Category: recipe

• This dish is perfect when you want to enjoy plenty of both vegetables and meat.
• Half an onion
• Half a pine mushroom
• One small carrot
• Three stalks of green onions
• A little bit of zucchini
• One small bell pepper (It's from our garden.)
• Three small jalapenos.(It's from our garden.)
• Three cloves of garlic
• I picked out only the vegetables from the fridge that taste better when stir-fried.

• I season the meat in advance. You can add it directly while cooking, but if you 're sensitive to the smell of meat like I am, it's better to marinate it beforehand.
• 350g pork shoulder
• 1T ginger wine (Any kind of cooking wine)
• 1T Korean soy sauce
• 1T banana syrup (Agave syrup or sugar)
• 1/3 t ginger powder (using tumeric)
• When marinating meat in advance, it's better to season it lightly, as you'll have a chance to adjust the flavor later.

• Everything is ready to be stir-fried now.
• Lotus root,as well.
• Keep salt and soy sauce near the stove for extra seasoning.

• Flatten the meat and cook it evenly on both sides.

• When the meat is almost done.
• Add the firm lotus root, carrots, and garlic first, and stir-fry them together.

• Then add the onions, bell peppers, zucchini, and jalapenos, and stir-fry them.
• Sprinkle 2-3 pinches of salt, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and stir-fry the vegetables are tender.

• After tasting the meat and the vegetables, I added 1 tablespoon more of soy sauce today since there are a lot of vegetables. For the final seasoning, taste it and adjust according to your preference.
• Add the green onions, give it one more stir, and then turn off the heat.
• Drizzle 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and plate the dish.

• Stir-fried pork and vegetables with soy sauce is quite similar to making Japchae. But without the hassle of cooking glass noodles, it's much easier - just stir- fry the meat and vegetables together.
• If you slice and season a large batch of pork in advance, you can enjoy a variety of dishes over the next few days-- like mapo tofu, japchae, pork bulgogi, bibimbap with pork, or a soy sauce stir-fry with pork and vegetables

• Fine sea salt (Fine Korean solar sea salt)
• Korean soy sauce
• Korean red pepper powder
• Korean sesame seeds
• Korean sesame oil
• vinegar

• Fine sea salt (Adding salt to vegetables makes them not only tastier but also helps you enjoy more of them.)
• Salt with a texture between coarse and fine (With salt of this fine texture, just a small sprinkle is enough to season perfectly)
• We choose to use sea salt because it is rich in minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, and sodium, making it healthier and giving dishes a deeper, more complex flavor compared to refined salt.

• Sun-dried Korean red pepper powder.
• The added spiciness stimulates the appetite and makes vegetables taste even better.
• It is rich in vitamins, with capsaicin and beta- carotene known for their antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties, helping to strengthen the immune system.

• Sesame oil (Just as Italy and Spain have olive oil, we have sesame oil and perilla oil.)
• It adds a nutty flavor to the vegetables.
• It is rich in healthy unsaturated fatty acids, which help regulate blood cholesterol levels and support cardiovascular health. For this reason, sesame oil is a food that adds excellent nutrition and rich flavor to dishes even in small amounts.

• Korean native heirloom sesame seeds from the country.
• Sesame seeds bought from the market become even nuttier and more flavorful if you toast them once more until they're plump and golden.
• A health food packed with a variety of nutrients in tiny seeds.
• It's an incredibly healthy food, rich in good unsaturated fatty acids, plant-based protein, dietary fiber, and minerals such as calcium, potassium, and iron.

• Apple cider vinegar
• It adds a tangy and refreshing flavor. (So, it makes you eat more vegetables. Of course, there are some people who don't, though.)
• Vinegar does a lot more than you might think. The organic acids and polyphenols in vinegar help with digestion, promote fat breakdown, regulate blood sugar, have antibacterial effects, prevent cell damage, and boost immunity. It also helps with gut health, lowering cholesterol, energy metabolism, and fatigue recovery. Because of these great benefits, some people dilute it in water and drink it between meals instead of alcohol.

• Korean soy sauce ( It is an authentic Korean soy sauce, made only from 100% soybeans and salt, following and developing the traditional method passed down through generations.)
• When you want to add a deeper umami flavor, you can use it instead of salt.
• I usually use salt and soy sauce together.
• It contains a rich, deep umami flavor along with various nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants.

• These basic seasoning ingredients are already excellent sources of nutrition on their own.
• If you keep good- quality basic seasoning ingredients on hand, you can always create clean, satisfying dishes. When I feel too lazy to add various ingredients and use pre-mixed sauces instead, they often have an overpowering sweetness, artificial flavor enhancers, and unfamiliar preservative tastes, making it almost impossible to enjoy a truly satisfying dish.
• The taste and healthiness of a dish begin with these unseen, foundational seasonings.
• They say that 80% of a dish's flavor comes from its ingredients. That's why I belive these basic seasoning s are all the more important.

• When you want to eat a lot of vegetables, try this.
• 5 lettuce leaves
• 10 sprigs of cilantro
• 2 small cucumbers
• Wash them all thoroughly and slice thinly

• Basic seasoning for vegetable salad (korean style)
• 3-4 pinches of salt
• 1T whole sesame seeds (Sprinkle lightly)
• 1T sesame oil (Sprinkle lightly)
• 1t korean soy sauce (Adjust the seasoning little by little)
• 1T Korean red pepper powder
• 1T apple cider vinegar

• You can skip the vinegar and just use salt, red pepper powder, sesame seeds, and sesame oil.
• You can season with only soy sauce instead of salt.

• If you add vinegar, it becomes a very refreshing vegetable salad--similar to how olive oil and lemon juice are used together in Western cuisine.
• This salad also pairs well with meat dishes.
• If you buy a bunch of lettuce, a bunch of cilantro, and a bag of small cucumbers and wash them, you can enjoy plenty of fresh vegetables for 3-4days.
• These three vegetables wilt quickly with salt or soy sauce, so it's easy to season and enjoy a large amount in no time.

• Any leafy vegetable with thin leaves can be used as an alternative.
• With beet greens from the garden, 4 stalks of green onion, and 1/8 of an onion, you can easily make a fresh vegetable salad by slicing them thinly.
• The beet greens survived the cold snap in January and are still being harvested and eaten through February.

• A fresh vegetable salad with plenty of green onions pairs perfectly with oven roasted pork belly like this. (I'll share the oven- roasted pork belly recipe next time.)

• Fresh vegetable salad is my favorite vegetable side dish after Kimchi. If cucumbers are added, it becomes a great vegetable side dish on it's own. When grilling meat, if you thinly slice a generous amount of green onions and season them, they become pa-jeori, the best side dish to pair with meat, even surpassing kimchi. My fresh vegetable salad is lighter and less sweet compared to American-style salads, as it doesn't include cheese or sugar. Instead, it becomes a flavorful vegetable side dish where the natural taste of the ingredients shines through, thanks to the combination of mineral-rich sea salt, savory Korean soy sauce, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, red pepper powder, and vinegar.
• On days when you crave plenty of fresh vegetables, you can simply pick up 2-3 kinds of vegetables , give them a quick rinse, and enjoy a delicious vegetable side dish made with just five seasonings.

• A handful of cabbage (Tofu soup tastes better with cabbage.)
• Carrots (a bit)
• Mushroom (A little bit)
• Red bell pepper (a bit) (instead of onions)
• Jalapeno
• Red jalapeno
• Mince 4 clovess of garlic finely.
• Finely chop 3 stalks of scallions (green onions)
• I am happy today because I have all the vegetables I want.

• Olive oil
• Korean soy sauce
• Sesame oil
• Korean powdered red pepper 2-3T
• Starch water (1T starch + 3T water)

• Pour enough olive oil and saute the garlic first.
• Using homemade chili oil instead of olive oil enhances the aroma and gives the dish a deeper, richer flavor.

• When the garlic sizzles in the oil, add the meat and cook it while turning it back and forth until evenly done.
• It's best to fully cook the meat before adding the vegetables.
• I tend to add a generous amount of meat to my mapo tofu.
• I tend to add a lot of meat for my husband, who loves it, and thanks to that , the broth has a richer flavor.
• When stir- frying the meat, adding 1 tablespoon of cooking wine helps remove any gamey smell. ( But since I already used wine for the marinade, I'll skip it today.)

• When the meat is almost done cooking.
• Add the vegetables, sprinkle 2-3 pinches of salt, and stir-fry.
• I always season with both salt and soy sauce because I like the taste of soy sauce but don't like it to be too strong.
• Add 1 tablespoon of chili power and stir-fry together.
• Add 1 tablespoon of Korean soy sauce and stir-fry again.

• Pour just enough water to submerge the ingredients, then add the sliced tofu.
• Add 1 more tablespoon of chili power.
• Add 1 more tablespoon of Korean soy sauce.
• Then, cover the lid, and let it simmer over medium-low heat for at least 5 minutes to infuse the broth with flavor.

• After simmering for more than 5 minutes, open the lid and stir gently to submerge the tofu in the broth.
• Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning as needed
• Pour in the starch water to thicken the broth, then turn off the heat.
• After turning off the heat , drizzle 1 tablespoon of sesame oil.

• Before serving, sprinkle the chopped green onions over the hot Mapo Tofu broth.
• This amount is enough for 3 servings.

• Today, I cooked at home and packed it in a glass container as a lunchbox. I heated it in the microwave for 2 minutes at the store before eating.

• Mapo Tofu is spicy, but it really makes you crave some kimchi.
• My husband, who loves meat, had a lot of meat, while I served myself more tofu. I took multiple servings to eat while it was still warm.

Japchae is stir-fried noodle dish made with chewy glass noodles, meat, and vegetables seasoned with soy sauce.(Gluten Free)

This stir-fried japchae is very simple, making it an easy and delicious noodle dish that anyone can enjoy cooking often.

• Soak a handful of glass noodles in advance. once the noodles soften, cut them in half. Soaking the glass noodles 2-3 hours in advance makes them easier to stir- fry. If you soak them for only 30 minutes to an hour, you'll need to add a little water while stir-frying.
• I'll use a handful (150g) of the marinated pork from yesterday (soy sauce pork bulgogi), which was prepared with pork, wine, soy sauce, and tumeric, banana syrup.

• The vegetables I took out of my fridge today are carrot, onion, green bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic. Just grap the vegetables you always have in your fridge and slice them into long, thin strips. It's a bit disappointing that I don't have mushrooms today. But honestly, onion and carrot alone are enough to make delicious Japchae.

• olive oil
• Korean soy sauce 3T
• salt
• Sesame oil
• Sesame seeds
• Japchae usually includes a bit of sweetness, but since I already added banana syrup when marinating the meat, that will be enough.

• Drain the soaked glass noodles and toss them with olive oil to prevent them from sticking together while stir-frying. If you want to skip this step, you can simply drizzle plenty of olive oil over the noodles while stir-frying.

• First, add olive oil to the pan and put the garlic and meat.(Spread the meat evenly and cook it thoroughly on both sides.

• Once the meat is cooked, add the onion, carrot, and green bell pepper first and stir-fry them. Sprinkle 2-3 pinches of salt while cooking. Then, add zucchini and jalapeno and stir-fry a bit more. Finally, season with 1-2 tablespoon of Korean soy sauce and adjust the taste as needed.

• The timing for stir-frying the glass noodles is short but crucial. At this moment, focus soly on stir-frying the noodles in the pan.
• Use medium - low heat.(the other ingredients are already fully cooked.)
• Even though the glass noodles were pre-coated with olive oil, they are very sensitive to heat, so you need to stir them diligently.
• Add 1-2 tablespoons of Korean soy sauce and stir diligently again.
• Taste the vegetables, meat, and glass noodles separately to check the taste.
• Turn off the heat and drizzle sesame oil over it.
• After turning off the heat, if the taste is bland, you can add a little Korean soy sauce to adjust the flavor.

• Mix the vegetables, meat, and glass noodles well, arrange them nicely on a plate, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top to create a splendid one-plate dish.
• By focusing carefully and stir-frying diligently in the final step, you can achieve perfectly cooked japchae without it sticking together, resulting in a truly satisfying dish.

• Japchae is similar to a noodle dish, so I end up eating very little rice with it. Aged baek kimchi paired perfectly with the Japchae
• Even my picky husband always enjoys Japchae.
• Glass noodles are such an appealing cooking ingredients for me.

• This bibimbap is made by placing fresh raw vegetables at the bottom, followed by sauteed vegetables, and topped with soy -marinated pork bulgogi, which is then mixed together.(Gluten Free)

• I sliced 800g of pork neck thinly.The reason for preparing a large amount of meat is that I plan to use it for 3-4 different dishes over the next few days.
• Red wine 3T (Today, I only have red wine at home.)
• Korean soy sauce 3T
• Banana syrup 3T (or Agave 3T)
• Ginger powder 1T(Tumeric)
• Marinate the meat with the four ingredients mentioned above.
• When seasoning the meat, I add the ingredients lightly. That way, I can create the flavor I want while cooking in front of the stove.
• Today,I will only use 1/5 of this meat.

• My husband's bibimbap topping is soy-marinated pork bulgogi.
• My bibimbap topping is fried Tofu in olive oil.

• Today,I will use a few fresh perilla leaves, 8 beet leaves, and 4 cherry tomatoes picked from the garden. I will chop them up and eat them raw.
• Onion 1/2, carrot 1, shiitake mushroom 1/2, red jalapeno 1, green jalapeno 1. I will slice these and stir-fry them.
• I chop 2 green onions into small pieces.

• Thinly slice fresh vegetables (perilla leaves, beet leaves, and green onions) and place them in a bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon of Korean soy sauce and mix well.

• Cut the onion, carrot, and mushrooms into appropriate sizes.
• When stir-frying vegetables, add the jalapenos at the end give them a quick toss. This will mellow the spiciness and soften them, resulting in a much smoother flavor.

• Sprinkle a little salt on the tofu and pan-fry it until golden and crispy.

• Cook the marinated meat over medium-low heat, grilling both sides evenly. Taste a piece of the meat once it's cooked, and if it's bland, add a little more Korean soy sauce before finishing the rest.

• In my bowl, place the fried tofu, and in my husband's bowl, add the pork bulgogi. Drizzle generously with sesame oil and sprinkle plenty of sesame seeds to finish.
• In my bowl, I added a little extra hemp seeds, which I like.
• Add the rice and mix it well. If the flavor lacking, you can add a little bit of Korean soy sauce.

• I enjoy mixing rice with the other ingredients to eat, while my husband prefers combining just the vegetables and meat to creat a gourmet salad. He likes to eat the rice separately from the meat and vegetables.
• Compared to my husband, my portion sizes are much smaller. However, when it comes to bibimbap, I tend to eat more because I add plenty of my favorite vegetables. Lately, though, I've been having trouble digesting even after eating bibimbap. It seems that as I get older, eating too many vegetables, no matter how much I like them, leads to indigestion from excess fiber.
• Today, slightly less than enough, and that's just right.

Ingredients (2 servings for 57 year old couple)

• Boneless red snapper (two halves) * Can be purchased at our Boricua Food Market
• Ginger (a bit)
• Chive four
• Olive oil (4-5 spoonful)
• Minced garlic (1 spoonful)
• Peperoncino (coarsely ground chili) (1 spoonful)
• Banana syrup (1 spoonful) (or agave syrup 1 spoonful)
• Ginger liquor (2 spoonful) (alternatively, cheongju - clear strained rice wine, or white wine)
• Korean soy sauce (2 spoonful)

1. Place the fish in the steaming pot with the flesh side facing up, and generously top it with peeled and sliced gingers. This helps eliminate the fishy smell and softens the ginger for ease of eating.

2. While the fish is getting steamed, slice the chives diagonally and prepare the sauce.

On low heat, put 5 spoonful of olive oil, 1 spoonful of minced garlic, 2 spoonful of ginger liquor, 2 spoonful of Korean soy sauce, 1 spoonful of banana syrup (1 spoonful of agave syrup), and 1 spoonful of peperoncino (we didn’t have peperoncino today, so I used Korean powdered red peppers instead).

3. Put the mixed ingredients in heat until the olive oil starts to boil and ensure all the ingredients are combined well together. Bring it to a boil again just before drizzling it over the fish.

4. The fish gets streamed fully around 18 minute mark. It cooks quickly since it’s thinner, but thicker fish will take much longer. Fish doesn’t taste as good if you steam it for too long, so it’s important to steam it just right.

5. Take the fish out and place it on a plate, topping it with the sliced chives, and drizzle the just-boiled sauce over it. This creates one splendid dish. The flavor is amazing — better than many restaurant dishes. This steamed fish also pairs exceptionally well with kimchi.

*Since I didn’t have pepperoncino (coarsely ground chili), I used Korean powdered red peppers instead, and now the sauce came out to be slightly clumpy. Adding pepperoncino makes the flavor much neater too. Steaming the whole fish might enhance the taste, but it can be quite cumbersome to eat and clean up because of the bones. However, steaming boneless fish makes it easy to eat, and its flavor is equally excellent. Additionally, despite its impressive presentation and gourmet taste, the cooking process is fairly simple, making it a dish that anyone can easily prepare and enjoy frequently.

*gluten free

Ingredients:

• Tofu 1
• Korean soy sauce (3 spoonful)
• Water (5 spoonful)
• Korean powdered red pepper (1 spoonful)
• Sesame oil (1 spoonful)
• Sesame seeds (1 spoonful)
• Banana syrup (1/2 spoonful) (or agave 1/2 spoonful)
• Chives (two)

1. Prepare the sauce for the braised tofu.

First, thinly slice the two chives. Then, mix 3 spoonful of Korean soy sauce, 5 spoonful of water, 1 spoonful of Korean powdered red pepper, 1 spoonful of sesame oil, 1 spoonful of sesame seeds, and 1/2 spoonful of banana syrup (or 1/2 spoonful of agave syrup) well together.

2. Cut the tofu in 12 large chunks

3. Drizzle plenty of olive oil on a pan and cook both side of the tofu chunks in medium heat until they are cooked well (Don't overcook them)

4. Lower the heat a bit and pour the prepared sauce evenly.

Lift up the tofu chunks a bit, so the sauce can get on the bottom of the tofu pieces too.

Pay extra attention at the end so that the sauce wouldn't burn. Tilt the pan a little bit and simmer until the sauce dries up.

5. Once the sauce is almost gone, now it is done.

Today, I cut some onions and toss them on the sides while simmering, and this was an excellent choice.

If you add mushrooms, they get chewy like meat.

Braised tofu is one of the dishes I make most often, since the ingredients are inexpensive, the nutrients are good, it is tasty and is easy to make.

*gluten free

Ingredients:
2 servings for a couple of 57 years olds

Vegetables to eat raw

• Perila leaves (10) - Korean red lettuce or sliced celeries are good alternatives
• Cucumber (a small one)
• Jalapeño (two) - optional

Good vegetables to stir fry

• Carrots (a bit)
• A little bit of zucchini
• Mushrooms (a bit)
• Onions (a half)
• Sesame oil
• Sesame seeds
• Korean soy sauce

1. Slice the vegetables to eat raw and put them in a bowl. Mix it with 1/3 TSP of Korean soy sauce

2. Stir fry carrots, onion, mushroom, and squash with olive oil. Put plenty of olive oil, add a pinch or two of salt and 1 TSP of Korean soy sauce, and cook it while taste testing. Put the stir fried vegetables on top of raw vegetables.

3. For my husband who loves meat, slice and cook ham. I will have butter bean which is a good alternative to tofu. Butter bean has preservatives, so wash it with water 2-3 times, drain the water, and prepare 3-4 TSP of it.

4. Put the stir-fried vegetables on top of the raw vegetables, and put the cooked ham and butter bean on top of all the vegetables. In my bowl, I added plenty of sesame seeds and hempseeds as well.

5. Prepare the bibimbap sauce with two thinly sliced chives, 1 TSP of Korean soy sauce, 1 TSP of sesame oil, and sesame seeds).
If preparing the sauce separately is inconvenient, then just drizzle the sesame oil on the bowl, add rice (how ever you want), mix it together and taste test it. If it tastes dull, add a bit more of Korean soy sauce and enjoy the dish with kimchi. Bibimbap has plenty of vegetables but it also goes well with kimchi.

* Bibimbap is my favorite and my proudest Korean dish. The nutritions are very well balanced, and this is a creative recipe where you can make incredible number of variations. All various bibimbap dishes taste good in their own ways.
I may upload more than 100 bibimbap recipes in the future, hence why I added 'bibimbap #1' as the subtitle of this recipe.

*gluten free

Ingredients:

• Pork Belly (thinly sliced, a fully fistful) - Pork shoulder is a good alternative that is less fatty
• Kimchi (a fistful) – it’s a must!
• Onion (a bit) – it’s a must!
• Chive (two)
• Mushroom (if you have it, it's a good addition)
• Perila leaves (optional)
• Jalapeño (for my husband who likes a little kick in foods)
• Korean powdered red pepper
• Korean soy sauce, salt
• Sesame oil
• Sesame seeds

1. Cook pork belly in a pan until both sides are well cooked and the fat melts and gets liquified

If you drizzle a bit of alcohol (ginger alcohol, Chungha, soju, white wine, etc.) when you cook the meat, it helps get rid of the meaty smell.

2. Once the pork belly is cooked well and the fat melts, add kimchi (squeeze the soup out of it lightly) and cook them together.

Stir around 3-4 times until the kimchi is coated well with the pork belly fat.

3. Add onion, mushroom, jalapeño, and Korean powdered red pepper 1 Tbsp and cook them all together.

If you added much of Kimchi, you don't need to add any salt. However, if you put more of other vegetables than kimchi, then season with soy sauce.

4. Once it is seasoned well and it looks good, add sesame leaves (we have a lot at home) and chives and cook just a bit more to wrap it up.

5. The spicy pork stir-fry has a lot of kimchi in it, but I also craved some fresh kimchi. This is what today's meal looks like.