Breakfast Sandwiches
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Q: Hi! When I was in Korea I used to eat egg and toast sandwiches made by street vendors, I think they were just called "Toasto." Is there a recipe for them? I know they put some sugar in, I'm not sure if it's anything else.
Life in Korea responded:
Several vendors have different recipes, but the most common seems to be the following:
- "toast" 2 slices of bread on a griddle (using way too much butter, but that's my personal opinion)
- mix 1 egg with shredded cabbage, carrots, and onions, then fry
- top egg with brown sugar and ketchup
- place on toasted bread and eat like a sandwich
- add ham or cheese, if desired
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Bindaetuk
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Q: My favourite street food in Korea is bindaetuk - pancakes made from mung beans. I recently found a recipe and tried to make them, but they were horrible - very tough and nothing like the ones I ate in Korea! Could you tell me how to make them?? (I am vegetarian)
Life in Korea responded:
A: Bindaeddeok is a great source of nutrition for vegetarians.
The ingredients may consist of either seafood or vegetables, depending on your liking.
A. Ingredients:
- Green peas, called nokdu (1 cup) + Sticky rice powder, called chahpssahl garoo (3 Tbs).
- Green bean sprouts (60g), Cabbage (2 leaves), Cayenne peppers (2), Green onions.
- Minced garlic (1 Tbs), Salt, Pepper, Sesame oil.
- Cooking oil, Soy sauce, Vinegar.
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B. Preparations:
- Soak the green peas in water for at least two hours and rub them between your hands to remove the skin. Then take them out of the water and mix then in a blender (2:1 pea to water ratio - add more water if you want a smoother mix) into it has been finely blended. Then add the sticky rice powder (chahp ssahl garoo). If you are going to mix it in a blender, make sure you wait until you are about to eat the bindaeddeok to retain the freshness of the peas.
- Dunk the cabbage leaves and bean sprouts in boiling water light, then remove them and squeeze out the excess water. Cut them with a knife, and cut the green onions and cayenne peppers into long, thin slivers and mix the condiments from ingredients list 3.
- Mix the ingredients from Preparations step numbers 1 and 2, and then cook them over a well oiled pan in medium-sized circles.
- Lightly dip the finished bindaeddeok into a soy sauce and vinegar mixture and enjoy!
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Korean Soup
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Q: I lived in Korea several years ago and learned to enjoy many Korean foods, even tho I am a vegetarian. I had a favourite soup that I used to eat at the markets in Pusan. My Korean friends used to laugh and say "that is poor man's food!" but I loved it! It was called su-jae-bi and was a clear soup with a kind of dumpling or noodle. I would love to make this soup - could you post a recipe?
Life in Korea responded:
Long ago, when the staple food of rice was scarce, Koreans used to make noodles or sujaebi from flour for food. Today, sujaebi is a commonly eaten dish that is easy to make, and is a wonderful dish to eat that incorporates the rich and refreshing taste of soup and chewiness of the dough mixture. We introduce this delicious, easy-to-make and serve recipe for you.
Ingredients:
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4 cups of flour, 2 cups of water, 2 potatoes, 1 zucchini, dried anchovies 50 g, 1 egg, a pinch of salt, 1 stalk of green onion, 4 cloves of garlic.
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Preparation:
- Mix the flour and water and knead carefully. Place the finished dough in a plastic bag (if done for appx 15-30 minute, the dough will become softer).
- Place the dried anchovies in a pot of about 10 cups of water and let it boil for about 20 minutes. Then take the 2 potatoes (peeled), zucchinis cut into half moon pieces (appx 0.5 cm in thickness) and add to the pot. (Removal of anchovies afterward is optional.)
- Take the dough from the plastic bag and flatten it out and tear pieces off that resembles small sheets of paper (5cm x 5cm) and add to the boiling pot. (The pieces should be added to the pot as soon as you tear them off so that they don't stick together.)
- After the dough has been cooked, add a pinch of salt for taste and the green onions (cut in lengths of about 3cm). Add the garlic, which should be finely chopped, and let it boil once again before you eat it.
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Gul-bang-ee Mu Jim
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Q: How do I make Gul-bang-ee Mu Jim? I like it with "Me-nar-ee" (lovage)
Life in Korea responded:
Gohl-bang-ee Mu-chim is a great dish for when you have just seem to have no appetite for anything or also when you crave something spicy and tangy. There are many dishes in Korean cooking that have that same spicy, tangy taste to it. Instead of using sea snails, squid dunked in boiling water also makes a great substitute.
Ingredients:
- Sea snails (gohl-bang-ee) 150 g, cucumber 50 g, dropwort (Japanese parsley) 30 g, an unripe hot pepper, small green onion 2 stalks, 1/4 of an onion.
- Condiments
Ground red pepper 1.5 Tbs, soy sauce 1 tsp, vinegar 2 Tbs, sugar 2 Tbs, salt 1 tsp, sesame seeds 1.2 Tbs, finely chopped garlic 1 Tbs, sesame oil 1 tsp.
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Preparations:
- Take canned sea snails and extract all of the juices from it. The bigger ones should be cut into 2-3 equal parts.
- Cut the cucumber in half and the further cut it into equal, long pieces. Cut the dropwort (Japanese parsley) into lengths of 4-5 cm. And cut the pepper into equal parts as well.
- Cut the onion into thin strips, and cut the green pepper in lengths of 3 cm.
- Mix the condiments in one bowl well.
- Before you eat, sprinkle the sauce from step 4 over the ingredients, and you're ready to eat!
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Bulgoki
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Q: I know I'm probably not spelling this correctly, but I recall one of my favorite dishes when I lived in Korea (1978-1980) was Bul go ki. Do you have a recipe for this? My daughter is doing a school project and chose Korea and we'll be doing some food as well as lots of other research to supplement the many things I have from my time there. Thanks!
Life in Korea responded:
First off, I'd like to apologize for the late response to your inquiry about bulgogi.
Bulgogi is a dish that incorporates the smoothness of thinly cut beef and the deep taste of many herbs and spices. You can either cook it on a barbecue grill and have some with fresh lettuce, or stir fry it on a
pan with a bit of water, mushrooms, onions, and other vegetables for an even smoother taste.
Ingredients:
- Beef- 400 g (they should be thinly cut to the width of approx. 0.3 cm); Asian pears- 100 g; green onions- 2 stalks; onions- 1/2.
- Soy sauce- 4 Tbs; sugar- 1 Tbs; finely chopped green onions- 2 Tbs; finely chopped garlic- 1 Tbs; sesame seeds- 1 Tbs; sesame oil- 1 Tbs; black pepper- a pinch.
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Preparations:
- Grind the Asian pears and the onions together. Then mix it well with the beef and leave it for about 10 minutes.
- Add all the ingredients from number 2 and mix it to the beef. Mix it very well and then leave it to marinate for about 20-30 minutes.
- Chop the two stalks of green onion and cook it on a pan with the beef. The beef should be cooked flat, and separately by strip.
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Sashimi
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Q: I was at Korean friends' house after we went fishing and caught some fish. We had this dish that I think was called Sashimi. It's with little fish strips and the Sashimi was really spicy and it was thick like tomato soup. It was really good. If you know what I'm talking about, could you please post a recipe for me?
Life in Korea responded:
I think what you ate was sashimi mixed with red sauce. Typically, in Korea we enjoy a sauce that is quite different to the Japanese style. But it is that sweet, tangy soy sauce mix with
vegetables that we like. Experience the taste of this special sauce that goes well with any kind of vegetable.
Chogochujang
Ingredients:
- gochujang (Korean red pepper paste) 4Tbs
- vinegar 2Tbs
- sugar 2Tbs
- garlic juice 1Tbs
- ginger juice 1tsp
- sesame seeds 1tsp
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Preparations:
- Excluding the sesame seeds, mix all the ingredients together.
- Place the mixture in a pretty bowl and add the sesame seeds.
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Kimchi-chon
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Q: Dear Chef Sophie, I am visiting my friend Mimi in the US and we want to make Kimchi-chon. The problem is that we don't have a good recipe! Please hurry and post the recipe so that we can have chon for dinner soon. Your recipes are so delicious!
Life in Korea responded:
There is a recipe for making kimchi, so it's your choice: you can either buy some kimchi from your nearest Korean grocery store (kimchi that has been fermented for a while is the one you want to get), otherwise, there is a recipe for making homemade kimchi on this website as well. Homemade kimchi is the best when eating it just after you have made it with a hot bowl of steamy sticky rice.
There are several different methods of making kimchi jon. You can cut the kimchi into small slices and make it with seafood (oysters, shrimp among other seafood products) and eggs. Just add a bit of flour and
make them on a well-oiled fry pan. It's really up to your preference, and personal touches can be made here and there.
Here is a recipe for kimchi jon that I think that you'd like. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
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Kimchi that is quite ripe (that has been squeezed of excess juice) 300 g; flour or powder called booh cheem garoo used especially in making jon (available in Korean grocery stores) 100 g, 1/2 an egg, chopped green onion
3 Tbs, tofu 50 g, chopped beef 100 g or oysters 200 g, sesame oil 1 Tbs, salt, pepper, water.
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Preparations:
- Squeeze the kimchi of all its excess moisture and juice and cut it into small slices.
- Squeeze the tofu of its excess moisture and juice and grind it down.
- Mix all the ingredients together so that it is well incorporated. Take a spoon and dig out large spoonful portions and make small pancakes. Cook them on a well-oiled frying pan.
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Korean Original Kimchi
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Q: Hi... my friend will come to my house, and he love spicy kimchi.. but I don't know how to make Korean original Kimchi... Could you post a recipe for original Kimchi??
Life in Korea responded:
Kimchi is a great traditional Korean dish that is sure to be a hit for your friend who is visiting Korea. Its strong, deep and unique taste can not be compared to any other dish, and contrary to what people might think, it goes quite well with meat or Western dishes.
Ingredients:
- 2 large cabbages used in making Kimchi (buy the firmer cabbages, which can be almost 5 pounds in weight each), rock salt 1/3 of a cup, 2 cups of water.
- Regular salt 3Tbs
- Ground red pepper 2/3 of a Cup (must be a Korean brand), grounded Asian pears 1/2 of a cup, grounded onions 1/2 of a cup.
- 6 Tbs of finely chopped garlic, 1 Tbs of finely chopped ginger, Salt 2-3 Tbs, Sugar 1tsp, eck jut (loosely translated - fish juice, available in Korean grocery stores) 1/2 of a Cup, white radish (chopped into thin horizontal strands, about 6 inches in length) 2 cups, green onions (4cm in length) 1 Cup,
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Preparations:
- Add the rock salt to the water from part A and add the cabbages.
On warm weather (at least 15 degrees Celsius) let it sit for 6 hours, on colder days (anything less than 10 degrees) let it sit for at least 8 hours.
- Separately mix the ingredients from part C. Then add in the ingredients from part D and mix well.
- Take the salted cabbages and set it on a large strainer so it drips excess water (let it sit for about 30 minutes). Add a little bit of salt in between the cabbage leaves.
- Then add the mixture from part C and D by liberally placing it in between each of the cabbage leaves. Take the outermost leaf of the cabbage and wrap it around the entire cabbage, making a neat little packages. After you have added all the mixture to the cabbages, place it in tupperware or a large jar and place it in a cool place.
- If you want it to ferment longer, let it sit out. But if you prefer the taste of just made kimchi, leave it in the refrigerator. When you're ready to eat it, cut it into slices.
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New Years Soup
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Q: I tried to make The New Years Rice Cake soup with dumplings and it didn't seem right. It called for 6 cups of rice medallions plus 8 cups of broth and other ingredients. I felt like that was too much rice, am I correct? Can you send me your recipe for this soup? Thank you...I found the rice medallions frozen at my local store. I also added dumplings.
Life in Korea responded:
Dduk Gook (New Years Soup)
I think the reason that many foreigners like dduk gook (rice soup) is because of how it's chewy and smooth at the same time. Koreans eat this dish made from dduk (rice medallions) and dumplings (mandoo) in broth the first day of the new year. I think that the dduk gook that you made did have too much rice medallions in it.
Check out the recipe for dduk gook posted under January 23, 2002. When you make the broth, add about 100 to 200g of beef with it to give it more flavor. Of course if you add a few mandoo (or dumplings), about 6 or 8) after the dduk gook has been boiled. Just add the mandoo and boil it again. Enjoy.
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Hot Pot
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Q: I recently have discovered a wonderful restaurant, and was wondering if the "korean hot pot" could be made at home. What I really need is the soup base. It's in a very spicy red sauce, but I can't quite pin down the flavour. Other ingrediants are chicken, potatoes, onions. Can you help me out?
Life in Korea responded:
I think that the dish that you had that left such an impression on you is the spicy chicken soup called dahk doh reeh tahng in Korean. It caters to all taste buds with its spicy and deep taste. A lot of Koreans like to think that it matches their personality (deep with a little "spicy" kick). It can also work as a wonderful meal when you remove all the grease/fat from the chicken and add a bowl of fresh vegetables.
Ingredients: Add veggies and meat to your liking
- About half a chicken (500 - 600g) or drumsticks 4-5, 2 cups of water
- 1 onion, half a carrot, 2 potatoes, 1 stalk of green onion
- Soy sauce 1 Tbs, Sugar 1 - 2 tsp, Ground red pepper 1 Tbs, Finely chopped garlic 1 Tbs, Finely diced ginger 1/2 tsp, Liquor used for cooking (like white wine) 1Tbs, a pinch of salt and pepper
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Preparations:
- Clean your chicken with water and slightly boil them in water.
- Remove the chicken of its skin and cut them in pieces of 5 cm in height, width, and length. Add the salt/pepper and liquor and mix them evenly with the chicken.
- Add the 2 cups of water to the chicken/mixture and let it boil for 30 minutes. Cut the onions, carrot and potatoes into pieces about 3 cm in height, width and length. Add it to the boiling chicken and continue to let it cook for 20-30 minutes.
- To the boiling mixture add the soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger and let it boil for a few more minutes. Then add the green onion and ground red pepper and let it boil over once more. Add salt and pepper for taste and you're ready to serve.
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Shikhye
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Q: How do u make the drink shikhye?
Life in Korea responded:
Shikhye is a cold beverage that is most enjoyed by Koreans. This drink will leave you with an unforgettable memory of freshness and coolness when served to you in a beautiful white or milky ivory ceramic pitcher. Shikhye is an authentically Korean drink, made from barley and rice. It is best after a meal of meat or something particularly greasy as a refreshing dessert. It is also great for people on a diet. Time consuming, yes, but once you become familiar with the recipe, you can make this wonderful drink at your own convenience.
Ingredients:
- Rice oil, called yut ghee reum in Korean (can be purchased at a Korean grocery store) 2 cups; water 1600cc.
- Uncooked rice 1 cup; water 250cc.
- Sugar 180g; water 1600cc.
- A few pine nuts, or dried dates.
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Preparations:
- Add the 2 cups of rice oil to the 1600cc of water and let it sit for about an hour. Then, squeeze out the excess water and then place the water in a separate bowl. Repeat the process with the same water until you have an opaque form of the water.
- Leave the water made from step 1 in a cold place for about 3-4 hours.
- Cook the uncooked rice, using a little less water than you would normally use.
- Take the water from step 2 and add the cooked rice from step 3 and keep it warm in a rice cooker (at a temperature around 40 degress C) for about 5-6 hours.
- When the rice starts to float in step 4, add the water from part C (1600cc) and the sugar to the mixture and let it boil.
- Remove the rice and wash them in cold water. After they have cooled off, add it to the water from step 5 and place it in the refrigerator.
- When you serve it, add a few pine nuts or dates and you're ready to drink.
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Cucumber (Oi) Kimchi
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Q: Hi. I'd like to try making Kimchee for the first time. Oi Kimchee seems like an easy good start. Could you post a recipe?
Life in Korea responded:
The dish that you are wanting to make, cucumber kimchi, is a wonderful blend of taste and aroma. As long as you find yourself some hard cucumbers and great ground red pepper, you'll be able to make a tasty dish, no matter how much of a beginner you are (Korean ground red pepper works the best for this recipe).
Basic Ingredients:
- Cucumbers - 1 kg (appx 7~8)
- Salt - 3~4 Tbs
- Ground red pepper - 2 Tbs
- Finely ground garlic and garlic - 1 tsp
- White radish (chopped into small, thin strands) - 100g
- Leeks (chopped into small, thin strands) - 50g
- Anchovy sauce (made for the use of making kimchi) - 30g
- Pinch of salt, for later
- Sugar 1 tsp
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Preparations:
- Pick out fresh, hard cucumbers. Cut them into pieces 4.5 cm long, then cut those pieces into four, even parts. (Once you're done cutting, take the knife and without going all the way through the cucumber pieces, only about 3/4 of the way through, make a cross-like incision to the cucumbers- from one side to another.)
- Sprinkle salt over the cucumber pieces evenly and leave it for about 30 minutes. Drain the mixture of salted cucumbers of all water and moisture.
- Take the shredded radish along with the garlic and ginger, and the shredded leeks, ground red pepper, sugar, and anchovy sauce and mix it together. Leave it for about 10 minutes. Then take this mixture and stuff it into the cross-incisions made earlier on the cucumbers. Otherwise just take the mixture and mix it well with the cucumbers if you don't want to stuff.
- Place it in a jar or tupperware. As time goes by the taste of the kimchi will change, which is normal. Some people enjoy fresh, just made kimchi, while others enjoy it when it has fermented for a while. Enjoy!
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Ddeok-guk (rice cake soup)- serves four
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Q: Could you help me make DOKU?
I know that this probably sounds so stupid because this is a fairly easy dish to make, but I absolutely love it and cannot make it right. I'm trying to make DOKU (the rice cake noodle soup with eggs and onion). I have been boiling the rice cake noodles until soft in hot water, and then adding garlic and onion, and then cracking an egg into the pot. However, it doesn't have hardly any taste to it, maybe because I'm not using any meat.
Life in Korea responded:
Ddeok-guk (rice cake soup)- serves four
Your method of making ddeok gook sounds pretty accurate and quite interesting. The basic recipe doesn't sound far off, but there might be a slight problem in making the soup. If you are a vegetarian, there isn't a better dish than ddeok-guk. Even if there isn't any meat in it, ddeok-guk can still be quite delicious.
Basic ingredients (serves four):
- For the soup:
Water (1100~ 1200 cc) + white radish (200 g) + dried Shiitake mushrooms (about 5) + an onion (1)
White ddeok (already-cut ddeok available solely for making ddeok-guk is available at your neighborhood grocery store) - 600 ~ 800 g\
Chopped green onion (1 stalk) - 50 g
Egg (1)
- Sauces needed:
Soy sauce, black pepper, sesame oil (1 tsp) , ghim [dried seaweed] (after you slightly toast the ghim on the stove, place it in a plastic bag and crumble it into small pieces), salt. (Sesame seeds - optional.)
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Prepartions:
- In order to make the soup, bring the water, radish, mushrooms and onion to a boil. About 15 minutes later, remove the vegetables from the boiling soup.
- Place the white ddeok in a bowl of water for at least 15 minutes to make them soft. Then take them out and add them to the boiling soup.
- When the ddeok becomes soft and can bend easily, add some salt for taste and a few quick dashes of black pepper. Turn off the heat completely and at that very moment, crack the egg and add it to the
soup. Take a chopstick and stir, to make sure the egg is evenly distributed within the soup.
- Place the soup into a bowl (serves 4) and add the chopped onions and few drops of sesame oil. (Sesame seeds are optional.) Finally, sprinkle some dried pieces of kim and you are ready to eat!
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Jajangmyon
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Q: Could you post a recipe for Ja Jang Myon?
Life in Korea responded:
Ingredients:
- Cooked Noodles (Thick in size and chewy) 300 g
- Pork 50 g
- Onion 1/2 of a whole
- Potatoes 50 g
- Zucchini 30 g
- Ja-jang sauce 3 Tbs (available in all Korean grocery stores)
- Cooking oil 3 Tbs
- Corn Starch 1 Tbs
- Water(or Broth) 1/2 Cup
- Ginger, black pepper, sesame oil
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Preparation:
- Cook the noodles in boiling water and rinse them off with cold water.
- Cut the onions, zucchini and potatoes into pieces, approximately 0.5 cm in length.
- Also cut the pork in the same fashion (0.5 cm in length).
- Slowly stir the ja-jang sauce in cooking oil at a simmer. (The cooking oil should shrink the ja-jang sauce in half in content.)
- Mix the corn starch with water. (1 Tbs of corn starch to 2 Tbs of water is fine).
- Cover the frying pan with oil and cook the pork with chopped ginger until the pork is completely cooked. Then add in the chopped vegetables and stir-fry some more. Then add one cup of water and
let it come to a boil. Add in the corn starch/water mix and let it come to a boil.
- Place noodles on a bowl and pour the ja-jang sauce over the noodles.
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Kimbap
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Q: How to make Kimbap?
I like kimbap. It's great meal. would you please tell me how to make it at home.
Life in Korea responded:
Kimbap is a wonderful meal that incorporates taste, scent, color and nutrition. And since it is so simple to make, it is the most popular meal that Koreans have as a picnic meal. When making Kimbap, you can use any ingredients to your liking. However, when making Kimbap, it is ideal to use the following recipe and to keep these points in mind when making it.
Points:
- Taste: sweet & sour.
- Colors: black (seaweed) & white (rice), red (radish), green (cucumber or spinach), brown (meat or tuna), and yellow (egg or cheese, pickled radish called "danmooji")
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Ingredients:
- Dried seaweed- 4 sheets
- Rice 3 cups
Vinegar 4 Tbs
Water 3 Tbs
Sugar 2 Tbs
Salt 2 Tbs
- Cucumber 1/2 of one
Carrots 200 g
"Danmooji" (Pickled radish - yellow in color) 100 g
- Beef 100 g
Soy Sauce 1 Tbs
Sugar 1 Tbs
An alcoholic beverage 1 Tbs
- 1 egg
- oil, pepper, salt, sesame oil ...
- Bamboo mat (made especially for the purpose of rolling kimbap) and a kitchen brush.
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Preparations:
- Set the dried seaweed (made especially for the purpose of kimbap).
- Cook the rice. Bring the mixture of vinegar, sugar, salt, and water to a boil and condense it so that the mixture equals about 3 Tbs worth and mix it well with the cooked rice while it's hot.
- Cut the cucumber in four, long parts. Also cut the carrots in the same way and stir-fry them with a pinch of salt.
- Stir-fry the beef along with the ingredients from "preparation step 3."
- Break the egg and cook it in the pan as if you were making a large omelette. Afterwards, cut it into four, vertically long pieces, like the cucumber and carrot.
- Place the dried seaweed onto the bamboo mat and spread the rice made from step two of this list. Do not cover the seaweed completely, but cover about 2/3 of it, making sure the layer of rice is not too thick. Then place the long pieces of carrot, cucumber, egg and the beef in the center so that you may begin to roll the kimbap.
- Once you have rolled the kimbap into shape, lightly brush it with a brush dipped in sesame oil and cut it into bite size pieces.
- After every cut, make sure you moisten the knife with a wet towel so that when you cut it, the pieces will be in nice, clean cuts.
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Geotjeoli
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Q: Hello and thank you for answering my questions... I really enjoy your answers. You have been very kind and helpful. Please tell me how I make geotjeoli, green salad with hot sauce.
Life in Korea responded:
Geotjeoli is quite similar to a Western salad because it incorporates a mixture of fresh lettuce and sauce. In Korea, when making geotjeoli, fresh lettuce, Chinese lettuce, green onion are used. However whatever
vegetables you like can also go in. You can also make the sauce beforehand before you make the geotjeoli, and use it when you need it.
If you use a thicker cabbage, then you should use sauce A. If you are making a sauce for thinner, softer lettuce, then sauce B would definitely be better.
Sauce A:
- Chinese cabbage (1 kg) & green onions (200 g)
- anchovy sauce sauce 60 g
- soy sauce 40 g
- chili power 40 g
- sugar 30-60 g
- sesame oil 60 g
- garlic 60 g
- ginger 40 g
- vinegar 70-90 g
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Sauce B:
- Lettuce 200 g
- soy sauce 2 Tbs
- vinegar 1 tsp
- chili power 2 tsp
- sesame seeds 1 tsp
- sugar 1 tsp
- sesame oil 1 tsp
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Korean Recipes with Tofu
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Q: I lived for a year in Miryang from October 1999 to October 2000 with my daughter, now 14 years old. She developed a fondness for tofu. Would you give me some recipes we could make using tofu, noodles and vegetables.
Life in Korea responded:
Since the 15th century, tofu has been the preferred source of protein for Koreans. Not only is it delicious and easy to cook, but there are so many variations of recipes in which tofu is included that it's virtually
impossible to leave it out of any meal. Koreans generally enjoy such tofu dishes as fried tofu (tofu mixed with meat), tofu soup (made with vegetables, meat, and noodles), boiled tofu with soy sauce, tofu cooked in soy sauce, and tofu chige (a spicy soup). Tofu soup is made by slightly cooking the tofu, then adding it into a base soup of broth and water. Salt and pepper are added for taste, then mushrooms, onions, and noodles are next. This wonderful meal warms not only the body, but the soul. If you'd like the recipe, I'd be more than happy to send it to you. Here is a tofu dish that your daughter would appreciate.
Fried Tofu
Ingredients:
Ground beef -- 300g
Tofu -- 150g
Soy sauce -- 2 Tbs.
Salt -- 1 tsp.
Sugar -- 1/2 Tbs.
Finely chopped green onion -- 2 Tbs.
Finely chopped garlic -- 1 Tbs.
Sesame seeds -- 1 Tbs.
Sesame oil -- 1 Tbs.
Pepper -- a pinch
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Flour -- 5 Tbs.
Eggs -- 2
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Preparation:
- Extract the moisture from the tofu by folding it in a paper towel, and then pressing down on it slightly. Then mash the tofu with your hands, very carefully.
- Mix the ground beef, the ground tofu, and all the ingredients from part II together.
- Make small round, flat balls with the finished product in step number
- (About 3-4 cm in width and 1 cm in thickness.) Then cover the finished balls with a slight dusting of flour.
- Spread oil out onto a frying pan. Beat the eggs into a bowl and dip the flour-covered balls into the beaten eggs. Take them out of the egg mixture and cook them on the pan.
- Enjoy the fried tofu with either ketchup or soy sauce+vinegar mixture.
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Kookbab
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Q: How do I make kookbab?
I have been trying to get the recipe from the soup Kookbab. I tried to aks the Korean women, but they all say it is too difficult for a foreign woman to make this. Since we really love the soup, please send me the recipe so I can make it myself.
Life in Korea responded:
Gukbab is the final culinary result from the combination of mixing two pre-cooked dishes: cooked rice and cooked soup. It is a simple, but delicious meal made by adding steamed rice to the soup and then boiling it together for about 5 to 10 minutes. This is a meal that can be eaten as a quick breakfast or as a wonderful lunch on the run.
Basic ingredients:
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Cooked rice (appx. 4 servings), beef (300g), dried seaweed (1 sheet,appx 10cm), mushrooms (200g), white radish (200g), large green onion (1 stalk)
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Sauce:
Soy sauce (5 Tbs), crushed red pepper (2 Tbs), chopped green onion (4 Tbs), chopped garlic (1 Tbs), sesame seeds (1 Tbs), sesame oil (1/2 Tbs), salt and black pepper.
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Instructions:
- Cut the beef into small pieces.
- Clean the seaweed, and cut into small pieces.
- Cut the white radish into pieces of 3cm in size.
- Heat water in a large pot, and add the beef to the boiling water.
- Then add the seaweed and the white radish and keep the water to a boil.
- Remove the seaweed and the white radish. Let it cool, then slice into flat pieces. Drop the mushrooms in a separate pot of boiling water, then remove quickly. Wash the mushrooms, and be sure to squeeze all excess water out of them and then shred them.
- Cut the large stalk of green onion into diagonal pieces.
- Mix the white radish, seaweed, mushrooms, chopped garlic and diagonal green onion pieces, salt and pepper, sesame seeds, and sesame oil together.
- Finely chop some green onion and garlic.
- Mix the soy sauce, chopped green and chopped garlic, crushed red pepper, sesame seeds, pepper, sesame oil to make the sauce.
- Once the soup in #4 of this list has boiled for some time, add the ingredients from #8 on this list to the soup, and add salt for taste.
- In a pot, scoop some cooked rice and then add the broth from #11 on this list and let it simmer for a few minutes. Then it's ready to eat. Serve the soup with sauce that you prepared in #10 on the side.
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Vegetarian Food
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Q: I would like to know how to make vegetarian versions of dishes like bibimbap. Also simple soups and dubu gimchi.
Life in Korea responded:
I'm glad to hear that you are interested in Korean food, especially vegetarian dishes. Here in Korea, we have developed a variety of methods in cooking vegetarian dishes, such as kimchi, frying, pan-frying, stir-frying, salad (Gutjuhlee), parboiling (Namul), vegetable wrapping (Ssam), soup, gruel, even cakes and snacks...
Dubu kimchi (Tofu with stir-fried kimchi) is a very common menu in Korea. When you cook it, cut the tofu like cheese after parboiling it in hot water or pan-frying with flour. And then, set the tofu and kimchi on the dish alternately.
In Korean food, there are hot soups and cold soup (during the summer). The ingredients in hot soups are radishes, lettuce, bean sprouts, tofu, zucchini, sea weeds, mushrooms, etc.
In case of cold soups- cucumber, ground beans, ground pine seeds, etc. You can always ask me for a type of recipe to cook using your favorite vegetable. Down below, I'll leave you the recipe for bibimbap.
Bibimbap (serves 4)
Ingredients:
1. Making the rice
- rice 4 cups (one for each person)
- cooking oil 1 Tbs
- salt 1/2 tsp
- water
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2. Preparing the Meat
- beef 200g
- soy sauce 2 Tbs
- garlic 1 Tbs
- green onion 1 Tbs
- sesame oil 1 tsp
- pepper (just a pinch)
- rice wine (chungjo) 1 tsp
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3. Preparing the shrimp garnish
- shrimp 200g
- salt 1 tsp
- pepper (a pinch)
- sesame oil 1 tsp
- rice wine 1 tsp
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4. vegetables (any vegetables will generally do, but these are great)
- zucchini 150 g
- cucumber 150 g
- bean sprouts 150 g
- salt & sesame oil (a pinch for taste)
- green pea jelly 100 g (optional)
- fernbrake 150 g (optional)
- soy sauce, salt, pepper, sesame oil (a small amount of each)
- dried mushrooms 6 pcs
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5. Making the hot pepper sauce
- gochujang 3 Tbs
- sugar (honey) 1/2 Tbs
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6. Making the sesame sauce
- sesame oil (a little for taste)
- sesame seeds (just a pinch)
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7. Egg preparation (one for each person)
- cook 4 eggs, best if they are sunny-side up
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Preparations:
- Cook the rice (Ingredents 1) in a thick pan (like a stone bowl) after roasting lightly.
- Roast 2 and place separately on a dish.
- Roast 3 and place separately.
- Roast salted zucchini and cucumber place separately.
Roast bean sprouts 4 and place separately.
Mix green-pea jelly (optional) and salt and sesame oil, place separately.
Boil the fernbrake and roast, then place separately.
Soak the mushrooms, then roast lightly.
- Put items from ingredient lists 2,3,4 on the top of hot rice and set
eggs on the center.
- Spread sesame seeds on the top.
- Serve or enjoy with gochujang and sesame oil.
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Tak Galbi
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Q: How do you make tak galbi?
Life in Korea responded:
Koreans cook Galbi with meats after marinating them in soy sauce or with hot pepper paste (gochujang) sauce. Tak galbi is one of them cooked with chicken and soy sauce and hot pepper powder. When you cook it, it would be better to remove the chicken bones to heat in a shorter time.
Ingredients (4 persons):
1. 1 chicken, about 1-1.2 kg
- 1 galic clove chopped
- 2 cm x 1 cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 Ts refined rice wine
- 3 Ts sugar
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2. For the marinade
- 6 Ts soy sauce
- 3-4 hot pepper powder
- 3 Ts sugar
- 1/3c water
- 3 Ts galic clove, cut into thin slivers
- 1 green onion cut into short lengths
- 1 Ts sesame oil
- 1 Ts crushed sesame seeds
- 1/2ts pepper
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Preparations:
- Remove bones and cut chicken into 8-10 pieces. Mix ingredients 1, then press down into the bowl.
- Mix ingredients 2, pour the marinade over the meat, and mix well. Let sit for at least 3 hours or over night.
- Grill under medium heat or cook on the barbecue, brushing genorously several times with sauce (ingredients 2), until chicken is cooked.
- Serve with a lettuce and fresh vegetables.
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Water Kimchi
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Q: I would like to try this dish. can you supply me with the recipe? Thank you very much for your previous answer!
Life in Korea responded:
In Korea, we usually use almost all of vegetables when we make kimchi. Actually it is impossible to express what the special taste of kimch is. It's like Korean people's characteristics are. Anyway I want you to say the taste of the cold water kimchi is as stepping on the first snow in the early morning.
Here is the Recipe.
Ingredients (4 persons):
- radish (white) 500g
salt 4Ts
- carrot 200g
- green onion 30g
garlic 30g
ginger root (peeled) 10g
fresh red pepper (2 p) 30g
- onion (1 p) 120g
pear juice 2Ts
- water 3L
salt 4Ts
sugar 1Ts
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Preparations:
- Cut the radish for 3.5 cm * 3.5 cm * 0.4 cm and salt it (Ing. 1).
- Cut the carrot for 3 cm * 3 cm * 0.2 cm and place apart (Ing. 2).
- Cut Ing. 3 vegetables for 3 cm lengths like a needle shape.
- Make the juice from onions and pears (Ing. 4).
- Boil water with salt and sugar (Ing. 5).
- Put Ing. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in salted water when it becomes cold.
- Wait until the taste of water becomes sour (it will take about 1 - 2 days) and preserve it in the fridge .
- Enjoy it with hot oily food like bulgogi or pork ribs.
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Samgetang / Toktoritong / Shigumchee
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Q: My Korean wife (now divorced) made the most excellent dishes. I'd be interested in learning the ingredients and portions. I have access to some pretty good korean food/spices here in Evansville In. Just something to pass on if you are interested....I see so many restaurants here in the US just offering basic americanized korean food...I miss the good stuff....Chop Chae pap, Kon namul guk su etc., sam guip sal, makali, don-don chu etc.
Life in Korea responded:
Samgye Tang
Ingredients:
- chicken (small size) 400-500 g
- chiken soup
chicken (sub materials) 150 g
water 6 c
fresh jinseng 1 p (50g)
- rice (short grain) 1 c
jujube 1 p
chestnut 1 p
gingko nut 2 ps
galic 1 p
salt,pepper q.s.
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Preparations:
- Remove wings and ends of meat. (sub materials for soup)
- To make a soup, boil 2 (ing.) over 1hr., and then filter it with a gauze to make clean.
- Make steamed rice after soaking.
- It's better to boil a chestnut in a soup.
- Put steamed rice & chestnut in a chicken.
- Set a chicken and jinseng (from 2) in a stone bowl, and pour the soup.
- When it boils,put the jujube ,gingko and galic in a soup.
- Boil again and salt lightly.
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Bibimbap
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Q: I would like a recipe for bie bien pap if possible, thanking you.
Life in Korea responded:
Ingredients:
- rice 4 cups
salad oil 1 Ts
salt 1/2 ts
water
- beef 200 g
soy sauce 2 Ts
galic 1 Ts
green onion 1 Ts
sesame oil 1 ts
pepper q.s.
rice wine 1 ts
- shrimp 200 g
salt 1 ts
pepper q.s
sessame oil 1 ts
rice wine 1 ts
- vegetables(green,white,black)
zuchini 150 g salt & salad oil q.s.
cucumber 150 g
bean sprouts 150 g salt & sesame oil q.s.
green-pea jelly 100 g
fernbrake 150 g soy sauce,salt,pepper,sesame oil q.s.
dried mushrooms 6 ps
- gochujang 3 Ts
sugar(honey) 1/2 Ts
- sesame oil q.s.
sesame q.s.
- eggs 4
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Preparations:
- Cook the rice (Ing. 1) in a thick pan (like a stone bowl) after roasting lightly.
- Roast 2 and place apart.
- Roast 3 and place apart.
- Roast salted zuchini and cucumber after pressing and place apart.
Roast bean sprouts 4 and place apart.
Mix green-pea jelly and salt and sesame oil,place apart.
Roast fernbrake after boiling.
Roast mushroom after soaking.
- Put 2,3,4 on the top of hot rice and set eggs on the center.
- Spread sesame on the top.
- Serve or enjoy with go-chu zang and sesame oil.
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Dukbokgi
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Q: I may have not spelled this correctly, but it is the rice cylinder meal served with a spicy red sauce and it has fish and sometimes veggies in it. Can you help?
Life in Korea responded:
Ingredients:
- duk (for duk bok gi) 300g
- onion or green onion 100g
- carrot 100g
- beef 200g
- hot pepper paste(go chu zang) 1-2Ts
- suggar 1Ts
- corn syrup 1Ts
- soy sauce 1Ts
- sesame 1Ts
- pepper q.s.
- salad oil 3-4Ts
- sesame oil q.s.
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Preparations:
- Cut duk into 6cm and beef and vegetables into 1cm x 5cm size.
- In heated pan, roast duk with hot salad oil,place it apart. (If duk is solid, parboil it in hot water to make soft.)
- Roast beef with salad oil and place apart.
- Roast vegetables slightly and place apart.
- Boil soy sauce and hot pepper paste ,sugar,corn syrup in hot salad oil.
- Put 2,3,4 in 5 when it's boiling, and mix with sesame oil.
- To serve, spread the sesame on it.
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Curry
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Q: I have a package of Ottogi curry mix, but do not know how to mix exact ingredients. I have been told somethings to add, but I would like exact measurements and ingredients.
Life in Korea responded:
Ingredients:
- 1 package of Ottogi curry 100g
- beef or pork 150g
- onion 200g
- potato 200g
- carrot 120g
- zucchini 150g
- salad oil 2s
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Preparation:
- Cut beef,potato,onion,carrot,zucchini into cubes, then roast lightly with salad oil.
- Put water 500ml and boil potatoes completely.
- Mix curry powder and 150ml of water ,and put into 2.
- Control the consistency of curry soup as you like.
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