Ojinguh Bokeum Version 2.0 - Squid Stir Fry - (??? ??)

Both the MR and Munchkin *LOVE* squid. When we go to a Chinese restaurant, Munchin is not like other kids. He doesn't ask for jja-jang-myun at all and will instead ask for jjam-bbong AKA the noodles with ojinguh. =P We took advantage of the long weekend and headed out to Santa Monica Beach yesterday. We acted like total tourists and rented bicycles and zipped up and down the beach. If you

Spicy Crab Soup - (???)

I made this over the weekend, but I've been lazy to put it up. Like always, there are a variety of ways to make this dish, but I tend to cheat and buy the marinated crab at the K-markets. Why? Because it's already fully seasoned and all CLEAN and cut - bottom line, it saves me a lot of time. I would say this is roughly about 1 lb. of spicy crab. When the K-market has fresh ggot-gae (

Uh-Mook Jorim - Fish Cakes - ?? ??

I apologize about the sporadic updates. One of my New Year's resolutions was to spend more time on this blog and hopefully make a mini-cookbook by the end of this year. =P We'll see how that goes since I'm not very motivated to do much these days. I've put up an uh-mook bokeum recipe up before, and this following recipe is quite similar, only with more liquid. Instead of pan-frying the

Seafood Kalgooksoo - ?? ???

My friend and I were dining at Moo Dae Po II (I wonder why it got such a bad review on yelp?) the other week and they had this seafood noodle pot that they gave us at the end. They used thinner noodles at the restaurant, but kalgooksoo noodles is what I had in my pantry so it had to do. Not to be a noodle whore, but these didn�t taste that great. =/ I would suggest choosing a thinner

Spicy Shrimp - (?? ?? ??)

Back in the day, I used to frequent a certain cafe in K-town that had this spicy shrimp dish. The cafe is no longer there, but I figured I could try and replicate the dish. First wash and peel about half a pound of shrimp. In a small bowl, mix together to following: 1TB red pepper paste, 1/2TB red pepper powder, 3/4TB honey powder, 1TB rice wine, 1/4TB minced garlic.

Fish Cake Stir Fry - (?? ??)

I had some fish cake patties leftover from the kimbap the other day, so I decided to make some bokeum with it. First cut it up into smaller pieces. Chop up some onion... Add some oil to a pan and mix together both the uh-mook and onions with a generous portion of sesame oil and about 1/2 TB of minced garlic. Throw in some broccoli and a dash of red pepper powder.

Omelet Rice - (?? ???)

I decided to make omelet rice this morning with the leftover fried rice from yesterday. It's super easy and a nice twist to make two meals with one. First beat two eggs with a little bit of milk. Grease a large pan and turn up the heat to about medium-low. Spread out the egg nice and evenly and let it cook on low heat. When it's almost cooked through,

Shrimp Fried Rice - (?? ???)

There's so many ways to make shrimp fried rice and this is the way I do it. It tastes more Korean style in my opinion. Things Needed: 1 cup of chopped shrimp 1/2 cup each of celery, carrots, onions and corn 3-4 cups of cooked cold rice sesame oil, soy sauce, minced garlic It's strange being in the Midwest. The local grocery store didn't have any fresh shrimp! I had to

Ojinguh Moochim - Cold Squid with Cucumbers - (??? ??)

I went to the K-market yesterday and was originally planning to make some ojinguh gook, but last minute decided to just make ojinguh moochim instead. This goes really well with choong-moo kimbap (basically just rice and gim). First wash and cut two squid. I don't know why some people get so freaked out about squid but can eat calamari. =P Cut up the squid into two inch pieces like

Godeunguh Kimchi Jorim - Steamed Mackerel & Kimchi - (??? ?? ??)

Needed: 1/2 salted mackerel 1 cup fermented kimchi 1/4 chopped onion 1 stalk of green onion 3 TB sesame oil and 1 TB minced garlic They were having a sale on mackerel at the K-market so I bought a package of it and decided to make some kimchi jorim. You can easily pan fry mackerel and enjoy it without anything extra, but every once in a while I like to change it up.

Fried Shrimp - (?? ??)

Needed:1 lb. shrimpTempura batterPanko crumbs2 eggsdash of salt, pepper, and garlic saltThere are many ways to make fried shrimp, and today I decided to use panko bread crumbs.First wash, clean and devein about 1 LB. of shrimp.Then add a generous amount of tempura powder into a Ziploc bag and throw in as many shrimp that will fit at a time and shake it around.Take the tempura coated shrimp and

Ojinguh Gook - Squid Soup - (????)

This is almost exactly like standard moo gook, but instead of beef broth~ you are using anchovy broth with squid.Needed:1 squid1 cup of chopped moo1/2 cup green onions1 cup kongnamool (bean sprouts)1 mushroom (or more)1/2 jalapeno1/4 sliced onionanchovy/dashima1 TB sesame oil, 3 TB gook ganjang, 1/2 TB minced garlic, 1 TB rice wineFirst wash and clean one squid. The butcher at the K-market was

Getting Close (but not too close) to Your Food - A day of Crabbing

Since I grew up in the Shenandoah Valley, I am new to crabbing, but to my husband who spent many of his formative years in Annapolis Maryland, crabbing is a way of life, an experience that takes him back to a time that he remembers very fondly. For that reason, he really loves taking our kids (or even friends of our kids) crabbing. He wants to recapture those carefree, long summer days with sunburn,bay breezes, and mosquito bites and share it.

Crabbing is so much more fun than fishing, a lot faster-paced, and how can you not like something that gives you an excuse to enjoy sun and water, the fun of a treasure hunt, the danger of a creature who defends itself by pinching...hard. Oh, and then there are the steamed crabs, Old Bay and melted butter.

We are fortunate in that my old (meaning previous) boss has a house with a pier that is the perfect place for crabbing, and since he has a boat lift, it casts a shadow so that you are not in the blazing sun for the whole time.

We catch crabs the old-fashioned way- with a chicken neck tied to a string. You cast the chicken out (holding onto the end of the string attached to a piling and wait to see the telltale jerks that signal a bite. Then, ever so slowly (too fast and the crab will let go) you reel him in and then snatch it up in a net. If it is big enough, we put them in a crab trap until you have enough for dinner. If it is too small or a female (only males, or jimmies, can be kept), back into the water it goes.

So here is my husband's recipe for a great day crabbing:


1 fishing net
A package of chicken necks
At least two kids
A cooler with some drinks and snacks
Sunblock
A cool breeze off the water

Mix these together with some crabs, and you will learn what getting close to your food (and your kids) is all about!

Potted Shrimp (or Dracula Shrimp)

As part of our British night for the Olympics, since I had made the beef and Yorkshire pudding before, I wanted to make something new and different, so I perused the available options in my Treasury of Great Recipes by Vincent and Mary Price, and I was stopped by a recipe that the Prices attributed to their friends, the Karloffs (as in Boris Karloff),who served this dish for dinner. Once I read the story, I had to try this dish (I can't resist a recipe with a story).

Potted shrimp is apparently a well-known and common appetizer in England, served with crackers or bread. While the recipe called for tiny shrimp, I used regular shrimp and chopped it up fine. I think if I made this again I would grate a bit of onion into the shrimp as well. However, this dish will not be known as potted shrimp in our house. They immediately dubbed it "Dracula Shrimp" in honor of it's origin. Give it a try-it's devilishly delicious!!

Dracula Shrimp

1 cup tiny salad shrimp or regular shrimp chopped into small pieces
2 tablespoons grated onion
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 tsp mace
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Melt butter and add spices. Mix all ingredients together making sure that shrimp ar covered with butter mixture. Place in a small crock and chill in refrigerator. Spread on crackers or toast.

Shrimp & Asparagus Risotto

Obviously this is NOT a Korean recipe, but the MR is out with his boys tonight which means I get to eat WHATEVER I want to eat! No Korean food! =PTotal Cooking Time: 1 hourThis is a recipe I first tried sometime last year when I saw it in Redbook (the magazine) and I have since tweaked it to my liking. =PObviously you will need some shrimp and asparagus. In this case about 3/4 lb. of shrimp

Jo-gae Tang - Clam Soup - (???)

Since Munchkin LOVES clams, I decided to make him some clam soup for breakfast. Throw some salt on top of the clams and then wash it thoroughly under cold water. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil with some anchovy/dashima and 1/2 TB of minced garlic. Throw in the clams and let it boil. Throw in some large green onions and sliced jalapenos and let it boil for about

Hwe Dup Bap - Rice mixed with Sashimi - (???)

This isn't really a recipe, but more like a 'how-to' assemble hwe dup bap.Begin by cutting some fresh sashimi into bite size pieces. Set it aside (inside the fridge) until you need it.Make some chogochujang sauce. It's 6 TB red pepper paste, 1.5 TB sugar, 2.5 TB vinegar and some sesame seeds. (You can even add a splash of 7up to make it a little sweeter). Get some greens and wash and cut it up

Nakji Bokeum with Sari - Stir fry Octopus with Noodles - (?? ?? ? ??)

I only used 1 octopus for the jungol yesterday, so I had 1 left to make nakji bokeum with today. I precut most of my vegetables last night while making the jungol, so dinner today was a breeze!Needed:1 octopus (If you're using more, just double my sauce recipe below) vegetables - I used cabbage, onions, carrots, and mushrooms tonight. (you can use onions, carrots, peppers, cabbage, mushrooms,

Boolnak Jungol - Nakji & Boolgogi - (?? ??)

My hubby actually grilled the boolgogi today while I wasn't home and left just enough over for me to make some boolnak jungol.Needed:2 1/2 cups anchovy/dashima broth1 cup marinaded boolgogi1 nakji (octopus)onions (about 1/4 cup)green onions (about 1/4 cup)bean sprouts (about 1 cup)cabbage (about 1 cup)jjol myun (Korean rice noodles)3 TB red pepper paste2 TB red pepper powder1 TB gook ganjang1 TB

Odeng Gook - (???)

Sunday is our grocery day. The MR, Munchkin and I get into the car and go to the K-market and STOCK UP for the rest of the week. I was orginally planning on making jap-chae today, but while we were at the grocery store the MR requested that I make odeng gook instead (since he drank yesterday). I still bought the ingredients for jap chae, so I will probably make it sometime this week...stay tuned!