Posts under "Cuisine"

Korean New Year: A Traditional Soup Recipe

Posted by Linda 2 Comments
Jan 2 2012

Happy New Year! “새해 복 많이 받으세요!” or the transliteration,
“Say hey bok mahn ee bahd euh sae yo!” The literal meaning roughly translates to, “May this year bring you many blessings!”

Many Koreans celebrate both solar and lunar New Years. Lunar New Year is called 설날 or the transliteration, “Sohl-nahl”. And, the literal meaning roughly translates to, “new day”. 설날 will be celebrated on January 23rd; it will be the year of the water dragon!

But first, let’s celebrate the solar New Year! On January 1st (solar New Year), most Koreans celebrate by eating a traditional rice cake soup called 떡 국 or the transliteration, “duk guk”. Many Koreans add stuffed dumplings called 만두 or the transliteration, “mandu” to 떡 국; this soup is called 떡 만두 국 or the transliteration, “duk mandu guk”. Both soups are symbolic. The white 떡 represents new beginnings, or an “in with the new”. And, 만두 is usually stuffed with old kimchi representing an “out with the old”.

So, 떡 만두 국 is symbolic for the age-old saying, “Out with the old, and in with the new!”

떡 만두 국 is easy to make, and recipes vary (from using beef or chicken broth, to adding beef or omelet slices). Most ingredients are readily available at Korean grocery stores. Here is a simple recipe for 떡 만두 국:

Ingredients:
4 cups— water 물 (mul)

2 cups— chicken broth 닥물 (dak mul)

12 pieces— mandu 만두; frozen or thawed

1 cup— sliced rice cake 썰은 쌀떡 (saw-uhn sal duk); frozen

2 stalks— sliced green onions 파를 썰어 노고 (pah-duhl saw-doh no-kho)

Spices 양념 (yang yum):
2 teaspoons— salt 소금 (soh gum)

1 teaspoon— pepper 후추 (hu chu)

2 teaspoons— sesame oil 기름 (cham ghee ruhm)

Optional: 2 handfuls— roasted/seasoned seaweed 기름 (guhn gim); hand crumbled

Directions:
This recipe makes 2 large servings or 4 small servings.

In a large pot, boil 4 cups of water and 2 cups of chicken broth.

Bring to a boil, and then add 12 pieces of mandu (frozen or thawed) and 1 cup of sliced rice cake pieces (frozen). Let the soup come to a boil.

Allow the soup to boil for about 3 to 5 minutes. While the soup is boiling, add 2 stalks of sliced green onions and all spices: (2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and 2 teaspoons of sesame oil).

Turn the heat down to a low simmer; ensure that the sliced rice cake pieces are soft. If the rice cakes are soft  and floating on top of the broth, the soup is done!

떡 만두 국

Using a big ladle, spoon the soup into bowls. Then, garnish each bowl of soup with a handful of crumbled roasted seaweed. Pour a little bit of sesame oil on top for extra flavor. Serve with kimchi! Enjoy!

Enjoy!

Korean Persimmons

Posted by Linda No Comments
Dec 10 2011

It’s harvest time in Korea, and autumn (October to early December) is the only season persimmons are plentiful. If you live in Korea, you will see them being sold everywhere—from outdoor markets, grocery stores, to subway stations. For about 1,000 won, you can buy four to five persimmons. An affordable and healthy treat, persimmons are rich in potassium, magnesium, and vitamin A.

A persimmon 감, or the transliteration “gam”, is a Buddhist symbol of transformation. Before the persimmon is ripe, it’s green and very bitter. But, it changes its color to a vibrant orange and is very sweet when ripe. This “bitter to sweet” symbolic fruit is mostly eaten when ripe.

There are two types of persimmons found in Korea. One type is a hachiya persimmon 떫은감, or the transliteration “tteolbeun gam”; this translates to “sour persimmon”. A 떫은감 has a deep orange flesh, is acorn shaped, soft, and is often mistaken for a tomato at first glance. Once ripe, it’s soft and sweet with a lot of pulp. Eating one can get a bit messy! You can bite right into one, mash a few up, or make jam.

Another type is a fuyu persimmon 단감, or the transliteration “dan gam”; this translates to “sweet persimmon”. A 단감 has a light colored orange flesh, is round with a flat bottom, and has a crunchy pumpkin-like flavor. You can eat them when they are almost ripe, with or without its skin. The fuyu persimmon is my favorite variety because it’s eaten like an apple and isn’t as messy and sticky as the hachiya.

Fuyu persimmons were in full bloom this autumn on Dobong Mountain, a popular hiking destination near Seoul.

Even if you don’t care for persimmons, their rich colors definitely “spice up” Korea’s landscape in a beautiful way! Persimmon trees 감 나무, or the transliteration “gam namu” are found throughout Korea, particularly in mountainous regions.

Many Koreans eat ripe and dried persimmons. Year round, Korean markets and grocery stores carry dried persimmons 곶감, or the transliteration “got gam”. The word 곶 translates roughly into the English definition, “to skewer”. The traditional way to dry persimmons is on skewers; think: shish kebob persimmons! 곶감 are very sweet! You can also  use dried persimmons to make a popular dessert punch called 수정과, or the transliteration “sujeong-gwa”. 수정과 has a spicy ginger, cinnamon flavor; it’s revered as an acid-reflux and nausea reducer. Emily Kim of www.maangchi.com has a very easy to follow YouTube video and step-by-step instructions on how to make this traditional Korean tea: http://bit.ly/TLS8a.

Enjoy the last days of autumn! I am drinking a hot cup of 수정과!

Below are keywords and a correlating sentence. For simplicity, the progression from one word, to two words, to a simple sentence is listed below.

One word—
Persimmon:  감 ,”gam”

Two words—
Persimmon tree:  감 나무 , “gam namu”

A simple sentence—
“A persimmon tree is beautiful.”, “감나무 가 아름답다”, “Gam namu ga aleumdabda.”

 

References: Photos provided by Kelly West Mars Photography.

Korean Sweets: Sukshilgwa

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Oct 3 2011

There is a type of Korean confectionary called Sukshilgwa (숙실과) that refers to sweets that are made by using fruits that have been heated and then coated with sweeteners like honey or sugar. Sukshilgwa literally means ‘cooked fruits’, which is basically what sukshilgwa is. It is a traditional Korean sweet that used to be presented for grand feasts, but nowadays sukshilgwa can hardly be seen because of the arduous process in making it.

One type of sweet that falls under the category of Sukshilgwa is Joran (조란). Joran is a tasty Korean treat that involves boiling some jujubes in honey water until they are soft. Then the jujubes are cut open and the pits are thrown out. The rest of the jujubes are formed into the shape that you see in the picture. Then as a decorative measure a piece of pine nut is taken and pressed onto one end of the joran. This is a healthy treat to munch on when you have some time to kill!

Yullan (율란) is a type of sukshilgwa that uses chestnuts. The chestnuts are boiled until they are soft and later formed into the shape of a chestnut by hand. You can kind of cheat and shorten the process by just buying chestnut powder, which is powder that is made from grinding chestnuts. Whether you boil the chestnuts or buy the powder, remember to add some honey to the amount that you like. Then at the very end add some cinnamon powder at the base of the yullan to mimic the look of chestnuts.

Sengran (생란) is a type of sukshilgwa that is made of ginger. The skin off the ginger is first peeled and boiled with sugar water until it is soft. Then the ginger is grinded in a mixer and shaped into a three sided star with some honey. Some people like to coat the outside of the sengran with some sugar or coconut powder to further sweeten the sengran. Sengran has that extra kick or spice mixed with sweetness, so it’ll definitely make an impact on your tongue!

Naengmyeon

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Sep 29 2011

Sometimes you just get a craving for something light, refreshing but yet filling. Korean cold noodle is just the thing to satisfy that craving. One type of Korean cold noodle is Naengmyeon (냉면). Naengmyeon can be served with a cold broth, in which case the dish will be called Mul naengmyeon (물냉면). Mul naengmyeon is made from a broth made from chicken or beef. Usually mul naengmyeon is garnished with sliced cucumbers and a boiled egg.

Another type of naengmyeon is called bibim naengmyeon (비빔냉면). Bibim naengmyeon is a type of cold noodle without a broth. It’s basically just gochujang (고추장) or red chili paste, and noodles mixed together. Bibim naengmyeon is usually spicier than mul naengmyeon. Sliced cucumbers, a boiled egg cut in half are used to garnish the noodles. Sometimes some sesame seeds are added. Some people optionally add a little vinegar as well.

If you like a little seafood in your naengmyeon, then you’ll like Hoe naengmyeon (회냉면). Hoe naengmyeon is from the city of Hamhung (함흥) in North Korea. Hoe naengmyeon is a type of naengmyeon using raw fish. The fish is marinated with gochujang, seasame oil, vinegar and sugar. The noodles are made from potato starch, which is different from the buckwheat noodles usually made for mul naengmyeon.

 

Pyeongyang naengmyeon (평양녕면) is also a cold noodle dish that originated from North Korea. The broth of Pyeongyang naengmyeon is made from beef and dongchimi (동치미). Dongchimi is a cabbage, raddish, ginger, pear, spring onion, green chili type of watery kimchi popular in North Korea. Sometimes people add mustard oil to the broth to add some tangy flavor to the broth. Pyeongyang naengmyeon is usually garnished with radish and beef slices with a hard boiled egg.

There’s another type of naengmyeon called Yeolmu naengmyeon (열무냉면). Yeolmu naengmyeon is a variety of naengmyeon garnished with yeolmu kimchi (열부김치), a hard boiled egg, and sliced cucumbers. The yeolmu kimchi is a type of kimchi using only the leaves and stalks of a radish. The yeolmu kimchi contains a bit of hot pepper paste so this variety of naengmyeon can be slightly spicy. That’s why some people prefer to add ice to this cold noodle dish.

Korean Flower Pancakes

Posted by Ginny 2 Comments
Aug 15 2011

Have you ever had Hwajeon (화전) before? Hwajeon is a Korean style pancake that is usually decorated with a flower. The most common kind of hwajeon is the Jindallae Hwajeon (진달래화전). Jindallae Hwajeon is a type of Korean pancake with azaleas. Making and eating Jindallae Hwajeon used to be a traditional Korean pastime. There are still some people who still partake in this tradition, but not as many as before.

 

Guk Hwajeon (국화전) is a type of hwajeon made with chrysanthemum leaves. It used to be the case where guk hwajeon was consumed for an old Korean autumn festival called Juyangjeol (중양절), but that festival is rarely observed nowadays, so the custom of making guk hwajeon has dwindled as well. When the autumn festival was widely observed, guk hwajeon was often consumed with gukhwaju (국화주), which is a type of Korean rice wine made with chrysanthemums.

Jangmi Hwajeon (장미화전) is a type of Korean rose pancake. Usually red (sometimes they are maroon colored) rose petals are carefully decorated and placed on top of the hwajeon. Unlike the guk hwajeon, the jangmi hwajeon is  typically made during the summer. In the past the season determined the type of hwajeon that one could make, but since Koreans now have access to flowers all year long, it’s not unusual to see people making Jangmi Hwajeon in whatever season.

In the spring time is when people start making Jebikkot Hwajeon (제비꽃화전), which is a type of violet flower hwajeon. Making a hwajeon is pretty simple. You just take some glutinous rice flour and sugar and mix them into a dough like consistency. Then you roll out the dough and take some cookie cutters and let the cut out pieces sit in a griddle or frying pan. After the hwajeon is done you can decorate them with any edible flower.

 

Maendrami Hwajeon (맨드라미화전) is a cockscomb flower hwajeon. A cockscomb flower is a yellow colored flower that has a light and fuzzy texture. Usually the maendrami hwajeon is made in the autumn season, but if there are no maendrami hwajeons in your area you can substitute them with any edible flower. Also, you don’t have to use glutinous rice flour to make a hwajeon. You can use some baking flour with sugar and water and decorate them with flowers!

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