korean – morestomach

spicy korean chicken stew

Published on September 18, 2017September 16, 2017 by Lan | MoreStomach6 Comments

for about 24 hours 2 weekends ago
the temps dipped,
and for that amount of time
i made two comfort dishes that usually make appearances
around january.
obviously, it was a season fake out,
and my kitchen inclination was also a fraud.

this stew is technically not authentic.
i tried it once at a korean restaurant
and it was much too spicy for my taste buds,
and unfortunately, for my stomach.
i tempered the spice by omitting the korean pepper flakes
and adding the ssamjang.
fraudulent dish or not,
it was still very good.

spicy korean chicken stew – dak-bokkeum-tang
adapted from beyond kimchee
serves 4-6

*note: this is a stew, and if it weren’t for the fact that i was going to style to take pix, i would’ve thrown it all together and called it rustic. the veggie cutting can be rough & un-fancy.

package of chopped up chicken meat, i had a mix of bone in, skin on drumsticks and bone out/skin off thighs, about 3-4 lbs total
3-4 medium carrots
1 onion, chopped
3-4 medium potatoes, cleaned and chopped
2-3 cups kelp stock or chicken stock is fine

for the seasoning paste:
2 tablespoons Korean chili paste Gochujang, i used this
1 TBL Korean Seasoned Soybean Paste Ssamjang, i used this
4 TBL soy sauce
1 TBL oyster sauce
1 TBL maple syrup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp pureed ginger
2 TBL rice wine

for garnish:
2 green scallions, chopped

in a stew pot, make the seasoning paste. taste if you need more spice, etc. add the chicken pieces and mix to coat. set aside on stove.

in a medium sauce pan add a piece of kombu or kelp or seaweed to 2-3 cups of water. bring to a gentle boil. cover and simmer on low for about 15-20 minutes.

strain the kombu/kelp/seaweed out and pour the remaining liquid into stew pot with chicken. you’re aiming to barely cover the chicken, if needed add more water or you may not need all the stock.

turn heat to medium hot and simmer for about 10 minutes.

add in the onion and carrots, submerging the pieces and allow to simmer for additional 10 minutes.

last add in the potatoes and cook for about 15 – 20 minutes.

the sauce will thicken as it reduces. at this point, everything is cooked through and tender, how much sauce you want is up to you.

garnish with chopped green scallions, serve with steamed rice.

BAM!

4 years ago: chicken masala
3 years ago: quinoa sushi rolls
2 years ago: vietnamese seafood noodle soup
1 year ago: crunchy quinoa salad with miso-tahini dressing

gochujang sloppy joes

Published on February 1, 2017February 2, 2017 by Lan | MoreStomach13 Comments

years from now,
i hope i can recall
how it felt when the the world descended into madness.
that sounds dramatic,
doesn’t it?
but that is how i currently feel.
i don’t want to forget:
how my feet hurt from standing in a crowd,
arms raised, holding a sign,
flushed against my beloved
as he held me from behind.
or, how helpless i felt when
i heard about the ban,
sitting under warm blankets on our couch,
watching the news on low volume
as to not disturb my beloved in his slumber.
or, how infuriating and humiliating it felt
to witness 7 men sign documents
dictating a woman’s choices about her body.
never in this lifetime will there
ever come a time when the situation would be reversed.
and as angry as i am,
i would never want to be in that kind of situation.

years ago,
when i still lived with my grandparents,
after we immigrated to this country,
(actually, we were refugees. there is a difference),
and they scrounged pennies to pay for my school lunches,
hot lunches that fueled me for the day at just 65¢.
sloppy joes were always a favorite,
that salty-sweet kick,
served with tator tots.
this combination always takes me back,
back to a time when the debate on immigration
was more civilized.

Gochujang Sloppy Joes
dw made this up, i don’t know where, it just showed up on the table for dinner.
i also told dw i was going to edit his recipe but it seemed like a lot of work, so this is in his words.
also, he’s dreamy.

In a bowl, combine the following and stir to a thick paste:
1 T honey
½ T brown sugar
2 T Apple cider vinegar
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 heaping T Gochujang
1 T Dry Ground Mustard
1 t garlic powder
1 t smoked paprika
½ t kosher salt
½ t freshly ground black pepper

Caramelize a half or whole onion, sliced in bite-sized pieces, in a T of olive oil – Set aside
Brown 1 pound ground dark meat turkey
Add 1 diced red bell pepper and simmer until bell pepper is cooked to your liking
Add 16 ounces canned diced tomato with juices
Drain juices from turkey, tomato, and bell pepper to another saucepan and reduce until thick

Add caramelized onion, reduced juices, and seasoning paste to the simmering turkey mixture and simmer until hot, aromatic and delicious

Serve over toast, or on buns.

3 years ago: chocolate ginger molasses cookies
2 years ago: brinjal pickle hummus
1 year ago: crock pot baked beans

japchae – vegan

Published on May 5, 2014April 30, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach15 Comments

most saturdays you’ll find me
unshowered at 3pm
no judgement please
if we don’t go out
i won’t shower until bedtime
it’s usually a battle of
doing something
or
doing nothing
what ends up happening is
something gets started
i get bored
and nothing is finished

currently our spare room
is empty of its usual dressing room fixings:
vanity
mirror
dresser
water cooler bottle that holds all our change
window curtain
all that shit is
in the hallway
the fire marshall would have a fit,
if we had a fire marshall

spackling
choosing paint
priming
choosing paint
more priming
eventual painting
it takes time
and the concentration
and determination
of a warrior to complete it

guys
i am no warrior
instead i paused partway
and went into the kitchen,
not emerging until dinner time
the room may still have naked walls
i may walk into the room to grab undies
only to backtrack into the hallway to grab said undies
i may have skipped the whole painting step
and started on the whole decorating step,
a step i’m sure i’ll leave incomplete, ahem,
but damn
dinner was done
and in fact,
it was dinner for 3 nights
bam!
fine. you can call me part-warrior

japchae – vegan & gluten free
makes about 5-6 servings

*note: i don’t know if this authentic or not, this is just a guess based on the various times i’ve had it at restaurants etc. the vegs were in the pantry waiting to be used up, make use of whatever you have on hand or whatever is in season. i used tamari to keep it gluten free but soy sauce is fine too. personally, i liked this much better as a leftover than fresh.

1 package of korean sweet potato noodles
3 zucchinis, sliced into thin strips
3 carrots, peeled and cut into match sticks
half a medium onion, sliced
2 stalks of celery, diced at an angle (optional, dw likes fancy knife work)
3-5 dried woodear mushrooms, reconstituted in hot water, and then sliced thin
splash or two of soy sauce or tamari
drizzle of sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
oil for frying

cook up the noodles according to package instructions

in a big pot or pan, heat up some oil, whatever you wanna use, i used olive oil. add in the onions and carrots. saute for about 3-4 minutes, or however soft you want your carrots to be. next, add in the wood ear mushrooms and celery. at this point, add in a splash of soy sauce or tamari

add in the noodles AND zucchini strips, stir until everything is well mixed and the zucchini has been warmed though and has softened. add another splash or two of soy sauce or tamari, toss it till it’s mixed though

at the last second, drizzle in sesame oil to coat through. this is for fragrance mainly, not so much for taste. garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

bam!