Ga ji namul (marinated eggplant)

slicing eggplant

steaming eggplant, skin down

checking to see if it's ready

tearing it into strips

Ingredients:

-        4 chinese eggplants (long and purple), ends cut off, halve crosswise, halve lengthwise

-        2 T soy sauce

-        1 T white vinegar

-        2 t sesame oil

-        1 t sugar

-        1 t sesame seeds

-        ½ t ground Korean red chili pepper (go chu karu)

-        2 cloves minced garlic

-        1 scallion, chopped

Steps:

1.     Put water in a pot with a steamer setup.

2.     Add the eggplant and steam for 8 minutes or until a chopstick will pierce the flesh.

3.     Transfer to a bowl and let sit until it is cool enough to handle.

4.     Make marinade by mixing the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl: sesame seeds, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, gochu karu, sugar, garlic, scallions.  Taste and adjust to your liking.

5.     Tear egg plants into long thin strips.

6.     Add marinade and mix well.  (Only marinate what you can eat as the vinegar will ferment the eggplant by the next day.  You can save extra eggplant in the refrigerator.)  

7.     Taste again and adjust to your liking.

Serve it up!

Moo Chae (Radish side dish)

The finished dish

What you need to know:

The acid in the vinegar macerates the radish so this dish will actually taste better 24 hours later.  It is traditionally eaten with Corean BBQ meats but will pair nicely with the tofu recipe that comes before this one. To get the color of the radish to change, follow steps below and see other photos.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

 

Radish with red pepper and vinegar, pre-mix!

Ingredients:

-          1/2 large radish, julienned (using a mandolin if you have one)

-          1.5 T white vinegar

-          1/3 T white sugar

-          1/4 T salt

-          ½ T sesame seeds

-          ¼  T Korean crushed red pepper

-          1/2 T sesame oil

Steps:

1.       Put radish in a large bowl.

2.       Add white vinegar, sugar, salt, sesame seeds to the radish.

The mix! Working the sesame oil and red pepper.

3.       Put crushed red pepper over the radish. Add sesame oil over the red pepper.

4.       First, mix the sesame oil and red pepper (the radish should pick up the color of pepper).

5.       Then, mix everything together.

6.       Taste and adjust seasoning.

Dubu Jolim (Stir-fried tofu)

Dubu Jolim (Stir-fried tofu)

Moms browning the tofu

Ingredients:

-          One package soft or medium tofu (not silken), sliced into ½ inch thick pieces

-          1 T soy sauce

-          1 t sesame oil

-          1 T sugar

-          1 scallion chopped into 1 inch pieces

-          1 garlic clove minced

-          ½ t hot pepper paste (gochu jang) (this amount will be mild so add more depending on how spicy you like it)

last minute: cooking tofu with sauce

Steps:

1.       Pat tofu dry with a single paper towel.

2.       Heat a large pan with vegetable oil over medium heat.

3.       Lay tofu in a single layer.

4.       Brown both sides (3-4 minutes on a side).  Turn off heat.

5.       In a small bowl make the sauce by mixing the following: soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, scallions, garlic, hot pepper paste.  Adjust taste to your liking.

6.       Turn heat back up to medium.  Add sauce to the tofu and mix together until well-combined and the sauce is hot (~1 minute).

7.       Put in a serving bowl and serve with a side of rice and whatever else you like!

Serving it up!

Ssee Geum Chi Guk (Spinach soup)

What you need to know:

My mom's spinach soup is all about the clams.  The clean broth is a nice contrast with the sweetness of spinach.  The ingredients are few but the taste is plentiful.

Serves 4 (soups are usually served with rice and a few vegetable dishes)

Melchi and dashima coming to a boil

Ingredients:

·         Dozen and a half littleneck clams

·         1 bunch of spinach

·         ½ C of melchi (small dried fish)*

·         1 stalk of dashima**

Steps:

1.       Scrub and clean clams.  Put them in clean water for at least 30 minutes (they will release sand)

2.       Clean spinach thoroughly to get out dirt.

3.       Put melchi and dashima in a pot with 6C water.

4.       Bring to a boil and simmer for ten minutes.

5.       Strain out the melchi and dashima (you can reuse dashima one more time or slice and serve in a soup later).

6.       Add clams to the broth and simmer until they open.

7.       Turn off heat and add spinach a handful at a time.

8.       Serve with your favorite rice.

*You can find melchi at any Corean grocery.  Use the larger ones for making soup broth.
**Dashima is also known as kombu in Japanese; it is a type of seaweed.

Hobak Guk (Zucchini Soup)

What you need to know:
Hobak guk or squash soup is a delicate and lightly flavored soup.  When the soup is just right, you can appreciate the taste of the squash and the delicate texture of the tofu (traditionally, it's made with ground pork).  It's meant to accompany rice and a few other dishes. 

Serves 4 people as a side dish

Ingredients:

·         3 medium-sized zucchini (thicker ones will be easier to stuff)

·         8 oz of firm tofu

·         6 -8 C vegetarian broth

·         2 scallions

marinade:

·         1 T soy sauce

·         1 t sesame oil

·         1 clove garlic minced

·         1 scallion minced

·         1 t sugar

Steps for tofu:
1. Squeeze water out of the tofu.  I like to use a plate with something heavy on top of the tofu and let it sit for 30 minutes or so (but make sure to do this where the water can drain off).
2. Crumble tofu and add marinade ingredients.
3. Combine thoroughly.
4. You can prepare this ahead of time and let the marinade do its magic.

Steps for soup:
1. Cut zucchini into 2 inch long pieces (about three for each squash)
2. Cut a cross into the top of each zucchini about 2/3rds of the way down the side
3. Stuff crumbled tofu into the zucchini as much as you can put in without the squash breaking apart (this is a bit tricky!)
4. Cut scallions into 2 inch pieces.

Cooking the soup
1. Put all the squash into a deep pan
2. Pour in broth (mix some water in if the broth is salty)
3. Cover and bring to a boil.
4. Let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.  Squash will be tender all the way through and tofu will have firmed up.
5.  Put the scallions in for one minute and then turn off heat.
6. You can enjoy the soup with a small amount of soy sauce and vinegar.