Ojinguh Moochim - Cold Squid with Cucumbers - (오징어 무칩)

I went to the K-market yesterday and was originally planning to make some ojinguh gook, but last minute decided to just make ojinguh moochim instead. This goes really well with choong-moo kimbap (basically just rice and gim).



First wash and cut two squid. I don't know why some people get so freaked out about squid but can eat calamari. =P



Cut up the squid into two inch pieces like so and then throw some salt on it and give it a thorough wash.



Meanwhile bring a pot of water to a boil and then add the squid and let it boil until fully cooked. This usually takes 3-5 minutes.



After it's all cooked, rinse it thoroughly under cold water and set it aside to drain.



In a small bowl mix together the following: 2 TB red pepper powder, 1 TB red pepper paste, 1 TB sesame seeds, 1/2 TB minced garlic, 1 TB vinegar, 3/4 TB honey powder, 3/4 TB soy sauce, 2 TB rice wine, 1 TB corn starch, dash of pepper and ginger powder.



Then slice up 1/2 onion, 1 green onion, and 1 small cucumber.



Add the squid and sauce and mix it thoroughly.



You're now ready to plate and serve!



You can eat it immediately or store it in the fridge for later. ENJOY!

Shrimp Fried Rice - (새우 볶음밥)

There's so many ways to make shrimp fried rice and this is the way I do it. It tastes more Korean style in my opinion.

Things Needed:

• 1 cup of chopped shrimp
• 1/2 cup each of celery, carrots, onions and corn
• 3-4 cups of cooked cold rice
• sesame oil, soy sauce, minced garlic
  

It's strange being in the Midwest. The local grocery store didn't have any fresh shrimp! I had to buy the frozen kind. Anyhow wash and clean your shrimp.



I then like to chop my shrimps up into bite size pieces.



I just use frozen corn.



Most people use peas, but I HATE peas. If we were in LA, I would have used edaname beans but I just used celery instead. Chop up your veggies! Here I used carrots, celery and onions (about 1/2 cup each).



Heat a pan with 1 TB sesame oil and 1/2 TB minced garlic.



Add the shrimp to the pan and cook until just about done.



Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside At this point, I like to squeeze a little lemon juice onto the shrimp and mix it around. The lemon juice helps get rid of the 'fishy-ness'. Afterwards, drain all the juices.



In a separate pan, scramble 2 egg whites and 1 yolk and set it aside.



Go back to the big pan and heat up 1 TB of oil.



Stir fry the chopped up vegetables until the carrots are nice and soft.



Then add the corn and mix together well.



Finally add the shrimp.



Then finally add about 3-4 cups of cold cooked rice.



Add the eggs and season it with about 1 TB of soy sauce, 1/2 TB of gook ganjang, and 1 TB of sesame oil. As always, adjust this part according to your own tastes. I tend make my food a little on the bland side.



Mix it around well....



And you're ready to serve!!!

I'm going to make jang jorim this week and 마늘 짱아찌 (garlic jorim) too. Stayed tuned.

Omelet Rice - (오무 라이스)

I decided to make omelet rice this morning with the leftover fried rice from yesterday. It's super easy and a nice twist to make two meals with one.


First beat two eggs with a little bit of milk.



Grease a large pan and turn up the heat to about medium-low.



Spread out the egg nice and evenly and let it cook on low heat. When it's almost cooked through, you can easily flip it over. The key is LOW heat.



Plate the egg and put (warmed up) rice in the middle like so.



Wrap the egg around like a burrito, squeeze some ketchup and you're ready to serve! This was our breakfast. Munchkin loved it! It felt good to see him eat something other than cereal or ramyun. =P

Fish Cake Stir Fry - (어묵 볶음)

I had some fish cake patties leftover from the kimbap the other day, so I decided to make some bokeum with it.



First cut it up into smaller pieces.



Chop up some onion...



Add some oil to a pan and mix together both the uh-mook and onions with a generous portion of sesame oil and about 1/2 TB of minced garlic.



Throw in some broccoli and a dash of red pepper powder.



Top it off with some sesame seeds and then stir fry everything together and you're ready to serve!

Godeunguh Kimchi Jorim - Steamed Mackerel & Kimchi - (고등어 김치 조림)

Needed:

• 1/2 salted mackerel
• 1 cup fermented kimchi
• 1/4 chopped onion
• 1 stalk of green onion
  
• 3 TB sesame oil and 1 TB minced garlic

They were having a sale on mackerel at the K-market so I bought a package of it and decided to make some kimchi jorim. You can easily pan fry mackerel and enjoy it without anything extra, but every once in a while I like to change it up.



In a pot heat up 2 TB of sesame oil and 1 TB of minced garlic.



Once the garlic begins to sizzle, add about 3/4 cups of kimchi and 4-5 TB of kimchi juice and mix it around for a while.



Then set the onions and green onions on top of the kimchi.



Meanwhile, cut your mackerel into thirds. I ran it under cold water for about 5 minutes, but for the most part it was still halfway frozen. I only used one package (it comes in two separately wrapped packages) but feel free to use all of it if you have more people to feed.



Then set the mackerel on top of the kimchi and onions......


Cover it with the rest of the remaining 1/4 cup of kimchi and drizzle about 1 TB of sesame oil on top. Cover the lid and let it cook for about 30-40 minutes total.



Flip it over about halfway through to ensure even cooking.



After about 40 minutes the mackerel will be done. Plate it with the kimchi and you're ready to serve. Enjoy!

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Random...


I tried this Poulet Niçoise recipe from Williams Sonoma this weekend and it was pretty delicious. I highly suggest you give it a try

Spicy Shrimp - (매운 새우 볶음)

Back in the day, I used to frequent a certain cafe in K-town that had this spicy shrimp dish. The cafe is no longer there, but I figured I could try and replicate the dish. First wash and peel about half a pound of shrimp.



In a small bowl, mix together to following: 1TB red pepper paste, 1/2TB red pepper powder, 3/4TB honey powder, 1TB rice wine, 1/4TB minced garlic.



Turn up the heat in a wok and add some sesame oil. Add the shrimp and cook until almost done.



Remove the shrimp from the heat and clean up the wok.



Add another 1TB of sesame oil to the wok and then throw in whatever vegetables you prefer. I used onions and mushrooms.



Next, add your spicy mixture and keeping mixing around.



Throw in the shrimp and mix well.



Keep cooking until the shrimp is all done!



You're now ready to serve!!!