Category: Grains

Posted on

Gluten-Free* Breakfast Bars or Snack Bars, Choice is Yours

I baked gluten-free breakfast bars (or snack bars or non-granola “granola bars”, whichever) over the weekend. They were chewy, hearty, sweet, and delicious. We enjoyed them as breakfast bars with coffee, and as snack bars later in the day. Since I don’t bake often, my husband thoroughly enjoyed these rare homemade treats.

I rarely bake, because I don’t like the hassle of having to measure out every ingredient. But baking soothes my soul. And my soul needed soothing last weekend. Hurricane Irene paralyzed NYC over the weekend. EVERYTHING shut down. Luckily, we didn’t get the brunt of the storm. But many of our neighboring states and cities are still reeling from the aftermath. My thoughts are with them.

Continue Reading Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars or Snack Bars . . .

Posted on

Nokdu Bindaetteok (Mung Bean Pancakes with Dipping Sauce)

Nokdu Bindaetteok (Korean Mung Bean Pancakes) is my maternal grandmother’s specialty. Nokdu Bindaetteok, which directly translates to Mung Bean Pancake, is usually made with sliced pork, kimchi, sukju namul (mung bean sprouts), and sometimes gosari namul (bracken fern shoots). But I’m omitting the pork for this Nokdu Bindaetteok/Mung Bean Pancake recipe, making this dish vegan. And for the base of the batter? Simply, soaked mung beans and rice. Flour-free. Gluten-free. Dairy-free. Just delicious goodness.

Keep in mind; when you dine at a restaurant, mung bean pancakes are not necessarily gluten-free unless specifically stated. Restaurants can add different types of flour to the batter – not a good thing. Additionally, dipping sauces can contain gluten. So always ask. Don’t assume.

Happy Eating!

Continue Reading Nokdu Bindaetteok . . .

Posted on

Vegetarian Bibimbap with Gochujang Sauce

Cooking in a tiny NYC kitchen can be a challenge. Most of the kitchens in the home renovation magazines that are described as tiny are palatial compared to a small NYC kitchen. I guess it’s all relative, because some NYCers would say our kitchen is “roomy”. We have most of our bowls and plates still packed in boxes, because we just don’t have the storage for them. We make due with 3 bowls (my husband broke one), 3 salad plates (ditto on the husband), and 4 dinner plates. So nope; I’m not exaggerating when I say TINY.

When there is a lot of prep work involved, it’s a challenge – not only because of the lack of space, but also because my dinnerware often doubles as my prep bowls. I wasn’t surprised when I ran out of my bowls prepping for this Bibimbap. So I ended up serving this dish on plates. Bibimbap, which is normally a “rice bowl”, ended up being a “rice plate”. But it was so satisfying and delicious just the same…

Continue Reading Vegetarian Bibimbap with Gochujang Sauce . . .

Posted on

No-Cook Vegan Bibimbap


It’s been so sweltering hot in NYC lately. I just can’t bear to cook anything over a hot stove top. Hmm… I look in my fridge and see that I have carrots, leftover Oi Sangche, romaine, and avocado. And I always have my go-to Korean hot chili pepper paste, Gochujang, in the pantry. Same goes for cooked rice in my rice cooker – a reason you should really think about investing in one if you don’t have one. Perfect for a simple Bibimbap.

I’m not a fan of complicated recipes with a list of 20 ingredients I’ve never heard of or will never use again. It’s a fun read, but not really practical in execution. I try to make my cooking as simple as possible so that I am more likely to cook – instead of just thinking that I should. No-cook bibimbap is a perfect example. Not only is it easy, it’s healthy. AND I am using up ingredients that may go bad in a few days. Simple and economical, it’s my kind of dish.

Continue Reading No-Cook Vegan Bibimbap . . .

Posted on

Germinated Brown Rice

So because this is the first week that I’m blogging, I’m starting with the basics of Korean food.  And I begin with the most basics of Korean food – rice – but with a twist.

I started cooking a few years ago to eat healthier. Since then, I’ve cut back on fried foods, sugar, and “white” foods. White rice was the first – and the easiest – thing to cut back. I love the texture and the nutty flavor of brown rice. I get the fiber and other nutritional benefits without feeling deprived at all. So when I learned that germinating brown rice before cooking dramatically improves the health benefits of the already healthy grain, I immediately gave it a try.

Germinated brown rice, AKA GABA rice or GBR (germinated brown rice) for short, is traditionally achieved by soaking the rice for 16-20 hours. Wha?!! 20 hours??? I know it takes time. But it doesn’t take all that much effort. Rinse it. Soak it. And change the water every 5-6 hours. The cool part is, you will know when it’s ready. You will see the grains JUST ABOUT to sprout. You don’t want it to full-on sprout. You are supposed to use warm water. But I use cool water. It’s easier. And more importantly, it works.

Continue Reading Germinated Brown Rice . . .