Lunar New Year

Happy Year of the Tiger to all! 새해 복 많이 받으세요 


On the lunar new year, or 설날 (seollal) Koreans allegedly start the day with a big bowl of tteok guk - or rice cake soup. 


For me, it was just a good excuse to whip up this simple, tasty favorite. 

A simple broth is brought to a boil (I used about 1 1/2 c of my pho beef stock with about 1 c of water).

 

Then add sliced tteok (Korean rice cakes). I only had tteok-bogi tteok in the house, but they do make pre-sliced soup-style tteok.

The thinly sliced beef is optional, but I find it rather tasty. You can also add a small bunch of sweet potato (jap chae) noodles if you like.

Also chop up a scallion or two. Season the broth with 2 TBS soy sauce, 1 TBS sesame oil.

Pour 1 beaten egg over the boiling soup and wait 10 seconds, before drawing figure-8s through to create egg ribbons.

Garnish your soup with black pepper and thin strips of toasted seaweed (gim or laver)

Jake and I also had some great eats for Valentine's Day: 



Dreaming? of getting back into the gym this week! Had a lot of great eating in the last week, time to get back on track.

Snow day, part 6

Wednesday was the day I nearly cracked.

I've barely left my apartment since last Thursday. Yes. A full week from today. The only other human I've seen besides the odd passerby and the Giant cashier on Saturday has been Jake.

So, like any cabin-fevered, stir-crazy individual, I threw myself into another round of baking last night.

The result?

First, it's been a while since I used pate a choux for anything, and it's the first time I used it in my new oven. Damn thing isn't exactly reliable, so the first batch of these were a little flatter than should have been. Anyway, rather than post the step by steps, I'm trying this out:



Next came a second round of whoopie pies.

 

  

Dinner was a slight departure from pho to the Korean-ish version of pho, mul naeng myun. 

Mul naeng myun is traditionally a summer dish, served icy cold to combat those hundred degree days in Seoul. Like pho, it combines noodles, broth, meat and is seasoned to each person's own liking.

Finally, I threw together some polenta and grilled it up as a nice side dish.

RECIPE for grilled polenta:
Boil 2 c water, 1 c buttermilk, 3 TBS butter, 1 tsp salt or season salt.
Gently whisk in 1 c corn meal or polenta. Continue stirring over low heat 5-10 mins.
Pour into a round or square tin, allow to chill until firm (about 20-30 mins)
Turn out on a cutting board or plate, slice into pieces.
Heat grill pan over high heat, spray with non-stick oil and grill each piece until warmed through.
Dust with sea salt to serve.

 

  

  

Dreaming? of hopefully returning to work, and re-joining civilization sometime soon!

snOMG! snoMAGGEDON! snoPOCALYPSE!

So, as you may have heard, the entire Washington Metro has effectively shut down for fear of an apocalyptic snow storm that began midday yesterday.

 

My car, as of about noon, Saturday. 

Photo by Jake

Yes, we have about 20 inches of snow so far. What to do? Yes, that's right... cook. I joined the throngs of foolish idiots both Thursday night AND Friday morning and braved the markets - first to HMart (this was the weekend we were supposed to go), then to Giant. As a result of NWS and other "officials" making recommendations that people should prepare for up to 5 days, they of course, began ransacking the stores, stocking up like it was Y2K all over again.

First project: Homemade pho.

I've been on a major pho kick lately, and poor Jake (who does not believe "soup is a meal") has been a good sport, and been dragged from pho house to pho house over and over again.

So, I finally decided to try my hand at making it. I used two recipes as reference texts, one from Serious Eats, and one from Viet World Kitchen (at the recommendation of one of the commenters on the Serious Eats post). I didn't exactly stick to either recipe, and had somewhat mixed results.

First, I did follow the advice of @aqnguyen and charred the onion and ginger first. I'm not sure if this really helped for the ginger, but it sure smelled nice. Additionally, since I do not have a large 12-quart stock pot, I tried to use two small stock pots. But, I'm not sure I had enough bones, onions or ginger for this. My stock, after the initial 2-3 hours, was a bit watery.

The onions and garlic got added to 4 lbs of beef soup bones (as they were labeled at the HMart. Fairly cheap, not a bad buy. And the tendon meat that fell off these was out of this world) and a bunch of spices. Star anise, cinnamon, cloves, white pepper (my addition), crushed garlic cloves - skin still on, and fish sauce (I accidentally bought oyster sauce and substituted). I also had a half bunch of cilantro leftover from tacos, which I split, and tossed into each pot. I split these ingredients among the pots and covered each with water. After 3 hours, I tasted and, although my house smelled amazing, the broth was disappointingly watery.

The stock went back on for another two or so hours. I tried keeping the pots uncovered and at a high boil, in attempt to boil down the stock, and intensify the existing flavors. I also added some salt, and more oyster sauce. I tried transferring most of the bones and seasonings into one pot, to try and intensify the flavors, while allowing the other pot to boil down even further.

Finally, it tasted delicious. I pulled as much tendon and soft meat from the bones as I could. Loaded up my bowl with noodles, raw slices, the tendon...

Then ladled in the boiling broth, bean sprouts, cilantro, pepper slices and lime juice. YUM.

Was it perfect? Of course not. My broth is way darker than it's supposed to be. I strained it many many times, but I know there's still some stuff (broken bits of cinnamon stick, mostly) floating around. 

Was it delicious? Of course!! And it's amazing to have a big bowl of pho waiting for me at any time! I think if I were to make it again, I'd probably buy the soup bones, and boil them storebought stock (there's a good one I get for mul naengmyun that I like) with the spices in a satchet -- but probably not start entirely from scratch again. It took too long, and was kind of a pain! 

Dreaming? of a magically clean kitchen, so I can get to my next snOMG/snoMAGGEDON cooking adventure!!

Empanadas!!

Inspired by a post on Serious Eats today, I tried my hand at empanadas tonight. The recipe for the crust was quick and easy, and turned out to be the most impressive flaky pastry I've tried. 

The filling on SE was a bit less my style, however, as I don't eat raisins OR olives, so I put together a beef-corn-beans-cheese concoction that was equally yummy.

The dough, after scraping it out of the food processor. It's cream cheese based, and smells great. Knead it gently, wrap it up and chill for 30+ mins. I made the filling (ground beef, chopped onions, cilantro, homemade taco seasoning -- salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, chili powder, cumin -- corn, black beans, 2 c of cheese, 2 oz cream cheese) in a large skillet. We have a TON leftover.

When the dough comes out, fold it into a log, and slice into 10 even parts. Roll out about 4-5 inches in diameter. Fill with about 1/4 c taco mix, wet the edges, and fold over to seal. Press the edges down with a fork.

Some recipes call for baking, others call for frying the empanadas. I filled the baking sheet with ones for baking, then fried the last four. I also found the first two I made were too big, and the dough too thin. The warmth of the filling started to melt the dough (see the top two below). Brush with egg wash, prick with a fork to allow steam to escape. 20 mins @350F

While the first batch are in the oven, I heated a frying pan with oil and fried up the last four.

The result was a delicious meal with tons of leftovers! The fried ones, as expected, were hot, flaky and perfect. The baked ones became a little misshapen, but overall were not too bad. The crust does well both ways.

 

  

 

RECIPES:

From Serious Eats:

Cream Cheese Pastry

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Procedure

1. Process the butter, cream cheese, and cream in a food processor, electric mixer or by hand to thoroughly combine.

2. Add the flour and salt. Process until just combined and the dough holds together in a ball. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Divide into 2 pieces. Flatten into disks and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. If the dough is chilled overnight, take it out 15 minutes before rolling out.

Taco filling

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1/2 c diced onion

1/2 can corn

1/2 can black beans

1/3 c chopped cilantro

salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, chili powder, cumin (about 1-2 TBS total)

1 c monterrey jack cheese, shredded

1 c cheddar cheese, shredded

2 oz cream cheese

1. Brown beef in a skillet, add onion and cilantro and spices.
2. Drain and rinse corn, black beans. Mix in with the beef. 

3. Sprinkle with cheese and mix until thickened. 

4. Remove from heat, allow to cool before spooning into pastry rounds.

5. Bake empanadas for 20 minutes at 350 F or fry in shallow pan with oil

Homemade salsa

In a food processor, combine 1/2 bunch cilantro, 2 cloves garlic, 2-3 inch chunk of onion. Pulse until a paste forms. Pour in 2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes (with juices), 1/2 TBS salt, 1/2 TBS sugar, 1 TBS white vinegar, 2-3 TBS chili oil (or use a a jalapeno). Process until smooth. Squeeze a lime into the salsa.

Coconut red curry

Finally got my pho cravings fulfilled, but I also threw on a big wok-ful of red curry last night, so Jake and I are totally set for lunches this week. 

These photos are actually from when I made it for dinner last week. 

First, ginger, garlic and Thai red curry paste (I like a TON, 3-5 TBS, or most of the jar) get fried in about 4 TBS oil. When it smells absolutely amazing (or when the garlic starts threatening to burn), mix in your coconut milk. It turns a beautiful, silky orange-red color. 

Next, mix in your proteins (chicken and tofu, in this case), and veggies (chopped spinach, water chestnuts, green onions and potato -- I used sweet potato in place of little red potatoes last week, and they were great). I also put in a little chicken stock (about 1 cup or so)

Season with paprika, cayenne, yellow curry powder and basil.

About 20 mins later, this is what you've got. Squeeze a lime over before serving.

RECIPE:

Coconut Red Curry (serves 4)

1 TBS minced ginger (or 1 tsp powdered)

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 small jar red curry paste

1 can coconut milk

1+ c homemade chicken stock

1 block tofu, fried 

2 chicken breasts, cooked, cubed or shredded

2 large handfuls chopped spinach

1 -2 c potato pieces (normally I use red potatoes, but subbed in a sweet potato with good results)

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 TBS curry powder

1 TBS paprika

1 TBS cayenne pepper (or to taste)

See instructions with photos

Dreaming? of attempting to make pho at home next weekend!

Sunday dinner

Trying to avoid the mayhem of NFL playoffs happening in my living room (also while waiting for Comcast to stop failing at life), I spent today cooking up a storm.

First, I used a no-knead bread recipe and made jumbo muffins, which turned out beautifully:

 

Next up, I made Jake's mother and grandmother's chicken and dumplings, along with Mark Bittman's popovers. For the first time ever, one of Bittman's recipes didn't go perfectly, and there was quite a bit o smoke in our apartment for a while.  

 They're a little burnt, but more or less OK. And we got the windows open pretty quick, so no major damage. :)  But learned the valuable lesson that our oven doesn't do well at 450F or higher.

 

Seasoned chicken over a bed of sliced onions, slice 6 TBS butter pats and arrange on top of chicken, cover with foil and roast 30-45 mins.

Dumplings boiled in homemade stock

 

The popovers, chicken and dumplings, and my first attempt at gravy (went surprisingly well) -- a really nice Sunday dinner. :) Definitely comfort food.

RECIPES:

Whole wheat walnut muffins:

1 2/3 c buttermilk or yogurt, or both (I used 6 oz yogurt, 1 c buttermilk)

1/2 c molasses (or honey + an egg)

2 1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c corn meal or white flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2-1 c nuts/seeds (I used 1 handful walnuts and 1 handful pepitas)

Sift together dry ingredients in a medium bowl

Whisk together wet ingredients

Mix wet into dry until a crumbly batter forms.

Spoon into jumbo sized muffin tins (about 3/4 way full), brush with melted butter

Bake at 350 for 20 mins, rotating pan halfway through

(Can also bake in a loaf tin 50 mins-1 hr at 325)

Chicken gravy:

1 c chicken stock (I used about half of what was left from boiling the dumplings)

pan drippings from chicken and dumplings

3/4 c milk

1-2 TBS corn starch

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan, whisk hard to combine corn starch before it sets. (I let mine sit a little, and it boiled, like little corn starch dumplings... if this happens, strain your gravy at the end)

Continue whisking 5-8 minutes until gravy darkens and thickens.

I didn't season mine at all, but the butter and drippings from the chicken pan had been well seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic.

 The homemade stock also had a ton of flavor -- if using storebought stock, consider adding a bayleaf or other seasonings.

Serve over chicken, dumplings and popovers.

Braised baby bok choy

In an attempt to eat a tiny bit healther (#10in10 challenge), I picked up some baby bok choy at the Korean market this weekend, along with some fresh shrimp. Funny thing about shrimp: raw, fresh was $2.49 a lb, pink, frozen was $7.99 a pound. I figured, hm, no brainer! What I forgot: raw shrimp comes with the legs, shells, and tails still on, and need to be deveined. = extra work. Damn!

Into the giant skillet went the leftover leeks, which appeared to be on their last legs when I gave them a squeeze, but worked beautifully, and some crushed garlic:

Drizzled in about 1/2 c soju (Korean rice spirits, but would have used white wine if had it on hand)
Then threw in the washed baby bok choy, stems trimmed. Salt, pepper, juice of 1 lemon:

When the greens are wilted (and there's room in the pan), toss in the shrimp, and watch vigilantly! Shrimp cook up fast, and over-cooked shrimp are rubbery (and disgusting). But, really, you could use chicken, scallops, some fish fillets , I've used squid rings before. Before serving, sprinkle 1-2 tsp corn starch to thicken the sauce.

The result? A healthy and insanely tasteful meal that's mostly made up of booze-soaked veggies:

Enjoy!

A ton o' pics

Since moving to the new place, I haven't had a ton of internet access. So, here's a round up of pictures I've taken, starting with our last meal in the old place.

THE LAST SUPPER: Bibimbap in the basement

Officially retiring the wine bottle rolling pin. New one on it's way!

Frying up the bulgogi

Pan frying the dumplings, as had already packed the bamboo steamer (see below)

 

MMMM bibimbap!!(recipe to follow)

FOOD PROCESSOR

Ingredients for hummus

 

In action!! Fastest hummus ever!

 

Pie crust dough, just for something else to try

Flaky and delicious

BAMBOO STEAMER ACTION

 

 

Recipes:

Bibimbap (Korean rice bowl)

1 1/2 c cooked rice (traditional Koreans use whatever is leftover from the day before)
Any veggies of the following (about 1/4 c of each per serving - sliced matchstick style, sauteed lightly in vegetable oil or butter spray):
baby carrots, spinach, zucchini, onion, enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, daikon radish, bean sprouts
ground beef, pork belly or steak (korean bbq style) - about 1/3 c
1 egg, fried on the bottom
1 -3 TBS gochuchang (red pepper paste)

Drizzle 1 TBS sesame oil over rice, arrange vegetables in segments on top of rice, top with fried egg and the gochuchang. Stir to combine.




Hummus (adapted from the Cuisinart recipe book)
1 large can chick peas/garbanzo beans
2 cloves garlic
zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 TBS tahini, more to taste
1 tsp cumin
salt, to taste
2 TBS olive oil
5 TBS water
optional: small handful parsley, 1 tsp red chili flakes

In a food processor, chop the garlic, lemon zest, cumin until well combined.
Add chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, water and parsley if using. Pulse until smooth. Mix in salt and chili flakes, if using, to taste
Add more water and olive oil in small batches to desired consistency. Hummus should be smooth, but thick and creamy.

If you don't have a food processor, you can still make hummus. I use to use an old school mortar and pestle (you could use a heavy mixing bowl and a large spoon or other heavy kitchen tool) to mash up the chickpeas, then mix in minced garlic, the tahini, oil and water (hot water usually helped smooth things out). The hummus is a little chunkier, and if you have a blender (I had a terrible bullet blender), you can try to blend it a little smoother.

Dreaming? of all the new things I can make with my food processor!!