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Post by jewel on Dec 5, 2014 13:06:07 GMT -5
My mom asked me to do one thing for her when I went to college and that was to join the Korean Student Association. I very reluctantly did and tho I wasn't too active as a member, I met a few good friends and tasted some new Korean food. At one gathering we were making a dish called Ddukbboki. The kids were amazed that I never heard of this dish. We had lots of fun making it. Everyone had a different opinion on how to make it, so it was a little chaotic. But when it was all finished, one taste and I was sold! When at home, I described this dish to my mom and asked her to make it for me and she wouldn't. She said it was not real food. I asked her what it was that I put in my mouth and chewed then. She's crazy. Anyway, I promptly forgot about it after. Then lo and behold, there it was again years later. Almost in EVERY K-drama I watched - teasing and tormenting my palate until I couldn't take it any longer and decided to do something about it. I pretty much made up this recipe, not that there's much to it but I'm proud! Anyway, this is my version of Ddukbboki. If anyone has a better recipe, please share. So, for ingredients: 1 cup sliced rice cakes 1/4 cup fish cakes, cut into triangles, optional (the ingredient, not the shape. Well, the shape too!) 1 tablespoon hot red pepper paste 1 tablespoon sugar Bring water to boil in a pot. Put in the rice cakes. When the water starts boiling again, add the fish cakes. About two minutes more should have the water boiling again. At that point, drain the water but not completely. Leave a little water (about a tablespoon) in the pot or the rice cakes may get too dry. Add red pepper paste and sprinkle in the sugar. Stir gently until the paste and sugar are blended in well with the rice and fish cakes. Pour in a pretty Korean dish and enjoy. (Using toothpick to eat optional.) One serving. Okay, a Julia Child dish it is not, but I love it!! Yummy. While eating, I think of JunPo tasting it for the first time in "Boys Over Flowers." p.s. All the ingredients I bought at H-Mart. Except the sugar. That I bought at our A&P.
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Post by bird11 on Dec 5, 2014 13:26:47 GMT -5
I was so excited to read this post..thinking "Wow, an actual korean recipe" and then I read your mother's comment and I just cracked up! I have heard of this in a lot of dramas. Are the rice cakes and fish cakes similar to crab cakes? or are the rice cakes more of a dried "snack" cake"? I did recently attempt to make bulgogi-- it was really good, but some pieces of beef were a little too well done, had trouble contolling the heat/flame.. but will try it again.... Jewel-- have you ever heard of a dessert called Ppopgi? I saw this being made either in a drama or show like Running Man and tried it at home. Really simple and fun! Seems to popular with street vendors..... Anyone have any other recepies? I would love to try some...... Does anyone know how to make mung bean cakes? I had these at a Korean Festival once and just loved them!
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Post by jewel on Dec 8, 2014 20:55:10 GMT -5
I know crab cakes but I don't think I've ever had it so I don't know. But I tend to think no...? There are two types of rice cakes. The one kind is sweet and eaten more as dessert or snack (and there are sooo many varieties). This is the one you're thinking about, I think. The other kind is used to make a meal like Ddukbboki or Ddukgook (which is rice cake soup).
I love Bulgogi too. The best way to cook them is by using a table-top grill, which I have. Mine is hard to control the heat too at times. But as far as making the Bulgogi myself - nah. Our H-Mart sells it, really fresh and pretty good. Tho of course it can't touch my mom's. Hers is the BEST!!
What is this Ppopgi made of? I don't think I ever heard of it. But then I'm not too familiar with street vendor foods.
Are these sweet red beans inside white buns? If so, I love them too. I didn't know they were called Mung. What is Mung?
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Post by bird11 on Dec 8, 2014 21:29:40 GMT -5
Ppopgi is a dessert made with brown sugar and a pinch of baking soda, you heat it over a flame in a metal ladle.... the trick/fun part is that you take the mixture and flatten it and use a cookie cutter and make a picture in the flatten sugar mixture-- from what I remember from the game show, the vendor would challenge the cutomer to eat the edges of the cooled mixture up to the edge of the design without breaking the design-- a lot harder than it sounds-- if you were successful the vendor whould give you another one free....saw the recipe at this web site www.maangchi.com/recipe/ppopgi You should try it sometime, it was fun to make and eat! The mung bean cakes were like egg pancakes with what looked like bean sprouts (guessing this was the mung beans) inside of them. They were very good.
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Post by TheBo on Dec 9, 2014 14:34:20 GMT -5
Darn you guys! I was all logged out and everything. Mung is a type of bean. Little, green, looks like a lentil, may be a lentil for all I know. They can be sprouted.
Maangchi rocks. Srsly, everyone should be checking out her site all the time and watching her videos of how to do stuff.
I don't see a description of the rice cake from you, jewel, so I'm going to answer bird and I apologize if this is a repeat. Rice cakes are very white, made from ground white rice that is kind of boiled and steamed at the same time. Comes out chewy but not chewy, soft but with pushback, it reminds me of something I can't quite remember from my childhood, some kind of cake or candy that nobody liked but you ate it because the texture was satisfying. You can make them yourself (see Maangchi) or you can buy them premade in packages which looks like what people do on the TV shows. It looks like the main best thing about them (besides the texture) is that they pick up flavors from whatever sauce you put them into--like tofu does.
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Post by bird11 on Dec 9, 2014 19:17:42 GMT -5
Thanks for the comment about the Maangchi web site, I will have to look into it more-- we call my youngest the "human garbage disposal" because he will try/eat anything-- so I really want to try some Korean dishes.... Thanks, too for the description of rice cakes-- the only thing I could think of was those dried rice cakes made by Quaker Oats and I didn't think that was right- LOL. (So happy Jewel and I are keeping you on your toes, Bo-- or at least logged on!) Any food suggestions from you, Bo?
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Post by jewel on Dec 9, 2014 22:51:57 GMT -5
I totally know this. When we were little my mom made this for us. Except we didn't eat around the edges of the shape, we used a toothpick and poked our way around it. It was fun. I have no idea what this is. Does it look like this? Great description. Kinda like gummy bears, right? But softer and totally different taste. Left is Ddukbboki (spicy and eaten as a meal) and right is Dduk (eaten as dessert or snack). Sounds like my husband. Right after we got married we went to Korea cuz all my relatives who didn't make it to our wedding (which is to say most) were clamoring to meet him. Let me tell ya, he ate things I could barely even look at. The more exotic the more he likes them. He loves Indian, Thai, African... I'm the opposite - I don't usually like to try new things. If my mom didn't raise us on Korean food I would be strictly "meat and potatoes" girl!!
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Post by bird11 on Dec 9, 2014 22:58:37 GMT -5
The pancake looks like this..... First attempt at putting a picture in a post... wow the things you get me to try, Jewel!
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Post by jewel on Dec 9, 2014 23:11:18 GMT -5
Oh okay. These are called BooChim, I think. They can be made with all kinds of different ingredients, right? I love kimchi boochim. Yum!! (My mom makes the best.)
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Post by bird11 on Dec 9, 2014 23:18:46 GMT -5
I wonder if I have the name wrong-- maybe they are not mung bean pancakes, but that is the only name I remember-- they kinda reminded me of egg foo young. I have seen Ddukbboki on many shows-- not sure if I would like this, it looks good, but I am too big on things that are "chewy". I do like to try knew things, but some of the things I have seen on Korean shows, like food that comes to the table still moving is more than I think I can tolerate!
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Post by bird11 on Dec 9, 2014 23:22:46 GMT -5
I will have to researched this name-- when I had the dish I actually brought an extra one home and my son really liked it so I always wanted to try it at home....
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Post by jewel on Dec 9, 2014 23:26:36 GMT -5
LOL, totally agree with you. I don't do moving food.
If you're not a fan of chewy, then you prob won't like Ddukbboki.
Do you like Korean soup? I love my mom's soups. She makes the best beef radish soup, bean sprout soup (you haven't lived till you've tried her bean sprout soup - yummy!), potato soup, etc. My mom is the BEST cook in the world. I'm not just saying this cuz I'm her daughter. Everyone who tastes her cooking says she should open a restaurant. She just sneers.
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Post by bird11 on Dec 9, 2014 23:30:56 GMT -5
We are big soup eaters in this house! I made egg drop soup last week-- not a difficult thing and I don't think it fills my son's appetite even with a side of egg rolls! Do you think your mom would share her recipes? I would love to try the bean sprout soup, and the others sound good, too! The best part of winter is a warm bowl of soup-- even if it is only ramen!
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Post by jewel on Dec 9, 2014 23:50:01 GMT -5
Do you know how many people beg for her recipes?? She says, "Well, you add a dash of this, a sprinkle of that..." I swear to God I've never once seen her with a cookbook in the kitchen while she's cooking. I've seen her look at cookbooks at her leisure time but never while cooking.
But for you, anything. I'll ask her.
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Post by bird11 on Dec 10, 2014 17:31:30 GMT -5
As much as I love to cook and after trying a recipe a few times, I will add my own touches to many-- but I will never understand people not wanting to share a recipe-- I think it is the greatest compliment to be asked for a recipe. My mom is like your mom, my daughter loves my mom's deviled eggs but my mom says she just "adds a dash of this, a sprinkle of that" and won't even try to write it down-- my sister actually tried to watch my mom make them and she could not get a measurement for anything.... so sad, to me it is like losing a piece of family history.....
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