to drip. As for the daikon, pour out ¼ cup of the juice that comes with it. Then, rince the daikon at least 3 times to get rid of the excess of salt. Let it drip.

6. Meanwhile, cut the carrot, the two wheels of daikon and spring onions à la julienne. Leave them aside. Then, finely chop, garlic, ginger, pear, and onion altogether and blend them in a food processor, then add in the chili flakes and julienne cut vegetables to the puree. Manually mix them.

7. Then, in a sauce pan, prepare the rice porridge by boiling water, sugar and glutinous rice flour. Stir until the solution becomes white and reaches a smooth and slightly thick consistency, remove it from heat and let it cool for a minute.

8. Add fish sauce, shrimps, daikon juice and the mix of chopped vegetables in the porridge, this will be the kimchi paste.

9. When the paste is ready, spread the paste to the cabbage, then put it in a container. Make sure that each leave is well spread. Then with the rest of the paste, mix it with the cubed daikon. Put them in another container. For both the Kimchi and Kkakdugi, leave them in a place at room temperature, away from sunlight for 12 to 24 hours. The longer it stays outside, the more it becomes sour.

Jars of Kkakdugi and Kimchi

10. Serve it or leave it in the fridge!

It is suggested to consume the kimchi within a month or two. Enjoy!