Hot Seafood and Soybean Sprout

Prawn, scallop, squid and soybean sprouts are tossed with red chilli paste to make this hot and special dish. My son loves the seafood and he annoys us by picking up only seafood but we can't stop him so we speed up to catch him up. After competing with seafood we like eating the soybean sprouts. How hot and refreshing!

Ingredients
1 cup of seasoned soybean sprouts
1 cup of seafood ( squid rings, prawns,scallops or your choice)
1 cup of vegetables (cut in stripes, onions/carrots/capsicums or your choice)

2 tea spoon of red chili paste
1 tea spoon of soy sauce

1 tea spoon of corn flour( for thickening)
spring onions, garlic, sesame oil, sesame seeds (optional)
Instruction
Cook soybean sprouts as instructed in seasoned soybean sprouts. Stir-fry vegetables and  add in seafood.  Season with red chili paste and soy sauce. Toss in the cooked soybean sprouts, chopped chili  and sesame oil. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top when served. Make corn flour mixture of corn flour and water(1:2 ratio) in a small mixing bowl and sprinkle on top and toss gently until the corn mixture cooked(about 1 minute.

Tips
- If you don't like hot food just season with soy sauce.

Seasoned Soybean Sprout

Soybean sprouts are the most popular vegetable in Korea. If not at least mine! Whenever I go food shopping I buy soybean sprouts and Tofu and I don't need to worry about  what to eat for the whole week! You can enjoy it with cooked rice as your meal and you can have Bibimbap if you want something special.

Ingredient

1 packet of soybean sprout
seasoning( salt, sesame oil)
seasoning optional (crushed garlic, red pepper powder, sesame seeds, chopped spring onion)

Instruction
Wash the soybean sprout and drain it. Put the washed soybean sprout in a pot and add two tbsp of water and bring to boil with the lid on. Once it boils set the heat at medium and cook another five more minutes. Transfer the cooked soybean sprouts immediately in a mixing bowl and season.

Rice Balls(주먹밥)

I make it especially for my son who likes the bite sized rice. The easiest one is that you just season the cooked rice with some salt and make rice balls with you hands.

Ingredients
cooked rice
any seasoning you like: salt,
roasted sesame seeds and baked seaweed crumbs.
any oil, pepper...

Instruction
Mix cooked rice and seasonings in a bowl and mix them well. Make balls by hands.

Tips
- If you want to put other ingredients such as fried egg, fried tuna, in it you'd better chop them finely or the balls breaks easily.
- If you want you can coat the balls anything you like such as baked seaweed crumbs, crushed nuts after making the balls like shown at right.

Seasoned Spinach

Soybean sprouts and spinach are the most popular vegetables for salad in Korea. Korean people believe seasoned vegetables are a good way to eat vegetables without losing much nutrition in them as this cooking involves minimum cooking.

Ingredient

1 bunch of spinach
crushed garlic, chopped spring onion, salt, roasted sesame seeds, sesame oil for seasoning

Instruction
Wash the spinach. Pour enough water to cover the spinach in a pot and bring to boil. Once it boils add the spinach and cook until soft(about 2 minutes) then season to your taste. 

Tips

- Be aware that the spinach is softer in Spring than in other seasons so it takes less time to cook than other seasons.

Soy Sauce Dip

I always have this dip in the fridge for dippings of pan cakes, acompany of any noodle soup or sauce of any soy sauce braised dish such as braised Tofu. If I have some baked seaweed and I have them with this dip with rice and it becomes a meal for me.


Ingredients
soy sauce
spring onion, red chilli powder
garlic, chili


Instruction
Mix 1 cup of Soy Sauce, 1/2 cup of chopped spring onion, 2 Tbsps of red chilli powder together. Add in crushed garlic or chopped chili to your taste.

Tips
- Keep them in a jar in the fridge and it will last more than one month.

Baked Seaweed Crumbs

This is my favourite decoration and seasoning in Korean food. I make it about twenty layers of seaweed at once and keep it in an air tight prastic bag or container. Here are some examples of using baked seaweed crumbs.

Instruction

Clean the stove top and grill the seaweed on the stove until crispy( about 3 secons each side). Keep it in an air-tight container in the freezer.

Tip

- I make it about more than 20 layers seaweed at one batch.

- You can use the grill in the oven but need to keep on eye on it not to get burnt.

Roasted Sesame Seeds(볶은깨)

Roast sesame seeds are my favourite decoration and seasonning along with baked seaweed crumbs. Korean people use roasted sesame seeds as we believe it gives more flavour than the raw seeds. It is used in most of Korean Salad and decoration for any food. You can buy it any Korean supermarket. If you can't find it don't worry. It is easy to make.

Instruction
Roast raw sesame seeds until brown on high heat. Once the pan gets burning high lower the heat to medium high and keep stiring the sesame seeds.

Tips
- If you have the raw sesame seeds that have some dirt then you need to wash them and get the dirt out. Then before roasting dry the seeds so that you can save the time.
- You'd better to use a deep frying pan that is too old to use for frying, as it gets quite hot and the bottom of the pan gets a bit burnt.
- Make it in a big batch and keep it in an air tight bottle in the room teperature. It can be kept more than two months that way.

Bibimbap

This dish is called bibimbap in Korean (bibim means mixing and bap means cooked rice ), which means bap mixed with seasoned vegetables and meats or fried egg as you want. You can make it with any vegetables you like stir-fried or raw. I usually put seasoned soybean sprouts, stir-fried carrots, seasoned spinach and fried egg on the top. Don't have enough time to make it why don't you try a simpler version of it here.

Ingredients
1 packet of soybean sprouts

1 bunch of spinach
carrot (cut ins thin stripes)
eggs ( one per person)
any oil (for greasing the pan)
red chili paste
sesame oil ( few drops on top of the dish)

Instruction

Make seasoned soybean sprouts and seasoned spinach. Cut other vegetables in thin stripes and stir fry the  carrot. Fry eggs and put cooked rice in a bowl with on top with the seasoned vegetables and fried egg. Serve warm with red chili paste.

Tips
- add some fresh lettuce or cucumber for the fresh flavour.

Vegetable Pancake

There is a Korean saying that cook pan cakes when it rains. I am not sure why but I guess when it rains we don't have much thing to do inside so make yummy foods and enjoy together to stay insidde, maybe? Anyway when it rains my kids ask me to cook it.

Ingredients

any vegetable such as potato, onion, carrot, spring onion, courgette( cut in thin stripes)

seafood such as squid, prawn

oil

batter
1 cup of flour
1 cup of water
salt ( for seasoning)

Instruction

Put the batter ingredient in a mixing bowl and whisk quickly. It should runny like crepe batter. Add other ingredients in. Mix and season with salt. Heat the frying pan on high and add oil. Put some batter on the pan and spread the batter evenly. Tip the batter over when the edge brown. Cook for another minute and serve it immediately.

Tips

- For the crispier result I cook two times leaving cooling times in between.

- When you make the batter mix it quickly by a wire whisk or it gets lumpy.

- Cook the pancakes on high but not burning hot.

- Korean pancakes tend to be less than 0.5 cm thick so try to make it as thin as you can manage to tip the pan cakes over.

Bulgogi Pot

This dish is made with Bulgogi and while Bulgogi can be a great dish for dinner itself I still make this dish when I want to have my family around the table and take enough time to enjoy the meal and the time together. You can prepare along with it any vegetable and noodle you like.

serving 4
Ingredients
2 cup of Bulgogi
5 cups of beef stock (I use just water, though)

seasoning(soy sauce, sugar, pepper)
vegetables (onion, carrot, mushroom, capsicum, broccoli)
cooked noddles (optional)

Instruction
In a bit deep pan(about 5cm deep) pour in the stock and bring to boil. Once it boils add in Bulgogi and season the stock with soy sauce, salt, sugar, pepper to your taste and lower the heat to low and enjoy. Add in any ingredient if anything runs out.

Tip
- Add water and season again when you run out of the stock while eating.
- I like to turn the heat down to as low as possible so that we can have more time together.

Baked Seaweed

It is a dish I always keep in the freezer and I set the table with it with some rice and soy sauce dip and a meal served.

Instruction

Clean the stove top and grill the seaweed on the stove until crispy and cut them about 5x8 cm rectangle. Keep it in an air-tight container in the freezer.

Tips

You can grill them in the oven if you prefer. 

Tips

- I make it about more than 20 layers seaweed at one batch.

- You can use the grill in the oven but need to keep on eye on it not to get burnt.

Braised Tofu

It is very unique dish outside Korea but common there in Korea and I am very prouf of knowing how to make it.

Ingredients

250g of tofu ( 1cm thick, bite size)

1 onion (cut in halves or quarters)

braising sauce

3 tbsps of soy sauce

1 tsp of salt

3 tbsps of water

1 tsp of sesame oil 

2 tbsps of red chili powder 

2 cloves of garlic crushed 

3 small pieces of chili 

Instruction

Mix all the ingredient for braising sauce and set aside. Make one onion layer on the bottom of a wide pot for keeping tofu from sticking on the pot. Make one Tofu layer and spread brasing sauce enought to cover. Repeat it until Tofu is finished. If you run out of the sauce make more following above. Add three table spoon of water to the bottom of the pot and bring to boil. Once it boils simmer it at low heat around 15 minutes.

Tips

- You can pan fry the tofu before braising if you like it crispy and my family love this way.

Bulgogi(BulGogi)

It is called Bulgogi in Korea (bul means fire and gogi means meat). The beef is marinated with soy sauce, sugar,pepper and garlic overnight and the next day it is stir fried. There is no party in Korea without Bulgoi and it is the most popular Korean food outside Korea, as well.

serves 4

Ingredients

1 kg of beef (sliced thinly)

2 onions, 1 carrots

marinating sauce

1/4 cup of soy sauce

1/4 cup of water

2 tbsp of sugar

5 cloves of garlic crushed

1 tsp of sesame oil

a pinch of black pepper

Instruction

Mix all the marinating ingredients in a bowl and add in the beef. Cover all the beef slice with taking care of the beef slices not to break in pieces and marinate it overnight in the fridge. Next day stir fry the vegetables and set aside. Stir fry the marinated beef. When the beef is nearly done adjust the season. Toss in the stir-fried vegetables.

Tips

- The beef for Bulgogi is usually sliced very thinly but if you can't find any buy any tender parts such as scotch fillet or sirloin fillet and cut them in stripes.

- Korean people usually add crushed onions, apple or pear for marinating to make the beef tenderer.

- You can buy the marinating sauce at any Korean grocery shop

Seaweed Platters

Set a big plate with any vegetable, seafood, meat you like. Prepare lots of seaweed and soy sauce. Wrap all the ingreidents in the seaweed and enjoy with soy sauce and wasabi if you like.

Tips
Cucumbers, carrots, capsicums, eggs, avocados, salmon, stir-fried chicken are my family's favourite for this platter.

Braised Potato

It is a dish that saves me when I have no idea what to cook. I always keep potatos, onions, red chili paste and soy sacue at my pantry and that's all I need for this beautiful dish.

Ingredients
3 potatos (diced)
2 onions (diced)
1 tbsp of red chili paste
1 tsp of soy sauce

Instruction
Mix all the ingredients but the onion in a bowl. Make one onion-layer on the pot with the left onion and add in the ingredients in a deep pot. Add in two table spoons of water and bring to boil. Once it boils simmer for 5 minutes and toss one time and simmer anothe 5 more minutes.

Tips
 - When braising I always put one onion-layer for keeping from sticking on the bottom of the pot.
- If you like softer potatos you can leave the lid on for 10 more minutes after cooking.

Tofu Stir-fry with vegetables

Pan-fried tofu is tossed with stir-fried capsicums, onions and cabbages. Chopped cucumbers are tossed in just before serve.

Tips
- Sprinkle some salt on diced tofu to season and loose some liquid before cooking.
- Season with salt or soy sauce (I put some bacon in this version and no seasoning was needed.)

Spinach Soup with Soybean Paste

Spinach is bathed in the soybean paste soup. My kids love clams in the soybean paste soup. What a nutritious start of the day!

Ingredients
2 cups of blanched spinach(chopped bite size)
2 tbsp of soy soybean paste
4 cups of stock at your choice( I use enchovy stock)
Salt( for adjusting seasoning)


Instruction
Pour the stock in a deep pot and bring to boil. In a small bowl dissolve the soy bean paste with some water and set aside. Once the stock boils add the spinach and the dissolved paste. Keep boiling and once it boils adjust the seasoning with salt and simmer 10 minute at low heat. 

Tofu Kimchi

Sliced Tofu with Fried Kimchi

Stir fried Kimchi is set in the middle of the plate and slices of Tofu that is boiled in the hot water for 5 minutes are accompanied around the fried Kimchi. It is enjoyed with one slice of Tofu and the fried Kimchi on it. 

Beansprout Bibimbap

Cooked soybean sprouts are topped on cooked rice and enjoyed with soy sauce or red chili paste. It can be served with sesame oil for your preference.  It is my favourite easy and quick dish and it is nutritious enough for dinner and I usually prepare lots of vegetables for nibbles along with this dish.

Instruction
Cook the soybean sprouts as instructed in seasoned soybean sprout. Put some cooked rice in a bowl and add on the cooked sprouts. Serve with red chili paste, soy sauce and sesame oil for your preference.

Korean Beef BBQ

Korean BBQ is one of the most popular Korean meal outside Korea.It is enjoyed for any party or family gathering. About once a month I set the table like this for my family with pork or beef to have enough time together. We chat through while the BBQ man(usually daddy) is busy grilling the meat and vegetables. We get one lettuce on our palm and top on grilled meat, any vegetable and and wrap it up with the sauce(see below in the tips). Then dip some vegetables in red chili paste or soybean paste and munch...munch...munch..Happy hours! I sometimes wish it lasts forever!

Here is the traditional Korean BBQ table setting
- the meat : pork or beef are most common meat for Korean BBQ
- vegetables for grilling: onions,mushrooms or capsicums for grilling with meat.
- lettuce for wrapping: 
- sesame oil dip for meat: mix 5 tsp of sesame oil, 1 tsp of and a pinch of black pepper.
- wrapping sauce: mix 5 tbsp of soybean paste, 1 tbsp of red chilli paste, 2 tbsp of corn syrup(or just sugar).
- other: cooked rice, vegetables for nibbles, Kimchi

Hot Noodle Salad

Whenever I lose my appetitte I make this noodle dish. I prepare as much vegetable as I can get and enough the hot sauce. After having it I get so refreshed that I feel like doing anything I need to do.

Ingredients
somen ( at Asian shop)
vegetables you like

hot sauce
3 tbsp of red chili paste
3 tbsp of water
1 tsp of soy sauce
vinegar, sugar to your taste

Instruction
Mix the sauce and set aside. Cut the vegetables in thin stripes. Cook the noodles as instructed on the package. Wash the noodle under the cold water and drain. Put the noodle in a bowl with vegetables the sauce on it or separately.

Tips
- The main idea for the sauce is make a runny sauce with the ingredients according to your taste.
- You can make it as much as you want and keep it in the fridge. It will keep more than one month and I use it for any salad.

Beef and Tofu Stew

This is inspired by my mother in-low. Potato, carrots, onions and Tofu are added in beef stock with some egg threads finish. Simple, plain and nutritious. 

Serving 4
Ingredients
200g of beef (diced)
200g of tofu (diced)
carrot, potato (diced)
salt, red chili powder for seasoning
crushed garlic, spring onions
egg

Instruction
Put the beef in a pot with enough water to double the beef and bring to boil. Once it boils simmer it at low heat for at least 20 minutes. Add in diced tofu, onion, carrot and potato and bring it to boil again. Once potato is done season with salt and red chili powder. Then whisk egg in a bowl and dripping it in the soup with stirring slowly to make the egg threads in the soup.

Tips
- If you feel hard to make egg swirls in the soup just whisk in as it doesn't ruin the taste.
- You can try it with pork or chicken if you like.

Soybean Sprouts Soup

No soup can get as plain as this soup. Plain but yummy.  My family like having this soup with cooked rice and some Kimchi. You can cook it along side with hot dishes to cool down your mouth.

Instruction
Just boil the soybean sprouts with lots of water(around five times as much water as the sprouts) with the lid on. Once it boils cook another two more minutes at medium heat. Then season with salt, crushed garlic or chopped spring onions.

Hot Beef Mince

My mum used to make it for a treat in summer days when we lost our appetite because of the heat.

Ingredients
500g of beef mince
red chili paste, soy sauce, sugar( for seasoning)
1 onion (chopped)
chopped garlic, spring onions(optional)

Instruction
Stir fry onion, garlic and spring onions. Add in beef mince. When it is nearly done season with red chili paste and soy sauce and sugar to your taste.

Tips
- You should add the red chili paste when the beef is nearly done. If you add chili paste too early it gets stuck on the bottom of the frying pan.

Crab Sticks and Soybean Sprouts Salad

My mother in law once made it and I loved the fresh taste. Cooked soybean sprouts and crab sticks(imitated crab meat) are plunged into the sauce made of vinegar, sugar, water and a pinch of salt. My family liked it so much that it was gone in a minute.


Instruction
Cook the soybean sprouts in a pot for five minutes. Tear the crab Stick meats then season them in a bowl with salt, vinegar and sugar. Add some nuts if you like.

Squid Stir-fry

Squid rings are cooked in boiling water for about two minutes and mixed with cooked( or uncooked) mung bean sprouts, capsicums and onions(stir-fried or uncooked). Then seasoned with salt, sugar and vinegar!

Squid Salad

Cooked squid rings are mixed with vegetables and sauce made of garlic, vinegar, water, salt and sugar to refresh your appetite.

Ingredients
squid rings
any vegetable such as lettuce, cucumber, capsicums

salad dressing
1/2 cup of water
1 tsp of salt
5 tsp of sugar
2 tsp of vinegar

Instruction
Make the dressing and set aside. Cook the suid rings in a boiling water for one minute or until cooked. Cut the vegetables in bite-size and mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl with the dressing.

Tips
- I sometimes use lemon instead of vinegar.
- I sometimes add crushed apple to make the dressing look a bit thick.
- If you use frozen squid rings you'd better unfreeze them before cooking. If you havn't got enough time boil the frozen suid rings a little bit longer than fresh squid rings.

Seafood Pan Cake

I often put some seafood in pan cakes and my kids usually race to pick them up firtst. So do I. Click here for the detailed recipe.

Braised Black Beans

It is one of my favourite side dish that I have in the fridge all year around.  It is a good side dish for any dish and it makes sometimes my meal with some cooked rice.

Ingredients
1/2 cup of dried black beans (makes one cup of swelled beans when soaked)

braising sauce
5 tablespoons of juice of the soaked beans
2 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of corn syrup
2 tablespoon of sugar


Instruction
Pour one cup of water in a container and soak the black beans overnight in the fridge(two times water as much as the beans in volume as they get bulky by soaking). Next day make the braising sauce mixing all the braising sauce ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Place the soaked beans in a deep pot and add the braising sauce. Bring to boil. Once it boils lower the heat to low and cook for about half an hour to make it soft with opening the lid occasionally as it overflows.

Hot Pork Stir-fry

Pork cut into bite size are stir-fried with vegetables such as carrots, onions, spring onions, garlic. Red chili paste are mixed in for the hot flavour.

Ingredients
500g of pork belly (cut in bite size)
any vegetable such as carrots, spring onions, onions, chili

the sauce
2 tbsp of red chili paste
1 tsp of soy sauce
garlic(crushed)
black pepper, sugar (optional)

Instruction
Mix the sauce in a mixing bowl and add in the pork. Mix well and sit for at least 30 minutes for marinating. Meanwhile cut the vegetable and stir-fry and set aside. Stir fry the mrinated pork. Serve it mixing with the stir-fried vegetable.

Tips
- If you don't like hot food just add soy sauce.

Pan-fried Spanish Mackerel

Spanish mackerel is one of the most popular fish in Korea. We cook them pan fired or braised. In this dish I just pan fried Spanish mackerel in a frying pan with a few drops of oil. My cooking should be special no matter how simple to make it so here we are. Jazz it up with soy sauce and Wasabi!

Ingredients
Spanish mackerel( or any fish fillet)
Coarse salt
Any oil ( to coat the pan)
Flour (to coat the fish)

Instruction
Sprinkle the mackerel with coarse salt on the skin and sit for at least 10 minutes. Wash it and drain with paper towel. Coat the pan with oil and heat the pan. Coat the fish with flour and pan fry on medium heat for 10 minutes each side or until brown.