How to Make Korean Soybean Soup Doenjangjjigae (됀장찌개 만들기)

I have always been a fan of Baek Jong Won (백종원) and his recipe for 됀장찌개 didn't disappoint. It's a simple recipe worth trying even for noobs. Will definitely make this again.

Ingredients (for 2):
500ml rice water (soak rice in water till it turns milky, filter and collect the water)
100g shabu pork
2 slices of raddish about 0.5cm thick (ok to add more)
2 tbsp soybean paste (doenjang)
0.5 tbsp pepper paste (gochujang)
0.3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/3 zucchini
Chopped spring onion

Method:
1) Prepare the ingredients by cutting the pork slices into smaller pieces, cutting raddish into long stripes and cutting zucchini into quarter cube.

2) Add some oil to a pot and stir fry the pork until it is cooked. Then, add in raddish and cook till it wilts.

3) Pour in the rice water and continue boiling. When it starts to bubble, add in the soybean paste, pepper paste, sugar and garlic. Wait till it boils then add in zucchini. Continue boiling for another 5 minutes or until the zucchini softens. Add chopped spring onion.

Above photo is for a serving of 4 person

I have transferred the contents into a Korean pot, which I bought from a Korean mart at $6.90, and heating it up  just before serving. This step is optional. The original recipe that Mr Baek did was for 1 serving and he cooked it in this traditional Korean pot.

How to make Korean zucchini pancake 애호박전

This is something that Koreans will prepare during festive period like Chuseok. I personally enjoy this snack alot and it is easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 zucchini
1 egg (beaten)
4 tbsp flour
2 tbsp oil

Slice the zucchini into 5mm thick slices. Lay them on a tray with paper towel and sprinkle some salt over them. Let it dry for 10 minutes. This step is important to get rid of excess water to prevent oil splatter when frying.

Then use another paper towel to dab and get rid of excess water. Coat the zucchini slices with thin layer of flour then coat it with egg wash.

Heat a frying pan using medium heat and add 2 tbsp of oil. Fry the zucchini until golden brown.

How to make pickle (피클)

This is served as side dish in many Korean restaurant (usually served with western food). I thought of buying it in Korea but chanced upon a recipe from 백종원.

This recipe is simple so have fun making lots of it, goes well with porridge.



Ingredients required:

Water: Vinegar: Sugar in ratio of 1:1:1 (simple right?)
50ml water
50ml vinegar
50ml brown sugar (normal sugar works fine)
1 tsp salt
Cinnamon
Black pepper
I used 1.5 cucumber, you can use any kind of vegetable (carrot, cabbage etc), just ensure that the vegetables are sufficiently submerged in the liquid (just like photo below).

Add water, vinegar, sugar, salt and cucumber into a pot and boil over small fire. Please taste the stock before adding in the cucumber. You can adjust the salt level to your liking.

Once it starts to bubble, add in a pinch of cinnamon and sprinkle of salt. Let it boil for about 15 seconds more then off the fire. Transfer content into an ice bath to cool it down. Then store it in the fridge.

How to make 계란찜 Steamed Egg

I don't really like steamed egg but my boyfriend and sister do. It's certainly a healthy and simple dish. The Japanese call it Chawanmushi. You can alter the recipe by adding in pre-cooked seafood or chicken into the egg mixture. The recipe below is good for 2.

Ingredients required:

Main dish (A)
2 Eggs

Seasoning (B)
0.5 (100ml) cup of water
Few strands of dried kelp

Seasoning (C)
1 tbsp prawn stock
0.5 tbsp rice wine
Some pepper and salt (approximately 2 pinches)

Place the kelp in the water and let it sit for a few minutes.

Add 2 eggs to a bowl and beat till the texture is constant.

Add in seasoning (C), continue beating and then add in seasoning (B) and mix.
Place a steaming rack in a pot filled with boiling water and place the bowl on top of the rack.

Steam for about 18 minutes. I added in some spring onion and chilli at about 8 minutes when the egg starts to harden a little. I am not really a fan of steamed eggs, you can try different variation of the recipe (adjusting the steaming duration, the texture of the egg etc).

Have fun.

How to make 콩나물국 Beansprout Soup

I have a craving for this refreshing soup. When I drink it in Korea, it doesn't come piping hot, it's usually room temperature. Glad to have found this authentic recipe. This recipe is good for 2 servings.

Ingredients required:

Main dish (A)
100g Beansprout (big head ones)

Seasoning (B)
0.3 tbsp soya sauce
1 clove minced garlic
1 pinch of salt

Soak the beansprouts in water and remove the tail.

Boil 2.5 cups (500ml) of water and add in 0.5 cube of ikan bilis stock (or use 5 ikan bilis but be sure to remove it after boiling for 10 minutes).

Add in the beansprouts and boil for a further 7 minutes. Then add in seasoning (B) and some spring onion. Boil for 1 more minute and turn off the fire.

How to make 떡볶이 Korean Rice Cake (Simplified Version)

I have don't have much pictures for this dish because I made it before I decided to re-start this blog. Nevertheless, trust me, I have cooked this upteempth time and I know what I am doing. I have tried so many methods and this is the one I will stick to. This is my favourite Korean dish, fell in love with it since I first visited Korea in 2006. I have enough experience to know which are the authentic ones.

The best Korean rice cake I have tasted thus far is in Busan, I will leave this story for another post.

Ingredients required:

Main dish (A):
300g korean rice cake (comes refrigerated, can get it at NTUC or Korean supermarket)
Fish Cake (optional)
Boiled Egg (Optional)
Instant Noodles (optional)

Sauce (B):
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp gochujang (refer to fried squid post for more information)
0.5 tbsp chilli powder (you can add up to 2 tbsp if you can take the spiciness)

1. Boil 2 cups (300ml) of water and place the rice cake in. When the water starts to bubble, add in 2 tbsp sugar.

2. Bring the content to a boil and add in soya sauce, gochujang and chilli powder. Stir and cook till you get the sauce consistency as per picture below. Once the stock thickens (shouldn't be watery, it should cling onto the rice cake) and turn bright red, add in the spring onion (along with your cooked fish cake, boiled egg etc), stir for awhile more and off the fire. If you are adding instant noodles, try to slightly cook the noodles in another pot first then add to the rice cake, bring it to a boil before adding in the spring onion.

Nice and chewy Tteokbokki. You can sprinkle some sesame seed on top. Korean usually have mandu (fried dumpling) to go with the rice cake sauce.

How to make 시금치 Spinach Ban Chan

The spinach you get in Singapore (from China) will be a little different from what you get in Korea. Nonetheless, you still can use the ones bought in NTUC (local supermarket). The taste will be the same but texture slightly different.

Ingredients required:

Main dish (A):
300g Spinach (remove the roots and separate the stalks)

Sauce (B):
0.5 tbsp soya sauce
0.5 tbsp minced garlic
0.2 tbsp salt
1 spring onion
1 tbsp sesame oil
Sesame seeds

Boil a pot of water (half a pot) and add 0.5 tbsp of salt into the boiling water. Cook the spinach for about 1.5 minutes. Remove the spinach and soak in cold water. Squeeze dry the water from the spinach (it would have formed a ball shape after you have squeezed it dry) and cut the bunch into quarter.

Mix the soya sauce, salt, spring onion and garlic into a bowl then put the spinach in and mix with your hands.

Then, add in the sesame oil and sprinkle some sesame seeds. This is a fairly simple and healthy dish. The Koreans will keep this in the refrigerator and dish out some to go with each meal.

How to make 두부조림 Tofu Ban Chan

I love ban chan (korean side dish). You can request them free of charge in most Korean restaurants (except those in Singapore? Lol). It goes well with everything and best of all, it can be stored.

Ingredients required:

Main dish (A):
400g of tofu (buy the hard ones, it's called dou gan in chinese)

Sauce (B):
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp tomato sauce (ketchup)
1.5 tbsp gochujang (refer to fried squid post for more information)
1.5 tbsp corn syrup (refer to fried squid post for more information)
0.5 tbsp sesame oil (can get at korean supermarket)
Sprinkle of black pepper
100ml of water

First, cut the tofu into long strips then sprinkle two pinches of salt and some pepper.

Then, mix the sauce (B).

Cut 5 cloves of garlic into thin slices and dice half an onion.

Fill the pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil and fry the tofu until they turn golden brown.

Then, fill a clean pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil and fry the garlic and onion until the garlic is starts to brown.

Pour in the sauce (B) and wait for it to boil. Then, put in the tofu and mix well. Wait for the sauce to bubble a little and off the fire.

This goes well with rice, pour the extra sauce on top of your rice. You can refrigerate these as well.

How to make 오징어채볶음 Fried Squid Ban Chan ~ 鱿鱼小菜

I recently got hooked with cooking because it somewhat gives me a sense of satisfaction. More importantly, I love Korean food but I can't get them in Singapore. Well, actually I can if I am willing to pay twice the price of what I pay in Korea. So, I began making stuff myself. It's hard to find authentic recipe in English so my job here is to fill this gap.

最近喜欢上了料理因为能带来莫名的满足感。最重要的是，在新加坡很难能以实惠的价格吃到道地的韩国料理。要找到道地的韩文食谱不难，但如果不精通韩文，拿到食谱也没用。让我来给大家解决这难题吧。

The ingredients that you need:
需要的材料：

Main ingredient (A)
Dried Shredded squid (100g) - you can get it in NTUC at $3.60
鱿鱼丝 100克

Sauce (B)
2 tbsp gochu-jang (korean chilli paste, bottom middle, can get at korean supermarket)
0.3 tbsp sugar (the standard portion is 0.5 for 150g of squid)
0.5 tbsp chilli powder
0.7 tbsp soya sauce
0.3 tbsp rice wine
0.3 tbsp minced garlic

2汤匙 韩国辣椒酱
0.3汤匙 糖
0.5汤匙辣椒粉
0.7汤匙酱清
0.3汤匙米酒
0.3汤匙蒜泥

Sauce (C)
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1.5 tbsp corn syrup (top left, can get at korean supermarket as well)

1汤匙美奶滋
1.5汤匙玉米糖浆

Get the dried squid out of the pack and cut the long ones into bite size. Try to separate it a little.

把鱿鱼丝切成较小条。然后准备Sauce （B）。

Then, make the sauce (B).

Add 1.5 tbsp of olive oil into a pan and stir fry the sauce until it starts to bubble.

用1.5汤匙的橄榄油来炒拌好的浆料 （Sauce B）。

Then throw in the dried squid and mix them well. Once done (should be only for a short while), off the fire.

当浆料开始出现泡泡，把鱿鱼丝加近锅里搅拌然后关火。

Mix sauce C and pour it into the pan, mix well. Sprinkle some sesame seed and you can refrigerate it. This dish goes well with rice. What Koreans do is they keep it refrigerated and take a little out to accompany each meal. Try to keep it for less than a week to ensure freshness. Hope you like it.

加入拌好的浆料 （Sauce C）然后搅拌均匀。可以撒上一些芝麻并且冷冻。