Myeolchi Bokkum 2 멸치볶음 Candied Anchovies

This is the other version of myeolchi bokkum that I mention a while back. It is just as tasty and addictive as the spicy version, perfect if you have kids or you are cooking for people that dislike spicy food. Again I would advice you to increase the quantity since it goes so well with almost everything.
P.S This keeps well in the fridge for days.

makes enough for a meal of 4
you'll need;
1 cup of dried anchovies*
1 tbs of cooking oil
1 tbs of sugar
1 tbs of mulyeot (corn syrup)
1 tbs of minced garlic
3 tbs of water
1 tbs of sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds
*small or medium size anchovies are more suitable for making this banchan.

You can fin this at the freezer section of any Korean grocers.

Prepare the sauce - mix water, sugar, corn syrup and minced garlic in a bowl.

Dry fry anchovies for a minute or two on medium heat. Stirring constantly.

Add a tbs of cooking oil and continue to fry for a further minute or two. They should start to crisp up and turn a golden shade.

Push the anchovies to aside and pour in the sugar/corn syrup mix. Mix everything well and immediately turn off the heat. Mix in the sesame oil and seeds.

Serve as part of a Korean meal. This will keep well in the fridge for days and it is perfect to have it on its own or with plenty of steamed rice or congee.

With warmer and longer days and the spring blooms everywhere, spring is definitely around the corner!

Aehobahk Buchim 애호박 부침 Zucchini Fritters

Finally the last banchan before I go on to the main dish for the birthday dinner. Another very simple and delicious side dish that won't cost an arm and a leg. This is equally perfect as a quick snack when you are feeling peckish. Try experiment with other vegetables such as green tomato, pumpkin and sweet potato.

serves 4 as part of a Korean meal
you'll need;
1 large zucchini, cut into 0.5 cm rounds
2 red chillies, finely diced

for the batter;
2/3 cup of flour
1/3 cup of water
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

for the dipping sauce;
3 tbs of Korean soy
1 tbs of rice vinegar
dash of sesame oil
a little grated ginger and garlic (optional)

Prepare the vegetables.

Prepare the batter.

Dip zucchini rounds into the batter.

Fry in a hot pan with cooking oil on medium heat.

Place some diced chillies in the middle of the zucchini rounds. Turn over to cook the other side.

Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

Myeolchi Bokkum 멸치볶음 Spicy Anchovy

I did mentioned I prepared a few banchan didn't I? This is my all time favourite and it takes less than 10 minutes to prepare. I used to pay $5 for a tiny little tub from the Korean grocer but that was before I learnt how to make it myself.  I do suggest to double or triple the quantity as you will soon find out why. This will make any Korean meal a memorable one but I am happy to have just this with rice any day. 

P.S There are two types of myeolchi bokkum, I will post the other version at a later date.

makes enough for a meal of 4
you'll need;
1 cup of dried anchovies*
1 tbs of cooking oil
1 tbs of gochujang (hot pepper paste)
1/2 tbs of sugar
1/2 tbs of mulyeot (corn syrup)
1 tsp of minced garlic
5 tbs of water
*small or medium size are more suitable, leave the large ones for stock making

I prefer the tiny anchovies.

Prepare the sauce - mix everything in a bowl (except the anchovies and cooking oil).

Dry fry anchovies for a minute or two on medium heat. Stirring constantly.

Add a tbs of cooking oil and continue to fry for a further minute or two. They should start to crisp up and turn a golden shade.

Push the anchovies to aside and pour in the sauce. Mix everything well immediately and turn the heat off.

Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serves as part of a Korean meal. This keeps well in the fridge for days and it is perfect to have on its own or with plenty of steamed rice.

Gamja Jorim 감자 조림 Glazed Potato

Banchan (반찬) are little side dishes served at every Korean meal along with rice and other dishes. They are served in small quantity and can be refilled over the duration of a meal. The quality of the banchan  at a restaurant often is an indication of what you will be getting next. I cooked a Korean meal for the birthday tummy and  a few good banchan were prepared of course. You might be familiar with this popular banchan if you are a regular at Korean eateries, otherwise try this out soon and find out how delicious it is.

P.S I will be posting the rest of the dishes served at the dinner.

makes enough for a meal of 4

you'll need;

4 medium size potato, peeled and cubed

cooking oil

3 tbs of Korean soy

2 tbs of mulyeot (corn syrup)

11/2 tbs of sugar

1 tbs of minced garlic

salt to taste

1 tsp of toasted sesame seeds

1/2 cup of water

chooped spring onions to serve

Peel and dice the potatoes into 1.5 cm cubes.

Combine all other ingredients (except cooking oil and sesame seeds) in a bowl.

Heat up a pan and saute the diced potatoes with a little cooking oil. Cook for a few minutes til a little brown and partially cooked.

Add the sauce mix and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.

It is ready when the liquid has reduced to a syrupy consistency.

Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and some chopped spring onions. Serve as part of a Korean meal.

Japchae 잡채, Korean Mixed Vegetables And Sweet Potato Noodles

Whenever I make bibimbap  I will end up making japchae as well, as the ingredients used in both dishes are fairly similar and tonight there is no exception. There was a piece of steak left over from our bbq a few nights ago and I can't think of a better way to use it up. Japchae (雜菜 in hanja) means mixed vegetables in Korean but the star of the dish is actually the sweet potato noodles. Serve this as a meal on its own or as a banchan. Of course you may also use it as a topping for rice which will make it japchaebap.

Substitute the beef with any kind of meat you want or make it vegetarian by omitting meat altogether, it will still be delicious. As with a lot of other Asian noodles, this one is well loved for its wonderful mouthfeel (this is a rather chewy and slippery one) so never ever overcook it!! Use any vegetable your heart desires as long as the dish looks colourful.

It has been really wonderful talking to my friend K's mother about Korean cooking; she's so passionate about food and more importantly extremely generous when it comes to sharing everything she knows about cooking. For that I feel really honoured and privileged!!  So, armed with the new found knowledge after yet another phone call to her I created my best Japchae to date. Thank you P!!

P.S Unfortunately due to the escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsular, our culinary tour of Korea has to be cut short prematurely til further notice!! I'll be focusing on the food I  know best, Malaysian cuisine for a little bit, so stay tuned.

serves 2 as a one dish meal or 4 as japchaebap (topping for rice)

you'll need or rather I used;

100g of dangmyeon , soaked in water for 10 minutes, drained.

1 carrot, peeled and shredded

1 small zuchinni, shredded

50g of soya bean sprouts, cooked for 15 minutes and drained

2 Chinese mushrooms, soaked in hot water, drained and shredded

2 eggs or 1 duck egg, separate yolks from white, made into 2 different colour omelet

1 200g scotch fillet, grilled to your liking, sliced

2 spring onions, cut into 6cm length and shredded lengthwise

1tbs each of white and black sesame seeds

Saute carrot, mushrooms and zucchini with a little oil separately, mix with a little garlic, salt and dash of sesame oil.

Marinate soya bean sprouts with a little salt, a little garlic and dash of sesame oil

Boil noodles for a minute or two, drain well and mix it with a dash of sesame oil

for the dressing;

4 tbs of Korean soy

1.5  tbs of castor sugar

1.5  tbs of sesame oil

1.5  tbs of minced garlic

Ready to assemble.

Place dangmyeon in a large plate (oh I forgot to mention, cut the noodles with a pair of scissors after draining)

place everything on top of the noodles, or chuck them on if you wished.

Drizzle with sesame seeds and pour the dressing over.

Now mix everything well and those Korean gloves will come in very handy!! Serve whichever way you like :)

Kongnamool Moochim 콩나물 무침 Spicy Seasoned Soya Bean Sprouts

This is my second posting of banchan and there will be more in the coming weeks. You are very likely to see this on the table of any Korean household and I got a little disappointed that this was not served the last time we dined at a Korean restaurant. Please abandon the idea of making this if the idea of picking the tails off the individual sprouts doesn't appeal to you. Apparently a Korean girl will remain single until she does the same, did I make that up??

serves 4 as a side dish

you'll need;

250g of soya bean sprouts, picked

3 cloves of garlic, grated

1 tbs of sesame seeds, toasted

1/2 tbs of Korean chili powder

dash of soy

dash of sesame oil

Pick the tails and not too pretty sprouts off, the pile on the right hand side is the reason why :)

Boil in lightly salted water for 15 minutes.

Drain and rinse well with cold water.

Place drained sprouts in a bowl, add minced garlic, chopped spring onions, sesame seeds and Korean chili powder.

Mix everything very well and it's ready to be served as part of your Korean meal.

Pajoeri 파절이 Spring Onion Salad - Banchan 1

Banchan (meaning side dishes in Korean) are those freebies you get when you go to a Korean restaurant. Every Korean household would boast to have the best and the most variety of banchan. The first time I attempted to cook Korean food was about 2 months ago. I can stand tall and proud here telling you that I did manage to produce quite a few of them :)

I make this for the first time specially for the Korean bbq we had on thursday night (apparently a must have), again there must be 1001 different versions of this around and I choose to leave the arguments to the Koreans themselves. I'll continue to post banchan recipes here on a regular basis.

you'll need;

a bunch of spring onions

1 1/2 tbs of korean hot chili powder (gochugaro)

1 tbs of sesame oil

dash of sugar

dash of Korean fish sauce

dash white vinegar

Cut spring onions into thin slivers..

Prepare dressing...

Mix everything just before serving, check if it needs more of anything..

Ready to go as part of your Korean meal.

P.S Don't attempt to have a date after this, it's really potent !!!