HOW TO COOK BULDAK (RECIPE)

HOW TO COOK BULDAK (RECIPE) -Buldak is a Korean chicken dish that has become popular for its hot and spicy taste. Many young people like this dish especially to those Soju lovers because this dish is very good to accompany alcoholic beverages. Its name derived from the Korean term 'Buk' that literally means 'fire' in English and the term 'Dak' is for the chicken. It is really like fire chicken because from the very first bite, you'll feel the very hot and spicy character of this dish. The industry for this dish is rapidly growing because this dish is not old as Kimchi but has earned its very good reputation. Many restaurants and food carts are serving this dish because they find this Buldak thing as a considerable contributor to their growing sales. Soup and stews are served with this dish to suit the taste of the customers. Many restaurants offer many kinds of combo dishes to choose from which the Buldak is the main dish. Almost any part of chicken are used in making this dish. The most common part used is breast and drumstick. Wing is also abundantly used depending on how much per serving the Buldak is offered. Also, many variations of sauce are offered in the market, from super hot and spicy to sweet and sour that kids always love. To me, Buldak is similar to chicken barbecue only this dish is always served with the touch of hot chili from many degrees of hotness. In Korea this days, you can barely find bars that do not offer this dish. Here is the recipe:

                               image source: wikipedia.org


HOW TO COOK BULDAK (RECIPE)

Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
3 small chicken breasts (cut in halves)
cooking oil

For the marinade
3 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon pure honey
2 tablespoon rice wine
1/4 bundle spring onions
2 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)
sesame oil

For the sauce
3 tablespoon hot chili powder
2 jalapenos
1/2 cup Asian pear
1 small onion
4 cloves garlic
3 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoon pure honey

Preparation and Cooking procedure:
1. Prepare the chicken by washing through running water.
2. In a bowl, combine together the ingredients for the marinade.
3. Marinade the chicken for 1 hour.
4. In a pan, pour cooking oil. Fry the chicken until golden brown.
5. In a blender, combine together all the remaining ingredients including the marinade. Puree the mixture.
6. In the same pan, combine together all the ingredients and cook for another 4 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
7. Transfer in a serving plate and serve with rice or beer.

HOW TO COOK BULDAK (RECIPE)

HOW TO COOK JEONBOKJUK (RECIPE)

HOW TO COOK JEONBOKJUK (RECIPE) -Jeonbokjuk is a very thick rice porridge from Korea. It is very similar to Jook of China only Jeonbokjuk is way thicker which is more like risotto. There are many rice porridge in Asia that I put in my favorites list and one of them is this Jeonbokjuk porridge. There are many kinds of ingredients used in this dish. From simple carrots to cilantro, green onions to black pepper. Many street food carts and food shops in Korea offer this dish. We know that many street food carts roam in downtown Seol and most of them serve Jeonbokjuk. I would like to share with you this recipe because the winter is coming and one of the best dishes to eat during winter is this food. It can warm you up especially when you ate the hot and spicy version. But what I am going to share with you is the simple yet delicious version. It is not that spicy so everyone would love it even the small kids but if you want a hot and spicy one, there is no problem at all, just add chili powder or freshly ground pepper to the recipe. We are going to add Laver but this is just optional. You can remove it from the ingredients according to your preference. Here is the recipe.

                                image source: wikipedia.org


HOW TO COOK JEONBOKJUK (RECIPE)

INGREDIENTS
1 cup glutinous rice
3 small abalone (chopped)
3 teaspoon sesame oil
8 cups water
1 teaspoon rock salt
1 teaspoon fish sauce (patis)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
5 stalks spring onions (chopped)
4 tablespoon minced carrots
1 bundle cilantro (chopped)
1 pc laver (roasted)

Preparation and cooking procedure
1. In a bowl, wash the glutinous rice and soak up in the water for 1 1/2 hours. Drain after.
2. In a pot, add sesame oil. Add garlic and minced until light brown.
3. Add carrots and abalone. Saute for half a minute.
4. Add the rice and saute. Stir until the rice is almost translucent.
5. Add the water, close the lid, bring to boil and simmer for half an hour. Stir from time to time to keep it from burning at the bottom.
6. When almost cooked, lower the heat. Add the fish sauce and salt. Stir so that the salt and fish sauce mix perfectly with the rice.
7. Pour in the individual serving bowls and garnish with spring onions, cilantro roasted laver sheet.
8. And serve while hot.

HOW TO COOK JEONBOKJUK (RECIPE)

HOW TO MAKE SOJU

HOW TO MAKE SOJU -Soju I think is the most popular wine in Korea. It is very abundant that you can find it from almost every food carts in the city of Seoul. I am not a drinker but I could observe that when the sun sets in the evening, many Koreans are gathering all around the downtown eating some food and drinking Soju. Brewing your own Soju is advisable because you can have the power of controlling the amount of alcohol and sugar content of your Soju according to your personal preferences. Making Soju is not that hard. All it takes is only  less than a month for the wine to be brewed completely. There are few things to remember when making Soju: First, when brewing, make sure the content is undisturbed to guarantee its higher alcohol content. Secondly, you can adjust the amount of sugar if you want to make it a bit sweeter than usual. Thirdly, you can add water to the finished product if you want to lower its alcohol content. Lastly, check for gas build-up in the container, if this happens, lightly open the lid to release the pressure. Here is the procedure:

                              

HOW TO MAKE SOJU

INGREDIENTS
water (cold)
1/2 cup Nuruk enzyme
1 regular pack beer yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups rice

Preparation and procedure for brewing Soju
1. In a colander, put the rice and wash thoroughly with running water.
2. Transfer in a bowl and add the cold water. Soak for an hour.
3. Using rice steamer, steam the rice for an hour. Remove from steamer and let rest for 6 minutes.
4. Put the rice in a container with sealable cap. Add 4 cups of cold water, Nuruk enzyme and yeast.
5. Stir perfectly to dissolve yeast and nuruk enzyme. Put the cap and seal.
6. During the first 5 days, stir the mixture two times each day and put back the cap and reseal.
7. After the first five days, make sure the mixture is undisturbed until the last day of brewing.
8. After 25 days of brewing, the mixture is ready to be filtered.
9. Using a cheesecloth, filter the mixture to separate the wine from the rice.
10. Add sugar to the wine and stir until the sugar is perfectly dissolved.
11. And serve.

HOW TO MAKE SOJU

HOW TO COOK GALBITANG (KALBITANG RECIPE)

HOW TO COOK GALBITANG (KALBITANG RECIPE) -Galbitang or Kalbitang is a Korean soup with many variations which are made from beef short ribs. Onions and Daikons are the primary ingredients for this dish. Its name derived from Korean terms 'galbi' which means short ribs and 'tang' means stew. The technique in cooking this dish is slow cooking for a longer period of time that gives the dish a tasty soup and also makes the beef tender. In Korea, Galbitang is commonly served as main course, also served with rice and some grilled fish. Someone told me that Galbitang used to be a very fancy dish in 17th century that only the member of royal families could afford and eat. In Korea, this food is also served in many family occasions such as baptismal, wedding, birthdays and even family reunions. This dish is also commonly cooked with some noodles and vegetables like radish. I have seen many versions of this dish like from clear soup to ones with soy sauce in it. Galbitang is also one of the perfect foods to be eaten during winter and rainy season because the hot soup gives our body warmth. If you are a hot and spicy dish lover, then i suggest that you add some spicy ingredients to your Galbitang but you don't want it to be like that if there is little kid you expect to eat your Galbitang. As always, you can improve my recipe according to your taste and preference. Here is the recipe:

                                image source: wikipedia.org



HOW TO COOK GALBITANG (KALBITANG RECIPE)

Cook Time: 80 minutes
Yield: 4 servings



INGREDIENTS
32 ounce beef short ribs (cut into serving pieces)
1 small Chinese white radish (peeled and sliced into 1 inch thick)
100grams bihon noodles
1/2 tablespoon salt
2 scallions (sliced into thin pieces)
4 cups water

Sauce Ingredients:
6 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

PREPARATION AND COOKING PROCEDURE
1. Prepare the ribs by washing thoroughly with running water to get rid of blood.
2. In a bowl, combine together the sauce ingredients. Add the radish. Set aside.
3. In a pot, pour 4 cups of water, add the ribs and bring to a boil. When boiling, lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Remove the scum as much as possible.
4. Add the radish and sauce mixture and simmer for additional 5 minutes.
5. Add the noodles and simmer for additional 5 minutes.
6. Add the scallions and simmer for another 1 minute.
7. Transfer in individual serving bowls and serve.

HOW TO COOK GALBITANG (KALBITANG RECIPE)

HOW TO MAKE YEMA (RECIPE)

HOW TO MAKE YEMA (RECIPE) -Yema is a very delicious sweet custard candy which is very popular in the Philippines. This is one of the favorite 'pasalubong' of the Filipinos. Pasalubong is a Filipino term for going back home present. This gooey candy is made from egg yolks primarily combined with condensed milk and some butter. Making yema is not that difficult unlike what others think or say. I have tried many versions of this dessert and I discovered that you can make many versions of it. You can add vanilla sauce, maple syrup, apple sauce and many kinds of flavorings. I tried adding chocolate but I ended up adding coffee because my goal was to make my Yema more brownish, the outcome with chocolate was good though. If you are in the Philippines and you are going to ride a bus, many street vendors ride along and going to offer you packs of Yema candies. This candy is commonly wrapped with cellophane plastic but many makers use wax paper to keep the yema from sticking to its wrapper. We are not going to need sugar for this recipe because condensed milk is already sweet unless you want your yema to be more sweet than it is supposed to be. The price of this dessert is not expensive at all. A pack with 20 small pieces I think only cost 10 pesos or at least 20 pesos tops. Some of the preparations are different that you can even notice it from the texture. Some are as hard as the commercial candies and some are like very chewy. If you are having a family reunion, Yema would be perfect for desserts and also for going away present for your relatives. If you are a mother of small kids, this one is a good treat because kids love Yema, but I would like to remind you that tell your kids to brush their teeth after eating it because the sugar it contains will break the sugar into acid that can destroy their teeth if not brushed. Here is my easy Yema recipe:

 

  HOW TO MAKE YEMA (RECIPE)

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 20 small pieces


INGREDIENTS
1 regular size can of condensed milk
3 eggs (yolk is what we need, set aside the whites for other purposes)
2 teaspoon butter

MAKING YEMA PROCEDURE
1. Put the skillet over low heat.
2. Pour the condensed milk and egg yolks while stirring.
3. Add the butter. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens.
4. When the desired thickness is achieved, remove the skillet from heat.
5. Cut the plastic wrapper into 3x3 inch squares.
6. Scoop the mixture and roll it into a ball and wrap. Do the process for the remaining mixture.

HOW TO MAKE YEMA (RECIPE)