Bibimbap

비빔밥
Rice mixed with vegetables, meat, an egg, and chili pepper paste

Bibimbap is  a super-popular Korean dish you might have heard about already! It’s made of a bowl of rice, sautéed and seasoned vegetables (namul: 나물), a bit of hot pepper paste (gochujang: 고추장), and usually a bit of seasoned raw beef, too (yukhoe: 육회).

Bibim (비빔) translates as “mixed,” and bap (밥) means “cooked rice,” so bibimbap literally means “mixed rice.” Before eating it you’re supposed to mix everything all together.

How to prepare dried fernbrake (gosari) for use

If you have presoaked or fresh fernbrake you can use it straight away, but if you have dried fernbrake you’ll need to get it ready to eat. It’s fast if you have a pressure cooker, but if you don’t it will take some time.

With a pressure cooker:

Wash ½ ounce of dried gosari and boil it with 5 cups of water in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes.

Drain and rinse in cold water a couple of times.

Drain. It should make 4 ounces.

In a pot on the stove:

In a large saucepan add ½ ounce of dried gosari to 7 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 30 minutes. Cover and let stand until cool, about 2 to 3 hours.

Rinse the fernbrake a couple of times, drain and put in a bowl. Cover with fresh cold water and let soak for at least 8 hours or overnight in a cool place, changing the water 2 or 3 times during the soaking.gosari

Taste the gosari: It should be soft. If it’s tough, boil it again in a fresh pot of water for about 20 minutes and then let it sit, covered, until soft.

Drain. It should make 4 ounces.

Make rice

If you have a usual method for making rice or have a rice cooker, go ahead and make 5 cups of rice like you usually do. But here’s how I do it on a pot on the stove. 2 cups of dried rice makes about 5 cups of cooked rice.

Rinse 2 cups of rice in cold water and scrub the wet rice with your hand. Rinse and drain until the drained water is pretty clear.

Put the rice in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add 2 cups of water, cover, and soak for 30 minutes.

Cook over medium high heat for 7 to 8 minutes until the surface is covered with abundant bubbles that are spluttering noisily and look like they’re about to overflow the pot. Turn the rice over a few times with a spoon and cover the pot again.

Turn the heat to very low and simmer for another 10 minutes until the rice is fully cooked and fluffy. Remove from the heat.

Fluff the rice with a spoon to release excess steam. Let the rice stand, covered, at room temperature to keep it warm.

Soybean sprouts:

Put the soy bean sprouts in a pot and add 4 cups water and 2 or 3 teaspoons salt. Cover and cook for 20 minutes over medium high heat. Take out the sprouts with tongs and put them into a bowl, leaving about ½ cup of sprouts in the pot with the water you used to boil them. This is the soup to serve with bibimbap later.bibimbap kongnamul

In a bowl, mix the sprouts by hand with ½ teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, and 2 teaspoons sesame oil. Put them on the large platter.

Spinach:

Cut up the blanched spinach a few times and put it in a bowl. Mix by hand with 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. Cover and put it next to the soy bean sprouts on the platter.

Other fresh vegetables:

Cut the carrot into matchsticks, put them in a bowl, and mix with a pinch of salt. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes until sweating.bibimbap carrot

Cut the red bell pepper into halves, deseed, and slice into strips. Put them in a bowl.

Cut the zucchini into matchsticks and mix with ½ teaspoon salt.

Cut the cucumber into halves lengthwise and slice thinly crosswise. Mix with ¼ teaspoon salt.

Beef:

Cut the beef into matchsticks and put them in a bowl.

Mix with 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds with a spoon.bibimbap yukhoe

Cover and keep in the fridge until ready to use.

Mountain vegetables:

Cut the fernbrake (gosari) a few times into bite size pieces. Set aside.

Put the bellflower roots (doraji) in a large bowl. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons salt. Rub for a minute to wilt slightly and release some of the bitterness. Rinse them in cold water a couple of times and drain. If you find some roots are too thick, split them lengthwise. Set aside.

Let’s cook!

Heat up a pan over medium high heat. Squeeze out excess water from the carrot. Add a few drops of cooking oil to the pan and sauté the carrot for 1 minute. Put it on the platter next to the soy bean sprouts and spinach. Clean the pan with wet paper towel or wash it.

Heat a few drops of cooking oil in the pan and squeeze out the excess water from the cucumber. Sauté with ½ teaspoon minced garlic and a few drops of sesame oil for 30 seconds. Put it on the platter. Clean the pan.

Heat up the pan with a few drops of cooking oil. Add the red bell pepper and sprinkle a pinch of salt over top. Sauté for 30 seconds. Put it on the platter. Clean the pan.

Heat up the pan and squeeze out excess water from the zucchini. Add a few drops of cooking oil and sauté with 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon chopped green onion, a drop of sesame oil for 1 minute until slightly softened. Put it on the platter. Clean the pan.

Heat up the pan with a few drops of cooking oil. Add the bellflower roots and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium so as not to brown them. Add 1 teaspoon minced garlic and a drop of sesame oil. Stir for another minute until a little softened. Put it on the platter. Clean the pan.bellflower root (doraji)

Heat up the pan. Add a few drops of cooking oil. Stir the gosari for 2 minutes until a little softened. Add ½  teaspoon of minced garlic, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons sugar, and keep stirring for another minute. Put it on the platter.

bibimbap vegetables

Serve

Here are a couple of ways to serve: bibimbap in a regular, shallow bowl, and dolsot-bibimbap in a stone or earthenware bowl.

In a regular, shallow bowl

Reheat the soybean sprout soup.soup

Divide the cooked rice into 4 portions. Each portion will be a little more than 1 cup of rice.

Put the rice in each of 4 bowls and arrange the vegetables and beef on the rice. Top with the egg yolk and gochujang. If you prefer your eggs and beef cooked, make sunny side up eggs and slightly pan-fry the beef before putting them on the top of rice.

Sprinkle the bibimbap with the sesame seeds and drizzle with sesame oil to taste.

Ladle the soup to a small bowl and sprinkle some chopped green onion over top.

Serve right away with more hot pepper paste on the side.bibimbap

Dolsot-bibimbap in an earthenware bowl (ttukbaegi) or stone pot (dolsot)

Reheat the soybean sprout soup.

Put a few drops of sesame oil in the bottom of each of 4 earthenware bowls. They should be big enough to hold 4 to 6 cups each.

Divide the rice among the bowls. Arrange the vegetables and beef on the rice. Top each serving with an egg yolk and 1 tablespoon gochujang. If you prefer your eggs and beef cooked, make sunny side up eggs and slightly pan-fry the beef before putting them on the top of rice.

Set each pot on a burner. Heat over medium high heat until you hear a ticking, crackling sound coming from the rice.dolsot-bibimbap

Sprinkle the bibimbap with the sesame seeds, drizzle with sesame oil to taste.

Ladle the soup to a small bowl and sprinkle some chopped green onion over top.

Serve right away with more hot pepper paste on the side.gochujang

Source (c): maangchi.com

Bulgogi

Easy Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Beef)

"Bulgogi is a Korean dish that usually consists of grilled marinated beef.

Bulgogi is served in barbecue restaurants in Korea, and there are bulgogi-flavoured fast-food hamburgers sold at many South Korean fast-food restaurants."

Directions

1. Thinly slice 1 pound of sirloin or tenderloin beef against the grain.
2. Mix these ingredients to make a marinade:
   • 2 tbs of soy sauce
   • 3 tbs of water
   • 1 tbs of brown sugar
   • 1 tbs of honey
   • 1 tbs of sesame oil
   • 1 tbs of toasted sesame seeds
   • 2 chopped green onions
   • 4 cloves of minced garlic
   • ½ ts of black pepper.
3. Add the beef to the marinade and keep in the fridge at least 30 minutes. If your cut of beef is tough, you can marinate longer to soften it, or use a Korean pear in the marinade, like I do in this recipe.
4. Cook it on a pan or a grill, and transfer to a plate or a cast iron plate to serve.

Source (c) : maangchi.com

Kimchi

Kimchi (Hangul: 김치, Korean: [kimtɕʰi]; English /ˈkɪmtʃi/), also spelled kimchee or gimchi, is a traditional fermented Korean side dishmade of vegetables with a variety of seasonings. In traditional preparations, kimchi was stored underground in jars to keep cool during the summer months and unfrozen during the winter months.There are hundreds of varieties of kimchi made from napa cabbage, radish, scallion, or cucumber as the main ingredients.





How to make Kimchi

Equipment you'll need

• Chef's knife
• Large mixing bowl
• Small mixing bowl
• Food prep gloves
• Strainer
• Cutting board
• 6-cup Mason jar with lid

Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs. Napa cabbage, stemmed and cut lengthwise
• 6 to 8 cups + 1 tablespoon water, filtered or distilled*
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 daikon radishes, trimmed and cut into matchsticks
• 1 bundle scallions, trimmed, cut into 1-inch sections
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 3 to 5 tablespoons coarse Korean red pepper flakes*
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 nori sheet, torn into small pieces*

Notes on ingredients

* The amount of water used is dependent on the size of your mixing bowl. A bigger bowl requires more water.

* Korean red pepper flakes, called gochugaru, are found in Asian markets or can be purchased online.

* Many kimchi recipes call for fish sauce, which adds a savory dimension to kimchiknown as umami. Dulse or nori, saltwater vegetables made from kelp and seaweed respectively are good substitutes.

Cooking directions

1. Rinse and prep cabbage. Cut cabbage into strips and place in mixing bowl. Add 1/4 cup salt and gently massage salt into leaves while using gloves. Pour water into bowl until cabbage is just covered, about 10 minutes. Place plate on top of cabbage to weight. Set aside for at least 3 hours or overnight, folding once or twice
2. Pour cabbage into a strainer and rinse under cool running water. Set strainer aside to allow cabbage to drain, about 20 minutes. Dry mixing bowl and set aside for reuse.
3. Combine sugar, pepper flakes, nori and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon filtered water and stir contents until a thick paste forms. Combine 2 cups water with 1 tablespoon salt and stir. Set aside.
4. Meanwhile, rinse and prep daikon, ginger, scallions and garlic. Combine ingredients with cabbage in mixing bowl. Add paste and fold until the cabbage is evenly coated with paste, about 2 minutes.
5. Pack kimchi into Mason jar. Add just enough brine from step three (if needed) to cover ingredients. Seal and place jar on a shelf out direct sunlight for 24 hours. After 24 hours, open jar to release gasses, it should be stinky. Then reseal and store kimchi in fridge for up to 1 month. Add to soup, as a side dish, or with veggie burgers.

source: mnn.com

TINOLA

    Tinola in Tagalog or Visayan, or la uya in Ilocano is a soup-based dish served as an appetizer or main entrée in the Philippines.^[1]

     Traditionally, this dish is cooked with chicken, wedges of green papaya, and leaves of the siling labuyo chili pepper in broth flavored with ginger, onions andfish sauce. A common variant substitutes fish or pork for chicken, chayoteinstead of papaya, or with tomatoes and moringa leaves known as marungayor malunggay or kamunggay (in Cebuano), instead of pepper leaves.^[2]However, an all-vegetable broth in Cebu with kamunggay in prominence is called utan kamunggay or utan bisayâ, while it is called law-oy in Mindanao and laswa in Hiligaynon. Another variation is Tinolang Tahong, a soup made with mussels, ginger, onion, garlic and bird's eye chili.

       The exact origins of Tinola is obscure. One of the earliest mentions of the dish is in José Rizal's first novel, Noli Me Tangere, where Kapitan Tiago served it to Crisostomo Ibarra upon arriving from Europe. He was given the breast, to the dismay of the corrupt Spanish friar, Padre Damaso, who got chicken neck, which is considered to be the least favored chicken part.

 

 How to cook:

Ingredients

·         1 whole chicken, cut into serving pieces

·         36 ounces rice washing

·         ½ pc small green papaya, cut into wedges

·         1 tbsp garlic, minced

·         1 medium sized onion, chopped

·         1 thumb ginger, cut into strips

·         2 tbsp fish sauce

·         Hot pepper leaves

Instructions

1.    Sauté the garlic, onion, and ginger

2.    Put-in the chicken and cook until color turns light brown

3.    Add the fish sauce and mix well

4.    Pour-in the rice washing and put to a boil. Simmer for 45 minutes.

5.    Add the green papaya wedges and simmer for 5 minutes

6.    Add the hot pepper leaves

7.    Add salt and pepper to taste

8.    Serve hot. Share and enjoy!

PAKSIW

PAKSIW

Paksiw na Isda or Fish Cooked in Vinegar is a quick and easy seafood dish that is said to be one of the common everyday dishes prepared by Filipino families.

 

Ingredients

·         2 pieces fish (about half a pound each), cleaned and scales removed

·         1 knob ginger, sliced and pounded

·         6 cloves garlic, skin removed

·         ½ cup vinegar

·         1 cup water

·         1 medium onion, sliced

·         1 small bitter gourd, chopped (optional)

·         3 pieces finger chili

·         2 teaspoon salt

·         1 teaspoon whole peppercorn

Instructions

1.    Heat a pan and cooking pot then pour-in vinegar and water.

2.    Add salt and whole peppercorn then stir. Bring to a boil.

3.    Arrange the fish in the pan along with the ginger, garlic, onion, bitter gourd, and finger chili. Cover and simmer in low to medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes.

4.    Turn off the heat and transfer to a serving plate.

5.    Serve hot with steamed rice. Share and enjoy!

6.    Note: You may substitute salt with ¾ to 1 tablespoon fish sauce.

Binagoongang Baboy Recipe

Binagoongang Baboy Recipe (Pork in Shrimp Paste)

Pork Binagoongan, also called Binagoogang Baboy, is pork stewed and sautéed in shrimp paste. It is one of the all-time favorite Filipino dishes. A perfect dish when served with fried eggplant, unripe mango, and steamed rice!

The key ingredient of Pork Binagoongan is the shrimp paste (Bagoong Alamang in Tagalog), a condiment made from a fermented mixture of small shrimps and salt, which gives flavor to the dish.

Ingredients

·         1½ lbs. pork shoulders, cut into cubes

·         ¼ cup shrimp paste (cooked)

·         2 medium plum tomatoes, diced

·         1 large yellow onion, diced

·         1 teaspoon minced garlic

·         2½ cups beef broth

·         1 medium Chinese eggplant, sliced

·         ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

·         3 tablespoons cooking oil

Instructions

1.    Heat the oil in a cooking pot.

2.    Pan fry the sliced eggplants for 3 minutes per side. Remove the fried eggplants and place in a plate. Set aside.

3.    On the same pan, add the garlic, tomato, and onion. Saute for 5 minutes or until both onions and tomatoes are soft.Note: add more cooking oil if needed.

4.    Add the pork slices in. Cook until the color of the pork turns light brown.

5.    Pour-in the beed broth. Let boil. Cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes or until the pork is tender.

6.    Add the shrimp paste. Stir and cook in low to medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Note: there should still be some liquid in the pot. If the pot is almost dry, add 1 cup of beef broth.

7.    Add the fried eggplant.

8.    Tranfer to a serving plate.

9.    Serve. Share and enjoy!