KOREAN FOOOOOOOOOOD!!! PART TRRRRRREEEEEEEE!!!

Gimbap (Seaweed and Rice Roll)

Hello! For this third post, I'm gonna try to make Gimbap. This is a Korean food that I've probably eaten since I was a kid. It looks and sort of is a lot like sushi, except that instead of fish, there's usually sausage in it along with eggs and some vegetables. Actually, there isn't really a specific set of ingredients you have to use. You can also really use any meat you'd like, or even none at all. This might be the most common one, but usually when I eat it I just take plain rice and seaweed and call that gimbap. Personally I've pretty much grown up with this meal, but I know some people who don't really like dry seaweed, so if you plan on eating something like this and aren't a fan of seaweed, BE WARNED!!! 

Ingredients

In order to make this meal (with this particular recipe) you must have...

• 7 sheets of dried seaweed (10 inches x 8 inches)
• 1 large gimbap sausage (or anything really)
• 1 log of danmuji (pickled radish)
• 4 cups of fresh cooked rice
• Salt
• 2 tbsp. of toasted sesame oil 
• 2 tsp. of toasted sesame seeds
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp. of olive oil
• 1 bunch of spinach
• 1 large carrots, cut into matchsticks (Ha 142)

Ingredients!!!

Materials

These aren't listed in the book, but it'd probably be helpful to know you'll need...

• A knife,
• a pan,
• a strainer,
• a pot, 
• a bowl (or three),
• some plates,
• and a sushi mat.

Steps

1. So first of all, you're going to want to lay out all of your ingredients and materials (so that you can just use them easily). Also you'll probably want to wash your hands, especially because you'll need to use them a lot while making this.
2. Place your rice into a large bowl and mix in 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of sesame oil, and a pinch of sesame seed. Mix it together (Ha 143).
3. Next "blanch the spinach for 30 seconds. Then drain it" (Ha 143).  Then squeeze out the water and season it with 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 a teaspoon of sesame oil.
4. For you eggs, crack them into a bowl and whisk them together. Then heat up a large pan with olive oil and cook your egg like an omelet (Ha 143). Then you'll want to cut them into strips.
5. Cut your sausage into strips as well as you carrots, and saute both in a pan.
6. Cut your pickled radish into strips as well.
7. Make a small dish of toasted sesame oil (Ha 143).
8. Now it is time to assemble to roll! First place your seaweed sheet on you sushi mat. Then take some rice and spread it throughout the sheet of seaweed.
9. After that, make one line with each of your fillings on top of the rice.
10. Now roll up the sheet and when you have rolled it all the way, give it a squeeze. (Ha 144).
11. "Smear some toasted sesame oil on the finished roll to prevent it from sticking to the other rolls" (Ha 144).
12. Now, cut your roll into 10-12 pieces. Set them on a plate and now you're done! 

Sauteing the carrots and sausage

Rice spread out, filling placed

ROLLING IT UP!

Cutting the roll

Gimbap

How do you eat it?

Just take a piece and eat it! There's actually plenty of different ways to make gimbap. You can change up the filling, etc. The one I use the most for just a simple snack (since I'm really not a great cook) are just small pieces of dried seaweed and rice. Nothing else.

How does it taste?

Personally for me, I've always loved sushi so dried seaweed is something I've grown used to. But I know some people don't like it so much, which is of course understandable. Gimbap is built a lot like sushi, except the filling is a bit different. There's pickled radish which is sort of sour. The gimbap sausage tastes sort of like seafood rather than beef or pork or some other meat. The egg, rice and vegetables balance everything out. 

Summary

To sum things up, gimbap is a cool, bit-sized snack that you can make pretty quickly. There are multiple varieties, some more complex and others really simple. I really liked that the recipe in the book I used gave specific directions on how to actually form the roll, and help it not completely fall apart your first time making it. If I were to make this meal again I would use bulgogi, which is Korean marinated beef. I think that using bulgogi instead of the sausage would make the gimbap tastier (that's how we usually make it as well). Thank you so much for reading, and seeeeeyaaaaaaaa next time!

Quick Questions:

• Would you be willing to try out this meal?
• Why or why not?
• What would you change about this recipe?

          Ha, Robin. Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2016. Print.

KOREAN FOOOOOOOOOOD!!! PART FOOOOOOOOUUUURRRRRR!!!!

Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)

Kimchi jjigae, or kimchi stew is one of the meals that I ate a bunch (and maybe still do) as a kid. It was easy and quick to make, and was still tasty and flavorful in my opinion. Of course though, kimchi isn't really something everyone might really like. It's known for it's pungent and strong (not in a good way) smell, which some people might really hate. So as you can probably guess, the main ingredient in this stew is going to be kimchi. Now... let's get cooking!

Ingredients

Some ingredients you're likely going to need are...

• 8 ounces of pork bell,
• 1 (1-pound) package of tofu,
• 3 cups of kimchi,
• 1 tbsp. of olive oil,
• 1 cup of water,
• 1/2 cup of kimchi juice,
• 1 tbsp. of Korean red chili flakes,
• and 2 tsp. of sugar (Ha 90).

Here are the ingredients!

Materials

Here are some materials you might need...

• A pot, 
• a knife, 
• a cutting board,
• and a large spoon or ladle.

Steps

1. So first, you are going to want to wash your hands (of course!) and lay out your materials and ingredients so that they are easy to reach. 
2. Take your pork belly and cut them into bite-sized pieces (Ha 90).
3. "Cut the tofu and kimchi into bite-sized pieces too" (Ha 90).
4. Next hear your pot, and add your oil along with your pork and kimchi. Stir and fry them for about 5 minutes (Ha 91).
5. After those five minutes your going to want to add your water, kimchi juice, chili flakes and sugar into the pot. Stir, and then close the lid and leave the soup to boil for 15 minutes.
6. With 15 minutes passed, you'll then want to add you tofu and leave the soup to boil for another 10 minutes (Ha 91).
7. Now pour your soup into a bowl using your ladle/large spoon, and you have created kimchi jjigae/stew!

Adding the pork and kimchi

Pouring in the rest of the ingredients (except tofu)

Now adding the tofu

FINISHED!!!

How do you eat it?

So this soup/stew is pretty salty, so I'd definitely recommend eating it with rice or something. I mean there's no really special way to eat this meal. You'd just eat it like any other soup. However, the author in the book I'm using advises, "it might be quite spicy, so serving it with a glass of water would be wise" (Ha 91).

How does it taste?

I think that this dish is pretty flavorful, which can be a good thing or bad. It has an overwhelming kimchi taste, so if your not a fan of kimchi, this might not be your favorite meal ever. But for me, I like the flavor since I'm pretty used to kimchi by now. Although if your planning on going out and talking to people after eating this, I should warn you. Your breath might not smell too great.

Summary

In conclusion, this was a fun and simple dish to make. One good thing about the recipe in the book is that it helped to tell you where you can buy some of the ingredients. Like if you're not too familiar with pork belly, it tells you that you can find it typically in Asian grocery stores. One thing that I would change if I were to make this again is the amount of kimchi I put in the soup. It was a little too salty, and I think the amount of kimchi had a large part in causing that. I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading!!!

Quick Questions:

• Would you consider trying this meal?
• What bothers you about this stew?
• Have you eaten kimchi before?          

          Ha, Robin. Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2016. Print.

KOREAN FOOOOOOOOOOD!!! PART FIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Galbi (Beef Short Ribs)

Hi! For this final post, I'm going to be trying to make Korean barbecue. Korean barbecue consists of a variety of different dishes, but here I'll be trying to make galbi, which translates into ribs (Ha 58). This is probably one of my favorite Korean foods, and maybe one of the more well known ones. Generally in order to make this dish you'll want beef short ribs, but you can also use pork or chicken if you'd like (Ha 58). So let's get started!

Ingredients

So the ingredient you'll need are...

• 3 lbs. of beef short ribs (we used L.A. galbi),
• 1/2 of a small kiwi,
• 1 small yellow onion,
• 6 cloves of garlic,
• 1 (1-inch) piece of ginger,
• 1/2 a cup of soy sauce,
• 1 tbsp. of of sesame oil,
• 1 tbsp. of granulated sugar,
• 2 tbsp. of brow sugar, 
• 1 tsp. of ground black pepper,
• and 3 green onions (Ha 58).

Here are the ingredients!

Materials

Some materials that you might find yourself needing include...

• A tong, 
• a bowl (or a few),
• a blender,
• a container,
• a knife,
• a grill (or just a pan),
• a cutting board, 
• a timer (maybe?), 
• paper towels,
• scissors,
• and a large spoon or ladle.

Steps

1. First of all, you're going to want to lay out your ingredients and materials so you can access them easily. And also be ready to wash your hands a lot since you might be touching raw beef.
2. Take your ribs, and soak them in cold water in a bowl for about thirty minutes (Ha 58).
3. While the ribs are soaking, you're probably gonna want to start making the marinade. "Peel the kiwi, yellow onion, garlic, and ginger. Chop them into chunky pieces and blend them in a food processor with the soy sauce, soju, sesame oil, granulated sugar brown sugar and pepper" (Ha 59).
4. The marinade I made ended up being a little bit too salty, so feel free to add a little bit of water into it.
5. Now you're gonna want to slice your green onions and mix them into your marinade.
6. Now that your marinade is finished, drain the water from your ribs (once ready) and dry them off with paper towels. 
7. Here the ladle or spoon might come in handy. "Put a layer of beef in a rectangular container and cover it with a generous amount of marinade. Repeat until there's no more beef and marinade left. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap" (Ha 59).
8. Now that you've added your marinade, leave the ribs to marinate for three hours in your refrigerator (Ha 59).
9. After those three hours are done, take out the ribs and get ready to grill! Turn your stove or grill up to a high heat and start grilling your ribs. You might want to cut the meat into smaller pieces using scissors. 
10. Now you are done! Lay out your short ribs onto a plate and voilà, you just made some delicious Korean barbecue! 

Leaving the ribs to soak

Making the marinade

Adding the marinade

On the grill

Nothing like aesthetically pleasing green stuff at the top!!! (Green Onions)

How do you eat it?

Most of the time when I have galbi, I'd just eat it with rice to be honest, or with some other side dishes. But sometimes you would eat it with lettuce, chili paste, a sauce called ssamjang and other vegetables (Ha 59). This is call ssam, but usually when I have ssam, I don't really eat it with galbi. Usually we eat it with pork or something like that.

How does it taste?

Personally, I think this is definitely one of the better Korean dishes. It's really tasty and especially awesome to eat it hot, right off of the grill. I would really recommend this, which isn't really something I could say with the other foods I made in my blogs. I guess that's because there's not really anything particularly odd about it. It's not stinky like kimchi, and there's no seaweed in it like miyeokguk or gimbap.

Summary

Galbi is a simple but delicious dish that even I, a skill-lacking cook could make. I really like that the recipe in the book was really straightforward and easy but still detailed enough to know what exactly to do. One thing I would do next time is marinate it for a little longer, as three hours didn't seem like quite enough. Thank you for reading, and GOOOODBYEEEEE!!!

Quick Questions:

• Have you ever tried out Korean BBQ?
• Did you like it? Why or why not?
• Would you make this dish?
• What dish (out of the ones I posted about) looked most appetizing to you?

          Ha, Robin. Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2016. Print.

KOREAN FOOOOOOOOOOD!!!

Introduction         

Hi, my name is Benji, and for my blog, I am going to try and make Korean foods. I'm not very good at cooking to be honest, so I thought it would be cool to learn to cook, so that I won't be helpless in the future (also because of this project -_-). I'm also Korean as well, and although I've eaten some Korean foods, I don't know how to make 'em. So let's get cooking! (The book I'll be using is called "Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes," by Robin Ha.)
  

Miyeokguk (Seaweed Soup)

  

So the first meal that I'm going to attempt making, is called Miyeokguk, which translates to "seaweed soup." To be honest, a lot of you might not like it. Essentially it's what the name says it is, soup made with seaweed, which really doesn't sound all that appetizing. But this is something I'd usually have to eat on my birthdays. The book I'm using even says this right on page 94 about this dish as well, "it is also the Korean tradition to eat this soup on birthdays, as a reminder of you mother's hard labor" (Ha 94). This dish serves as a reminder of labor since it is very nutritious, and helps women regain strength after giving birth (Ha 94). But anyways, here are the ingredients from the book.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce of miyeok (dried seaweed),
• 8 ounces of lean beef,
• 6 cloves of peeled garlic,
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil,
• 1 tablespoon of soju (Korean rice liquor),
• 2 tablespoons of gukganjang (light soy sauce),
• and toasted sesame oil for drizzling.
• OPTIONAL: rice, 4 ounces of shiitake mushroom (beef substitute), 1/4 cup of soybean paste.

Materials

There weren't really any specific materials listed in the book, but here are the ones you'll probably end up using (if you ever wanted to make this).

• Two bowls (one big enough to fit 8 cups of water, one to serve with),
• a cup (I used a measuring cup),
• a clock (just if you can't manage time like I can't),
• a knife,
• a cutting board, or someplace to cut your ingredients over,
• a strainer,
• maybe a large spoon (to serve),
• and a large pot.

  

  
  

Steps

1. First of all, you'll probably want to lay all of these ingredients out somewhere near you, so you can use them to cook easily. (and wash your hands!)
2. After laying out your ingredients, you'll want to take your ounce of dried seaweed, and place them in a bowl. Then you should add about eight cups of cold water, and let the seaweed soak for about 30 minutes. "The miyeok will expand and become soft and silky" (Ha 94)
3. Then, once your seaweed has finished soaking, drain it in a strainer, and cut it up into four inch strips. (Ha 94)
4. Then take out your beef and garlic. Cut the beef into small cubes and mince the garlic.
5. At this time you'll want to add your beef into your large pot with your garlic, one tablespoon of soy sauce, and tablespoon of soju (personally I didn't use the rice liquor, as we didn't really have it available). Then place your pot on a stove, and turn the heat to high. Saute (fry) your beef for around five minutes (Ha 95).
6. After those five minutes, add in your seaweed and another tablespoon of soy sauce. Stir for a couple of minutes. This is to "allow the miyeok to soak up the beef flavor" (Ha 95). 
7. Then, you'll want to add eight cups of water into the pot, and switch the heat to medium. Let it boil for 20 minutes (Ha 95).



Soaking seaweed





Need a bit of work on my cutting



Stirring ingredients in pot



Adding water, letting it boil

8. Now you're finished! Hooray! Maybe you'll regret your decision, or maybe you're super excited! Either way, pour your soup into a bowl, and if you want, drizzle some sesame oil. Now, it is ready to serve.

Miyeokguk/Seaweed Soup

My hand!!! (personal image requirement)

How do you eat it?

Well usually, from my experience, you just eat it like a regular old soup. You can also eat it with rice if you want, or with other side dishes (called "banchan" in Korean) like kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage) or something.

How does it taste?

Again, I have to admit that this soup might not really taste good the first time or even anytime you try it. It's sort of an "acquired" taste, and probably the only reason I'm fine with it is because I've eaten this thing since I was a kid. But even then, you just might not like it, whether it's the taste, smell, presentation, or whatever. For example, my brother and dad HATE this meal, and to them, come birthday time, it's more of a chore to eat seaweed soup then it is a delicacy. 

Summary

Overall, I really liked the steps in the book for making this meal. Again, I'm not a skilled chef or anything, so I really liked the straightforwardness of the recipe. Next time, I probably would add just a little salt, since without any, it was just a little bland. Although "miyeokguk" might not be something that everyone will enjoy, I definitely still had some fun making it, and I'm sure you might too! Thanks so much for reading, and seeya next time!

Here are a few questions:

• Would you be willing to try out or make this Korean dish?
• Why or why not?
• What would you change about this recipe?
• Which ingredient grosses you out the most?

Bibliography

          Ha, Robin. Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2016. Print.