Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

Kimchi Recipe

~ Etc.

The first time I made kimchi, it failed. It wasn’t a good recipe to begin with(so ignore my first kimchi recipe for your own sake) and I didn’t let it sit in room temperature for 1-2 days but instead put it in the refrigerator right after the making.

My goal is to make the world’s best kimchi along with the world’s best pad-thai) so I attempted for the second time. I found this kimchi video here and it’s wonderful! While watching it I realized this recipe was very similar to the one my mom used and DUH! I should’ve known, I helped her make it many times in my childhood! I didn’t use leeks or oysters but used all the rest and it turned out great…EXCEPT this time I let it sit out for too long, darn it! I let it sit out for 1 1/2 days but I think just 1 day would’ve been suffice. So it’s a little too sour right now which is actually perfect for kimchi fried rice or kimchi soup, so I made kimchi soup with it and turned out delicious. And practice makes perfect and failure means your next result will only be better right?…..RIGHT? (you better be nodding! 😉

Kimchi Soup

1 1/2 C. sour kimchi
1/4 lb pork loin (more the better is my theory. Pork MAKES the kimchi soup.)
2 C. water
1 C. kimchi juice
1 sliced green onion
1 cup tofu (extra firm)

1 T. korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
1/2 T. korean chili paste (gochujang)
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 t. garlic powder
2-3 pinches of black pepper

1. Put 1 1/2 c. water in a pot to boil. In the meantime, in a pan coated with vegetable oil, fry the kimchi. Then trasnfer the kimchi to the boiling water and add pork, kimchi juice, chili flakes, paste, soy sauce, garlic, garlic powder and black pepper. Let it boil and then let it simmer for about 45-60 mins. About 10 mins. before serving, add tofu and a few mins. before serving, add the green onions.

SamGaeTang Recipe

~ Etc.

I decided I’ll post more Asian cooking recipes since we eat Asian food(mostly Korean) about 80% of the time for dinner. I don’t think anyone will complain about that. 🙂 Sorry for all you people out there, but Korean food really is the best food in the world. Okay, Thai food and Chinese and sushi comes very close. 🙂 Even Jay the China Irish man admits Korean food is better than Chinese, GASP~!!! Haha but there are some amazing Chinese dishes out there too, I gotta admit.

So don’t be afraid to try these recipes! I’ve always told people that cooking/baking isn’t hard at all, if you know how to read then you’re a cook! You just need a good recipe to be a good cook. Simple as that. And of course it requires some time, especially when it comes to Korean food. Every dish is really made with TenderLoveCare which I think is wonderful. My mom cooked every single night and I do too and it’s one of the greatest ways to show the family your love. I do apologize for not the most precise measurements of the ingredients since I cook from my head and make it up as I go and not by a recipe.

This is Jay’s top 5 favorite Korean food. 😉
SamGaeTang
1 Whole chicken
7-10 Garlic cloves
10 Dried dates*
2-3 Dried ginseng*
Salt & pepper to taste
1 C. green onions
*dried dates and dried ginseng can be bought at Asian markets. FYI: the dried ginsengs are quiet expensive, my mom brings me some from Korea and it’s about $100 a small bag. That’s why this is considered a gourmet food, a little pricey but very healthy and nutritious. If you don’t want to use ginseng, then just make it without, it’ll still taste good. 🙂
Fill a big pot with water and bring it to a boil. Put in a whole chicken, the water should be covering the entire chicken and some more. Throw in garlic, dates and ginseng. Bring it to a boil. Then turn the heat to medium heat and cover with a little opening in one corner. It should be boiling gently. Let it boil for 3 hrs. The meat should be very soft and it should be falling of the bones by touch. Poke at the meat with a fork and get all the meat out and throw the bones away. Don’t worry about getting all the small bones out.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve it with sweet white rice or white rice and top it with chopped green onions.

Thai Chicken

~ Etc.

Two super easy, super simple reciples. But oh so devine!



Thai Chicken
Chicken drumsticks
Vegetable oil
Sweet chili sauce
Coat the pan with vegetable oil. Lay the drumsticks on the pan, pour the chili sauce over the drumsticks and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Pour a little more chili sauce on the chicken right before serving.
Asparagus
Asparagus
Oilive oil
Salt & pepper
Spread the asparagus on the pan. Pour olive oil over it and mix until the asparagus is coated evenly with the oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste and bake at 375 degrees for 20 mins.


Adi ate THREE drumsticks. THREE! I ate two! And she refused to let us cut up the chicken and was so adamant on holding the whole thing herself. Do you think she liked the Thai Chicken? I wasn’t quiet sure. 😉

California Sushi

~ Etc.

Whoa, I just went on a blogging frenzy and wrote like 9 new posts. I won’t bombard you with them all at once so I’ll post them throughout the week. 😉

I make this quiet often because it’s healthy and yummy.
Ingredients:
imitation crab
cucumbers
avacados
sandwich meat(I like turkey)
carrots
eggs
Seaweed cut in squares
rice
Soy sauce (roasted sesame seeds and wasabi optional for the sauce)
Cut the ingredients like pictured above. Then on top of the seaweed you put a little bit of rice and the other ingredients according to desire, roll it up and dip it in the soysauce.

Apple Cobbler and Banana Bread

~ Etc.

I made apple cobbler last week and Jay loved it so much that’s all he’s been talking about. And he asked me to make some today so I did. I made it 2 hrs. ago and it’s gone already. ^ ^ I also made banana bread and I love the smell that’s permeating throughout the house right now.

Apple Cobbler

6 T. butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. flour
1 c. oats
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
6 apples

Peel and cut up the apples. Melt butter, then add the ingredients and mix well. Pour the topping over the apples in a pan. Bake at 375 for 30 mins.


Banana Bread

1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
3 bananas (the blacker the better 🙂
1 c. buttermilk
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. baking powder
3 c. flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas, buttermilk, baking soda, salt & flour. Butter pan. Pour into two loaf pans. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes, then at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

*I didn’t have any buttermilk so I looked up for substitution and found this recipe! Pour 1 T.white vinegar or lemon juice in a 1 c. measuring cup and fill the rest with milk to make 1 c. Let it sit for 5 mins.

I love Fall! But everytime this season comes around I get lonely easily, I eat a lot more and I want to read more. Is it just me?