Kongnamul: Soybean Sprout Salad

Sundays are sometimes a blur. There is laundry, grocery shopping, bills, sifting through piles of random paperwork and receipts (why do I even keep these?) and cleaning the kitchen floor and then suddenly it's 4:30pm and I haven't even thought of what I should make for dinner.

I did manage to sneak in a wonderful Anusara Yoga class at Yoga Tree. It was hard work, but I felt so proud of myself for stretching through the tight spots and taking some time to breathe and clear the clouds, so to speak.

The rain clouds have been rollin in this week and it's been a little cold and gloomy around here. Perfect for some Korean Tofu Kimchi Stew. And definitely some banchan, which I like to call vegetable snacks that are generally very easy to prepare. You know I love me some Korean food.

Kongnamul is one of my favorite types of banchan. It's a crunchy soybean sprout salad with a hint of sesame.

It's really cheap, too-you can buy a whole pound of sprouts at almost any asian grocery/market for about $1.20. I like to buy the loose ones and not pre-bagged sprouts because those tend to get soggy and rancid very quickly.

Note: I made that cute little ceramic plate at Color Me Mine.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 pound of soybean sprouts
* 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
* salt to taste
* Optional: small amounts of chopped green onion, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, soy sauce


DIRECTIONS:

* Fill a medium pot about 2/3 full with water and 1 tsp. of salt and bring to a boil.
* Rinse the sprouts and discard any wilted sprouts.
* Toss in the sprouts, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes.
* Drain and rinse in cold water until cooled (or plunge them into a bowl of ice water if you like it extra crunchy).
* In a bowl, combine the drained, cooked sprouts, sesame oil, salt and any other optional items you may be using.

Ta-da! So easy.

This dish will not keep more than a day or so in the fridge (it becomes soggy pretty quickly), so I highly recommend eating it up fresh!

Korean Tofu Kimchi Stew

One week ago, I took a plane from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Harmless enough (if you don't count having to get up at 4am to take the first flight out and then go straight into work toting luggage). Exactly 24 hours after the flight, I was attacked by a heinous sore throat and a pounding headache that made my whole face melt. If I get sick 24-48 hours after a flight, I think it's a safe best that someone was sharing their germs with the innocent people on the aircraft. I barely made it through the Foodbuzz Festival over the weekend and hoped no one noticed that I had morphed into a quiet, seemingly timid wallflower.

When under the weather, there was only one thing I could do. Eat soup. Since things were getting pretty desperate in the breathing department, I immediately resorted to the secret weapon. Vegetarian Matzoh ball soup with rye croutons. Nothing tells a cold to take a hike than a hot brothy soup with fluffy balls of matzoh. Then I filled the fridge with asparagus soup and red lentil soup with lemon. Equally good soldiers.

With the grace of a few days time and many hours of sleep, I am starting to feel a little better. However, Boyfriend got sick too. Since he likes spicy food and we've already been through a pretty heavy soup rotation, I decided to make something a little different for his sore throat.
You can find this tofu kimchi stew called Jigae at any authentic Korean restaurant. It is a deeply satisfying brothy soup made with tofu, onions, ginger and scallions that is kicked up a notch with some spicy fermented cabbage.

This recipe is the sort that only grandmothers would pass down. But this one didn't come from my grandmother. But it did come from my trusty collection of Hawaii cookbooks that are filled with family secrets, so it was likely passed down by someone's grandmother. I'm sure of it. Jigae recipes vary from family to family--some are made with pork, some swear by using silken tofu instead of firm tofu, and some . I used extra firm tofu because I really wanted the tofu to hold up in the mass of broth, but many people prefer to use silken tofu. Also, I like this recipe because it includes a defiant scoop of miso to add some body to the soup and smooth over the fire. If you like spicy food and kimchi, then I am sure you are going to love it.Note: Vegetarian/vegan kimchi can be difficult to find, since most kimchi is made with shrimp paste. So read labels carefully and you can always make your own if you want this dish to be vegan.

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 Tbsp. oil
* 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
* 1 Tbsp. grated ginger
* 1 Tbsp. grated garlic
* 1 tsp sea salt
* 1/2 tsp white pepper
* 2 cups kimchi (with liquid, loosely packed)
* 6 cups water
* 4 three-inch strips of kombu
* 1/4 cup miso
* 1 package of extra firm tofu (or silken, if perferred), cubed
* 2 green onions, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

* In a large pot or enameled cast iron dutch oven, heat the oil and cook the onions on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes.
* Add the kimchi, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper and sautee for another 5 minutes.
* Then add the water and kombu strips (you can cut the kombu into smaller strips or leave it large). Bring to a boil and turn down the heat just a little bit so it holds a steady simmer for about 25-30 minutes (uncovered).
* Then stir in the miso and gently add the tofu and let simmer for another 10 minutes.
* Then add the green onion.
* Serve as a soup or ladle over some steamed rice.

Also, if you want to decrease the spice level, you can use a mild kimchi or you can decrease the amount to one cup and add in a bunch of chopped napa cabbage. You can also add in other vegetables like shredded carrot if it isn't already in your kimchi. You can also add a splash of sesame oil right at the end.

Korean Supper Club

Two years ago, after graduating from law school, my friend Lindsay and I started a little supper club as a commitment, or tradition, to explore cooking centered around vegetarian foods around the world. And maybe an excuse to make sure we saw each other fairly regularly. Occasionally, it involved a few card games along with some arguments about said card games. Sometimes, at the end of the night, we were so full of delicious food that all we could do was quietly clasp our hands around our bellies and smile and sigh.

Back in September, during what would be our last supper club, my friend, Lindsay abruptly announced (over a rather heated game of Settlers of Catan, actually) that she and her husband just bought a house in Fort Collins, Colorado and they were moving at the end of October. And just like that, as I reached for more of the raspberry wine to wash down the news, our two and a half years of supper club has come to an end.

Maybe we could call it a hiatus instead, separated only by a couple of states and some serious mountains. During that time, Jason and I managed to cook our way through the foods of Japan, Mexico, China, Hawaii, Korea, and even some Jewish cuisine. Lindsay and Patrick cooked up feasts from the South, the Mediterranean, Spain, Italy and France. It was a good run, I must say.

While I am sad to see them move so far away, I am so grateful for the friendships that have been nourished by our dear supper club. Bon voyage, friends!

Besides being exceptionally spicy, Korean food is really centered around banchan--lots of little dishes with explosive flavors. If you've ever gone to a Korean restaurant and balked at the menu prices, it's because no less than five to eight little dishes also accompany your meal. Think of it as free appetizers.

From top to bottom: Kongjaban (black beans stewed down in a sweet soy syrup; recipe here); Quick-pickled cucumber (I made this one); and boiled peanuts in a soy glaze.


Besides some jap chae, I had never cooked an entire Korean meal. Or a vegetarian Korean meal (who knew that most prepared kim chee has anchovy or shrimp powder in it?). I didn't have it in me to make nine or ten dishes in my small San Francisco apartment kitchen, so, to make things a little easier, I picked up some ready-made banchan from Woo Ri Food Market and First Korean Market. These stores have such a wide selection of prepared food, you could eat lunch or dinner at the grocery store.

Now, the banchan pictured below typically comes in one of my favorite korean dishes-Bi Bim Bap, which is a sizzling rice bowl decorated with these delicious crunchy veggies and various BBQ meats or tofu. At a restaurant, they will sometimes crack open a small raw egg (sometimes a quail egg) on top of the hot rice and the pot is so hot that it cooks as you stir it all up. The bowl is so hot that it also creates a nice crispy rice crust along the bottom.


From clockwise: boiled bean sprouts; cold seasoned spinach (sigumchi namul); spicy pickled daikon; and Kongnamul--boiled mung bean sprouts.

These dishes might not look like much, but, added to your rice or tofu dish, they are packed with flavor and add the perfect crunchy texture to balance things out. It also helps that they are all cold dishes to cool down the heat in other spicy dishes.

Another classic Korean dish is pajeon, which is typically a seafood and vegetable pancake similar to the Japanese Okonomiyaki or the Chinese Scallion Pancake. I had been wanting to make this ever since Namu, a modern Korean restaurant, started selling these tasty pancakes and other street food items at the Thursday Ferry Building Farmer's Market. Namu's pancake costs just under $10 and comes heavily adorned with Kewpie-mayo, a savory soy glaze, bonito flakes, shredded nori seeweed and a fried egg.









While this pancake can easily be made with flour, eggs and water, it is much easier and far tastier to buy a package of Korean pancake mix and save yourself the hassle. I just made some batter with the mix according to the directions on the package and added in some sauteed vegetables (I used a mixture of cabbage, carrots, onion and flat scallions). I cooked it on a hot griddle just like you would cook a pancake, then I drizzled some Asian Kewpie-mayo on top of the pancake and topped it off with shredded nori seeweed.

I also made a classic spicy tofu stew, which was gobbled up before I could take any pictures.

It was a really good meal. We followed it up with some Korean dessert treats such as banana milk and choco pies.

Oh, and I lost at Settlers of Catan.

Korean Noodles: Jap Chae

Noodlie noodlie! Who doesn't love noodles?!

There is something inherently comforting about noodles. I've had a long, long, looooong week and the idea of curling up with a bowl of warm noodles really makes me feel a lot better. Have you had a hard week too?! It's understandable, I hear you...well, I think noodles could make you feel better too!

Jap Chae is one of my favorite traditional Korean dishes because it is mildly sweet and I looove the slurpy noodles! It is traditionally made with strips of beef, but I just omit that to make a vegetarian version...You will be able to order them at almost all Korean restaurants, but it is so inexpensive to make that I needed to make a really big batch on my own...One of my favorite places to get them when I am visiting San Diego is at the very authentic Friend's House Korean (4647 Convoy St, San Diego, CA 92111, 858-292-0499). I highly recommend that place!


INGREDIENTS:

* 8 oz. sweet potato starch noodles (Dang Myun)
* 2 Tbsp. canola oil
* 1 small zucchini, julienned
* 1 medium carrot, julienned
* 1 small yellow onion, julienned
* 1 cup chopped cabbage
* 1/4 cup chopped green onion
* 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds (optional garnish)

INGREDIENTS FOR SAUCE:

* 3 Tbsp. Tamari
* 2 Tbsp. light sodium soy sauce
* 3 Tbsp. sugar
* 6 Tbsp. water
* 2.5 Tbsp. sesame oil
* 3 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced
* 3 Tbsp. mirin

DIRECTIONS:

* Soak the noodles in a bowl of warm water for 15-20 minutes.
* Combine all sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk together.
* Heat canola oil in a deep pan or wok.
* Sautee onions for 3-4 minutes. Add carrots and cook for another 3 minutes.
* Add in zucchini pieces, green onions, and cabbage and cook for another 4 or 5 minutes until vegetables are tender but still slightly firm.
* Season vegetables with freshly cracked pepper to taste and set aside.
* Place noodles in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Drain and set aside. The noodles will be slightly al dente, but they will continue to cook in the pan when you add the sauce.
* Return the wok or deep pan to the stove and add the noodles and cook for 1 or 2 minutes.
* Stir in the sauce mixture and cook on high until the noodles soak up most of the sauce.
* Fold in the vegetable mixture.
* Garnish with sesame seeds.

Note: Sometimes I swap out the zucchini for watercress, mushrooms, or napa cabbage.

Love your noodles. Your noodles love you.