Filed under Beef, Pasta + Noodles + Rice · Print This Post
Koreans usher in the new year eating dduk, or what we non-Koreans refer to as rice cakes. Rice flour is used to make dduk and the end product is dense and sticky, like the Japanese mochi and the Filipino kalamay. I can only assume that Koreans eat dduk during the new year for the same reason Filipinos and Chinese eat noodles: for long lives, and well, “many children”.
There are different kinds of dduk eaten as a snack or as dessert, but what I like are the cylindrical ones used in this hearty recipe. If I encounter this in a Korean restaurant, it’s usually sans meat, but having perfected my Korean bibimbap earlier this year, I thought that adding beef in it won’t hurt. Instead of a soup, though, I made a sauté with the beef lightly seared. Serve this with Korean store-bought banchan, or side dishes.
Ingredients:
a handful of Korean dduk
1 small red bell pepper, julienned
1 yellow squash, chopped
1 bunch of scallions, chopped in 1/2-inch pieces
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsps kochujang, or Korean red pepper paste
1 tbsp peanut oil
For the beef marinade:
2 slices of lean beef
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp mirin, or rice wine
1 clove of garlic, minced
1. In a small bowl, marinate beef while you prepare the dduk.
2. In a small pot of boiling water, cook the dduk for 5 to 7 minutes. They’re done when a fork easily pricks them. Remove from the water using a slotted spoon. Set aside.
3. Heat peanut oil in a sauté pan. Sauté scallions until soft. Add the red bell pepper and the squash and cook until tender. Move the vegetables to the side to make room for the beef. Add the beef and sear for 2 minutes per side. Remove the beef using tongs onto a chopping board.
4. Remove the pan from the heat while you slice the seared beef against the grain. Turn on the heat again and add the beef back, the dduk and the remaining ingredients. Toss until completely combined. Add more kochujang paste if you want your dduk bok-kee spicier.
Related post/s:
Korean bibimbap recipe
Kochujang sauce and sashimi
Han Ah Reum has all the Korean ingredients you need
Filed under Pork · Print This Post
We were at Sona’s apartment earlier this year for a pot luck party to congratulate two friends who ran the marathon and we all contributed to making the gyoza, or dumplings. My Japanese friends make them frequently at home and they were sealing them as fast as I can say “dumpling”. I was slower and mine came out a little askew, but at least they didn’t fall apart when cooking.
Americans call them pot stickers because, well, they stick to the bottom of the pot when you fry them. Koreans call them mandu and include them in a soup using clear broth, or mandu gook. You can substitute the pork filling with ground chicken or shrimp, but the rest of the ingredients are non-negotiable if you want to make gyoza, Japanese-style. You can go to YouTube and search for the many how-to-make-dumpling videos available. They key is frying them on one side and cooking them thoroughly by adding a little water to the pan and steaming them. Open up a bottle of Sapporo and you’re set for the rest of the afternoon.
Ingredients:
1 package of gyoza skins
1/2 pound of ground pork
a small wedge of cabbage, roughly chopped
1 bunch of scallions, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
a knob of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsps peanut oil
1. Make the filling by combining all the ingredients except for the skins in a large bowl.
2. To prepare the dumplings, you’ll need a small bowl of water to seal the dumplings and a wet paper towel to cover the gyoza skins to keep them from drying out. Using a teaspoon, spoon the filling in the middle of the skin. Dab one edge of the skin with water and fold the skin over in half and pinch in the middle. To seal the sides, ruche and pinch to make pleats. (There goes my fashion education.)
3. Steam-fry the dumplings. Heat up the peanut oil in a deep frying pan. Add the dumplings one side down and fry for 3 minutes. Lower the heat and add 1/4-cup of water. Cover to steam the dumplings for about 8 minutes, or until most of the water has evaporated. Remove using a heat-resistant spatula to a plate lined with paper towel. Dip in soy sauce and vinegar mixture.
Related post/s:
Buy gyoza skins
Just like making your own meatballs
