Simply Healthy Korean Recipes
I was totally out of commission for over a week due to a terrible cold. I’ve been going nonstop since my California vacation in June. And getting eight hours of sleep was nothing but a feint memory. I was doing relatively OK, albeit a little tired, until a couple of weeks ago. Then… ugh. It’s funny how you are forced to find the time to rest once your body feels like it’s been hit by a mac truck.
Myulchi Bokkeum is one of the most popular banchan (side dishes) in Korea. It might seem a bit too exotic to some. But everyone that I know who has tried this dish has fallen in love with it. And I really mean everyone. Even my little niece at the age of two couldn’t get enough of this delectable side dish. One bite and she was hooked. Luckily, this was one of my aunt’s specialties. And when my brother’s family moved away to a different state, my aunt used to mail huge batches of myulchi bokkeum to my brother for my little niece.
Continue Reading Myulchi Bokkeum (Stir-Fried Dried Anchovies) . . .
Why not serve something unconventional for Mother’s Day? Something with significance and meaning, albeit from another culture?
Miyeok (sea vegetables or seaweed) is a food/ingredient that evokes mothers or motherhood in Korea. In Korea, most postpartum women – maybe almost all – eat miyeok guk (seaweed soup). In fact, hospitals serve miyeok guk to postpartum women to replenish nutrients that may have been depleted during childbirth; and they continue to consume the soup during lactation due to its properties that are believed to stimulate lactation. So it’s apropos that it is traditionally served on birthdays as symbolism for the first food consumed after birth. Thus, it is also a food that connects the mother and child.
Continue Reading Miyeok Juk – Korean Sea Vegetable Porridge . . .
My grandmother used to tell me that I couldn’t ring in the New Year without having some Tteok Manduguk (Korean Rice Cake and Dumpling Soup) according to Korean tradition. Who am I to argue with this long-standing tradition?
I’ve been eating Tteok Manduguk on New Year’s Day as far back as I can remember. When I was young, my grandmother made EVERYTHING from scratch: the filling, the mandu skin, and the broth. I don’t have the luxury of my grandmother’s cooking anymore – haven’t for a few years now. But I still consume tons of the soup come every New Year’s Day, usually at a restaurant.
Continue Reading Tteok Manduguk (Rice Cake and Dumpling Soup) . . .
Seriously. I can eat tofu everyday for the entire month. It’s such a versatile ingredient. There are so many possibilities that I know my palate won’t get bored. Alas. Anything taken to an excess can’t be good for you. Everything in moderation right?
BUT one more day of tofu won’t hurt, no?