Muchim

Chayote the other white vegetable.  I love this squash. Its cheap (5 for  2.00) but it doesn't have a ton of flavor. I have baked them like a potato and eaten them with butter and sour cream, they are great raw (mild apple flavor), chopped them into stir fry's and now....

 

Korean Spicy Chayote Squash Muchim

 

i found the recipe here at Little Corner of Mine's  website but adjusted it a bit with the addition of the chili paste and agave nectar. Sooo tasty!!!!  

 

Ingredients:

1 chayote squash, seeded and thinly sliced

1/8 tsp. iodized salt

2 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp. sesame oil

2 tsp. mirin

2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds

2 clove of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. chopped scallion (the green part)

1/2 tbs agave nectar
2 tsp fermented chili paste

Method:

Put all ingredients in a bowl.  Stir to mix well. Serve!

 

Cream Cheese..noms

  

Is it Cream Cheese?

Breakfast, the one meal of the day I am picky about. I am not a fan of most breakfast foods. I am also not a fan of eggs (hard boiled is about the only way i like them). Most Cereal is to sweet or had some component i don’t like, not to mention the cost....jeepers. So breakfast for me used to be a bagel, slathered with cream cheese. Loads of cream cheese. I moved to the diet non-fat cream cheese when i tried loosing weight but this presented two problems. One the non fat cream cheese was gross. Two my breakfast still involved a bagel. Either way, not conducive to weight loss. So I did what any healthy minded, carb loving, cream cheese eater would do. I looked into how to make my own. I figured I was able to revamp almost every recipe to something weight loss friendly, why NOT cream cheese! I found the simplest thing on earth. Yogurt. I love yogurt. Non-Fat Yogurt + Cheese cloth = cream cheese. Its a bit tangy. But I add in some cinnamon and a touch of stevia for sweet and i have my own cream cheese spread that’s so low in points its almost a sin. Once i had the cream cheese it was time to find a solution to the age old problem of ...what do i spread it on? While walking through my local Wegmans one day i discovered the solution. Pops...I know what you are thinking...pops? those nasty corn based cereal kids like. No not those pops. These are whole wheat/grain popped rice disks the size of a small dinner plate. 6 of them is 3 points. I eat 3 per breakfast. 1.5 points for the pops. 1 Point for the cream cheese...and I have a 2.5 point breakfast! Perfection!

Source:  http://www.madebylex.com/2010/12/making-your-own-cream-cheese-couldnt-be-easier.html

It was tangier than regular cream cheese but the consistency and the taste were there.  Its a definite on the make again list. I want to try it with a fruit flavored yogurt next time.

Cream Cheese-

2 cups plain low fat yogurt
4 pieces of cheese cloth.
Put yogurt into cheese cloth, tie shut and hang over a bow in the fridge over night.  you get cream cheese when all the liquid is out of the yogurt. Tangy but good.


My Recipe:
Poppers
(no picture...they were eaten before i could snap off a shot)
take 1/4 cup of the cream cheese
1/2 cup low fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg white
1 tbs garlic
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp Worcestershire
8-10 jalapeno peppers

Mix all of the above (reserve peppers) ..Stuff the peppers with the cream cheese. Cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes at 410 degrees, cheese will begin to brown on top.

Kkakdugi (Radish Kimchi)

After my more than fruitful experiment into the world of kimchi I decided to branch out and try
radish Kimchi. I have to admit, its delicious, not as spicy as I thought it would be and the radish has a cooling effect. In all truth, this rarely gets to the fermentation process. We mix and eat it just as it is, its that tasty! It makes a great side dish when you want something thats simple, but not your standard salad.  If you are going to eat it the day you mix it and prefer a sweet hot flavor you can add a tbs or two of agave nectar to the ingredient list. It gives it a whole other dimension.

I found a few recipes for this most are very similar so i took a bit from everyone and put it together to make my own version.

1. 2 lbs peeled, cubed diakon radish
2. Rinse in cold water and pat dry.
3. Put into a large bowl.
   
4. Add 1 tbs coarse salt (i used Hawaiian sea salt because it is what i had around)
5.  2 tbs sugar
6. 1 tbs rice flour, and mix well.
   
7. Add 2 tbs minced garlic
8. 1 tbs minced ginger
9. 1/2 cup chopped green onions
10. 1/8 cup fish sauce
11. 1/8 cup soy sauce, 
12. 1/2 tbs siracha
13. 1.5 tbs hot pepper flakes
14. 1 tbs paprika

Mix well and place in sealed containers.  Refrigerate and eat immediately or leave out for a day or two to begin the fermentation process and then enjoy. When it starts to ferment you will see little bubbles on top and the smell will be stronger with a sour note.

Pomegrnte & Chilli Tofu

I made this recipe tonight and OMG it was incredible. This is not one of my recipes, it came from mongoliankitchen.com's website.  This is a great go to website. Lots of Pictures and great detailed explanations. Lots of great recipe's.

I did have to make a few changes. I could not find the pomegranate molasses. So I bought a bottle of Pom Wonderful Pomegranate Juice, threw it in a sauce pan and reduced it down.  It was incredible. I also used rice flour instead of corn flour and changed up the veggies a bit and used gochuang (Korean fermented chili paste) instead of chili puree.
But it was still incredible. I am having visions of the sauce on short ribs or chicken.  I made it over Imperial Rice with Salted Plum. lol Like normal my pictures look nothing like the ones on the actual website but it was still incredible.

Pomegranate & Chilli Tofu Recipe

"http://mongoliankitchen.com/pomegranate-chilli-tofu/#comment-4650"

Ingredients
For the Fried Tofu

• Tofu, drained, cut into thin strips and patted dry
• Corn Flour
• 2 tsp Thai 7 Spice mix
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• Vegetable oil (for deep frying)

For the Sauce

• 2  tsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced, or garlic puree
• Equal amount of chopped fresh ginger or puréed ginger
• 1 tbsp chilli puree or diced chillies (vary according to how hot you like it)
• Mirin or Rice Wine (or white wine) 1/2 cup (optional)
• 2 tbsp pomegranate Molasses
• 1 tsp rice vinegar

For the Vegetables

• 2 medium onion
• 1 medium yellow pepper
• 1 medium red pepper
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• An equal amount of ginger, finely chopped

Remember, make this how you like it. If you prefer lots of vegetables, add lots of vegetables. You can even make do without the tofu altogether.
Method:
Prepare the Tofu.

• The most important thing to do is dry the tofu well. It is full of liquid and you are going to be frying it in hot oil. So it is essential to dry really well.
• In an open bowl, mix the cornflour, thai 7 spice, paprika.
• Add the tofu pieces and coat well
• Fry the tofu on a medium-high heat for around 2-3 minutes and set aside. Do not fry too many pieces together, instead work in batches depending on the size of your pan/wok.
• Drain on kitchen roll and set aside

Prepare the Sauce

• In a wok, add your vegetable oil then add the ginger and garlic, fry for 1 minute (careful not to let the garlic burn)
• Add your mirin and allow to boil on a high heat for 1-2 minutes to burn off the alcohol
• Add the remainder of your sauce ingredients, mix well and allow to cook and thicken for 2-3 minutes
• Pour out into a bowl and set aside

Prepare the vegetables

• In the same wok you made the sauce in (the left over sauce on the wok adds to the flavor of the vegetables) add a little oil and add your ginger and garlic. Fry for 1 minute
• Add all your vegetables and cook until caramelized , about 5 minutes. (Tip..adding a spoonful of the sauce helps the vegetables get extra flavor and caramelize)

Complete the dish

• Once the vegetables are cooked, add the fried tofu pieces to them to warm through.
• Then add the sauce and mix well.
• Add your coriander and sprinkle with sesame seeds to garnish
• Serve with your choice of boiled rice.

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Imperial Rice w/ Salted Plum

1 Cup Sweet Rice
1/4 Cup Imperial Black Rice
1/8 Cup minced Salted Plum
1 tbs rice wine vinager
2 1/2 cups water

Throw it all in the rice cooker and cook.

Grown Up Ramen

Do it Yourself Grown Up Ramen

Warning: addictive but spicy...

 

looks pretty good too..

Drama Fever.com has a few new drama's I have been into lately. Two of which  revolve around food. Flower Boy Ramen Shop and Kimchi Family.  Both shows are as addictive as their culinary name sake. Watching makes you want to try the food.

I am not a fan of pre-packaged ramen noodles, you know the kind where you get the flavor packet of unidentifiable spices and the brick of noodles all neatly shrink wrapped in colorful packaging. Maybe it was because I ate so many as a kid, or because this was the standard "I am too poor to eat much else" food in college or because  I have eaten one too many packets in my youth only to look closely at the floating "pepper" and discover it had legs.

However, last week I was given a case of kimchi ramen from a store I like to shop at as a promotional freebie. It was sealed, then shrink wrapped, then wrapped in yet more outer packaging. So I figured the pepper probably was leg-less.  It looked nothing like the ramen on the drama I was watching but hey it was free...I tried it.  It was not bad and there were no extra bits of protein swimming around.  It was a bit salty and the vegetable flakes were unidentifiable, chewy and cut in uniform squares. Since I have never seen a square carrot I could only guess at what the vegetables were.  It was a bit of a turn off. Then I read the label. When we are young, label reading was not an issue. I almost had a heart attack reading this label. I was actually surprise that amount of sodium had not already put me at risk for heart issues.  Then there were the numerous unidentifiable ingredients on the label. No, not the Asian ingredients....the chemical ones.  What were these things? Why are they in my soup! I thought to myself...I can make this so much better and know exactly what I am eating. So I did. I decided I could make tasty ramen type soup from scratch and cut out all the preservatives and unknown ingredients.

Turns out this was very simple to make and has become one of my staple go to soups. 

Ingredients:

1 Package ramen style noodles (I found them in the Asian isle at Wegmans)
4 hard boiled egg (or soy pickled eggs)
4 oz steak sliced thin (I used leftover)
1/4 cup green onion
1/4 cup sliced zucchini
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tbs Hon-Dashi Instant Dashi (Bonito Stock: This is the Asian version of Soup bullion that is made from Tuna. No not the canned albacore with Charlie Tuna waving at you, but the actual good stuff. You can find a jar of it at Wegmans or whole foods or your local Asian market)
1 tbs soy sauce
1" slice ginger
1 tsp sriracha, optional Hot Sauce
1 tbs garlic paste
1/2 cup minced kimchi with liquid.(optional)
1tbs Gochujang (Korean Chili Paste found in Asian foods section of grocery store, optional)
Serves 4.


In a large pot boil vegetable broth, Hon-Dashi Instant Dashi (Bonito Stock), garlic and ginger for about 10 minutes. Reduce to simmer. Add in sriracha, gochujang, kimchi and soy sauce. Let simmer 5 minutes, remove ginger and add in noodles.  Season steak to taste with salt and pepper and cook to medium rare (it will cook more once put into the hot broth) Slice the steak thin. Slice the hard boiled egg (pickled eggs are good here to), chop the green onion and thinly slice or shave zucchini.  Put the noodles and broth into bowls. Top with eggs, steak, green onion and zucchini. Serve hot.

Kim Who? Kim Chi

So anyone who knows me well knows that i have a tendency to stick to something i like until i get sick of it or move on to that "next" interesting thing. I will listen to a band i like exclusively for  months (my best friend once threw out my Highlander Sound Track because she was so sick of hearing it), I will read only one author until i run out of books they have written and in that vein I have been on an all out Asian food kick for about a month now.

So whats a girl on an Asian diet to do....well when life gives you cabbage, make Kimchi.

I have had Kimchi before..the nasty stuff you buy at Wegmans that tastes like overly fermented, fizzy mush.  I grew up listening to my Grandfathers horror stories about the smell of Kimchi and how when he was in Korea he could not stand the stuff.  You would thing that the those would both be good enough reason for me to be incurious about it. Not the case. I made my own. I have to tell you, Its GOOOOOD!!!!!

I adjusted the recipe I found on Tigress in a Pickle's Website.

http://tigressinapickle.blogspot.com/2009/07/kimchi.html  (i suggest going to her website...she has step by step pictures)

Kimchi

Ingredients
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tbs gouchujang (fermented chili paste)
6 cups water
2 pounds chinese, savoy, or nappa cabbage, chopped into 2 inch squares
6 scallions cut into 2 inch lengths & slivered
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons korean pepper flakes, or 1 tablespoon cayenne
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
1 cup shredded Korean or diakon radish
1 cup shredded carrot





2 tbs fish sauce
1/4 cup salted shrimp
1 teaspoon sugar (i use raw)
2 quart jar
zip-lock food grade plastic bag


(to make the vegetarian version omit the fish sauce and the shrimp they are optional)
 

first night-

1. dissolve 3 tablespoons of sea salt in water, chop cabbage and place in large crock or bowl. pour brine over cabbage and place a plate inside of bowl to weight down cabbage. i place a bowl of salt water on top of plate, you can use a large can of food, jar of pickles, etc...
2. let stand for 12 hours overnight.

next morning-

1. drain the cabbage and save the brine.
2. chop scallions, ginger and garlic, shred carrots, combine with cabbage.
3. add sugar, last teaspoon of salt, fish sauce, shrimp, chili paste and pepper/paprika to vegetables and mix well. 
4. pack into 2 quart jars, and i mean pack it. i use a wide mouth funnel and then pack it down with the end of a spoon.
5. once all the vegetables are in, pour in the brine to cover. you should have quite a bit left over.
6. pour some of the brine into the plastic zip lock bag and zip. push the filled bag into the neck of the jar. this serves the purpose of weighting it down. putting brine in the bag rather than water ensures that if the bag happens to break you still have the proper water/salt ratio in the mixture. i find a rubber band used on the bag comes in handy for balancing the filled bag in the jar. i also like to place the jar inside a bowl to catch any brine that may leak. this can happen as everything starts to settle and the bag sinks lower into the jar.
you will most likely have some brine left over, pour this into a container and save, you may need to use some to cover as things progress.
7. let this sit at room temperature for 4-7 days. ideally this should be no higher than 68 degrees.
8. after 4 days check to see if it has soured enough to your taste. I find that a solid week is needed for a real kimchi taste. when done, take the brine filled bag out. if the kimchi is not quite covered, pour a bit more brine in to cover.
9. cap jar and place in fridge where kimchi will last perfectly for up to a year. (not that it ever lasts that long.)

Its a simple, easy to follow recipe and it turned out well.


I took my Kimch experiment one step further and Made:

Kimchi and Sweet Potato pancakes 

These were absolutely delicious. The sweet potato mixed with the salted heat of the kimchi makes for an absolute treat! It helps that they are easy and quick to make.

Ingredients
1 or 2  large sweet potatoes
1 cup kimchi (chopped up into pieces)
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup water or kimchi liquid
 Oil to shallow fry


Method 
Peel the sweet potatoes, grate into thin strings.
Take the kimchi out of the container. Do not squeeze out the juice, cut kimchi into small pieces (best to use scissors).
In a large mixing bowl, put in kimchi, flour, potato string .
Add enough water to combine all the ingredients together. Mix quickly until just combined.
Add oil in a hot frying pan so you have about 1cm of oil. When the oil is hot, spoon ¼ cup pre pancake shaped mixture into frying pan . Cook on both sides until golden brown.

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Kimchi bokkeumbap

(kimchi fried rice)

  

This is another simple, quick and tasty dish. Add meat if you want it to be a main dish, leave it without for a side. I made it with just the veggies.

Ingredients:

1 cup short-grain cooked rice (day-old is best)
1/2 cup cabbage kimchi, chopped (remove the brine)
1 large red chilli pepper (If you like less heat just a red pepper will do in a pinch)
1 stalk green onion
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbs Gochujang (chili paste)

1 tbp sesame oil
1tbs  garlic, minced
1 tbs light soy sauce or to taste

Method:

Firstly, heat up your pan until almost smoking.  Add 1 tbsp of cooking oil.  Turn heat to low.  Add garlic, kimchi and Gochujang.  Stir fry about 30 seconds.  Add sesame oil and add in the rice and start stir-frying.  Turn heat to high.  Continue stir-frying for about 3 minutes to get everything mixed in well.  Add kimchi and the sliced chilli pepper and fry again.  Season with the light soy sauce to taste, remove from heat and spoon into bowl.  Garnish with some green onions and sesame seeds.   

Sprouting a love

I love to cook. I love to eat. I love bean sprouts. What i dont love is the inability in norther Pa to find fresh bean sprouts that dont cost an arm and a leg. Well I found the cure to my sprout pains. I grew my own. Its extreemly simple. I am not sure why i didn't do it before.

Bean Sprouts

All you need are large glass canning jars, small squares of cloth, rubber bands, water and 1/4 cup of beans or lentils. I chose organic lentals. 1 bag at wegmans costs 2.50$ (bean sprouts cost 3.49 this is already cheaper) 

add 1/4 cup of the lentils/beans to the jar and fill the jar with water. Let set for 24 hours. Drain off  the water thoroughly and cover the top of the jar with cloth and secure with a rubber band.  Rinse the bean/lentils twice a day. I did once in the morning when i cleaned up breakfast and once around dinner clean up time. Do this for 5 days. And miraculously sprouts will appear.  I like lentil sprouts. I eat them raw, or cooked. If your sprouts are a bit pale in color put them in the windowsill for a day or two. Once they are about 1/2 inch long they are ready to eat.

Its interesting to note that there are about 8 jar's worth of sprout making lentils per 2.50$ bag.  soooo much cheaper than buying sprouts.

Cold and Sick = Hot Cocoa

There are two times I like hot chocolate, when I am sick or on the first snow day of the year....Today i am sick.
I have in my possession the most incredible hot chocolate recipe. It cures all ills and makes frigged days nice and toasty.

Aztec Hot Chocolate

5 cups of water
1 dehydrated red chili pepper ( poke a hole or two in it for more heat)
7 Tbs Baking Cocoa
2 cinnamon sticks
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbs vanilla extract

Put the cinnamon sticks and chili pepper in the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat and whisk in sugar. Then Whisk chocolate in one tablespoon at a time to prevent clumping.  Add vanilla and simmer for 5 minutes, stir occasionally. Serve.