Thank you to Sarah Bates of The Chef Next Door for hosting today's Hot and Spicy #SundaySupper event! Have you heard of the 10,000-hour rule? Author Malcolm Gladwell theorizes that to truly master something, you will have had to log in at least 10,000 hours of practice. This theory was based on a study by Swedish psychologist Anders Ericsson. So what does this have to do with kimchi? Well, I feel like kimchi-making requires some level of practice to get to a point where it's easy to make and, most importantly, it consistently tastes awesome. When I first posted a recipe for this same dish, I had only made it a few times and it turned out a decent kimchi...50 percent of the time. Now 5 years later, I've made this particular kimchi a little less than 100 times. And if we're following the 10,000-hour rule, I've got about 9,900 hours become an expert kimchi maker. But I feel like after 5 years or about 100 hours, I've got this dish down. I've gotten rid of a couple of steps, streamlined ...
Perilla Pancakes
Originally published September 11, 2011. I thought I'd revive this recipe for Chuseok! Happy Chuseok! The cool fall weather is here to stay and school is in full swing. It is also the end of the season for kaenip (perilla) and the leaves are fading into a yellowish light green hue. The other weekend, I plucked the remaining leaves and decided to do a few experiments after speaking with my mom. She mentioned that the older leaves tend to be a less tender and a little tougher. Sometimes she steams a bunch of leaves and makes ssam (wraps) or chops them up and makes jun (pancakes) or jang dduk, a special recipe that my mom culled from her mother that sounded really hearty and quite simply, yummy. The recipe incorporates a spoonful of dwaen jang into the batter. (I know, dwaen jang!) I've never actually had the dish before or even heard of such a thing, but the combination of the pungent salty, nutty dwaen jang, and the strong peppery, minty kaenip sounded enticing. If you ...
Some Korean Flavor…
Pink Water Kimchi (Nabak Kimchi) #SundaySupper
The first day of Spring is March 20th. The Sunday Supper crew is celebrating the Spring season with recipes reflecting the time of year whether it is St. Patrick’s day, green foods, or spring inspired. This event is hosted by Amber of Mama’s Blissful Bites. Thanks Amber! ***** In Korea, you’ll see more varieties of kimchi…
Bibim Bap!
Bibim bap, literally translated is “mixed rice” or as I like to call it, mix-leftovers-with-rice-because-I’m-too-lazy-to-cook bowl. This is a dish that I usually associate with summer since we ate a lot of it as a kid during the hot months. And with the abundance from my dad’s vegetable garden, there was an abundance of banchan….
Roasted Seasoned Dried Seaweed (Gheem Gui / 김구이)
These salty, crunchy paper-thin sheets of dried seaweed (laver or gheem) are being stocked on shelves in mainstream grocery stores. It used to be (even just 5 years ago), that I had to trek to my nearest Asian grocery store to stock up my pantry. Now I see the small cartons being sold at Whole…
Korean Spicy Braised Mackerel #SundaySupper
Sunday Supper is 4 years old this month and we’re celebrating in a big way! January is officially National Sunday Supper Month. Our mission has always been simple – bringing Sunday Supper back around the family table. It doesn’t have to be fancy or formal, but just some time to unplug and connect with family and friends…