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…
Mother-In-Law’s Seasoned Spinach (Shigumchi namul)
This is one of the first vegetable dishes that I remember from my youth and one of my favorites. Growing up, I remembered how spinach (and other vegetables) were portrayed as horrible, bland, and abhorred by all children. Every commercial, cartoon, and TV show taught us to reject the green vegetable. I was so puzzled….
Korean-style Dandelion Salad
Dandelion greens are in season right now. You should be seeing these leafy greens at your farmers market or grocery store! Get ’em while they’re young and tender. Go directly to the recipe. I thought summer was supposed to be laid back and relaxing. So far I feel overwhelmed playing catch up everyday and I definitely feel…
Kalbi Jjim + Slow Cooker = Meaty goodness!
‘Tis the season for braised meat! My sister called me a couple of days ago for a Kalbi Jjim (braised short ribs) recipe. I had one scrawled on a sheet of notebook paper in my binder. I jotted the recipe down several years ago when I asked my mom for her (actually, my grandmother’s) recipe, but I…
Quick Kimchi (Geotjori)
The fresh and crunchy Baby Shanghai Bok Choy by Jade Asian Greens are perfect for quick kimchi or geotjori! Geotjori, or what I like to call “quick kimchi“, is a quick and easy side dish that goes amazingly well with Korean BBQ – grilled galbior bulgogi. But why stop there? Serve geotjori alongside any grilled…