Cooking Korean

Our first home cooked Korean meal.

Joseph and I decided to try our hand at cooking Korean.

After asking a few of our Korean friends we decided upon the spicy stew: 닭도리탕 (Dokduri tang) and 김치전, kimchijeon (kimchi pancake).

our traditional side dishes included kimchi (aged) and the yellow radish (sweet)
delicious home cooked Korean meal!

A Korean friend gave me his mothers recipes for both dishes and for our first try they turned out very well.

The only thing I would change next time around for the spicy stew is add less spice.  If you like your food spicy this is a fine amount (per the recipe) but if you are not a spicy food person or just prefer to try it first to see how spicy it is, only use 1 spoonful of the hot pepper paste.  It is plenty hot and spicy with that 1 spoonful (normally you would add 2 spoonfuls of hot pepper paste).

Dokduri tang: Spicy chicken stew

1.) make the sauce: 2:4:1 ratio  (normal cereal or soup spoon)
        *2 spoonfuls of hot pepper paste, 4 spoonfuls of soy sauce, 1 spoonful of sesame oil (if you don't have it, olive oil works)  the sauce will not be thin.
stir everything together in a bowl and set it aside

this is the sauce. only add 1 spoonful if you don't like a lot of spice
this hot pepper paste must be added to give the soup its flavor

2.) get a medium large pot out and fill with water.  put it to boil.

3.)  when the water is boiling add 1 whole chicken cut up (if you want to take the skin off and the bones, it's up to your personal preference)

4.) wait about 3 or 4 minutes then add the potatoes (about 4 or 5 roughly cut in inch or 2 inch chunks)

5.) after you add the chicken and potatoes you can add the remaining ingredients as they are ready in any order:

6.) add the sauce (number 1 above)

7.) add onions (about 4 or so cut in rough pieces--not small)

8.) add scallions if you have them (no worries if you don't)

9.) if you would like to add 1 tsp. of chili powder, add it last.  I did not add this and it was spicy enough.  I was told this was for flavor but I thought it had enough flavor so I didn't add.  Joseph and I didn't even miss it...personal preference in my mind.















 10.) let this simmer and cook until it looks right.  It won't look too thick but it will look cooked down a bit and just look delicious.  Taste often.  It took me about an hour for it to look and taste like it should on med-low heat after if boiled about 10 minutes.

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Kimchi Pancakes:

These are easy to make, just a bit of prep to get going.

It will take you about 30 minutes or so to prep everything then about 20 or 40 minutes to make in the frying pan--depending on how much batter and how large or small you make each one.  Usually the Korean people make them large and thin.  I made these large and thick because we have a small frying pan and I didn't want to stand there for longer than necessary. 

Play around with it and see what you like.  Add a little soy sauce on the side for dipping if you like.

Combine everything in a mixing bowl:

*2 egg yolks
*2 1/2 cups of flour (튀김가루 fried flour) if you don't have this, just use white flour
*aged kimchi: you will need more than you think you will.  there wasn't a specific amount my friend's mom said but I ended up putting in about 3 cups of the aged kimchi.  Use scissors and cut it into bite sized pieces.  
*1 small green pumpkin pealed and cut up into small bits (the entire pumpkin)
*water: just enough for a cookie batter consistency

**mix everything together

After you have everything prepared take your frying pan and a bit of oil or butter and put a smidge in the pan to help it not stick and then proceed to make your pancakes.

Remember, the Korean people usually make them very thin and large.  If you are using a large frying pan your mixture should fill most of the pan with enough room to flip it.  Just wait until it is solid enough to flip.  It should be a bit brown but not burned on the other side.  It may take a few to get the hang of it.

The kimchi will give it a spicy flavor but it isn't overpowering or too spicy.  Just enough kick to put a smile on your face.

This recipe made more than Joseph and I could eat so I brought the remainder to work the next day and the Korean's liked them and ate them up very quickly so they were either hungry or they actually liked them. 
 

mixture before I began cooking it.

this is the first one. I should have cooked it a bit longer.

let's see if it tastes good!

I filled this large pot about 3/4 of the way
and it cooked down to approximately half a pot

they should be thinner than this. about half the thickness

delicious dinner!  yummy!