Anchovie Dwen-jang gook - (멸치 된장국)

Tap. Tap. Tap. Are you still there? It seems just as I start to build up site traffic on this blog, I go on a hiatus. It's tough trying to keep up this blog sometimes...especially when I don't step foot into the kitchen for two weeks at a time. =P Also, I realized that every since I upgraded my camera (50D baby!) that I'm afraid to take it into the kitchen for fear it might get splashed on, dropped, etc.

Anyhow, here goes a simple dwenjang gook using anchovy broth.

I add roughly 7 cups of water to a pot along with 5-6 dried anchovies and some dried sea kelp.



After everything comes to a boil, add 1TB dwenjang, 1/2 TB minced garlic, 1TB gook ganjang, 1/2 TB minced garlic and let boil on low heat.



I decided to use bokchoy today. I washed and cut up 3 bunches of it.



Toss the bokchoy in and continue to boil.



I also threw in a handful of chopped up moo (daikon radish).



A handful of sliced onions...



And finally some kongnamool.



Let everything boil together for about 30 minutes.



And you're ready to serve! It's a fresh and light gook perfect for picky little Korean toddlers. =)

Kongnamool Haejang Gook - 콩나물 해장국

If you live in the LA area and haven't yet eaten at Han Il Gwan, you must do so NOW. It is one of my favorite restaurants and their kongnamool haejang gook is TDF yummy. It's kongnamool, napa cabbage, peppers and RICE all in a dol sot (stone pot) piping hot with semi-spicy broth. It's so shi-wun-heh.

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I had time to stop by the K-market during my lunch break so I stocked up on more ingredients for a weekend of cooking and blogging. =) I attempted to replicate the kongnamool haejang gook I mentioned above.

Needed:

• 3 cups anchovy/dashima/dried shrimp broth
• 1/4 cup beef (chopped into little pieces and drained of blood)
• 1/4 cup of kimchi (chopped and rinsed a few times of kimchi juice - we're looking for a clearer broth)
• 1 cup of kongnamool
  
• 1/2 TB minced garlic
• 1 TB gook ganjang (light Korean soy sauce)
• 1/2 TB sesame oil
• 1/2 TB sesame seeds
• 1 egg
• 1 TB pureed shrimp jut (fermented salted shrimp)
• 1/2 cup green onions

Total Cooking Time: 1 hour



Since I've never used these on this site yet, I thought I would take a picture of the bag for you. This is dried shrimp. It can be found in the same aisle where they sell the dried cuttlefish. Please do go and check out my INGREDIENTS page where I tried to take a picture of the brands of items that I'm currently using in my kitchen. I tend to alternate brands every once in a while so I will update that page when I find something I like better.



In this teabag there are about 5 shrimps, 4 large anchovies, and a 2 inch piece of dashima. I boiled it with 4 cups of water for about 15 minutes. In the end I was left with about 3 cups of broth.



In a dol sot (pot made of stone to retain the heat) add 1/2 TB of sesame oil, 1 TB of gook ganjang, and 1/2 TB of minced garlic and turn on the heat.




Add your 1/4 cup of beef and saute until the beef is well done.




Then add your 1/4 cup of RINSED kimchi and keep mixing around...



At this point, add about 3 cups of the broth made earlier and bring it to a boil. Don't worry if you have more or less than 3 cups, you will be adjusting flavor later anyhow so it doesn't really matter. EYEBALL it! =P



Add your kongnamool, cover it with the lid, and bring to a boil for about 10 minutes.



Then throw in your 1/2 cup of green onions and bring it to a boil for about 5 minutes.



Here's the interesting part about this....go ahead and add about 1.5 cups of cooked rice. =) Mix it well and have the rice settle nicely to the bottom and bring it to a boil again.



Finally, throw in your egg, let it boil strongly and you're ready to serve. The dol sot will keep the gook piping hot while you're enjoying your meal. Watch you tongue!



Just before you devour it, throw in some sesame seeds....



Some red pepper powder (to YOUR taste)...



....and last, but not least.............some minced shrimp jut. You can skip this if the shrimps still give you the creeps, but with this particular dish~ the shrimp jut brings it all together. 1 TB of this is a must in my opinion. Enjoy! I'm sure my MR is biased, but he said this was GREAT!



How great? This is what was left of dinner. =)

Boo Dae Jigae - Base Soup - (부대찌개)

I finally went ahead and made boo-dae jjigae today.

Needed:

• 1/2 can spam
• 3 sausages
• 1 cup dduk
• 1 green pepper and 1 red pepper
• 1/2 small squash
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 cup kimchi and lots of kimchi juice
• 2 mushrooms
• 1 ramen
• sauce: 1 TB red pepper paste, 1 TB red pepper powder, 1/2 TB minced garlic, 1 Tb rice wine, 1 TB gook ganjang, 1/2 TB shrimp jut, 1 TB beef flavoring, 1 TSP salt, 1 TSP pepper
  

First cut up everything you need like so. I used about 3 sausages, 1/2 can of spam, 1/2 small onion, 2 mushrooms, 1/2 small squash, 1 jalapeno, 1 red pepper, and a fistful of green onions.



Add roughly 4 cups of water into a pot and bring it to a boil with some anchovies and dashima. Let the broth cook for about 15 minutes or so until the water is tinted slightly yellow.



Mix together the following: 1 TB red pepper paste, 1 TB red pepper powder, 1/2 TB minced garlic, 1 Tb rice wine, 1 TB gook ganjang, 1/2 TB shrimp jut, 1 TB beef flavoring, 1 TSP salt, and 1 TSP pepper for the sauce and set it aside.



In a pot, add the kimchi and bring it to a boil and saute it for about 5-10 minutes. I used a jungol pot on our dining room table, but if you don't have one just cook it in a large pot on the stove and serve immediately while piping hot.



Then add your spam and sausages and let it cook for another 5 minutes.



Add all your remaining vegetables and mix well.



Throw in the mushrooms last and then add the boiling anchovy/dashima broth from earlier.



Add the peppers and green onions....



Along with the sauce and bring everything to a boil.



Add your dduk...



...and your ramen.



And enjoy as soon as the ramen is done! It's extra spicy so be careful!

PS. You can add pretty much anything to this soup that you have on hand such as tofu, udon, different varieties of mushrooms, etc. Use your imagination and get creative!

Al Tang - Fish Egg Soup - (알탕)

So I decided to make al tang today. I prefer to buy the FRESH al they sell in the banchan section of some of the bigger K-markets, but for some reason our local K-market stopped selling them sometime last year. Therefore, I'm forced to buy the frozen kind which always seems to burst open in the soup. =P

Needed:

• 1 8oz. package of frozen pollack roe - It can be found in the frozen fish section of most K-markets and there are lots of different brands.
  
• 1 cup sliced daikon radish
• 1 cup of bean sprouts
• sauce: 1.5 red pepper powder, 0.5 red pepper paste, 1 TB rice wine, dash of pepper and ginger powder
• 1 TB light soy sauce (Korean gook ganjang) and 1 TB minced garlic
• small red pepper or serrano chile

I chose to buy Wang tonight, but next time I think I'll try another brand. These exploded and I was left with hardly any big pieces of roe.



As you can see, this was preseasoned. Depending on the seasonings of the brand of roe you buy, you may have to add or decrease the amount of soy sauce you add.



In a small bowl mix 1.5 red pepper powder, 0.5 red pepper paste, 1 TB rice wine, and a dash of pepper and ginger powder.



First heat about 1TB of gook ganjang and 1 TB of minced garlic in a pot.



Then throw in your cut up moo (daikon radish) and stir it around for a bit.



Add 3 cups of water and the red paste mixture in the small bowl and bring it to a boil. Although you can see the anchovy and dashima in the pic, don't add it. It was too fishy and I think it tastes fine without the anchovy broth.



Once it starts boiling, add your bean sprouts and close the lid. Let it cook for about 5 minutes



Finally throw in your chopped up green onions and peppers and let it boil for about 10 minutes.

You are then ready to serve! As you can see a lot of the roe exploded and there were barely any big pieces left. It still tasted great (according to the MR) but if you use the fresh roe, it's less likely to explode like this. I hope you can find it!

Clear Ojinguh Gook - (맑은 오징어국)

I know I've been gone a long time and I'm going to cheat and not even give a new recipe but something that I should have finished up long ago. It's crazy because I'm not working and my son is in preschool which means I have a LOT of time to myself. Yet, I feel busier than ever just going around and doing random things. I'm supposed to go back to work soon, but taking this last year off has been a blessing in disguise. I feel so much better and re-energized!

I keep saying how I wish there was a way that I never had to work again. Wishful thinking. In this economy, I guess I should be happy that I have something to go back to. =P

Anyhow, here we go! Clear ojinguh gook. I have no idea what else to call it! All the women in my family make this soup for special occasions like choo-suk or my Grandpa's jae-sah. I think the reason is because it's quite time consuming because there are a lot of steps. It's a "special" gook that we eat once or twice a year.



First go and grab some book-uh. This is the brand my MIL sent from Korea. It’s great. I don’t know if they sell it here. =/

Anyhow, grab about 1/2 cup of book-uh with some dashima (sea kelp - thanks to whoever pointed that out!) and boil it in about...oh let's say 8 cups of water. Boil it for about 20 minutes or so while you're getting everything else prepared. I didn't measure anything yet again. Sorry. Am I becoming a Korean mother on you? A little bit of this and a little bit of that! =)



Wash and clean your squid and bring a pot of water to a boil.



Drain about 1/2 cup of beef...



Slightly boil the squid. This really helps in getting the fishy smell out and it also gets rid of all the excess liquid from the squid.



Chop up about two cups of moo.



In a pot, heat about 1 TB of sesame oil, 1/2 TB of minced garlic, and 2.5 TB of gook ganjang.



Add the beef and saute until done.



Chop up your squid like so....



And add the squid and moo and mix it for a little bit.



Then add the book-uh broth and some tofu and let it boil for about 30 minutes on low heat. The broth will eventually turn white.



The finished product! Munchkin *LOVES* ojinguh so this is one of his favorite gooks. =)