Posts tagged with "Korean food"

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!

Jorim

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Aug 10 2010

Jorim (조림) refers to a type of dish that is prepared by letting the dish simmer in a thick sauce or soup. Here are some examples of Korean dishes prepared in this way :

장조림 are thin beef strips simmered in soy sauce. First beef is boiled in some water and when the beef becomes soft, the beef will tear apart like thin threads. Leave a little of the water and mix some soy sauce, sugar and ginger with the beef and water.

연근조림 is a lotus root that prepared with soy sauce. A lotus root is basically the root of the lotus flower. The root is round and surrounded by holes. Basically the roots are left to boil in water until they become soft. Then some crushed garlic and some grounded kelp powder called 다시마 is put into the water.

고등어조림 is a mackerel fish prepared with spicy chili pepper powder. First the fish is cut into four pieces and placed in a pot of boiling water. Some radish and onions are also boiled with the mackerel. Some salt, a bit of sugar and garlic is also added, and the mackerel simmers in the pot until the fish is cooked.

두부조림 is a tofu prepared with soy sauce and chili pepper powder. The tofu is cut in squares and a mixture of soy sauce, chili pepper powder and spring onions is poured over the tofu under low heat. When the bottom of the tofu turns brown, it is ready to be served.

깻잎조림 are perilla leaves mixed with soy sauce. First the leaves are separated from each other. Then a mixture of soy sauce and chili pepper powder is poured over every leaf. The leaves are soaked in the mixture for less than 10 minutes under low heat. When the heat turns off, the leaves are set in the mixture overnight.

Namul (나물)

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Feb 2 2009

Today’s post is going to be about food!  I recently had a craving for namul (나물) and decided to write a post about the different kinds of namul (나물) out there.  At this point you might be wondering what namul (나물) is.  Namul (나물) is a generic term for a marinated vegetable or plant dish.  Namuls (나물) are usually served as banchan (반찬) or side dishes.  A Korean meal can consist of several namul (나물) consumed with a bowl of rice. 

My favorite namul (나물) so far is miyok muchim (미역 무침).  Miyok muchim (미역 무침) is a dish of seaweed with vinegar, salt, and some processed crab fish.  Miyok (미역) means seaweed while muchim (무침) means marinated mixture.  You can also add some cucumber and shrimp to the mix as well.

 

Chiwi namul (취나물) is a type of namul that has been stir-fried and seasoned with seasame seeds, garlic and soy sauce.  Chiwi namul (취나물) is a type of Korean spinach.  Eating spinach isn’t really my thing, but somehow chiwi namul (취나물) tastes so good that I can overlook the fact that it’s spinach.

 

Lastly, there’s doraji namul (도라지 나물).  Doraji namul (도라지 나물) is a type of root from a flower that has been boiled until the roots turn soft.  Sometimes red pepper paste is added to make it spicy.  The best thing about doraji namul (도라지 나물) is that it’s really healthy.  Other than food, doraji (도라지 ) is used in many eastern medicines.

 

There are many other types of namul (나물).  However these three are my favorite!  Maybe somewhere down the line I’ll write another post on namul (나물).  Until then.  Take care everyone!

kimbap (깁밥)

Posted by Ginny 1 Comment
Dec 10 2008

I had some kimbap (김밥) for lunch today and decided to write a post about it.  What is kimbap (김밥)?  Kimbap (김밥) is rice, some vegetables and meat wrapped in seaweed.  Kim (깁) means seaweed and bap (밥) means rice.  Kimbap (김밥) is really easy to make.  You can pretty much put whatever you want in it.

First, get some seaweed.  You can easily get this at a Korean grocery store.  Then put some rice all over the seaweed.  I prefer to mix some vinegar with the rice.  This allows the rice to stick to the seaweed, but it’s not necessary.  It’s just that a little moisture can go a long way, but it’s up to you.  Also, use white rice.  I find that barley and brown rice is thicker, and it doesn’t stick to the seaweed as well as white rice.

I like to keep my kimbap (김밥) simple.  If you put more than three ingredients in the kimbap (김밥), it can get chunky.  When it gets chunky some of the contents can spill out.  My three favorites are: crab meat, some spinich, and eggs.  You can get some packaged crab meat at a Korean grocery store near you, and as for the spinich, you can get it fresh or canned.  If you buy the canned spinich, make sure you squeeze out the juice.  As for the eggs, cook them until the yolk is dry.  Then cut them into horizontal strips.  Place all the ingredients on top of the rice and roll everything with a bamboo roller. 

Here are some other alternatives: use beef or ham instead of crab meat.  As for vegetables, you can use cucumbers and carrots.  In Korea, kimbap (김밥) is used as picnic food.  It’s also a popular form of Korean fast food, because they’re great to eat when you’re in a hurry.  Unlike fast food though, kimbap (김밥) is healthier.  In some Korean shops, you can get two rolls for $3, which isn’t too bad, considering the variety of ingredients that go in it.  Ok everyone, that’s it for today and here’s a youtube clip on making kimbap (김밥):

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