Kale Meatball Soup, cloudy day with a chance of meatballs

"Cloudy day with a chance of meatball..."
What a perfect subtitle for this soup?

I often make soups for those days when there is no signs of bright sunlight.
I don't know..., maybe the biological system in my body commands the brain to do that.

So here, I gathered up some greens that I have in my fridge, and dumped in the chicken stock, and crossing my fingers for a magic.
Of course..., for being a domestic witch I pour the magic potion, cast a spell, and "Voila!" - the very comforting Kale Meatball Soup is born!!!!

Old Time Beef Stew, the ultimate winter comfort

Everyone has their own way of making beef stew more flavorful.
Some adds tomato sauce, some pours fancy red wine or beer, some throws herbs and even orange zest...
Me?
I just use water.
Yes, water with a couple of beef bouillon cubes for the intense beef flavor.

Doenjang Jjigae, the ultimate Korean comfort

Doenjang Jjigae (Korean soybean paste stew) reminds me of my father.

As I recollect, he loved this stew.

My father passed away almost 6 years ago by car accident.

And I didn't even get to say good-bye to him.

After he is gone I realized that I never had a chance to serve this stew for him.

In fact I never got a chance to cook anything for him.

And that hurts me...,

and brings me to tears.

I know he would have enjoyed this stew very, very much.

My mother used fix this stew quite often just for him.

Of course her Doenjang paste is all home-made, and she has her secret to give this stew more depth.

Kimchee Stew, what goes around comes around

Kimchi, Kimchee, I love Kimchee.

Fresh or rotten (?), hot or cold...

When I was in the college once upon a time in the far far west, one of my roommate threw away my precious bottle of Kimchee one day telling me that my cabbage was rotten. She did not apologize. Next day I threw away her cheese telling her that her milk went rotten and stinky. It was.
No questions were asked. We didn't fight but I made my point.
Life is funny sometimes.
Several years later I bumped into her at the mall. It turned out that she married to someone who loves Korean food and keeps a bottle of Kimchee in the fridge all the time!
And I married to a guy who has to nibble on cheese and crackers pretty much every night.
We laughed...
What goes around comes around.

 If you have the stinky rotten Kimchee (Kimchi) in the fridge, don't throw away. Make a pot of stew.

Important: Your Kimchee needs to be VERY, VERY FERMENTED. If you are starting with store bought jar of Kimchee let it sit on the counter for at least couple of days. You want the Kimchee to be so old that you don't want to eat as is.

You will need; Kimchee of course, pork belly or butt, tofu (I use firm), onion, garlic, kimchee juice, Korean soy sauce, rice wine, rice cake (optional), anchovy and sea kelp (optional).

 

I must be an anchovy in my previous life. I love them. If you don't care for it, forget about them. Use water instead. I won't be offended.
For the stock, boil first and let it simmer for 10 minutes, strain the stock and discard the anchovy and the sea kelp.

Season your pork with Korean soy sauce, rice wine(Mirim), and garlic. Set aside.

This is Ms. Kimchee, a lady in red. Shake her bum bum gently to remove some stuffing inside over the sink.

Slice any way you like.

Slice the onion.

In a small bowl, combine some chili with some kimchee juice and rice wine.

In a somewhat shallow pot, spread onion on the bottom and place kimchee slices on top.

Scatter the oink-oink, I mean the pork...

Place tofu slices on top and smother the chili flake sauce on anywhere you like.

Pour the reserved kimchee juice all over,

 

and the anchovy stock or water.
I forgot to take a picture but you can add some rice cake slices if you happened to have. (I always save a few slices whenever I make rice cake soup for this purpose. Helps thicken the stew)

Now, my lady in red is totally immersed. Cover and boil.

When it gets boiling like this, reduce the heat to low.

 

Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes.  You want your lady to be nice and tender.

February and March are the month when Kimchee stew is eaten the most in Korea.

Why?

Because all the Kimchee which has been made during Nov/Dec to last through the winter finally comes to an end of their shelf life. 

April brings the spring cabbages. The new Kimchee will be born in a glory.

 But my old fermented Kimchee will never go out of spotlight.

She will not step down to a clearance rack.

 Let it shine!

in the name of STEW...

Kimchee Stew

(김치찌개, Kimchee Jjigae)

makes 4-6 servings

1/4 head of fermented cabbage Kimchee (about 1 lb), stuffing removed and sliced

2 1/2 cup anchovy stock or water

1/3 lb pork belly or pork butt diced

8 oz firm tofu, sliced

1/2 large onion, sliced

1 garlic, chopped

 2 tsp Korean soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice wine, divided

1/2 cup Kimchee juice

1 Tbsp Korean chili flakes

6-8 rice cake slices (optional)

Anchovy stock:

5-6 large dried anchovies

3 dried sea kelp squares

3 cup water

In a bowl toss pork slices with Korean soy sauce, 1 Tbsp rice wine, and garlic. Set aside.

In another small bowl, combine Korean chili flakes with 2 Tbsp of Kimchee juice and 1 Tbsp rice wine and set aside.

In a shallow pot, spread onion on the bottom, layer Kimchee slices, the pork, and the tofu slices on top. You can add rice cakes if you want to. Drizzle the Korean chili flake mixture over. Pour the rest of Kimchee juice and the stock (or water) over everything.  Cover and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 25-30 minutes, covered, until the cabbage gets soft and tender. Garnish with green onion if you wish. Serve hot with rice. 

Anchovy stock: Bring anchovies, kelp, and water to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. If you let it rest for a few minutes the stock will have better flavor. Strain the stock and discard anchovies and kelp.

Printable recipe

Chicken Soojaebi and Radish Kimchee Salad, humble to fancy

I was contacted by Lisa from Korean American mommy blog and she invited me to post a dinner idea for her "Around the world dinner" on Korean food. Her blog is awesome, full of good healthy recipes for both Korean and other cuisines. I am happy to participate to show you the Korean version of chicken and dumpling.

Before I start I am going to show you something pretty.

These are juices from carrot, parsley, and beet. I just puree them in the blender with little bit of water. Aren't they pretty? 

Yup! I am going to add them to dumplings. The dish is called Soojaebi. Don't let the # of ingredients in the recipe discourage you. It is actually easy and simple to make. With addition of these super nature food you will be glad that you are feeding your loved ones with something healthy, pretty, and yummy at the same time. It is fun to make with kids, too. 

Oh, by the way, you can use any vegetables that are rich in colors... pumpkin, spinach, purple potatoes, red cabbage, kale, etc. They all work great.

Let people see the true colors of nature!

 Chicken split breast w/ bones, radish, onion, garlic, carrot, parsley, beet, potato, zucchini, flour, red chili flakes, Korean soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Whew! Did I include everything this time?

First of all, juice your chosen vegetables with some water, each separately.
FYI, I filtered the carrot puree in a coffee filter to get smoother juice. I didn't filter the others.

Prepare 3 mixing bowls. In each bowl, mix in 1 cup of flour, pinch salt, and the juice of one vegetable.

I added about 1/3 cup of juice and mix with fork, and then knead with a hand for 1 minute and form a ball shape dough.  No need to be exact consistency but do not make them too sticky (more like bread dough consistency).

♪♫ " I see your true colors shining through..." ♪♫ 
You can use right away but cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. It gives dumpling nicer texture.

Meanwhile, let's make stock.

"May I take your coat?" Politely ask chicken to get her skin off.

 Cut up radish, onion, garlic and have them bath with chicken. Nothing like a hot spring in winter... Don't you agree, Mrs. Hen?
BTW, don't skip the radish in the stock. It gives very nice flavor in the soup.

 After about 30 minutes she is well poached. Keep the stock, discard everything except Mrs. Hen.

 Shred her and set aside.

 Make sauce to go with Soojaebi. Just combine Korean soy sauce, Korean chili flakes, garlic, green onion, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Green chili is an optional.

Cut potato and zucchini into 1/4" thick slices.

Bring the stock back to boil, add chicken, sliced potato, and zucchini slices.

 Take out the three gorgeous girls from the fridge and give them some squeeze.

 If you have little people at home, have them do the tearing job for you. They think it is play dough... They can even roll out the dough and cut out with cookie cutter if they want.
You know, if they make, they will eat. Kids are funny that way.

 Or just tear directly over the pot when the soup is boiling. They cook in no time, but you gotta work fast. Try to stretch out the dough thin and tear off.

Boil for 1-2 minutes, done! Serve the soup with sauce since the stock has no seasoning in it. If you need to serve this to young ones, just add Korean soy sauce with sesame oil and some green onions.

Cabbage kimchee or radish kimchee salad is perfect side dish (banchan) to serve with.

 

 Make sure you serve with the sauce. Just drizzle around the soup and mix.

My bonus post today! A side dish to go with Soojaebi...

 It is called 무우생채 (moowoo-sangchae), quick radish Kimchee salad. Very easy and quick to make.

The recipe will follow below.

Soojaebi once was a very humble food.

When rice was hard to harvest, meat was scarce right after the Korean war,

everyone had to eat plain Soojaebi.

My parents won't eat the plain one

because it reminded them the harsh days of their young life.

But I am changing the recipe to upgrade.

It is no longer humble, it is fancy now for the time of abundance.

A colorful meal that taught me the lesson,

"Abundance is, in large part, an attitude."

 Chicken Soojaebi

(닭 수제비, Korean chicken and dumpling)

makes 4 servings

For the stock

2 lb chicken split breast with bones, skin removed

4" piece Korean radish or daikon radish, cut up

1/2 large onion, cut up

3 garlic cloves

8 cup water

For the dumpling and soup

2 small carrot, peeled and juiced with 1/2 cup water, filtered if possible

1 bunch parsley, juiced with 1/2 cup water

1/2 beet, peeled and juice with 1/2 cup water

3 cups flour, divided

3 pinches salt, divided

1 zucchini, sliced into 1/4"

1 medium potato, peeled and sliced into 1/4"

For the sauce

4 Tbsp Korean soy sauce

1 Tbsp Korean chili flakes

1 tsp garlic chopped

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

1-2 green onion chopped

1 green chili chopped (optional)

For the stock put all the ingredients in the pot, boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Strain the stock and reserve the chicken. Shred chicken and set aside.

Meanwhile make dumplings. In 3 medium mixing bowls, place each bowl with 1 cup of flour and pinch salt. Pour 1/3 cup of each vegetable juice into bowls seperatley. Mix with a folk until moistened and knead with hand for 1 minute in the bowl. Form a ball shape dough (you will get 3 different colored dough) and cover with plastic. Chill for 30 minutes if possible so the gluten can rest.

Make sauce with given ingredients and set aside.

Return the stock to the pot and let it boil over medium heat. Add the reserved chicken, potato and zucchini slices and let it boil. Stretch the dough thinly with hand and tear off into bite sizes and drop into the pot. You need to work fast on this part. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Ladle soojaebi into the individual bowls and drizzle the sauce over. Serve warm with radish Kimchee salad or cabbage Kimchee as side dish.

Note: You can tear the dough and place on a platter in advance before you boil the soup.

Printable Recipe

Radish Kimchee Salad

(무우생채, moowoo sangchae)

1 1/2 lb Korean radish or Daikon radish

2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp Anchovy sauce or 1 1/2 tsp fish sauce

2 Tbsp Korean chili flakes

1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

2 tsp garlic chopped

2 tsp sesame seeds

1 green onion chopped 

Peel the radish and thinly slice them. Julienne the slices into 1/8"sticks. Place the radish into a bowl, toss with salt and let it sit for 10 minutes. You will see some water extracted from the radish. Rinse them with water and drain. 

Place the radish in a bowl again and add the rest of the ingredients. Toss well until they are well incorporated. Serve as side dish. They can be kept in the fridge for 1 week.

Printable recipe

Rice Cake Soup, the Korean way of new beginning

 Happy New Year! The year of Rabbit, yeah!
I stayed up after midnight to welcome the year 2011. There were some regrets that I have left behind in year 2010 but decided not to look back. I already have set my new resolutions to accomplish this year, which is basically renewing the old ones..., LOL!  I'm looking forward to have another new beginning to be unfold in front of my eyes. I am just happy to live on this earth full of interesting things.

When I was a kid, New Year's day is the day we earn lots of money. We put on new clothes and go visit relatives, bow in full to them. We call it 세배(sebae). You lower your whole body to the ground to show them respect. In return, grandparents, uncles and aunts pay money to us. I used to earn over $100 each year after back breaking bowing business. I came from big family with lots of relatives.

Food is a big part of the festive day of New Year. We make dumplings, rice cakes of all kinds, braised beef ribs, all kinds of pan fried cakes and fritters, steamed fish, etc. I remember very long long table my mother had. Full of many dishes on the table we all mingled with our uncles, aunts, and cousins,  enjoying and celebrating the new beginning together. Our family tradition after the meal was Karaoke. My dad used to record our singing and replayed that tape for us to listen. We laughed and made jokes of each other. I think my family was glad that I desired cooking more than singing.

I made the rice cake soup, 떡국(Ddukgook) on New Year's day. It is very easy to make with a few ingredients. For any soups, the most important thing is the stock. I use beef brisket for the stock, but with a hint of some dried sea kelp and anchovies added. If you are not a big fan of anchovies, you can skip them. Sliced rice cakes can be easily found in most Korean groceries, some as frozen, or some fresh.

 Main ingredients are; sliced rice cakes, beef brisket, onion, black peppercorn, anchovies, dried sea kelp(kombu), green onions, eggs, and garlic which I forgot to add in the picture.



These are for seasoning the soup. Mirim(sweet rice wine, you substitute with regular rice wine or skip it), Korean soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper and salt.

 Let's make the stock first. Have them bath all together; beef, anchovy(optional), sea kelp, onion, peppercorn, and rice wine in a pot. The party has just begun.

When they come to boil, remove the sea kelp. She needs to go home (it gets slimy if cooked too long). Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, covered. This will make very flavorful stock.

 Meanwhile soak your main actress in the water for 15 minutes, drain and set aside. If your cake is made fresh (soft to touch), no need to soak.

 When the stock is done, drain and discard everything except the beef.

 Cool the beef for a few minutes and shred them into desired sizes.

Beat eggs lightly and set aside.

 Bring the stock back into pot and let it boil again and add the drained rice cake. The cakes will sink to the bottom of the pot, so stir them with a spoon. Add the reserved beef at this point.

 You will see some scum floating on top, remove it using a spoon. When the rice cakes are done, they will float to the top.

 Reduce the heat to medium low, add Korean soy sauce and chopped garlic.

Add beaten eggs in swirling motion but do not stir the soup.

Add green onion, sesame oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Done!

Garnish the soup with some toppings.
Roasted seaweed slices are excellent choice to add, but chili or mushrooms are good too.
Gather up the crowds and serve the soup immediately. If you have Kimchee as side dish you are one sensible chef. They must go together.

Eat, celebrate, and share wise goals for the new year with each other. 

There is nothing like having family together on the day of new beginning.

I have my kids and the piano man to set 3 goals to accomplish this year.

We talked about their realistic goals.

Then,

They asked me what my goals are,

So I answered,

"My goal is to remind you to accomplish your goals"

Happy New Year!

Rice Cake Soup

 makes 4-6 servings

For the stock:

9 cups water

1 lb beef brisket

5-6 dried large anchovies (optional)

3 medium dried sea kelp, rinsed

1 Tbsp black peppercorn

1 small onion, diced

1 Tbsp rice wine

For the soup:

2 lb rice cakes, soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained

2 Tbsp Korean soy sauce

2-3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 green onions, chopped

1 garlic, chopped

1 tsp sesame oil

salt and pepper to taste 

roasted seaweed, chili slices, or mushroom slices for garnish (optional)

To make the stock, combine all the ingredients in a large pot and bring to boil. Remove the sea kelp, reduce the heat to low, cover with lid and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Drain the stock and discard all except the beef. Shred the beef into desired size and set aside.

To make the soup, bring the stock to boil again. Add the rice cakes and reserved the beef, stir. There will be some scum forming on the soup, remove with a spoon. 

When rice is fully cooked they will float to the top. Reduce heat to medium low, add chopped garlic and Korean soy sauce. Add the beaten eggs in swirling motion, add green onion, sesame oil, salt and pepper to season. Remove from heat and serve immediately with some Kimchee on the side.

Garnish the soup with some roasted seaweed slices or chili if you desire.

Printable recipe