Spicy, chewy rice cakes Tteokbokki

 

The No.1 street snack in Korea is Tteokbokki, the spicy stir-fried rice cakes! The primary ingredients are rice cakes, fish cakes and funky gochujang chili paste, which create a spicy, sweet and chewy instant rice snack. It is super addictive even when you're full, you still want to grab another bite!😉. Tteokbokki can be found easily in food stalls in the cities, where people gather to have conversations with friends while eating Tteokbokki. You can also enjoy this snack at home by just following this simple recipe!

Difficulty: Easy

Cost: Economic

Preparation time: 5 min

Cooking time: 15 min

Portions: 1-2 people

INGREDIENTS: 

You will need to prepare 👇:

• 200g Korean rice cakes 
• 200g Korean fish cakes 

(you can find them at Korean or Asina food stores)

• 2 eggs
• 50g lauch
• Minced garlic
• Korean Gochujang Chili paste, tomato sauce
• Chili red pepper
• Sesame oil, salt, sugar

Ok, you have them all? Now let's start!

PREPARATION& COOKING:

STEP 1: Boil the eggs meanwhile put the rice cakes in a bowl and add 200ml of hot water to soak.

STEP 2: Cut fish cakes into size-bite triangles slices. Wash the lauch and chop into short pieces. 

STEP 3: Put 3 tbsp of sesame oil in a pan, wait til the oil is hot enough, then add 1 tbsp of minced garlic to fry. 

STEP 4: Add 240 ml of cold water and stir well until it boils. 

STEP 5: Add 4 tbsp tomato sauce + 3 tbsp Korean chilli paste + 2 tbsp sugar + a bit salt.

STEP 6: Use a spoon to stir the mixture in the hot pan, then add rice cakes and fish slices. Stir well to absord the mixture and cook it about 10 minutes to soften the rice cakes. 

STEP 7: Add 1 tbsp of minced chilli red pepper and lauch in the pan. Mix again and turn off the heat! 

EATING TIPS:

SOURCE: flickr.com

In Korea, people often grab a plate of Tteokbokki and drink some soju (Korean wine) with their friends or colleages after school or after work. It is the ultimate late night indulgence! 

Leave a comment to let us know how is your home-made Korean Tteokbokki and how you eat it😉

Rice cakes

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Nutritious Seaweed Soup Miyeok Guk Recipe

Do you know Korean people believe that eating Seaweed Soup (miyeok guk) for breakfast on birthdays would bring you lots of luck, happiness and health?😊. It is called Korean Birthday Soup! Drinking this soup on birthdays is also a traditional way to show love and respect to ones's mother who gave birth to them. In fact, miyeok guk soup is cooked from seaweed which is rich in calcium and iodine, nutrients. That's why it is very nutritious for women during their pregnancy and breastfeeding. 

Korean seaweed soup (miyeok guk or miyuk guk, 미역국) also has many other benefits such as reducing blood fat and detoxifying the liver. It is very healthy for people with high blood pressure, helping to prevent cancer and gastrointestinal tract.

Let's try making this soup and see if it can become your favourite soup! The recipe is super simple✌

Difficulty: Easy

Cost: Economic

Preparation time: 3-5 min

Cooking time: 15 min

Portions: 1-2 people

INGREDIENTS: 

You will need to prepare 👇:

• 50g Dried seaweed (Miyeok / wakame)
• 150g beef stew meat or brisket
• Minced ginger and minced garlic
• Soy sauce
• White vinegar (apple)
• Sesame oil
• Sugar, salt and pepper

Ok, you have them all? Now let's start!

PREPARATION: 

SOURCE: FLICKR.COM

Step 1: Wash seaweed to remove dirt and soak for 20-30 minutes to soften. Then, Take out the seaweed, drain and cut each piece about 4-5 cm.

SOURCE: FLICKR.COM

Step 2: Put the seaweed in a large bowl, squeeze it with white vinegar, then rinse it again. Many people learn how to cook seaweed soup but often skip this step.

Squeezing the seaweed with vinegar helps to reduce the fishy smell, making the soup more delicious.

Step 3: Cut beef into thin slices and marinate with minced garlic, sesame oil, pepper for about 20 minutes. You don't have to add much seasoning because when you cook the seaweed soup, you will taste it again to fit.

COOKING: 

Step 4:  Put a little sesame oil on the pot, stir the mince garlic and then add the sliced beef. Mix it well. 

Step 5: When the beef is half done, add seaweed and 1/2 tsp of sesame oil. Stir the mixture in 4 minutes at high heat. 

Tip: a delicious Korean Seaweed Soup requires you to use high heat so that the meat and seaweed won't lose their flavor.

Step 6: Pour water into the pot and lower the heat. When the soup is boiling, you can add seasoning (salt) until it fits your taste. Continue to cook at medium heat about 5 minutes. 

Step 7: Add one tablespoon of minced garlic to the pot and keep the heat low for another 10 minutes to allow the garlic to soak in the seaweed soup. Then your soup is done!

It seems that when making this seaweed soup, many people forget this step. Therefore, their soup lacks its characteristic flavor.

EATING TIPS:

source: flickr.com

You can make a dried seaweed soup with tofu or seafood instead of beef. With these ingredients, you'll have a very tasty and light dish for the summer.

Seaweed soup can be served with rice and other dishes. 

In the summer, you can let the soup cool down before eating, while in the winter, eating a hot seaweed soup with rice will be a wonderful thing 😉

Leave a comment to let us know how is your home-made Korean Seaweed Soup and how you eat it😉 

Seaweed soup

0

Korean Grilled Pork Belly BBQ (Samgyeopsal)

Grilled pork belly BBQ (Samgyeopsal-gui) is seen as a "star"of Korean popular cuisine. Samgyeopsal means "three layers of meat", which can be seen on the bacon.This dish is so popular in Korea and everyone loves it because of sweet and savory taste of grilled "three layered meat" rolled with fresh lettuce, perilla leaves, sliced onions and raw garlic and kimchi. 

source: pxhere

According to statistics, 85% of Korean adults like this dish and 70% of the people here eat it at least once a week. Recently, Samgyeopsal has just been voted as the most loved Korean food by foreign tourists. It even surpassed Kimchi - which is considered the most typical food of the country. 

The recipe for Grilled pork belly BBQ (Samgyeopsal-gui) is also super easy with just few steps. 

Difficulty:  Easy

Cost: Economic

Preparation time: 3-5 min

Cooking time: 10-20 min

Portions:  1-2 people

INGREDIENTS: 

You will need to prepare 👇: 

• 450g pork belly (skin removed)
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons mirin (rice wine)
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of ginger powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper powder
• Ssamjang (Korean spicy dipping sauce) (optional)
• Vegetables to eat with grilled meat: lettuce leaves, perilla leaves, carrots, cucumbers, green peppers, onions, and kimchi

Ok, you have them all? Now let's start!

STEP 1: Cut the pork into bite size pieces. Tip: To cut beautiful pieces of meat, you just need to put it in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes until the meat is shaped and cut out thin.

STEP 3: In a large bowl, mix soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, garlic powder, ginger powder, and black pepper together.

STEP 4: Put pork cuts into the bowl of mixed sauce just made, and mix well. Cover the bowl with wrapping film, then place the marinated pork in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours.

Source: Pxhere

STEP 5: Heat the BBQ grill plate and spread some oil on the plate by rubbing one piece of pork cuts, like this, the meat won't stick to the plate. 

Then, you can put the rest of the meat. Remember not to add too much meat on the plate and cook it with high temperature in short time! Grill until the meat becomes golden crispy.

* You can also cook the meat with an oven! In this way, you don't need to cut it into slices. Put the meat into the oven and roast at 350 ° F (about 176° C) for 40 minutes. When it's done, you can cut it into size-bite pieces. 

EATING TIPS:

source: internet

Korean people eat Samgyeopsal with fresh mix of salad, which includes lettuce leaves, perilla leaves, carrots, cucumbers, green peppers, onions, and kimchi, then dip it into Ssamjang (Korean spicy dipping sauce).

Beside the pork belly, you can aslo grill tofu, bean sprouts, onions or sweet potatoes and eat with the meat. 

Leave a comment to let us know how is your home-made Samgyeopsal and how you eat it😉

Korean BBQ

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Healthy Bibimbap in a bowl

Bibimbap (비빔밥) is a famous Korean mixed rice dish, ranked at 40 among top 50 best dishes in the world voted by CNN readers in 2011. Known as a simple but so delicious dish, its taste is hard to resist! Bibimbap is also incredibly nutritious as it includes a wide range of healthy ingredients from meat to vegetables, mixed well together with gochujang sauce (Korean chili paste). That's why Bibimbap (비빔밥) can be your perfect lunch! 

You don't need to go to Korea to try this tasty dish, you can cook Bibimbap easily at your home just by following these steps!

Difficulty: Easy

Cost: Economic

Preparation time: 3-5 min

Cooking time: 3-5 min

Portions: 1-2 people

INGREDIENTS: 

You will need to prepare 👇: 

• 500g Japanese rice 
• 200g each cucumber, kimchi, spinach, carrot and bean sprout
• 200g beef
• 1 egg
• 700ml water
• 200g each chives, onion 
• 50g ground pork
• 15g each minced garlic and onion 
• Seasoning: salt, sugar, seasoning powder, black pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil, Korean chili paste (gochujang sauce) and a little white sesame

Ok, you have them all? Now let's start!

Photo by form PxHere

PREPARATION & CoOKING: 

STEP 1: Wash 500g of Japanese rice, put it into a pot and pour 700ml water. Cook about 15-20 minutes until the rice is done. (Remember to stir the rice well when it's boiling). 

STEP 2: Prepare vegetables and meat: 

1. Cut cucumber into small strips and slice chives, kimchi, spinach, carrot, onion. 

2. Cut beef into thin slices

3. Make seasoning sauce by mixing all spices following the proportions: 2 tsp sait, 4 tsp sugar, 2 tsp seasoning powder, a bit pepper. Put this sauce aside.

4. Marinate beef with 1 tsp of seasoning sauce that you've just made, 1tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp sesame oil for 20 minutes.

STEP 3: Put a little oil on a pan, then stir the minced garlic and onion. After that, put the ground pork, add 2 tsp of seasoning sauce and stir them for 2 minutes. 

STEP 4: Add cooked rice and Korean chili paste (gochujang sauce), mix them well together for 2 minutes. Then put them into a bowl. 

STEP 5: Frying the egg and put it aside

STEP 6: Stir the sliced onion with sesame oil, then add marinated beef and cook it until the meat is done. 

STEP 7: Stir each vegetable sequentially:  bean sprout, spinach, carrots, chives with sesame oil and add 1 tsp of seasong sauce. 

STEP 8: Put each type of vegetables in the bowl, add beef and then put the egg on the top. 

Photo by form PxHere

EATING TIPS:

Bibimbap is always served with Korean chili sauce, so put a few teaspoons of chili sauce in the bowl and sprinkle some white sesame on top and mix well!

Beside a healthy lunch for your family, Bibimbap is also a great ideal for buffet style party because everyboday can create their own bowl depending on their own choices of ingredients.

Leave a comment to let us know how is your home-made Bibimbap and how you eat it😉 

Bibimbap

2

Perfect Korean Ramen Noodle Recipe (라면) in 3 Steps

 

One of Korean best dishes that we can't live without is Korean Ramen Noodle (라면: Ramyeon or, also spelled Ramyun). On average, a Korean eats 76 ramen packets per year. Nowadays, to meet the increasing demand of Ramen noodles, many different types of delicious and exotic noodle dishes were created. Ramen noodles are also produced as packed and cup products for convenience. You can find these instant ramen noodles distributed by some famous brands such as Nong Shim, Neuguri or Shin. 

Cooking instant Ramen is super easy and fast. Every one can just follow the instructions on the back of the package. But today, let's make it more special by following this perfect recipe to make a steaming and spicy noodle dish just like in Korean dramas😋. Get excited? Let's begin!

Difficulty: Easy

Cost: Economic

Preparation time: 3 min

Cooking time: 3 min

Portions: 1-2 people

INGREDIENTS: 

You will need to prepare 👇: 

• 1 Korean ramen packet (Kimchi Ramen recommended, otherwise depending on your flavors)
• 1 large sausage sliced into bite size pieces
• 1 tofu packet sliced into bite size pieces
• 100g fresh champignon mushroom cut into pieces
• 1 small bowl of kimchi
• Chicken broth (it's okay if you use water) 
• Chilli powder
• 3 tbsp Korean soy sauce
• Minced garlic
• Black pepper

Ok, you have them all? Now let's start!

COOKING: 

STEP 1: Mix all the spices (soy sauce, chilli powder, minced garlic and black peper) in a smal bowl. 

STEP 2: Put sausages, tofu, mushrooms, kimchi in a pot and then pour the chicken broth or water to boil for 1 minutes. 

STEP 3: Put Ramen noodles on the top and add spice, wait until the noodles are done (2-3 minutes) then turn off the heat.

DONE! 

EATING TIPS:

You can eat it just like that or with rice!

Leave a comment to let us know how is your home-made Ramen and how you eat it😉

Ramen

2

Yummy Korean Bulgogi Recipe

What is Bulgogi? 

Bulgogi (Mak-bulgogi 막불고기) is probably the second most popular Korean dish after Kimchi. It is very tasty and so easy to make. Main ingredients are fresh, sweet beef, sliced onion and carrots. Not only Korean people but the majority of tourists love bulgogi. Especially, Bulgogi is an ideal dish for a cold winter day when you and your family or friends sitting around the hot grilling pan and savoring delicious and rich taste of marinated beef served with some fresh vegetable, what a relaxing and enjoyable moment!

So now let's get ready to cook Bulgogi by just following our easy steps: 

NGREDIENTS: 

You will need to prepare 👇: 

• 1kg Beef (tenderloin) 
• 380 ml Beef broth
• 30g x 2 pieces of Tofu: 
• 30g Korean Enoki mushroom
• 1/2 pear 
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 2 green peppers
• 12 cloves of garlic
• Some scallions
• Black pepers
• 1tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp soy sauce.
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

Let's prepare also some necessary utensils:

• 1 grilling pan or frying pan
• 1 clean tray
• 1 large bowl
• blender

Ok, you have them all? Now let's start!

PREPARATION: 

Source: pikrepo

STEP 1: Clean the beef with water and leave it in the fridge for about 2 hours until it is slightly frozen. Then cut it into very thin strips with the "half of a hand" size. 

STEP 2: Chop garlic into small pieces and put them aside. Chop onion and pear, then use a blender to gently grind the mixture. 

STEP 3: Clean and drain the remaining vegetables, tofu, mushroom then cut them into bite size pieces and put all on a clean tray.

Now, let's make the sauce!

STEP 4: Put the mixture of onion + pear, garlic, soy sauce, black pepper, sugar, honey and breef broth into a large bowl then mix them well together. 

STEP 5: Put sliced beef into the sauce bowl, add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, and mix the meat with the sauce. Then leave the bowl into the refirgerator for 1- 3 hours. 

COOKING: 

After hours of waiting, now we can cook the meat!

STEP 6: With the Korean traditional bulgogi style, you can grill the meat with the grilling pan and eat them right after they're cooked!

Or you can use a frying pan and follow these steps:

• Heat the pan with a little of olive oil or veg. oil.
• Pour the meat in the pan and stir it-  Make sure to turn around the meat several times until it's cooked. 

EATING TIPS:

You can eat Bulgogi with rice or with kimchi. 

 Korean people usually eat Bulgogi with lettuce by rolling the grilled meat and accompanying ingredients and then put all in the mouth to enjoy 😄

Leave a comment to let us know how is your home-made bulgogi and how you eat it😉

Featured

0

Easy Kimchi Recipe!

Are you craving for the spicy and savory Kimchi?  😋 

Do you know that Kimchi has a lot of health benefits and it is not difficult at all to make?

Today let's make kimchi together by just following this super easy recipe!

INGREDIENTS: 

You will need to prepare 👇: 

• 1 napa cabbage or chinese cabbage
• 3/4 cup salt
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup sweet rice flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup fish sauce
• 3/4 cup korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
• 2 tbsp grated garlic
• 2 tbsp minced onion
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 cup korean raddish (shredded)
• 3/4 cup green onions (sliced)
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots

Let's prepare also some necessary utensils: 

• 1 large tub 
• 1 large bowl
• Kitchen gloves 
• 1 airtight container or jar

Ok, you have them all? Now let's start!

PREPARATION: 

                                     

Step 1: Cut the cabbage into quarters and remove the bottom of each quarter. Then cut them into bite size pieces. 

Kimchi

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