Stir Fry Korean Ramyun Noodles

I am back again, first post of the month, still Korean food LOL
I guess after this post I shall take a break from anything Korean before people start to think this is a Korean food blog haha..
Anyway, you will not regret trying this dish. Beware, it's in fact so addictive that as of now, I have made this dish three times!
It's basically instant noodles - the improved version. Oh so yummy! Thanks Sharon of Delishar for the wonderful idea! So simple but so delicious!

 

 

What you need:

 

1 packet instant Korean noodles (I used Nongshim spicy shin ramyun) with the seasoning and dehydrate toppings

1 tbsp ketchup

1/3 cup kimchi with the juices, chopped (I used my homemade emergency kimchi)

1 chicken fillet, cut into small pieces (I skipped)

1 clove of garlic

a little cooking oil

some water to boil the noodle

salt and pepper to taste

 

Garnish:

1 egg, make sunny side up or poached

roasted sesame seeds

chopped spring onion (I skipped)

 

Method:

1. If using chicken, season it with salt and pepper
2. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook noodle and the dehydrate topping slightly undercooked, drain and set aside (you wouldn't want to eat this dish with soggy overcooked noodles LOL)
3. In a pan, heat oil and add in chicken, stir til cooked and add in garlic followed by kimchi, stir for awhile
4. Add in noodles and also ketchup and the seasoning pack, stir well
5. If it's too dry, add in a little water (I added very little water)
6. Mix well, remove from heat and transfer to a serving plate
7. Top with sunny side up and sprinkle with sesame seeds

 

I love the texture of the noodles, springy with a slight chewiness

 

Taste heavenly!

 

Budae Jigae

My third dish I cooked to satisfy my craving for Korean food this time was Budae Jigae, another famous Korean army base stew where the typical Korean stew comprises of stuff influenced by Americans when US military came to Korea
It's something like Korean style steamboat where you prepare the soup base and dumping in all ingredients of your choice and eat immediately
Love love this dish! :)

 

Piping hot! Yummy! 

Again, I followed recipe from Seonkyoung Longest

What you need:
(I made half recipe as written below)

For the sauce:
3 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper powder)
1.5 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp rice wine (soju)
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp doenjang (Korean fermented soya bean paste -> can be replaced with miso)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
30ml water
5 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

For the stew:
1/2 cup kimchi (I used my homemade emergency kimchi)
30g rice cake slices, soaked in warm water for 20mins if frozen
1/4 can spam, slice thinly about 5mm thick
2 hotdogs, slice as preferred
1/4 block of firm tofu, slice thinly about 5mm thick
3 spring onion, cut about 5cm long
50g dangmyeon (Korean sweet potato noodles, soaked in warm water for 20mins)
30g enoki mushroom, discard the root
2.5cups chicken stock
60g dried ramen noodles
a bunch of baby romaine lettuce (I added this)
Method:

1. In a bowl, mix all ingredients for the sauce and set aside

 

 

2. Just before serving, in a shallow and thick bottom pot, arrange kimchi, rice cake, spam, hotdogs, and tofu 

 

3. Place dangmyeon, enoki mushroom, romaine lettuce and spring onion on top in the middle

 

4. Pour over sauce and stock and over high fire for 5mins. Reduce to medium fire and stir everything til well mixed

 

5. Add ramen noodles, stir til cooked and it's ready to eat!

 

 

 

NOTE:

 

Original recipe used other ingredients such as breakfast sausage, baked beans and sliced cheese

I didn't use breakfast sausage and baked beans I do not fancy these two. And I found cheese is not meant to be inside this dish, but then again on the second thought I will try to add sliced cheese the next time I make this dish again, I think should be good :)

 

Homemade Yangbaechu-Kimchi (Emergency Kimchi)

My second Korean dish to fill up my Korean food craving, kimchi!

This is the second time I made kimchi
The first one was also the easier way to make kimchi which is really good. You may view the recipe HERE
Now it's another type of fast making kimchi. It's really good when you are craving for kimchi but do not have the time to make the traditional way. And this tastes really good, too. How amazing it can taste that good without any fermentation needed! Love this! :)

Recipe is from Maangchi

What you need:

1 kg of napa cabbage, cut into half, quarter them then slice into chunks
1 cup water
1/4 cup sea salt

Kimchi paste:
1/4 cup hot chili pepper flakes
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup minced garlic
4 stalks of spring onion, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1/4 cup julienned carrot

Method:

1. Mix water and salt. Rinse cabbage and then soak them in the salted water. Let it soak for 10mins (I left it soaked for 1hour)
2. Mix all ingredients for kimchi paste in a bowl, set aside
3. Rinse the soaked cabbage at least 3 times and drain the water, leave it for about 15mins
4. Mix in cabbage into the kimchi paste and stir well til fully incorporated
5. Store in a container and keep in the fridge, press down the kimchi stack with your fingers to protect them from being exposed to too much air
6. You may consume immediately like salad (it's really good!) or the next day (faster fermentation in room temperature but I kept immediately in the fridge)

I should have doubled up the recipe to fill this container up to the brim!

 

Can't wait any longer to eat this crunchy sour spicy delicious salad! Nom nom nom...

 

 

Japchae

I have been craving badly for Korean food lately, so please bear with me if you always see Korean dishes for the next few posts :)

This time I share with you  a famous Korean stir fry noodles called Japchae
I used recipe from Seonkyoung Longest this time. It's really yummy but a little too sweet to my liking. The next time I cook this dish again I will make it less sweet
Too bad DH and the kids don't fancy this dish, so it's all mine! :)

I forgot to sprinkle sesame seeds!

 

This is a simple recipe but quite a lot of steps in the preparation

Here is the recipe
(I made half recipe as written below)

What you need:

For beef:
250g beef - thin slices (sirloin or chuck tender)
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp soya sauce
1/4 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 tbsp mirin
1 clove garlic, finely chopped

some vegetable oils
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 medium size onion, thinly sliced
1/4 red bell pepper, julienned
1/4 large carrot, julienned
3 large shitake mushroom, thinly sliced

For spinach:
a bunch of fresh spinach
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/8tsp salt (a large pinch)
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp sesame seeds
small pinch of ground black pepper
200g Korean sweet potato noodles

For sauce:
40ml soya sauce
20ml honey (I followed the original recipe 40ml and found it too sweet hence the change here)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
small pinch of ground black pepper
more salt, black pepper and sesame oil when adjusting the taste

Method:

***Marinate the beef:
Mix beef, sugar, soya sauce, sesame oil, mirin and garlic, toss evenly and keep aside for at least 10mins - I did for an hour)

***Stir fry the vegetables and beef:
Heat a cooking pan, add in 1 tsp of vegetable oil. Add in onion, add a pinch of salt and stir fry for 5mins. Remove from heat, transfer to a small bowl and keep warm
Add in 1 tsp of vegetable oil in the pan. Add in bell pepper, add a pinch of salt and stir fry for a minute. Remove from heat, transfer to a small bowl and keep warm
Add in 1 tsp of vegetable oil in the pan. Add in carrot, add a pinch of salt and stir fry for 3mins. Remove from heat, transfer to a small bowl and keep warm
Add in 1 tsp of vegetable oil in the pan. Add in mushroom, add a pinch of salt and stir fry for 2mins. Remove from heat, transfer to a small bowl and keep warm
Add in 1 tsp of vegetable oil in the pan. Add in marinated beef and stir fry for 7mins until cooked through and all moisture has evaporated. Remove from pan, transfer to a small bowl and keep warm

***Blanch the spinach:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in spinach and blanch for a max of 10secs. Remove from hot water (don't throw away the water!) and immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water and drain. Squeeze out excess water and then mix spinach with garlic, salt, sesame oil, sesame seeds and black pepper. Set aside

***Make the omelette:
Heat a pan with 1 tsp oil and pour the beaten eggs and make thin omelette. Slice into thin ribbons when cooled

***Cook the noodles:
In the water used to blanch the spinach, add in Korean sweet potato noodles and 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Cook for about 7-10mins according to the instructions. Drain and set aside. Cut if the noodles is too long (I didn't do this)

***Prepare the sauce:
Mix together soya sauce, honey, sesame oil and sesame seeds also black pepper. Set aside

***Assemble the japchae:
In a big bowl, add in noodles and the sauce, mix together until sauce is well absorbed by the noodles. Add in all vegetables and beef, toss gently to combine. Garnish with egg ribbons and sesame seeds if desired (I only garnished with egg ribbons). Serve hot or at room temperature

 

AFF Korea: Easy Homemade Kimchi (Mak-Kimchi)

Last day of AFF Korea. How can I not posting anything with kimchi?
But I guess it can be forgiven when I made the kimchi itself right? LOL

Something I learned: making kimchi is easy and fun!
Recipe is from Maangchi

What you need:
(I made 1/5 recipe)

1 kg napa cabbage
35g salt

For the porridge:
15g sweet rice flour (I used glutinuous rice flour)
150ml water
10g sugar

For the kimchi paste:
50ml fish sauce
1/2 cup Korean hot pepper flakes
3 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
3 tbsp minced onion

2 stalks of spring onion, thinly sliced
chopped of 1 big leek
1/2 small white raddish, julienned
1/2 medium carrot, julienned
toasted sesame seeds, to sprinkle

Method:

1. Cut the napa cabbage lengthwise, and discard the core. Chop into bite sizes
2. Soak the pieces of cabbage in cold water and drain. Sprinkle salt
3. Every 30 minutes, turn the cabbage over to salt evenly (total salting time will be 1½ hours)
4. 1½ hours later, rinse the cabbage in cold water 3 times to clean it thoroughly (I did 5 times)
5. To make the porridge: Put water and sweet rice flour in a pot and mix it well and bring to a boil. Keep stirring until the porridge makes bubbles. Add sugar. Stir and cook for a few more mintues until it’s translucent. Cool it down.
6. To make the kimchi paste: Place the cold porridge into a large bowl. Add all your ingredients one by one. Add fish sauce, hot pepper flakes, crushed garlic, minced ginger, minced onion and blend everything using food processor. Transfer into a large bowl
7. Add in spring onion, leeks, raddish and carrot into the kimchi paste and stir well
8. Add in cabbage into the mixture and mix well. Keep in an airtight container and keep refrigerated

Note: fermentation will be faster when kimchi is stored in room temperature, so if you need the kimchi urgently you may keep it away from the fridge for the first night. Kimchi will be sticky at first but the juice will start to form the following day

 

 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: Korea, hosted by Sharon from Feats of Feasts

AFF Korea: Pork & Radish Soup (Dwaejigogi-Muguk)

This is such a heartwarming dish. My family & I enjoyed it so much!
Original recipe uses beef (sogogi). I replaced with pork loin

I saw the recipe both from Aeri's Kitchen and Maangchi, and I combined both recipes adjusting to our preference

What you need:

about 250g pork loin, pounded and thinly sliced
about 250g white raddish, washed, peeled and sliced
5 cups of water
2 spring onions, sliced thinly diagonally
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp sesame oil

To marinade meat:
2 tbsp spring onions - finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic - finely minced
1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cooking wine
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp pepper

Method:

1. Mix sliced meat with marinade and set aside for about 30mins
2. In a heated pot, add in 1/2 tbsp sesame oil and stir fry the marinated pork slices and the raddish. Cook about 3mins over medium-high heat
3. Pour water and bring to boil. Let simmer for another 15mins. Occasionally remove foam on the surface of the soup
4. Add in fish sauce and salt, adjust the taste. Also check the tenderness of the meat
5. Add in spring onion at the last 2mins of the cooking
6. Ready to serve! Just with rice - it's good enough! :)

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: Korea, hosted by Sharon from Feats of Feasts

AFF Korea - Eggplant Side Dish (Gaji-Namul)

Eggplant. One of my favourite vegetable. But I have only limited choice on how to serve it. Everytime it's either stir fry with minced meat, or grill and cook with sambal (chilli paste)
So excited when I saw a simple dish using eggplant. And it's so easy to prepare, too

 

 

Recipe is from HERE

 

What you need:

 

3 medium size eggplant

2 1/2 tbsp light soya sauce

1 stalk of spring onion, chopped finely

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp of hot pepper flakes (I used 1/2 tsp in powder form - not as spicy)

 

Method:

1. Cut 3 medium sized Asian eggplants into 3 pieces. Then cut each piece in half lengthwise
2. Steam the pieces of eggplant inside. Bring to a boil for 15 minutes over high heat
3. Turn  the heat off and move the cooked eggplant to a bowl. Set it aside to cool down
4. After the eggplant has cooled, drain the liquid. Tear each piece of eggplant lengthwise with your fingers, and put the strips into a large bowl
5. Add in all seasonings and mix together using your hands
6. Serve with rice

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: Korea, hosted by Sharon from Feats of Feasts

It's Korean & Thai Dishes In A Day

Yes. Today I had Korean green onion pancakes (Pajeon) for lunch and Thai fried chicken (Gai Thod) for dinner LOL

My lunch...

 

Recipe for this delicious savoury pancake - Korean Green Onion Pancake (Pajeon) -  can be found HERE

 

What you need:

 

For the pancake:

10 stalks green onion, cut into 5 inches long

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 cup water

1 tsp salted soya bean paste

1/2 tsp sugar

3 tbsp vegetable oil

 

Method:

1. Mix plain flour, water, soya bean paste, and sugar in a bowl, mix well til smooth
2. Heat oil in a frying pan. Arrange green onion parallel to each other, in the shape of rectangle
3. Pour batter over the green onion evenly
4. While cooked, keep patting, press slightly and keep it in nice shape with spatula
5. A few minutes later, when the bottom turns crispy and golden brown, flip it
6. Cook another 1 minute and transfer to serving plate
7. Serve with dipping sauce

 

The dipping sauce...

 

Dipping sauce:

Mix 2 tbsp soya sauce, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, chopped shallot, chopped red chilli, chopped green onion (the green part), 1 tsp chopped garlic
(original recipe used roasted sesame seeds but I didn't use)

My dinner...

 

Recipe for this finger licking scrumptious, crispy yet succulent Thai Fried Chicken (Gai Thod) is from HERE

What you need: (modified)

600g chicken cut of your choice (I used chicken drumlettes)
3 coriander roots, cleaned and chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp white pepper powder
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp oyster sauce
dash of soya sauce
dash of fish sauce
3 tbsp water
1/4 cup rice flour

Method:

1. Blend pepper, garlic, coriander roots, salt to a paste
2. Mix the paste with the rest of the ingredients
3. Marinate chicken with the paste mixture, leave it overnight in the fridge
4. Deep fry chicken just before serving and serve immediately with homemade thai sweet chilli sauce

Thai sweet chilli sauce

Source: SheSimmers

 

What you need:

 

3 large garlic cloves, peeled

2 red chillis, desseded

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp cornflour

2 tbsp water

 

Method:

1. Puree garlic, chillis, vinegar, sugar, water and salt
2. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium and simmer until the mixture thickens up a bit and the garlic-pepper bits begin to soften, about 3 mins
3. Combine the cornflour and water. Whisk in the cornflour mixture and continue to simmer one more min. The cornflour will help the sauce to thicken slightly thereby causing nice suspension of the garlic-pepper bits, otherwise you get a thin sauce with all the little pieces floating on the surface
4. Let cool completely, store in a glass jar and refrigerate

The best way to eat the chicken...

 

Slurp! :)

 

My lunch is posted here for Aspiring Bakers #37:Korean-Feast of Hansik (Nov 2013) hosted by Grace of Life Can Be Simple

And my dinner is posted for  Asian Food Fest November 2013: Thailand hosted by Lena from Frozen Wings

Thai Lemongrass Tea - Nam Tak Rai (AFF Thailand) & Korean Sweet Pancakes with Brown Sugar Syrup Filling - Hotteok (AB)

Two in one post today :)
The drink is from Thailand. The snack is from Korea. Two different countries. But they go really well together :)


Thai Lemongrass Tea (Nam Tak Rai)

 

 

Really simple to make. Taste so good. And great for body, too :)

 

Recipe is from HERE

 

What you need:

(with some modification)

 

3 litre water

3 lemongrass (discard the root) - pound lightly

thumb size of old ginger - peel and pound lightly

honey rock sugar (as desired)

 

Method:

1. Bring all the ingredients to a boil (except rock sugar)
2. Simmer for 15 minutes
3. Add in rock sugar and simmer for another 5 minutes
4. Discard lemongrass and ginger
5. Serve hot

 

Now, the companion: Korean Sweet Pancakes

This popular street snack in Korea. Served hot and folded in a paper container, every bite will burst with melted brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Chew it together with the chewy dough, it's just so yummy!

 

 

 

 

Recipe is from HERE

 

What you need:

 

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp instant yeast

1 tbsp. oil

2 cups plain flour, plus 1/2 cup for kneading, filling and shaping

1/2 tsp salt

 

 

Filling:

(to mix well)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon powder

2 tbsp chopped walnut (I didn't use)

 

Method:

1. Mix lukewarm water, sugar, yeast and oil. Stir well
2. In another bowl, mix plain flour and salt
3. Add in the flour mixture into the yeast mixture, mix with rice scoop or hand (I used rice scoop)
4. Let the dough sit for an hour (I let it sit for I 1/2 hour), then knead for awhile to let the gas bubble out
5. Spread about 1/2 cup of plain flour on cutting board (this is a lot of flour, but it's necessary since the dough is real sticky)
6. Knead dough for awhile, cut into 8 equal sized balls
7. Flatten, put filling at the centre (about 1 heaped tbsp), seal to make a ball
8. Place on a heated non stick pan with about 2 tbsp of oil (medium fire)
9. Let cook for about 30 seconds til bottom turned light brown, turn over and press the dough with spatula til thin and wide (about the size of a CD). Let cook til golden brown at the bottom
10. Turn over again and turn heat very low. Cover pan and cook another 1 minute (to let the sugar filling melts)
11. Serve immediately

 

Note:

*This snack won't taste so nice after cooling down - in my opinion (DH didn't mind eating it cold LOL). The best is to serve it immediately

*This recipe makes 8 pancakes. I made 4 pancakes and I froze the other 4 dough balls (in separate plastic wrap). After thawing, it worked just as good as the first 4 pancakes I made :)

*Another great filling recommended is mozzarella cheese. I shall try it next time :)

 

 

The tea is for  Asian Food Fest November 2013: Thailand hosted by Lena from Frozen Wings

 The green strange-looking dog at the back is clay modelling done by Ian, and he's so proud of it he wanted me to use it as prop :)


And this yummy snack is for Aspiring Bakers #37:Korean-Feast of Hansik (Nov 2013) hosted by Grace of Life Can Be Simple

 

 

I just realized that this post is my 100th post for Aspiring Bakers :)