Ambitious Deliciousness – Dont Eat Lazy.

Soo Jeh Bee was a common dish during a very difficult economic time in Korea, when meat was too expensive to purchase. So my ancestors used simple ingredients, such as flour, squash and potatoes to draw out as much nutrition as possible to feed their large families. Can you imagine?

Now, we live in very different times. We can have meat at every single meal if we want. And for most of us, we don’t feel deprived of the things we want to eat. Have no cash? Charge it. Yet I admire the simplicity of this recipe. It’s warm, comforting, and reminiscent of a simpler time.

I called this dish the cousin of Kal Gook Soo because it uses the exact same ingredients. The only difference is that the noodles are replaced with a homemade ball of dough. Does it sound scary? I promise you it’s not.

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Odeng (fish cake) Gook is a Korean soup made with fish cakes. I realize that the idea of fish cakes can be strange to some, so let me try to explain. The “cake” part is far from sweet; it resembles a tougher than tofu consistency and a slightly fishy flavor. If you’ve never heard of this soup, it’s because Odeng Gook actually belongs in the snacks category, pairing wonderfully with my favorite – ddukbokki (rice cakes slow cooked in spicy sauce)!

Odeng (fish cake) comes in all shapes and sizes. Most often, the ones used in soup are sold in skewers, but any kind will do. There is also a little soup packet that comes with the fish cakes that you can use. I prefer to make my own, using simple ingredients. I use radish to produce a clean, refreshing, MSG free flavor that is essential in this soup!

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Happy New Year!! I’m so excited to announce that I was able to reach my goal of having 500 fans on Facebook! I’m overwhelmed by your support and would like to thank you for reading! It’s not too late, so if you’d like to join, feel free to go here.

And after many many many hours of toying with the look of the site, I decided that it’s now or never. I’ll be honest and say that there are some kinks that I’ll need to fix, but I’m glad to say that I now have a new logo and a new tagline. FINALLY! (If don’t see the new site, please make sure you clear your cache.)

I’d like to share a recipe for a traditional Korean soup that is eaten on New Year’s Day. When I was younger, people used to say that you’d have to eat this soup in order to be another year older. It was a rite of passage to being another year older. Whether you want to be another year older or not,this is a MUST have dish on New Year’s Day!

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This recipe is an example of a classic Korean soup that is easily made at home yet not fancy enough to be in restaurant menus. My ancestors have been using Napa cabbage not only for kimchi, but also boiling it in soup for its refreshing, deep flavor. Though this soup is traditionally only made with Napa cabbage, adding bok choy brought on another layer of flavor and more vibrant green to the soup.

My aunt made this for us the day after our giant Thanksgiving meal. It was so delicious that I had to come home and give it a try. =) I’ll be adding this soup to my list of Korean soups to rotate try!

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Happy Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe and memorable start to 2010! I’m humbled and honored that people want to read about my recipes. Thank you so much for reading this site!

I’ve been fortunate enough to receive a Dutch oven (aka French oven) for Christmas! I wanted to buy one for a while, as they are perfect for braising and cooking stews- something my stainless steel pots can’t handle. Modern dutch ovens are made of ceramic that is coated in enamel, distributing heat evenly once the lid is closed. It comes in handy for making wonderfully warm soups for bitterly cold winter days (like today).

After some research, I decided to go with a 5-quart Fontignac oven, from the same makers of Staub (since 1929!). I considered going with a Le Creuset, especially because of the lifetime warranty, but I think I’ll just wait to get that a little bit later.

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Soon Du Bu (aka Soon Doo Boo) is a spicy anchovy based stew with chunks of super soft tofu and other vegetables. Most Soon Du Bu specialty restaurants will give you a bunch of options. You can choose to get white (no spicy seasonings), mild, medium, hot, or a bean paste based soup, similar to miso. They even give you the option to add mushrooms, seafood, pork, beef, Kimchi, or a combination of the aforementioned ingredients. I threw in whatever I had on hand for this particular recipe.

This stone bowl keep the soup nice and hot so that it doesn’t get cold as you eat. As you can see, it totally fogged up my camera lens, and continued to bubble for a good 10 minutes.

When it’s cold outside, there is nothing more comforting than eating soups! This is one of my favorite soups and I have a feeling I will be eating a lot of it this winter! Won’t you join me in this endeavor of eating delicious Soon Du Bu at home? Feel free to add ground beef, or ground pork, or your favorite seafood to this recipe. Also, check out my other recipes for Korean Soups.

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I was wondering if this Korean classic soup was called Yook Geh Jang because there are six major ingredients - beef, scallion, garlic, gochugaru (red pepper flakes), gosari (fern bracken), and eggs. But it would be a major lie, as I have no basis for that argument. It would be fun if that were true though, right?

As I mentioned previously, I don’t like gosari, aka fern bracken (aka wildweed?), which has a very distinct taste/smell/texture. It reminds me of the herbal brew that people drink as medicine. So I skipped it, even though it’s a key ingredient in Yook Geh Jang. I thought it would compromise the taste but I’m happy to report that it didn’t!

This soup, made of good beef broth and vegetables simmered in lots of garlic and red pepper – truly hits the spot on a cold wintery day (or today cuz it snowed)! It is definitely easier than I thought it would be to make. Many thanks to A for sharing this wonderful recipe!

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Here is my dinner from the other night.

Coincidentally, both of my side dishes happen to have radish, and are from my mom. On the  left- seasoned dried radish bits and radish Kimchi on the right.

While I was always a fan of the dried, roasted seaweed, I didn’t really like the soupy seaweed too much. There was something not so appetizing about the slimy texture. I guess I don’t really mind it as much now.

In Korean culture, seaweed soup is always given to mothers who just gave birth because it helps you replenish the blood lost during childbirth. Not sure if that’s scientific or not. And it doesn’t matter how old you are; seaweed soup is a must have on your birthday.

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While I wouldn’t say that bean sprouts are my favorite, the only time I actually want to eat it is around this time of year. Why?

Seasons are a-changing and that means everyone is sharing their lovely germs with the world.

In addition to having a flu shot today, I obsessively wash my hands – rub for more than 30 seconds (check), then rinse off with hot water (check) and towel dry (check).

But this is not a health blog. So I will get to my recipe now.

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Simple – make Kimchi jjigae (Kimchi stew). It’s super easy! Throw in some Kimchi here, add some tofu there… and of course, you have to add Spam!!

Despite its popularity, I am not a big fan of Spam. What the heck is in it? I know some people who love Spam so much that their favorite part is the weird gelatin like thing that appears on the bottom. (You know who you are! I’m not going to mention any names).

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