Lotus Root (Yeongun Bokkum)

Lotus root is one of those exotic things you find on your table at Korean or Japanese restaurants, but it's actually a common side dish great for lunchboxes or everyday meals. I love the cuteness of the shape and it's delicious as well.

You can buy the actual root which is brown and around the size of your fore arm or you can just buy the pre sliced version packed in water. The actual fresh root is more crisp and fresh while the pre sliced version will soak up the brown of the soy sauce better so it will be prettier. It depends on your preference. We opted for the crisp texture of fresh lotus root.

Ingredients:
- 6 inches of lotus root sliced into 1/4" rounds
- 2 T rice vinegar
- 3 T soy sauce
- 2 cups and 1/2 cup water
- 2 T honey
- 1 T sugar
- 2 T rice wine
- 1 TSesame seeds
- Vegetable oil

1. Put the lotus root slices in bowl with 2 cups water and the vinegar. This helps brighten up the color. Let sit for 15 minutes.

2. In a smaller bowl, mix up the soy sauce, water, sugar and honey.

3.  Drain the lotus root slices.

4. Heat a pan on medium and add some cooking oil. Add the lotus root and fry until slightly golden.

5. Add the soy sauce mixture. Reduce heat to low and let it simmer while continuously stirring the lotus root and making sure all the slices are evenly covered. When the lotus root slices have absorbed most of the sauce and are sticky.

6. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds and you're done.

Stay tuned for the next post, which will be a lunchbox using this lotus root dish.

Potato Pancake (Gahmja Jeon)

Yes, we love pancakes and can't get enough. Here we are making yet another Korean pancake. It is a bit more labor intensive than other pancakes but we think it's totally worth it. Great for a rainy afternoon snack.

Ingredients:
2 potatoes
Small handful of chopped Chinese leeks (optional)
1 chili pepper, thinly sliced
1 T flour

1. Peel the potatoes and grate them on a fine grater.

2. Put the grated potatoes in a strainer and let the water drain out.

3. Add the Chinese leeks, pepper slices, and flour. Mix around.

4. Heat some oil in a non stick frying pan and put a scoop of the potato mix in. You can adjust the size of the pancake to your liking. Use a spatula to spread it out and make a nice flat circle.

5. When the bottom is golden brown, flip it. Cook the other side until it is the same color.

 Enjoy with a dipping sauce. We use soy sauce, rice vinegar, and red chili powder.

Curry Fried Potatoes (Gamja Bokkeum)

We were looking through this Korean cookbook called 'How To Make Side Dishes for Under 50 Cents' when we stumbled upon this recipe.(I bought it just for the title but it's actually pretty good.)

Anyway, we remember this as a common side dish in our lunchboxes growing up because it's so easy to make and we as kids loved it. Usually it's made with just salt and pepper but the curry adds a nice touch.

Ingredients:
- 4 small yellow potatoes
- 2-3 stalks of green onions
- 1/2 T yellow curry powder
- 1/2 t salt
- Pepper
- Vegetable oil

1. Slice the potatoes into matchsticks and slice the green onions into 1/2" pieces. You can slice the potatoes thinner than we did if you want.

2. Put some oil on a hot pan.

3. Add the potatoes and cook on medium heat for 5 or so minutes.

4. When the potatoes are tender, add salt and pepper.

5. Add the curry powder and cook for another few minutes until cooked through. Be careful not to overcook as they will start to crumble.

6. Add the green onions. Turn off heat. Taste it and add more salt if needed.

Seaweed Salad (Miyuk Muchim)

This seaweed salad is a great little appetizer or side dish for when you want to eat light. We looked at the ingredients and it looks like there are no calories! Anyway, it was such a warm and beautiful Saturday afternoon we pretended we were camping and made this dish outside. 

Ingredients:
- 2 small handfuls of dried seaweed (can be bought in most Asian markets)
- 1 small cucumber or 1/2 a large one
- 2 T rice vinegar
- 1 T sugar
- 1/2 T red chili powder
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1/3 T minced garlic
- Sesame seeds and lemon slice for garnish

1. Put the dried seaweed in water and let soak for 10-15 minutes or according to the package instructions.

2. Slice the cucumbers into matchsticks.

3. Drain the seaweed and squeeze lightly.

4. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl to make the sauce.

5. Pour the sauce into a mixing bowl with the seaweed and cucmber.

6. Mix it around with your hand, Korean mom style.

7. Put on a serving dish and garnish with some sesame seeds and a slice of lemon.

Korean Style Omelet (Gaeran Mari)

'Gaeran Mari', which literally means egg roll in Korean is another easy side dish you can make with ingredients you already have in your fridge. It's so comforting and nostalgic, I love having this with any kind of kimchi dish. The rolling part might be tricky at first but you will get used to it with practice.

Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 2 T minced carrot
- 2 T minced onion
- 2 T thinly sliced green onion
- 1/2 t salt
- 1 T water

1. Beat the eggs in a bowl then mix in the remaining ingredients.

2. Heat some oil in a pan on medium heat. Here we are using a square omelet pan. If you don't have a square one, just use a small round pan.

3. When the oil is hot pour in the egg mixture.

4. When the egg is halfway done start the roll by folding over a small section on one side.

5. Using a spatula pull the folded part back to the edge.

6. Repeat this until all the egg is rolled up. You may need to use 2 spatulas.

7. Pat the finished roll with the spatula to get it into a nice shape and let it cool down for a minute.

8. Use a sharp knife to slice.

9. Put on a plate and serve. We especially like it with kimchi jjigae.

Pan Fried Zucchini Slices (Aehobak Jun)

This is a go to recipe for when you are in a pinch and don't have enough side dishes for a meal, or you just want a comforting snack. It's basically foolproof because in our opinion zucchini is delicious cooked in any way.

Ingredients:
- 1 Korean zucchini (you can substitue with other types of zucchini)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 t salt
- 1/2 cup flour
- Dipping sauce (1T soy sauce, 1t rice vinegar, 1/2 t red chili powder, sesame seeds)

1. Slice the zucchini into 1/4" slices.

2. Beat the eggs with the salt and heat up frying pan with a bit of oil.

3. Dredge the zucchini slices in the flour.

4. Dip into egg.

5. Put on the hot pan. Repeat steps 3-5 for each slice.

6. Flip in a couple minutes when the bottoms are golden brown.

7. Enjoy with the dipping sauce.

Stir Fried Dried Cuttlefish (Ojinguh Chae Bokkeum)

A staple side dish in most Korean kitchens and lunchboxes. Takes less than 5 minutes to make and will stay good for a long time. Adjust the amount of red chili paste and sugar depending on how spicy and sweet you like it.

Ingredients:
- 2 cups of dried cuttlefish strips
- 1T vegetable oil
- red chili paste
- 3T water
- 1/2 T rice wine
- 1/2 T soy sauce
- 1/2 T plum extract (optional, but it will taste better with it)
- 1 TKorean cooking syrup (agave works too)
- 1T sesame oil
- sesame seeds

1. Mix the oil, red chili paste, soy sauce, rice wine, cooking syrup, and plum extract in a frying pan and bring to simmer on low.

2. Add the cuttlefish strips and mix until everything is evenly covered. Let it heat for another couple minutes or so.

3. Add sesame oil and sesame seeds and mix around.

And you're finished, literally under 5 minutes! It's good warm or cold.