Jja Jang Myun

You know that delicious looking bowl of black noodles that people in Korean Dramas eat ALL THE TIME and get delivered to them on scooters? This is it!! And it is JUST as DELICIOUS as it looks!! The Korean fiancé and I love it!!

Last Friday's dinner

Korean again? I still had 1/2 lb of pork belly left and didn't want it to go to waste. I also had half of a Korean zucchini and half of a potato left from making tuen jang chigae last week. Thus....

Jja Jang Myun

Ingredients:

1 tsp oil

1/2 lb Pork Belly (dice into 1/4 in - 1/2 in cubes depending on how chunky you like it)

2 C Onions (dice into cubes the same size as pork belly)

1 C Korean Zucchini (dice into cubes the same size as pork belly)

1 C Potato (dice into cubes the same size as pork belly)

2 tsp Minced Garlic

2 tbs oil (separated)

7 tbs black bean paste

3 C water

1 tbs sugar

1 package fresh jja jang myun noodles (find them at a Korean grocery store)

*Optional: Grated cucumbers on top and yellow pickled radish on side! (I forgot to take a picture with that. Too excited to eat!)

Thickening Ingredients:

2 tbs cornstarch

2 tbs cold water

Instructions:

1) Dice the pork, onion, Korean zucchini, and potato. Mince the garlic.

2) Add 1 tsp of oil to a wok that's been heated (medium heat). When oil is heated, add pork and sauté until it looks a little golden brown.

3) When the pork is golden brown, drain the oil/fat and set the pork aside (in wok).

4) Add 1 tbs oil to a small skillet that's been heated (medium heat). When oil is heated, add the 7 tbs of black bean paste and sauté for about 1 min.

5) Drain excess oil and set black bean paste aside.

6) Reheat pork in wok with medium heat and add the remaining 1 tbs of oil.

7) Add the potato to the wok and sauté for 2 min. Add onion and zucchini and sauté for another 2 min.

8) Add 3 C water to wok until the ingredients are covered with water (it doesn't have to be completely submerged in the water). Put the lid on the wok and boil for 15-20 min.

9) Uncover wok (check if potatoes are cooked, if potatoes are cooked, the rest of the veggies should be as well) and add the sautéed black bean paste that you set aside earlier, stir, and bring to a boil.

(You can start boiling water for the noodles now.)

10) Mix the thickening ingredients together and add it to the wok. The sauce will now get thicker and not as soupy.

11) Add the sugar and stir for a min or two.

(When the water for the noodles boil, add in the noodles and follow instructions on the package. Usually takes about 3 minutes. One bundle of noodles will serve about 2 people.)

12) Drain the noodles when done and put it in a bowl, then put a couple scoops of the jja jang sauce on the noodles and serve! :D

Reference Photos:

Jja jang myun noodles

Black Bean Paste

Til next time! May your days be delighted with many delectable dishes.

Feel free to ask questions!

Dduk Bok Kee and Kimchi Pancake

That's what we're having for dinner tonight! Taiwanese one night, Korean the next. Gotta balance it out, you know?!

Easy to make and delicious! Rachael Ray should have had THIS on her 30 min show instead of all those repetitive pasta dishes.

Dduk Bok Kee

Ingredients:

10 oz of Rice Cake (shaped in tubes or slices, either one works)

2 C of water

1 Package of Ramen (just use the noodles, I prefer the Shin Ramen kind)

1 (approx. 5oz) Package of Fish Cake (sliced into strips)
1/2 Medium Sized Onion (sliced into strips)
1 Stalk of Green Onion (cut into 3 inch strips)

1 Tsp Garlic (minced)

*Optional: you could slice up some carrots and cabbage to throw in as well but the fiancé doesn't care for veggies so I didn't put any in.

Sauce Ingredients:

2 Tbs of Korean Chili Paste (gochu-jang)

1 Tbs of Korean Chili Pepper (gochu-garu)

1 Tsp of Sugar

1 Tsp of Soy Sauce

*Optional: Dash of Sesame Oil/Sprinkle of Sesame Seeds at the end

Instructions:

1) Soak the dduk (Rice Cake) in water to soften it up (I soaked it about 30 min). I bought the refrigerated kind. If you have fresh rice cake, there is no need to soak.

2) Mince the garlic and slice up your onion, green onion, and fish cake. Set aside.

3) Drain the dduk and put it in a pot, add about 2 cups of water and cook until soft (about 5 minutes)

4) Add the sauce ingredients and minced garlic into the pot and bring to a boil then simmer for a few minutes so the sauce gets a little thicker. Stir constantly so the dukk does not stick to the bottom of the pot.

5) Now start boiling some water in a small pot on the side for the ramen noodles. Once the water starts boiling, toss in the ramen (not the packets of sauce!) for about 2 minutes (not the full time because you will be tossing it into the pot with the dduk bok kee and it will cook more in there) then drain.

6) Add the onion and fishcake (your optional veggies too) to the pot and cook it for about 3-5 minutes.

Close up picture

7) Put in the drained ramen noodles (plain ramen noodles) into the pot.

8) When the sauce looks thick enough, toss in the green onions and sprinkle the sesame oil/sesame seeds on right before serving.

YUM!!

Kimchi pancake above. Tasted a lot better than it looks. :D

Reference Photos:

Gochu Jang (Red Pepper Paste)

Dduk

Til next time! May your days be delighted with many delectable dishes.

Mei Gan (Cai) Kou Rou! or (梅菜扣肉)

Opps, I've neglected to blog for a couple months!

Why the sudden inspiration to blog again?

Mei2gan1kou4rou4 (梅菜扣肉)!

My mom is an amazing Taiwanese cook so the way I like it is the way she made it. Too bad she is so good at cooking she doesn't use recipes. I called her to ask how she made it and she says something like "put some of that in and a little of this, then about that much of that" which obviously didn't help much.

So, when I wanted to make this a couple months back, I had to gather many different recipes to figure out how to make it like my mom made it (many of those recipes had ingredients measured in grams, which made it a little annoying to convert since I live in the US). However, the way she makes it is a little different from the way it is traditionally made, but it's still awesome! My dad's side of the family are "ke4jia1ren2" 客家人 and Mei Gan Kou Rou is a signature dish of the people, so this recipe should be on par with what it should taste like.

Now that I was craving it again, I forgot bits and pieces of how I made it! So now I will document it so I will never EVER forget!

This is one of my FAVORITE dishes EVER!!!

Main Ingredients:

2 Tbs Oil

1/2 lb Pork Belly (with skin attached)

1 package (4.2oz) Preserved Mustard Greens Mei2Gan1Cai4

Fragrant Ingredients: (Bao4Xiang1)

1 Tbs Oil

4 slices of ginger (pictured below)

2 cloves of minced garlic

1 stalk Green Onion (scallions) sliced

Sauce Ingredients:

4 Tbs Soy Sauce (I used Kikkoman low sodium soy sauce)

1 Tbs Chinese Rice Wine (for cooking)

3-4 C Water

1 Tbs Sugar

1 1inch in diameter piece of Rock Candy

1 Tsp Salt

1 Star Anise

Thickening Agent:

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp water

Instructions:

1) Soak the dried preserved mustard greens in warm water for at least 2-3 hours. Rinse, drain, then refill with warm water every 30 minutes or so because the preserved greens are very salty and you want the greens to soften. (I'd actually recommend soaking it overnight. You wouldn't have to rinse every 30 minutes if you do, obviously. I soaked mine for 3 hours and when I finished making the dish, there were still some hard pieces of mustard greens. Next time I will soak overnight! :( )

2) Clean the pork belly by removing the hair on the surface of the skin (I personally haven't seen any hair on my pieces of pork belly before, but this step is just a precaution for others).

3) Cut the pork belly into one inch rectangles. (You can slice it however you like, it cooks faster like this so I prefer it this way)

4) Heat (preferably in a nonstick) wok/pot with 2 Tbs of oil over medium heat. Add pork belly and sauté until you don't see anymore blood and it starts looking a bit browned then remove the partially cooked pork belly from the pot, discard the oil in the pot, and set the pork aside.

5) After soaking the mustard greens for at least 2-3 hours, drain it and squeeze out the excess water.

6) Heat wok/pot again with the leftover Tbs of oil, add the minced garlic, sliced ginger, and green onion (scallions). Sauté until fragrant (about 1-2 minutes) then add the mustard greens and sauté for another minute.

This picture was taken before I added the mustard greens.

7) Add the soy sauce, cooking wine, water, (I like a lot of sauce, you can decrease on this if you'd like, but you would also have to decrease the other ingredients for the sauce as well) sugar, rock candy, salt, and star anise.

8) Add the pork you set aside earlier and bring it to a boil, then put the heat on low and simmer for 2 or more hours until the pork is really tender and the flavors have all married together. When you taste it in the beginning it might taste bland/weird, but just wait! (Make sure you check on it every so often, the low heat at my place acts like a medium heat, almost drying out all of my sauce so I had to add 3+ cups of water to keep it saucy!) The longer you simmer, the better it will taste! Promise!

Look at it steaming!

9) Now you can stir together the cornstarch and 1 tsp of water in a small bowl to make the thickening agent (if you'd like the sauce to be a little less watery and a little thicker) and add it to the pot.

10) Make rice while your Mei Gan Kou Rou is simmering and serve when done! (You may take out the star anise and ginger slices before you serve!)

Remember to season to your own taste! This is how I personally like it!

YUM!!!

The presentation might not be as pretty as the traditional look, but hey, looks aren't everything!

Reference Photos:

iThis is the packaging the Mei Gan Cai came in. The bottom of it says "Shao Xiao Prepared Leaf Mustard. I just call them mustard greens for simplicity's sake.

This is how I soaked the mustard greens. I put a big stainless steel bowl under a colander so it would be easier to strain and rinse. These mustard greens are already in rather small pieces.

This is the amount of ginger I used.

Sliced green onion (scallions)

The rock candy mentioned in the ingredients list above.

Enjoy!! I sure will!

Til next time! May your days be delighted with many delectable dishes.

More food adventures in Taiwan! This time, Ma La Guo, Mango Shaved Ice, and much more!

I love how Taiwan's food come in cute boxes like these.

Look at the deliciousness that was inside! More Dan Bing (Egg Pancake) 蛋餅 with Pork Sung 肉鬆

I had breakfast with my mom and she had this clear noodle soup with these yummy side dishes. It was seaweed and this marinated sliced pork dish with ginger. And hot sauce to dip in, of course.

My mom's cousin owns this cute little bistro with fusion food.

It's alfredo pasta! With a side of corn soup.

This one had salmon in it. What you see on top is nicely melted cheese. YUM

This one had beef in it. Too bad it's under the cheese so you can't see it.

Zhong He Ye Si 中和夜市, a night market near where my grandma lives.

One of my FAVORITE things at night markets!! I ate 3 while I was in Taiwan. Candied Tomatoes. YUM. I think it's called Bing Tang Hu Lu 冰糖葫蘆

Strolling through the night market... I dislike mopeds at night markets. Lazy bums. They should just walk. Plus it makes it smell like engine exhaust. -___-

They even had a Halal style street stand!

Adorable puppies in the store, also at the night market. I'm sad I only got a picture of their backs. :(

There's a bunch of fried food/chicken stands in the area too. They offer different seasonings for the chicken and they are all sooooooooooo good!

The Taiwan Metro (Jie Yun) 捷運 Coin to get in.

My sister and I on the Metro (Jie Yun) 捷運. Gosh, I wish SF had a better metro system.

This is probably my FAVORITE thing EVER in Taiwan!! It's called Egg cakes (Ji Dan Gao) 雞蛋糕 I wish I could make them here, but they have those special metal grill things to shape it like that. I've seen animal shaped ones but these egg shaped ones are the BEST!

The street stand I purchased it for. A mere 30NT! ~$1.

臭豆腐 Stinky Tofu. We stopped at a street stand and got something that you absolutely have to try in Taiwan! It was nice and crispy on the outside and hot and steamy on the inside. Served with hot sauce of course.

My cousin and his gf took my sister and I to a yummy Ma La Guo restaurant. These were the veggies and miscellaneous goodies that came with my Ma La Guo (Hot and Numbing Hot Pot) 麻辣鍋.

The sauce I made to dip my cooked veggies and meat in. Green Onion, Chinese BBQ Sauce (Sa Cha Jiang) 沙茶醬, raw egg yolk, minced garlic, cilantro, and soy paste.

My Ma La Guo Pot. Look how spicy my soup was! My stomach burned a whole day after I ate this!

My meat that came with the Ma La Guo.

The little area where you make your sauce to dip the veggies and meat in.

My Cousin and I, with our table full of food!

The aftermath of a 4 person Ma La Guo session. Everyone else got regular Huo Guo (Hot Pot) 火鍋, I was the only one who got the Ma La Guo!

For dessert, my uncle and auntie took my sister and I to the night market near our apartment for some shaved ice!

This is their favorite dish there! Mango ice cream with mango shaved ice 刨冰 Bao bing in Mandarin, Cua Bing in Taiwanese! It was soooo delicious on a hot and humid Taiwan night.

My sister really wanted taro so she got this shaved ice with taro, boba, and boiled peanuts in a brown sugar sauce. It was good, but not quite as good as the mango shaved ice!

My sister and the shaved ice stand.

Til next time! May your days be delighted with many delectable dishes.