Teczcape-An Escape to Food

When I tasted my own kimchi jjigae for the first time, I thought "what is the difference between this and soon doo bu"? Both taste similar. Kimchi jjigae just belong to a bigger umbrella of jjigae variety - jjigae refers to a savory hearty Korean stew.


Traditionally soon doo bu is a spicy Korean stew cooked in a soup broth made with red pepper paste and red chili flakes and the main ingredient is soft tofu. Kimchi jjigae is a soup base made from kimchi, and a base so versatile layered with tofu, vegetables (e.g. napa cabbage, leeks), mushrooms, and seafood or meat.


There is nothing quite like coming home to a simmering pot of spicy stew in the cold winter months. The spice heat, and stew heat will instantly warm you up. Moreover, the kimchi base yields a subtly-sour soup that actually whets your appetite even more.

It has been such a long time since I made kimchi "fried" rice. That time, it was more alike kimchi bibimbap in the rice cooker. However with some "precious" (precious because we hardly have any leftover rice at home) rice leftover from the day before, it is now time to make real fried rice, as in...really frying the rice. A serving of leftover rice is good for one, so it better be easy and quick cooking.

The probiotic benefit of kimchi is always a bonus. This kimchi rice recipe is to experiment the robust flavors of kimchi in many possibilities and interesting dimensions.

Again, I had some vegetable scraps of broccoli stems; and added mini sweet bell peppers and egg to the rice. This is a great way to clean out the fridge and use up ingredients that are on their last leg!



Note: I also wanted to test melting cheese atop kimchi fried rice (seen it being done before but forgotten where). However, I did not want to turn on another equipment (the oven) just to melt the cheese, so I finish it off in the same pot that has cooked the fried rice. When the fried rice is done, add sliced cheese over the rice, cover the pot with the heat on the stove still on - keep at low-medium. After a few minutes, the cheese will just melt into the rice.


Note1: In order to reduce the mixing time in the pot yet enable the kimchi flavors to fully get into the rice, the kimchi was "premixed" with the rice first, before frying the rice.

Note2: When it comes to fermented food such as miso or even kimchi, I try to minimize high-heat (e.g. boiling) or long-duration (on medium-heat) cooking, so that the good-for-you bacteria does not get destroyed in the cooking process.

The wrappers ran out before the filling! With the remaining kimchi fillings from making kimchi wontons (boiled dumplings), I made meatballs (mini ones!) and they are such a flavorful addition to this noodle dish which otherwise would have been a vegetarian combination of carrots, mushrooms, mung bean sprouts and spinach.

Did you forget that these are actually kimchi meatballs? Not only can kimchi be used as a condiment or pickle paired with steamed rice or noodles for a meal or complement grilled meat, it is also an (flavoring) ingredient that can be used for cooking - kimchi wonton, kimchi jigae, kimchi fried rice, kimchi pancake.


I usually like to stir-fry the baby spinach first, set it aside, then add them later (last) when a stir-fry is just about to be done. This way, I can use more spinach, and shrink down its volume first. In addition, in a stir-fry which often needs quick-fry, and in which time and speed of frying action is important, frying vegetables separately would allow better control during the stir-fry itself.

For extended shelf-life, many brands of store-bought dumpling (be it wonton, gyoza) wrappers sold in the Bay Area grocery stores/supermarkets contain preservatives e.g. sodium benzoate. When I chanced upon these "free of sodium benzoate preservative" dumpling wrappers in Mitsuwa, San Jose store, I was excited.

However, in that excitement, I actually forgot to check the shape of the wrappers and bought round wrappers for wontons instead of what should be typically square wrappers for wontons.

Wontons are traditionally boiled version of the same dumplings which manifest themselves as pot-stickers or gyozas when pan-fried; wontons skins are also typically thinner than gyoza skins. Most store-bought dumpling wrappers go by this: square and thin (for wontons), round and thick (for pot-stickers)

The Chinese characters on the package "饺子" meant dumplings, and not 云吞 - wontons. The graphic on the package also showed pan-fried-style dumplings. But, the package label also wrote "Tokyo Wantan" (keyword: wontons) with "Gyoza Kawa" in brackets (photo below), so I thought these wrappers can be used for wonton as well.

With these green noodles (noodles made from leaves of the Moroheiya plant) bought from the Japanese supermarket Mitsuwa, I made Kimchi Noodles again.


Moroheiya is highly nutritious and contains beta-carotene, iron, calcium, Vitamin C and Vitamin K. I have not tried it fresh as a vegetable before and hope to some day.

You may want to look closer. This is not your everyday sushi.


They are made with couscous instead of using traditional sushi rice. Since I did not have sushi rice, it was switched out with another "grain" that might be suitable. As I have been using couscous quite often and pretty comfortable that the texture (soft, just a little sticky, not too wet) might work well as an alternative.


Well, it did. It worked out well and what was better - couscous is practically "no-cook". So now, whenever I feel like eating sushi, it can almost be instant. Since cooking sushi rice takes time vs cooking couscous that take not much time (5 mins at most, of course plus the cooling duration for the couscous before putting it on the nori seaweed).

Kimchi noodles is supposed to be noodle soup in my understanding. I may be wrong, so you tell me. But in a way, does it really matter? The dry-version can be really interesting as well. Imagine. It is like having bibimbap but replacing the rice with cooked noodles, then the noodles tossed in a kimchi-based vegetable combo (of seaweed, daikon, mushrooms, and kimchi of course). It can be very refreshing, light and delicious - and that matters.


Kimchi Noodles (Dry)
First, set some water to boil, then add 2 tbsp kimchi, 1 cup thinly sliced daikon, 1/2 cup wakame seaweed, and 2 oz mushrooms to cook for about 8 minutes. With remaining broth and half of vegetables in the pot, remove half of the vegetables from the pot, and set aside these vegetables. Cook a pack of ramen noodles in the same broth, then add an egg while cooking the noodles, breaking up the egg in the pot while cooking the noodles in low heat. The noodles and egg will now absorb the flavors of the broth.

Dish out the some (about half) noodles and egg mixture, top with set-aside vegetables, add more kimchi if you prefer to toss in with the noodles, garnish with more thinly sliced daikon and green onions.



Wait wait wait! You can still have kimchi noodle SOUP, if you have not forgotten what's left in the pot. Yes. Kimchi broth, vegetables, noodles and egg.

Grilled salmon, green peppers, spinach, egg, kimchi. What would you think of?
WAAa...aIT! KIMCHI! Do I hear something...Korean?
Besides one-dish pasta dishes, I have been cooking one-dish rice dishes of late and this is one of them. I serve you Bibimbap - Korean stone-pot rice...in my rice cooker!

Do not have a stone-pot to keep your dolsot (meaning stone pot) bibimbap sizzling and most importantly...warm ? NOW YOU CAN! I hand you a trick...via the rice cooker. Remember my rice-cooker style cabbage fried rice? Similar technique applies. A rice-cooker style "bibimbap" is easy to do, not forgoing the taste. If you like a healthy and easy way of dining at home, this is it!

Bibimbap, Korean stone-pot rice (rice -cooker version)
Ingredients:
-grilled salmon, seasoned with salt and black pepper,
-1-2 eggs, whisked lightly with some soy sauce and white pepper
-1-2 green pepper, julienned to strips
-some spinach,
-some kimchi
-nori strips, garnish
-cooked rice

Directions:
Step A - Prepare and cook ingredients in advance
1. Grill salmon, set aside (Note: I would suggest choosing a fish that has a firm texture when cooked. Eg. Cod fish is too moist, soft when cooked - when flaked and tossed around too much, it becomes mushy - not recommend)
2. Fry an egg omelette, then set aside on kitchen paper towel to drain away the oil. When cool, cut into thin strips
3. Blanch the spinach, then totally drain away water (Note: Make sure your palms are clean and squeeze the spinach dry. Tip: If you have a bamboo sushi roller, you can use that and drain the water away from the spinach, just by rolling them up and apply slight pressure). When dry and cool, chop into pieces

Step B - Cook rice and add in cooked ingredients
1. Cook rice as per normal
2. When rice is cooked or ready to serve final dish, add in kimchi and green pepper into the rice cooker and mix well with the rice (Note: Allow rice to infuse with kimchi flavor first. Also, the green peppers were not cooked in advance in Step A, adding them first will ensure they get the warmest"heat" from the rice just when the rice is cooked)
3. Flake up the salmon, then with eggs strips, and chopped spinach, add into the rice and mix well
4. Garnish with nori seaweed strips
5. Ready to be scooped and served

Dish out a bowl of warm kimchi-infused rice with nutritious ingredients. Each spoonful of rice you enjoy is flavor-bombed and filled with a profile of textures. The light crunch of green peppers, the salmon flakes, moist warm rice, kimchi-fragrance... ... ... ... ...

How does it look? Healthy ? Easy ?


Bibimbap cooked, using standard and basic kitchen appliances and equipment. An effective way to keep your entire dish warm too!

My 石锅拌饭 or rather 饭锅拌饭...:D

Tag: kimchi, bibimbap, korean