Home made Korean kimchi

Kimchi is one of my favorite Korean side dish. Whenever I go to Korean restaurant, I always ask for more kimchi. I sometimes buy pre-made kimchi eating at home, and making different dishes with kimchi. In winter, I like to make Kimchi stew or fried with pork, and during summer, I like to just eat fresh Kimchi with rice or noodles.

Some people like fresh Kimchi, which is not very sour but taste crunch, and some people like sour kimchi, which already fermented for a while. I like both but eating in different season. If you can't finish Kimchi after it become very sour, the best way to eat is using it to make other dishes such as I mentioned making stew or pan fry with pork, chicken or beef.

Recently I decide to make Kimchi by myself because home made food it's always cheaper than store. Before I thought making Kimchi is sophisticated and requires a lot of time, but I found a recipe of easy way to make Kimchi, which didn't take me long time. So I make Napa cabbage and cucumber this time. (Actually this is my first time to make Kimchi). It's been second day now, and still fermenting in my fringe. I tried couple bites, and it's pretty good.


Ingredient:
1 cabbage about 1.91lb
3 tbsp of salt

For spicy paste: ( if you want to use for cucumber, just leave 1/4 cup of spicy paste)
2/3 cup of rice flour or sweet rice flour
2 cups of water
1/3 cup of sugar
2/3 cup of garlic about 10 cloves
2/3 cup of onion
2 tbsp of ginger
1/2 cup of fish souse 
1 carrot about 0.18lb
1 leek about 0.15 lb
3 green onion
2 cups of hot pepper flakes or powder
( For sweet rice flour and hot pepper fakers, you can find at Korean or Chinese supper market)


Steps

1.cut Napa cabbage in small bite size, then rains and dry it.
2. Add salt to cabbage evenly and mix it, then leave it for 1and 1/2 hours. ( while mixing salt with cabbage, you can add a bit of salt each time you mix it and turn the button to up for 3 times. you will see water water from cabbage come out 1 and 1/2 hours later.)
3. After 1and 1/2 hours, pour out water came out from cabbage and rains cabbage for 3 times, then place it aside.
4. For making spicy paste: in a souse pen, boil sweet rice flour with water, then add and mix sugar wile water is boiling.  Turned off heat and put it aside for cooling down or you can put the souse pen in a bow of cold water.
5. put garlic, onion, ginger, and fish souse in mixer for about 2 minutes.
6. chop green onion in about 2 inch size or whatever size you like, and chop carrot in silk shape.
7. Mix step 4,5,6 and hot pepper flakes, then mix it evenly, which is the spicy paste we are going to mix with cabbage.
8. Adding spicy paste in cabbage and using your hand to mix it. ( you can add spicy paste separately for easy mixing) 
9. After done with mixing, place Kimchi in container or glass bottle, and put in refrigerator for 3 days. ( This will keep the Kimch fresh and fermented slowly, but if you like sour flavor, you can place at place where has no sun exposure for about 2 days.)  
 



I use the extra spicy paste I made for cucumber. 
For cucumber you will need:
1tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 tbsp sesame oil 
1/4 cup of spicy paste ( or depend how spicy you like)

1.Use the same method with making cabbage, mixing salt with cucumber. leave it for 30 minutes for letting the water from cucumber come out.
2. rains cucumber with water for 3 times, so cucumber won't be very salty since we add a lot of salt.
3. add spicy paste we just made and mix with sugar, vinegar and sesame oil.
4. Put in the refrigerator for 1 day.  
Now you can eat this a little sweet, sour, and spicy cucumbers.

chicken chicken

Chicken will never be out of my cooking list. Many people don't like dark meat because it contains more fat than chicken breads. I personally like the texture of dark meat because it's more chewy and not dry. It's much easier to cook dark mean, you can have it in baking, stewing, pen fried, deep fried, or making soup. This time I am going to share this easy making recipe for chicken legs. If you are a busy person and have rarely time to making meal, but still want to have a health dish, this may works for you.


Things you need to prepare
5 boneless chicken legs
2 small onions
1/2 red pepper (chop in long shape)
1/2 yellow pepper( same as red pepper)
2 tomato (chop in fine size)
3~4 clove of garlic (minced)
200c.c. white wine
300~400 chicken broth
3 tsp tomato past
tea spoon salt, pepper

steps:
1. sprinkle some salt and pepper on chicken legs
2. In a pen, add some oil and pen fried chicken legs till half cooked, and then transfer to a plate.
3. using the remaining oil to pen fried onion ( add more oil if needed)
4. add red and yellow peppers, tomato stirring for 2 or 3 minutes
5. add white wine, chicken broth, tomato past, and all the spices
6. add half cooked chicken legs
7. cover with lid and turn down the temperate to small for 20~30 minutes till the souse remains1/3

Chicken Cacciatore

I have discovered a cooking show "chow ciao" on yahoo recently, a chef Fabio teaches how to make Italian cuisine. I really enjoy his cooking show because he is a very interesting person and looks always having fun in the kitchen. After I watched the chicken carcciatore dish in his cooking show, I decided to make this dish for my friends on Saturday night, and it came out delicious! I think I will keep watching his cooking show to learn more Italian cuisine.

I personally like flavorful food, so I added about 3 springs of rosemary and thyme. I can smell the plenty of herb combined with red wine, marinara, and all ingredient during the cooking, and it's really smelly good. I was thinking maybe I could eat the French bread with the juicy sauce, so I added extra red wine and Mariana.


ingredient:
8 chicken legs
2 red onion
6 clove of garlic
1/2 cup of olives
mushrooms (any mushroom is fine)
3 tea tbs Salt
3 tea tbs pepper
3/4 cup Marinara sauce
1 cup of red wine
2 spring of rosemary
2 spring of thyme

Steps:
1. Add oil in pen, then flowing add onion, garlic, olives, salt, and pepper. Stir for a bit.
2. Add some oil, rosemary, and thyme , then turn to small heat.
3. Cover the chicken legs with flour.
4. in the other pen, add oil, then chicken legs till it turns crispy.
4. put crispy chicken legs top on the satay (onion, mushroom,oliver).
5. Add red wine and Mariana, and slow cook for 15~ 20 min with lid on.

Sesame cinnamon pancake

Once I was browsing cooking recipe, I found this type of pancake I used to have when I was a little girl. I've always had this kind of pancake for afternoon tea time where sold on the street. you will see a old men has his vender making in front of you. I miss that old time. However, I decided to make by myself today, as I am sharing here with you.

Ingredients:

paste
All purpose flour 130 g
baking powder 4 g
Baking soda 2 g
Sugar 20 g
Brown sugar 10 g
Water 180 cc

Filling
Black sesame powder 2 tsp
Sugar 2 tsp
cinnamon 2 tsp 

steps:
1. Filter all purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
2. add sugar, brown sugar, and water into step 1.
3. Set aside for 30 min
4. in a pan, add a bit oil (about 2 tea sp)
5. pour step 3 into pan with low temper.
6. add filling on pancake.
7. Fold pancake, then cover a lid for 2 min.
8. Flip over another side for 1 min.
9. Ready to serve.( cut into proper portion)

Mapo Tofu

Mapo tofu is a spicy dish that for people who like spicy food. This dish you can't eat without rice or noodles because it might be salty or spicy to you. A little bit rice top with mapo tofu and put into mouth, you can taste both rice and spicy tofu melt in your mouth. Or you can put rice in your mouth, and then a bite of mapo tofu. Rice will balance the spicy tofu, so you won't feel too hot in your mouth.

If you don't like too spicy, you can add less hot sauce, but it would lose the original taste. The story of this dish came from China. After war, Some Chinese brought this to Taiwan. Ma as 麻 means spicy, Po as 婆 is symbolic as grandmother. This name of mapo is a story came from a old woman, who was specialized in making this dish. If you google online, there will be many different recipe. Basically the method is same; it's just people use different chili sauce, so it taste a little bit different. I put many fermented chili bean sauce instead of hot pepper because it's much easier.  Here, I am going to use the faster method to make this dish.

what you need:
Tofu 1 pack ( chop into dice shape)
Grounded pork or beef 50g
Green onion 2 (chopped)
Garlic clove 4 ( minced)
Ginger 5g (minced)

Source:
Fermented chili bean sauce 2 Tbs ( you can get at Chinese market)
soy sauce 2 Tea sp
sugar 1 tea sp 
Water 30 cc
chicken broth 30 cc
chili powder 1 tea sp

Directions:

1.Add oil in pen and wait for 1 min , then add garlic, ginger, and grounded pork.
2. After pork turns to white color add all sauces, and stir to make sure sauces are even with pork.
3. Add tofu, also stir them slowly. Cook for 3 min till sauce gets into tofu for a bit.
4. Add green onion

Asian style pen fried potato

Living in another country requires me to cook because there are not many real home dishes around where I live, especially in Boston. I recently ran out of idea of cooking potatoes, and then there was a thought come up with my head-my mom's potato dish-, I would not say it's super delicious, but it makes me feel warm because I would thought of my family when I am having the food. Eating this food I feel I am home.

Adding sauces it's common in Asian cuisine because it enhances flavor. Oil,vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and cooking wine will never disappear in Asian food recipe. So if you like Asian cuisine, these sauces are must be have. I am going to introduce my mom's pen fried potato dish, and it's very easy to make.

You will need:

ingredient :
A potato (cut into thin stick shape)
5 plants of Parsley chop into small pieces ( according your preference)

Sauce:
1/3 cut oil (any oil)
pinch of garlic salt
3 TSPsoy sauce
2 TSP vinegar
2 tea SP butter (optional)If you like butter flavor, oil can be reduced for a bit
Steps:
1. Add oil in pen, and wait till get warm
2. Pen fried the potato with mid fire till potato cooked
3. add all sauce, butter, and mix with potato
4. turn down fire to small, leave about 3 min for potato soaking all sauce.
5. add parsley and mix with potato

Ps. Don't forget keeping mix potatos while absorbing sauce, so potatoes will get sauce even.

Sweet heart breakfast---food can be a artistic work

Breakfast is most important meal for a day. Making yourself a sweet breakfast at weekend that gives you a good mood as well. Decorating your food makes it valuable just like you are in a fancy breakfast place. To me, the relaxed weekend is having breakfast at home and enjoy the time. A cup of coffee or chocolate milk and a art pancake that start my day. 

Life should be fun and creative. Since I live by myself, I start to like cooking. Sometimes I feel delicious food makes me feel happy. Moreover, beautiful food makes me enjoy the food. For example, when we see the menu at restaurant, usually the pictures will take our attention, because it looks delicious. So, we would like to give a try. Then, your salivary glands produces a lot of spit to make you feel want the food. The procedure is like first, you are hungry, second, you see or smell something you like. last, you make a decision for witch one you are going to eat. Same as the food we make, if  you see the beautiful food that attract you, the food will be more delicious to you. it's like psychological process. So, instead of a circular shape pancake, why don't we make a interesting or pretty shape for a day.