Hi, everybody,
I’m so excited to introduce this simple and healthy soup to you!
Korean meals are usually served with rice, soup, and other side dishes. Just in case you don’t know what doenjang is, I’m telling you that doenjang is Korean fermented soy bean paste.
I’m so excited to introduce this simple and healthy soup to you!
Korean meals are usually served with rice, soup, and other side dishes. Just in case you don’t know what doenjang is, I’m telling you that doenjang is Korean fermented soy bean paste.
You could make so many different kinds of doenjang guk using different vegetables such as spinach, potato, radish leaves, fresh mugwort (ssuk)… Of all the vegetables, baechu (napa cabbage) doenjang guk is the most basic soup and every Korean loves it. (Let me know if you find any Korean who doesn’t like this soup) : )
I will give you a short quiz now. : ) What would you call doenjang guk made with spinach? … pause … yes, it’s called shigeumchi doenjang guk. Shigeumchi is spinach in Korean. Heh, it’s easy, right?
When my grandmother made this soup, she always used milky rice water instead of water. Every day she made a huge amount of rice to feed her family. When she washed, rubbed, and rinsed her rice grains, she got the milky water. When she made doenjang guk, she used that milky rice water in her pot.
When I was in middle school, the lady next door ran a restaurant. She sold baechu doenjang guk. She and my mother were friends, so we were like family. Most of her soup customers were male workers who needed a cheap and simple breakfast before starting work early in the morning. What time in the morning? Before dawn! To be ready to serve this soup, she probably should make it at 2-3 am? Her soup was very popular so that her restaurant was always crowded especially in the morning.
I saw her serving her soup to her customers. When her customer was sitting at the table, she ladled the soup into a large bowl from her huge pot and added a little barley rice (about 2 tbs?), and put it on his table. Only one side dish was there, kkaktugi (radish kimchi). That’s all! The worker’s stomach will get warm with the hot soup and a little bit of rice!
I used to wake up with the irresistible aroma from the soup she made. Sometimes the smell made me go crazy! : )
Her doenjangguk was not spicy and a little brown and milky. It was super tasty!
I saw she used flour instead of rice water. She made this doenjang guk exactly this way I’m showing in this video recipe. Only thing I skipped is MSG. : ) Instead of MSG, I use more dried anchovies.
I saw she used flour instead of rice water. She made this doenjang guk exactly this way I’m showing in this video recipe. Only thing I skipped is MSG. : ) Instead of MSG, I use more dried anchovies.
I miss her now. We lost connection long time ago when my family moved to another place.
Ingredients:
700 grams of Napa cabbage (half of a medium size napa cabbage), 1/3 cup soy bean paste, 10dried anchovies, 6 cups of water, 1 green chili pepper, 5-6 cloves of garlic, 2 tbs flour.
700 grams of Napa cabbage (half of a medium size napa cabbage), 1/3 cup soy bean paste, 10dried anchovies, 6 cups of water, 1 green chili pepper, 5-6 cloves of garlic, 2 tbs flour.
Directions:
- Put about 700 grams of Napa cabbage directly into boiling water and stir it with a large spoon for 20 seconds. Boil it for a minute with the lid open.
- Rinse it in cold water a couple of times to clean any remaining dirt from the cabbage leaves. Gently squeeze the leaves to get rid of any remaining water.
- Chop the cabbage into small pieces and put them into a large pot.
- Add 1/3 cup soy bean paste, 5-6 cloves minced garlic, 1 chopped green chili pepper, 10 large dried anchovies (after removing heads and guts), and 2 tbs flour to the pot.
- Mix it by hand or a wooden spoon.
- Add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil for 20 minutes over medium high heat.
- Lower the heat and simmer another 10 minutes.
- Serve hot with rice and other side dishes.
*tip: Do you like spicy soup? Then add some hot pepper paste right before simmering (step 7).
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Korean Roast Chicken Recipe
A real twist for the Sunday Roast is my Korean version, Taking a whole chicken, I stuff it with mince and flavour using Soy sauce and Honey. Served with your normal roast vegetables, this will really impress your guests!
This is what I prepared for Christmas dinner this year, my Korean Roast Chicken recipe is reasonably easy to prepare and cook, and tastes great. This roast is very different in flavour to traditional Sunday lunches and the stuffing is absolutely delicious.I have used the following ingredients:
1 Whole Chicken
4 cloves of garlic
Stuffing:
500g minced beef
200g of pancetta or bacon
200g feta cheese
4 sliced spring onions
Sauce for chicken:
3 Tablespoons of soy sauce or Bulgogi sauce
1 Tablespoon of Honey
2 cloves of garlic
Vegetables
Potatoes
Carrots
Green beans
I begin this dish by making the stuffing, I make quite a lot so there are some meatballs and enough for use later, Put all of the stuffing ingredients in a bowl and mix well, now take your chicken and stuff in as much as possible and make the remainder in to small balls.
Put the chicken on the dish that you plan to roast it in, cut 4 slits in the top and put a clove of garlic in each. In a small bowl crush 2 cloves of garlic, add a tablespoon of honey followed by 3 tablespoons of soy sauce or you can use bulgogi sauce if you would prefer. If you fancy a spicy roast chicken then you could also add a tablespoon of gochujang, mix this sauce well and then pour this over the chicken.
Cover the chicken and I leave overnight in a cool dry place, if you are short of time you could cook straight away. In the morning I pop in the oven at 220 degrees for about 3-4 hours.
After an hour I remove the meatballs as they are cooked, I pop these back in the oven in a dish for about 20 minutes just before the chicken is finished with a sprinkling of cheese on top.
After 2 1/2 hours I check the chicken and add the carrots and green beans to the dish and these take about 45 minutes to cook.
Once the chicken has finished serve straight away, there should be a lovely natural gravy from the chicken and mince which tastes divine there is no need to season. I have roasted the potatoes separately.
What I also enjoy about this Korean roast chicken recipe is that I can make some great dishes with the leftovers. This was great when the rest of my family visited in the afternoon and is much better than turkey sandwiches.
Leftovers
Here are 2 great simple recipes which puts this roast chicken leftovers to great use. The first is a spicy chicken:
Put the leftover chicken in a frying pan, with any left over vegetables. In a small bowl use any gravy left or 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, add to this 1 tablespoon of gochujang and 1 tablespoon of honey. Mix well and add this to the chicken and once well cooked its ready to serve.
The second is using the stuffing meatballs, to make a bolognese type sauce. In a saucepan put a can of chopped tomatoes and add a tablespoon of honey, add the leftover meatballs and cook well. Once finished this could be served with pasta or bread.
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How to make
Korean spicy ribs
These spicy ribs are delightful cooked in a typically Korean way, nice and hot, the meat is succulent and the vegetables complete the dish. This dish gets the best from a slow cooker allowing the flavours to infuse.
Korean spicy ribs
The taste of these spicy ribs is simply delightful, the meat literally falls off the bone and is simply delicious. Cooked in a slow cooker for several hours allow the flavours and spice to truly infuse with the meat.I have used the following ingredients:
1.2kg of spare ribs
5 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of gochujang
2 tablespoons of honey
1 1/2 carrots
1 large potato
Begin this dish by cutting the vegetables in to chunks, pour about 1/2 a cup of water in to the slow cooker, add the soy sauce, gochujang and honey to this and mix well. Now pop in the vegetables and ribs and mix with the sauce, turn on the slow cooker and allow to cook for several hours.
When you open up the slow cooker, you should get a lovely aroma and the meat will be falling off the bone, put on a plate and serve, this goes well with Kimchi and spicy cucumber.
How to Make Ddukbokki
An Authentic Recipe
Walking along the streets of Seoul you see stalls everywhere of people selling freshly cooked food. This is a very authentic Korean recipe. Ddukbokki is the most popular food sold, it is very spicy and would cost you about 50p in South Korea.
Tteokbokki is essentially Korean rice cakes and dried fish cakes cooked in a spicy gochujang sauce. You can vary the spice levels by adding more water or less gochujang. Rice cakes can be bought from most Asian supermarkets fresh or frozen.
I have used the following ingredients:
500g of rice cake
2 slices of dried fishcakes
1/2 courgette (zucchini)
1/2 carrot
1 mushroom
1 sliced spring onion
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 tablespoon of honey
1 1/2 tablespoon of gochujang
Begin by boiling a small amount of water in a saucepan, about 1 inch deep. or about 150 ml. Once boiling, Add gochujang and stir well to make the sauce. Reduce to a medium heat and add the vegetables and allow to simmer for a few minutes, sweeten with honey and sugar and then add the rice cakes (you want to cook these for no longer than 10 minutes otherwise they go very soft and fall apart).
After about 5 minutes, finish by adding the fish cakes and spring onion and simmer for a further 2-3 minutes, Serve in a dish and sprinkle some sesame seeds over the top. Ddukbokki is often eaten with Korean sausage (sundae) or a non-spicy soup.
An Authentic Recipe
How to make a delicious
Slow Cooked Beef
I find slow cooking beef is great for busy weekends, When you have little time for preparation. All you have to do is cut up some vegetables and chuck it in to a slow cooker with some meat, add some sauce and leave it to cook, Very easy to make.
I enjoy making this Korean styled slow cooked beef, It is quick t make and then you just leave it in a slow cooker until its done. It makes my whole house smell delicious and is a food that I like to eat at weekends when I know the mornings are going to be busy. You can use different meats for this recipe if you prefer to.I have used the following Ingredients:
500g of Cubed beef
2 Medium potatoes
2 Carrots
2 teaspoon of sesame oil
2 teaspoons of honey
4-5 tablespoons of soy sauce
50ml of water
To begin I would peel the potatoes and carrots, and then cut in to nice sized chunks. Put the beef cubes and the vegetables in to the slow cooker, add to this sesame oil and honey followed by about 5 tablespoons of soy sauce. To help this cook add about 50ml of water.
Turn on your slow cooker, this takes between 2-4 hours on a medium heat (time may vary depending on make and modle of slow cooker). Once finished you can eat as a hearty meal, or serve with some rice or Kimchi if you wish.
My Korean Pancake Recipe
For quick and easy Korean pancakes
Korean pancakes make a great lunchtime snack, or can go with a main dish. Made with flour and vegetables, and fried in a pan. Quick simple and delicious.
Very different in flavour to traditional pancakes, Korean pancakes are quick and easy to make. with this Korean pancake recipe I like to pack them with vegetables and dip them in soy sauce, for the perfect lunch.I have used the following ingredients:
2 cups of white flour or 2 cups of Korean pancake mix
2 cups of water
Salt + Pepper (if using flour)
1 Carrot
1 Courgette (zucchini)
1 mushroom
Begin be putting in a bowl 2 cups of strong white flour and 2 cuts water, season with some salt and pepper (if you are using the pancake mix there is no need to season).
Slice the vegetables you want to use, I have used carrot, courgette and mushroom and then add these to the bowl, before mixing together well. Now put some oil in a hot pan.
You have a choice how to make the pancakes, you can create larger pancakes, or mini ones which are great for kids. As the mixture is quite thick use a ladle and spoon the mixture in to the pan.
Allow the mixture to cook well and brown on both sides, once well cooked pop on a plate, in a small bowl put a small bit of soy sauce and use this to dip the pancakes in.
Easy and Delicious.
Bibimbap Recipe
Enjoy the famous dolsot bibimbap
Bibimbap is a delicious vegetable and rice dish flavoured with the famous gochujang, Simply fry some veg and add to a bowl of sushi rice and add the sauce, delicious. This is a famous and popular Korean Dish that is very healthy too.
Bibimbap is everything korean chucked in to a bowl. The essence of the dish is sticky rice and a tablespoon of gochujang, with any vegetables or side-dishes you can find added.The term Dolsot Bibimbap refers to the traditional stone bowls that are used to make and serve this dish, this keeps the rice hot and the bottom crunchy, you can buy these bowls from most Asian Supermarkets.
I have used the following ingredients:
Sushi Rice
1/2 tablespoon of Gochujang
2 mushrooms
1/2 courgette (zucchini)
1/2 carrot
Spinach
1 Egg
Common ingredients include beansprouts, minced beef, lettuce and Kimchi, However you can use pretty much anything you can get your hands on.
To start fry all the vegetables you are using, cook some sushi rice and put this in a bowl, add all the cooked vegtables. Depending on how spicy you like your food add gochujang, as a guide about 1/2 tablespoon is about right for a nice spice.
Mix everything together throughly, and then enjoy. This makes a great lunch or dinner, and can be very healthy and is low in calories. A very easy bibimbap recipe!
Enjoy the famous dolsot bibimbap
