Spicy Cold Noodles on Platter (Jengban Mak Guksu)

Sorry for the absence of posts. There were a few distractions these past couple weeks but we are back!
It's technically not summer anymore and this recipe might be too late for some of you living up north..but we decided to share anyway.

In Korea when it is really hot and muggy in the summer your appetite goes away and it's hard to think about eating anything. That's when we eat a dish like this. It's cold, sweet and spicy and will bring you and your taste buds back to life on a hot afternoon.

Ingredients for 2 portions:
- 2 portions of Korean white noodles (package says Somyun, or you can substitute with the buckwheat noodles often used for cold Japanese soba)
- Cucumber, carrots, cabbage, sesame leaves, mugwort cut into matchstick size (you can use pretty much any veggies you like that are sitting in your fridge)
- 2 hardboiled eggs, sliced
- Sauce: 4T red chili paste, 3T rice vinegar, 1T sugar, 1/2 t plum extract, 1 T minced garlic, 1/2 t red chili powder(only if you really like it spicy), 1t lemon juice, 1 t sesame seeds
- 1 T sesame oil
- 2 T shredded dried seasoned seaweed for garnish

1. Mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside.

2. Add the noodles to a pot of boiling water. When it comes back to a boil add one cup of cold water. When it comes back to boil again the noodles should be done.

3. Rinse with cold water and drain.

4. Arrange the sliced veggies and eggs around a large platter. Place the noodles in the center and pour the sauce on top. Garnish with seaweed. This is how it should be presented at the table. (This is when everyone will start salivating!)

5. Add the sesame oil and mix everything together with chopsticks.

6. Serve into individual bowls.


It was a pretty big platter of noodles, but apparently not big enough. Went really well with the leftover rose wine that Jeana had.

Nakzi Village in Korea town

We went to Nakzi Village in Korea town for dinner with a bunch of our friends. (Many of our non Korean friends are obsessed with this place!) We love to go there because it's delicious, you get really full and it's cheap.

낙지마을 Nakzi Village
(213) 380-8382
Koreatown
4177 W. 3rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90020

The octopus pancake is our favorite appetizer to order. So good with cold beer or sake!

This restaurant is famous for their grilled octopus. Their portions are big so order the small size for 3-4 people. Also if you can't eat spicy food, make sure to order "mild". Their "Medium spicy" is spicy!

This is the best part of the meal. After you finish the octopus, they make fried rice using the left over sauce. It's soooooooo good. I usually take the left over fried rice for the next day lunch.

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.

Yellow House Cafe

We'd like to introduce you Yellow House Cafe in Korea town in Los Angeles. It's a Cafe style restaurant which is pretty common in Korea. It's kind of the perfect place to go late at night when you feel hungry after a movie or some events. (especially when you feel like something spicy!)

Bo's mom's Kkakdugi

My mom taught us how to make kkakdugi(daikon kimchi) as well. We were making a mess in the kitchen anyway so why not? It's a little bit sharper in taste and the crunchiness makes it so refreshing. One of my favorite kimchis.

Again, just like the  cabbage kimchi, this can be broken down into three steps: salting the veggies, making the seasoning, and seasoning the vegetables.

Part I. Salting the Vegetables

Ingredients:
- 2 firm medium daikon
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/8 cup salt
- 1 T vinegar
- 3/4 T agave syrup

1. Cut the daikon into bite size pieces. A little smaller than 1" is good.

2. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and let everything dissolve.

3. Put the daikon pieces in a large bowl and pour the salt water mixture over it. Mix it around so everything is evenly covered.

4. Let it sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours depending. Flip it over with your hands halfway through.

5. It's ready when the saltiness has seeped into the daikon. When it's ready rinse with cold water and let it drain.

Part II. Making the Seasoning

Ingredients:
- 2/3 cups water
- 2/3 T flour
- 1/3 cup minced garlic
- 1/2 T minced ginger
- 3 T Korean fish sauce
- 2 1/2 T red chili powder
- 1 T plum extract
- 1 packet of stevia
- 1 t salt
- 1 bunch of green onions, sliced

1. Like we did with the kimchi, put the water and flour in a small pot and let it simmer on low heat while stirring with a beater until it turns slightly gluey.


2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the glue and mix it well.

Part III. Seasoning the Vegetables

Ingredients:
- Salted daikon
- Seasoning mix
- 1 bunch green onions

1. Add everything to a large bowl and mix with your hands.

2. Put it into a plastic container and cover with plastic wrap so it is not exposed to air. Then put the lid on. Leave it at room temperature for 1 or 1  1/2 days. Taste it every now and then to check if it's ready.
You can tell when it tastes a bit tangy and fermented. When you think it's ready put into fridge.

It's a bit easier to make than regular kimchi. Hope some of you try it out!

Myulchi Rice Balls

So if you have a stash of the myulchi in the fridge it will take you less than five minutes to make these rice balls.

Ingredients:
- 1 bowl of rice, room temperature
- 1/3 cup of myulchi
- 1 package of roasted sesame seaweed

1. In a larger bowl, mix up the rice and myulchi.

2. Make little balls out of the rice mixture using your hands. You may have to press firmly to make it stay in shape.

3. Crush the seaweed and put in a plate. Roll the balls around in the seaweed until they are sufficiently covered. Again, you may have to press a bit firmly to make the seaweed stick.

And enjoy! Great way to eat leftovers.

Stir Fried Anchovies (Myulchi Bokkeum)

This dish is a staple in most Koreans' refrigerator. It is easy to make, lasts for a while and can be eaten as a side dish with any meal. Also it is perfect for lunchboxes. Once you get over the weirdness of eating so many tiny fish in one bite it's really delicious. I know of a few non Koreans (like our husbands) who resisted this dish at first but now will eat a bowl of this stuff without rice as if it were just another snack.

Ingredients:
150g tiny dried anchovies
2 T cooking oil
1/2 ground ginger
2 T sliced garlic
2 T toasted pine nuts (we substituted with chopped walnuts and pumpkin seed and it was yummy)
1 T Korean cooking syrup
1 T sugar
1.5 t plum extract
2 T toasted sesame seeds

1. Heat a frying pan with the oil on medium heat. Add the anchovies and mix around for a couple minutes.

2. Add garlic slices, ginger, toasted nuts. Mix for another minute until the garlic and ginger is fragrant.

3. Turn off the heat. Add the cooking syrup, sugar and plum extract. Mix it around.

4. Turn the heat back on and stir for another 3-4 minutes.

 5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.