Showing posts with label Korean Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Korean Food. Show all posts
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Spicy Korean Soft Tofu Stew (Soondubuchigae)
Like many Korean stews, soondubuchigae can be adjusted for very different spice levels and flavor preferences. Many Korean people like their soondubu with pork and kimchi, and I do admit that it's a delicious combination. But most of the time I crave it with clams, kimchi, and an anchovy base. I used shrimp, clams, and pork in the version in the photograph, and added enoki mushrooms at the end. In restaurants, soondubuchigae is served in traditional earthenware bowls while bubbling hot. Raw egg is added to the stew and folded into the contents to cook from the heat within the bowl.
Ingredients:
•3 Tbsp sesame oil
•1/2 lb or 1 cup beef or pork (thinly sliced)
•½ Tbsp garlic, finely chopped
•2 Tbsp red pepper powder (kochukaru)*•2 cups anchovy stock, beef stock, or water
•3 cups soft tofu**•2 Tbsp soy sauce
•1 lb unshucked clams or 1 cup shucked clams, rinsed
•2 scallions, sliced•Eggs (optional)
Preparation:
1.In a soup pot, stir-fry the beef, garlic, and kochukaru in the sesame oil for about five minutes.
2.Add anchovy or beef stock or water and soy sauce to the pot.
3.Bring to a simmer.4.Add soft tofu and return to simmer.
5.Add clams and simmer until the clams are cooked, about 10 minutes, until they shrink, or until the shells open (if using unshucked).
6.Add scallions and take off heat.
(Serves 4).
* This tofu stew can be made completely mild to very spicy. I've listed a medium amount in this recipe, about what I would consider to be the standard spiciness. Soft tofu stew with no spice is referred to as 'white' in Korean restaurants (for the color of the stew, not the people who eat it).
**Uncoagulated tofu is usually sold in tubes, but you can use silken tofu if you can't find the really soft stuff. Just slice it into small cubes and cook as directed.
Korean Cabbage Soup Recipe (Baechu Gook)
This cabbage soup is not often found in restaurants but is a staple in Korean households. Healthy, low-fat, and rich in nutrients and vitamins, Baechu Gook is Korean comfort food and is especially popular in the winter months.•1 head Napa cabbage, chopped
•4 cups beef broth*
•4 Tbsp Korean soybean paste (daenjang)
•2 tsp minced garlic
•2 tsp black pepper**
•2 scallions, chopped
Preparation:
1.In a large pot, bring beef broth up to a boil.
2.Add soybean paste when the soup is very hot, stirring to dissolve.
3.When it begins to boil, reduce to a simmer and add cabbage and garlic.
4.Cook until cabbage is very tender, about 20 minutes.
5.Turn off heat and add black pepper and chopped scallions.
(Serves 4)
*You can use store-bought beef broth for this soup if you don't have time to make your own.
**I like my baechu gook very pepper-y, but you can also replace this with red pepper powder (kochukaru) if you want that type of spiciness instead.
The Baechu Gook recipe has an average rating of 5.0, based on 1 reviews.
Korean Rice Cake Soup (Duk Gook) Recipe
Korean Duk Gook, a soup filled with soft Korean rice cakes (Dduk), is always eaten on New Year's Day. Soothing and simple, it takes less than 30 minutes if you use pre-made or store-bought broth. It's also common to add dumplings and/or sliced beef to the soup for a heartier dish.Ingredients:
•1 (1 lb) package Korean duk (flat oval rice cakes)•6 cups broth (beef, anchovy, or chicken)
•Soup soy sauce and pepper (to taste)
•2 eggs, fried and sliced into thin strips
•Dried seaweed sheets, cut into thin slices•2 scallions, chopped (optional garnish)
1.Soak rice cakes in cold water for about 20 minutes.
2.Bring broth to a boil.*
3.Season to taste with soup soy sauce and black pepper.
4.Add rice cakes and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes.
5.Ladle into individual bowls and then add egg and seaweed strips and scallions.
(Serves 4)
* If you are using store-bought broth, then mix 4 cups broth with 2 cups water and season with soup soy sauce.
Recipe for Budaechigae (Korean Army Base Stew)
Budae Chigae was invented during the famine years of the Korean war and post-war period. Koreans managed to use leftover meat discarded or handed-out from the U.S. army bases to make this dish ("Budae" means military base and "Chigae" means stew in Korean). It's a recent invention with a thousand variations, but it's mostly a lip-smacking mixture of Western meat, ramen noodles, vegetables, and spices.
Ingredients:
•1 1/2 cups meat in small chunks (Spam, hot dogs, ham, small meatballs, or a combination)
•1 1/2 cups sliced vegetables (combination of any: mushrooms, bean sprouts, chrysanthemum leaves)
•1/2 an onion, sliced
•3 Tbsp kochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
•1 package ramen noodles (just noodles, not spice packets)
•Kimchi (optional)
•Sliced rice cakes (optional)
•Canned baked beans (optional topping)
•Sliced American cheese (optional topping)
Preparation:
1.Put all ingredients into a large pot.
2.Cover with enough water to just cover ingredients.
3.Bring to a rapid boil.
4.Reduce to simmer for 20 minutes.
5.Enjoy with white rice.
Korean Ox Bone Soup (Seollangtang) Recipe
A milky white soup made of long-simmered ox leg bones, seollangtang is a Korean soup that is easy to make but requires a lot of time. I usually simmer my seollangtang for at least 8 hours, but it's thick and best if you can simmer it for 10 hours. The aroma of seollangtang (or sulung tang) is rich and meaty, and the broth sticks to the roof of your mouth.
You can just serve it with rice and kimchi, or you can make it with radish and add sliced brisket meat and noodles. Seollangtang is usually served almost bland, so that each person can add their own amount of salt, pepper, and scallions.
Ingredients:
•2 lbs ox bones and any attached meat (leg and knuckle bones)
•4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
•1/2 inch ginger, thinly sliced
•Korean Sweet Potato Noodles or Korean thin Wheat Noodles (dangmyun, cellophane, gooksu)
•1 large Korean radish, peeled, halved and sliced (optional)
•brisket meat, cooked and thinly sliced (optional)
•For serving: chopped scallions, sea salt, freshly ground pepper
Preparation:
1.Rinse and soak the bones for two hours in cold water. Discard the water.
2.Bring a large pot half-full of water to boil. Boil the bones for five minutes, remove from pot, and discard water again.
3.Put ox bones in the large pot and cover with a lot of water (~30 cups, 1.5 gallons, 8 qts).
4.Bring to a boil.
5.Reduce heat to a hard simmer, and cook for 1 hour.
6.Reduce heat to medium and a lower simmer and cook for 4-6 hours, skimming fat, foam, and anything else off the surface.
7.Add ginger and garlic (and radish, if using) and simmer for another 1-2 hours.
8.Remove bones and seasonings (and radish, if using) and skim fats again before serving.
9.For a perfectly smooth broth, cool soup and skim fats when they rise.
10.Serve with rice (and noodles and meat, if using) and small bowls of sea salt, pepper, and chopped scallions for seasoning.
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