Thursday, May 31, 2012

Memorial Day BBQ


We had a barbecue in our backyard on Memorial Day weekend. My dad was in full charge. His choice: beef loin steaks and lamb ribs.

As sides, we had grilled onion, pineapple, garlic, and bell peppers.

Besides being a little too burnt, the meat was yummy. I still liked the sides better, though. Anyways, we had a good time. (Until our neighbor kids started to annoy us. Arrrgh.)

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Breakfast in Bread

I found this recipe called "Breakfast in Bread" from Crostini and Chianti, and decided to try it myself since it looked simple and delicious, and I could find all of the ingredients in my kitchen!

I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out a hole in the middle of the bread. Here's my heart!
Instead of poaching or frying the eggs separately, I just made an Egg in the Basket (or bird's nest, bullseye, whatever you call it).
Topped with ham, tomato, asparagus, and parmesan.
This a great breakfast idea, very easy to make and yummy!


Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

Just like everyone else, I love YouTubing. Music videos are what I mainly watch but I do watch all sorts of videos (you know, sometimes you just end up watching some really strange videos, totally random, and you have no idea how you got there). There are some really nice and entertaining cooking videos on YouTube. I guess I'm sort of going through that cooking videos phase right now, like I just had one with the massage videos pretty recently. Man, those massage videos are hypnotizing! They're so relaxing, they would almost make you fall alseep, as if you're the one who's getting the massage. It's the second best thing to do when you can't actually get a massage. Anyway, I digress. Lately I've been watching every single episode of Laura in the Kitchen. I love everything she makes, her recipes are not too difficult and they look so delicious! Her hubby is one lucky guy. This asparagus dish was on one of her videos (here's the link), though you don't really need a recipe for this one, since it's basically just asparaguses with grated parmesan on top. It's really simple but yummy. By the way, am I the only one who dips asparagus in cocktail sauce? That's how I always eat them. Well, I guess I'm the only one who does that.

Just another day in my life


Sunday, May 20, 2012

Seafood Risotto and Sangria



Seafood risotto:
Bring chicken broth or clam juice to a simmer in a medium saucepan. In a large saucepan or a pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and cook chopped onion until translucent. Add arborio rice and stir to coat. Add dry white wine and cook until absorbed. Stir in broth. Add small chunks of octopus and peeled shrimps. Cook until the rice is al dente and the broth is absorbed. Stir in lemon juice and finely chopped Italian parsley. Sprinkle grated parmigiano reggiano over top.

White wine sangria:
In a pitcher, pour in moscato and add canned lychees and thin slices of green apple.


Friday, May 18, 2012

Simple Beef Sliders

I'm sort of rushing and trying to post everything I ate while I was away from my blog. I know I don't really have to update eveyrthing at once, but somehow I have this weird impulsion!

Anyways, this is how I made super simple beef sliders on a very tight budget.

Ingredients:

Dinner rolls
Ground beef
Onion
Sliced cheese
Salt and pepper, or your favorite seasoning
Mayo, ketchup, or mustard, for serving

Lettuce leaves, sliced pickles and tomatoes are optional, which means I didn't add them. Since I didn't have a lot of stuff in my kitchen I had to keep things to a minimum.
The pictures are pretty self-explanatory...


Fried chicken's best friend


Oh, we Koreans looooove fried chicken. We also love Korean radish pickles that come along with our fried chickens. Funny thing is that it's called Chikinmoo in Korean. It has nothing to do with Chick-Fil-A commercials, though. Literally, chikin = (fried) chicken, moo = radish.

Here's how I make them at home.

You'll need: white radish, sugar, vinegar, water, and salt.

Peel the radish and cut it into little cubes.

Throw them in the water mixed with vinegar and sugar. I don't really know the exact ratio. It should taste kinda sweet and kinda sour at the same time. Just go with your preference. Add a little salt.


You may also add a few slices of lemon. Put a lid on and leave it at room temperature overnight. Store them in your fridge before serving as a side dish for fried chicken.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Basic chicken wings


Mmm...chicken wings. They're good with all kinds of sauce.
Here's how I make them:


I love my fryer.


 

Seaweed Rolls

Korean seaweed rolls, a.k.a. Gimbap or Kimbap.
(Seems like I'm mostly blogging on Korean foods lately, by the way. I'm proud.)

I'm not gonna write down how to make them, since I have too many stuff I need to upload that I haven't uploaded yet, and it's also pretty self-explanatory. Just get the ingredients together and roll them up. It's as easy as that.



You can make the dipping sauce by simply mixing wasabi + soy sauce + vinegar.



Home Party


I was just messing with Photoshop. OK, graphic design isn't really my thing...
Anyway, here are some pictures of what we made and ate on Tuesday.







Jajangmyeon


Jajangmyeon is one of the "national foods" of Korea. It originated from the Chinese dish zha jiang mian, literally meaning "fried sauce noodles." Korean-style jajangmyeon was first created about a century ago in a Chinese restaurant in Incheon, South Korea, where a large number of Chinese immigrants settled. It has been by far the most popular delivery food among Koreans because of its nostalgic taste and inexpensive price. I read that six million servings of jajangmyeon are sold everyday in South Korea. Instant versions are also very popular.
Here's how to make a restaurant style jajangmyeon at home.

Ingredients (4 servings):
4 tbsp black bean paste
Jajangmyeon noodles
2 tbsp potato starch, mixed with the same amount of water
1/2 lb pork belly
1/2 cabbage
2 onions
1 potato
1/2 zucchini
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (do not use olive oil or any other oil with a strong flavor)
1/4 cup sugar
1 small cucumber for garnish


Preparation:

Peel and cut the ingredients into bite size pieces.


Directions:

1. Heat up a wok or a large pan and throw in the pork, sautéing until crispy.
2. Add your veggies. When they're all cooked, remove them from the wok.
3. In the same wok, add the oil and fry the black bean paste for a few minutes. Overfrying will make it bitter. Stir in the potato starch mixture.
4. Add the pork, veggies, and sugar. Stir well and sauté for a few minutes.
5. Cook and drain the noodles.
6. Pour the sauce over the noodles. Garnish with grated cucumber.

Mix well with your chopsticks. Traditionally, jajangmyeon is best served with danmuji (yellow radish pickle). Enjoy!