Welcome to TigerSalad
I built this website for sharing pictures, sounds and writing about travel, cooking, music or anything else I think is worth documenting. I wanted to have somewhere to do this without the distraction and noise inherent to social media. Please try to take your time and relax here: read, look at the pictures and listen to the sounds.
I have been a professional chef for most of my life and for the last decade I have been studying Korean food, language and culture. I have traveled to Korea many times to eat, explore and practice language. Cooking posts will mostly focus here.
I am always happy to hear from you so please leave comments, ask questions or start discussions if you like. It is the only way that I know you have been here. This site will function on your phone but it will look and sound much better on a bigger screen. If you like what you see, please subscribe. I promise to never share your email with anyone and only send updates occasionally about new posts. If you are interested, there are many older travel and cooking posts on my Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tiger.salad/ I hope you enjoy, Martin.
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Billy Carter Red: 10 year anniversary
UK 2018
In the spring of 2018, I travelled to Brighton UK to attend the Great Escape music festival. I had come to see Say Sue Me, one of my favourite new discoveries as well as 3rd Line Butterfly, legends from the early Korean indie scene. These two bands along with Adoy and Billy Carter were scheduled to play at a Korean Music Spotlight event. I had never heard of Adoy or Billy Carter so, in the weeks leading up to the festival, I did some reading online and listened to a bit of music from both bands.
Adoy had a laid back, smooth R&B sound that I just couldn’t connect with. And, I wasn’t sure about Billy Carter who were often described as a “blues band”. Usually, when I hear “blues band” I immediately get suspicious and think that I am not going like it. I do like old lo-fi blues but most modern takes on the genre are not interesting for me. I wondered what kind of blues would come out of Seoul?
As I would soon find out, describing Billy Carter as a “blues band” left a lot of elements out of the equation. Yes, they had solid roots in blues but they were so much more than that. The Billy Carter lineup at the time was Jiwon Kim on vocals and keys, Jina Kim on guitar and vocals and HyunJoon Lee on drums.
The Windmill Brixton
The first time I saw Billy Carter, they were opening for Say Sue Me at The Windmill Brixton in London UK. I didn’t have time to listen to their records much beforehand so I was hearing most of their songs for the first time. But even after just one show, I knew that I was interested in seeing more of Billy Carter. After their set, I met Jina and Jiwon while i was buying a t-shirt at the merch table. I remember getting the impression that they were not interested in talking to me. I think we were a little suspicious of each other : ) It makes me laugh now when I think about it!
The Great Escape Festival 2018
The day after the Windmill gig, I got to see Billy Carter play at a little club called Volks as part of the Great Escape Festival. This club was off the main drag near the beach. When I got arrived, there were probably less than 30 people in the place, almost all men. Even before the band got on stage I felt a bit nervous for them….”Why aren’t there more people here? Why isn’t it darker in here? Why is it all old men?” When I go to shows, I almost never worry about the band being shitty. I often worry about the audience or the venue being shitty instead. This was what I was feeling here…
The band set up, had a quick sound check and then launched right in. From that point on, I don’t think that I blinked the whole time. The musicianship was incredible, the singing powerful. The band played in front of 30 people as if they were headlining a stadium. I was really floored. For most of the songs, there was only drums (by the excellent Hyun Joon Lee) and Jina’s guitar. Jiwon added keys and melodica here and there. But the sound, especially from the guitar, was massive! I couldn’t understand how these three people could make so much great noise together. And the physicality of the band….they never stopped moving, jumping, dancing…
As the band was packing up, I went out for some fresh air and wondered how I could describe the show I that I had just seen. For some reason, the word that came to mind was “demonic”. When I was watching these musicians on stage, they looked like they were possessed. Not in some affected theatrical way. Instead, they seemed to truly love and believe in the music they were making. They were possessed by their own art. It was contagious. I felt it too.
While I was outside for a smoke, I happened to see Jina and Jiwon come out of the club and light up. Now, I am not exactly a shy person but, after seeing what I just saw, I have to admit that I was a little bit afraid of these two! Eventually curiosity overcame fear and I walked over to say hi. We had a cigarette together and ended up having a really nice talk about everything from music to human rights in Korea vs Canada (my home). I remember Jina saying how much she would love to live in a place like Canada and feeling pretty proud about that.
I was able to catch Billy Carter one last time that weekend. This show was an official Korean Music Showcase full of industry people. The lineup included 3rd Line Butterfly, Billy Carter and Say Sue Me. It was an epic show for me, one I will never forget. I was thrilled to see these bands together in such a small space. At the end, I did a little tour around to say farewell to everyone I had met over the weekend. Just before I left, Jiwon (who I was mildly afraid of the day before) ran over and gave me a huge hug. So much for being scary haha..
The Great Escape 2018 was a pivotal event in my life. It reignited my love for live music and introduced me to artists that I might otherwise never get the chance to see. Billy Carter was a big part of that experience and I have been keeping up with them and their new projects as they continue to evolve as artists and activists. They will always occupy a warm place in my heart.
Billy Carter at Great Escape Festival Brighton UK 2018
Happy Anniversary!
The Red EP 10th Anniversary
The first Billy Carter EP was released 10 years ago this summer. This 5 track introduction to the band is probably the grittiest sounding of all their releases. It is one of my personal favourites and, I think, one of the most important Korean indie rock records of all time. Today, I still listen to it with the same joy as I did the first time I heard it many years ago.
The title track “Silent/침묵, starts with a simple drum beat that soon gets swarmed with dirty fuzzy guitar noise. This gives way to a sticky and aggressive guitar riff that is a signature of Jina Kim’s sound in the studio as well as in live performances. Jiwon Kim’s soulful vocals power through it all and add to the high voltage blues assault. After a couple of choruses, the song itself suddenly goes silent. A ripping single note fuzz attack opens it back up over rising drum beats and wailing vocals that carry the song to the end. It sounds like a demonic chant. The lyrics are an indictment (in Korean language) of the tendency towards silence in the face of sadness and injustice. You can hear the blues influences in this song. But, the punk rock (bordering on metal) noise and riffing takes it to the very hard and ragged edge of anything I would think of as a blues.
Lost my Way, the second track, is definitely rooted in 12 bar blues. Jina’s guitar line defines the pace of the song as much as the drums. This is real rhythm guitar playing, keeping pace with, mirroring and complimenting the drum track. Because the sound is already so huge, it’s easy to forget that there is no bass player here. Jina’s guitar playing does double duty in holding down the basic rhythm of the song (a layer of sound normally provided by the bass guitar) and providing fun and energetic riffs and chords as well. This is one of the best parts of seeing them live and I have often wondered how it is even possible for a band to make so much satisfying noise with just a guitar and drum kit and some occasional keys and melodica. Jiwon and Jina share vocals on this track both alternating lines and harmonizing. Their singing styles are different but also complimentary. They sound great together, like two friends singing at the top of their lungs on the way back home from a bar at sunrise after many drinks and smokes. This song starts loud and frantic and just gets louder and more raucous as it rolls along. A fun track beginning to end.
The third track, Time Machine, pulls back the volume and intensity, but only just a little. A sad and lonely harmonica gives way to Jiwon’s powerful smokey slow blues style and Jina’s choppy guitar chords and low note grinding riffs. The lyrics seem to be reflection on past personal and family trauma and its’ lasting effects. “If I got a time machine, would go back and tell my dad not to cheat on his wife..If not, your daughter can never believe her men in her life.”. These are personal and direct lyrics, the sort that would come up later in the bands’ career especially on their last full length release Don’t Push Me. The guitar noise builds steadily as the song progresses, occasionally disintegrating into dissonance and broken rhythms adding to the sense of hopelessness and desperation that threads through the whole song.
Spring (봄), the second to last track, starts with a Johnny Cash style freight train Boom-chicka-boom rhythm guitar that bounces along until the vocals begin. This time Jina takes the microphone while playing a fun delta blues kind of guitar melody (so fun that I had to learn to play it myself). Jiwon adds a few sweet harmonies halfway through. Then, at about two minutes in, just as you are starting to think that Billy Carter decided to give you a nice easy listen, the song bursts open in a nuclear storm of guitar noise and full throttle screaming. Once the dust settles, Jiwon takes her turn at a verse and the guitar melody finally unwinds to the sound of birds tweeting in the spring sunshine. My Korean is not good enough to understand most poetry and metaphor. I suspect that the lyrics are much darker than the music might lead you to think. Somehow, I feel like they may be referencing environmental destruction or emotional disappointment here but… I can’t be sure. I will have to ask next time I get a chance!
The EP closes out with You Go Home. It features big juicy guitar riffs chugging along as Jina and Jiwon take turns singing about what sounds like a very messy end to a night of heavy drinking. A universal experience I think, especially in Korea : ) The song winds up with shouts of “Go Home!”, “잘 가!” “안녕!” “annyeong!”. For some reason at the end of this one I can feel the bone chilling cold of stumbling home on an icy winter night, full of beer and soju, howling wind making my cigarette burn down at double speed. BRRR!!
After The Red
In addition to The Red, Billy Carter have released three other EPs titled The Yellow, The Green and The Orange. Each one goes in a slightly different direction musically but they are all unmistakably Billy Carter. I love each of them and would have a hard time picking a favourite.
Billy Carter has also released two full length albums, “Here I Am” in 2016 and “Don’t Push Me” in 2020. “Here I Am” is a fantastic listen that I think is closest to The Red EP in overall feel. “Don’t Push Me” saw the band move in a slightly different direction. The music maintained the same urgency but the lyrics became much more openly political and straightforward, addressing human (and animal) rights issues in a very direct way. It was a hugely influential album for so many people that I know including my daughter, who lists it as one of her favourites of all time. The album showcased Billy Carter at the peak of their powers as musicians and social critics. Unfortunately I was never able to see any live shows after this release but maybe sometime in the future…The band has been on hiatus since this release and I am not sure if they will ever resurface again as Billy Carter. Even if they have played their last show, I think they have left a collection of songs that any band on earth could be proud of and I am very happy to have had the pleasure of seeing them live even a few times. Happy Red Anniversary Billy Carter!
Cold Chickpea Salad
This is a recipe for a cold chickpea salad base. You can eat it just as it is here. It is delicious. But, you can also add just about anything you like to make the recipe suit your personal tastes. If you want to eat it over a few days, it is easy to add different ingredients to change it up. The ingredients I am including in this basic version can sit for a few days in the oil and vinegar dressing without degrading.
When I was little, especially in summer, there was always some kind of homemade cold salad in the fridge. Potato salad, pasta salad, egg salad… My new-Canadian parents refused to use air conditioning (or the dishwasher haha) so it was always nice to have something ice cold to snack on in the hot and humid weather! This recipe is the latest variation and I ate it at mom’s house recently.
Chickpeas are a great source of cheap protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals. And they taste great!
Ingredients:
- 400gr (2 cups) dry chickpeas
- 1/2 red onion small dice
- 1 red pepper small dice
- 3 green onions (scallions) sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 Tablespoons hot chillies in oil (or chopped fresh chillies)
- 2 Tablespoons diced dill pickles
- 90-100ml (6 tablespoons) olive oil
- 45-50ml (3 tablespoons) vinegar
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- 1-2 teaspoons black pepper
I am using dry chickpeas because I like the flavour and texture. Soaking and cooking them is very easy but it takes a little more time. Feel free to substitute an equal amount of canned chickpeas. Just be sure to rinse them thoroughly in cold water to remove all the slippery brine.
Use a good extra virgin olive oil. I have used apple cider vinegar in this recipe but any good vinegar works. As for the chillies, I am using delicious chopped red chillies in olive oil which I recently found at a local Italian grocery. You can substitute with any fresh chopped chilli or leave them out if you don’t like the heat.
Process
Before anything else, we need to rehydrate (soak) the dry chickpeas.
Variations
As I mentioned at the start, I keep this basic recipe limited to the veggies that will be able to sit in the oil and vinegar for a few days without spoiling. Feel free to add anything you like to this starting recipe just before eating.
Some other things I have used:
- blanched or raw asparagus
- corn
- zucchini
- celery
- chopped kimchi
- diced sour apple
- parmesan cheese
- any and all fresh herbs
- crispy diced bacon
- pan fried anchovies (myeolchi bokkeum)
- cumin is delicious and classic but try any spice you like
- tobasco, cholula or any other hot sauce
This kind of a salad is a good match for any picnic foods and especially grilled meats. And, although it is a cold salad, there is no reason why you couldn’t heat it up in a pan and serve it hot as well. As a warm dish, I think it would work perfectly under a piece of grilled fish.
Hope you enjoy. If you have any questions or comments or interesting variations, please leave them below. I am always happy to hear from you.
Bossam Leftovers: Pork and Vegetable Udon
Bossam Part 2:
Earlier I put up a recipe for a simple bossam. Towards the end, I mentioned that if you go easy on the salt in the braising liquid, you can use it to make another delicious pork dish. This is what I have done with the leftover braising liquid from that recipe: Pork and Vegetable Udon. This recipe made one huge portion but could very easily make 2 portions by adding more noodles.
Ingredients:
- Leftover braising liquid from Bossam recipe
- Leftover pork meat (if any) thin slices
- 1/2 onion sliced thin (the other half of the onion from the Bossam recipe)
- 3 cloves garlic sliced thin
- 2 green onions/scallions chopped
- 1 fresh green chilli pepper sliced into thin rounds
- 1/2 zucchini sliced thin
- 1/2 package of enoki mushrooms
- 1 cup green cabbage sliced thin
- 1 or 2 portions frozen udon noodles
I am using vegetables that I have in my refrigerator at the moment. You can substitute just about any vegetable you would normally put in a soup. You can use different mushrooms too. Different noodles could work as well. I like these Udon noodles. I usually find them at the neighbourhood Asian grocery store in the freezer section. They are convenient because they are frozen in single portions. If you don’t have leftover pork meat, don’t worry. The braising liquid has plenty of delicious pork flavour on it’s own. Sub in some extra mushrooms. I had enokis on hand but sliced king oyster mushrooms are even better!
Process
This took almost no time at all…
I think this probably took around 15 minutes to make. The leftover braising liquid from the bossam recipe is a perfect, rich and complex broth to cook vegetables and noodles in. This was a delicious meal that used up every last leftover from the previous night.
If you have any questions, comments or other ideas please leave them below. I always look forward to hearing from you.
Bossam Braised Pork Belly
This is a very basic version of bossam. The main event here is the meat. Fresh pork belly is braised in a liquid made with strong aromatics to flavour the meat and to soften some of the gamey aroma of the pork.
It can be served with kimchi and various sides, wrapped in a leaf of cabbage, perilla or lettuce.
There are a couple of good recipes here and here which include all the components for a more traditional Korean preparation with pickled Napa cabbage leaves and spicy shredded radish. This is a delicious way to eat it but I am going to do something a little different with things I already have in the refrigerator.
Ingredients for Braised Pork
- 1 kg (around 2.5lb) pork belly
- 1 small chunk (25gr) fresh ginger sliced
- 12 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1/2 onion
- 2 green onions roughly chopped
- 30ml / 2 tablespoons doenjang
- 15ml / 1 tablespoon instant coffee
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 1.5 litres / 6 cups water
Other Ingredients:
Once the pork is done, you will need something leafy to wrap it in. You may also want to add other fillings to your pork wraps. This can be anything from kimchi to fresh crunchy veggies. Sometimes I even like a little bit of nice mustard in them. This time around, I will use:
- red leaf lettuce, washed, dried and separated into leaves
- perilla leaf (kkaennip) washed and dried
- napa cabbage kimchi
- Korean radish kimchi or (kkakdugi)
- pan fried anchovies with peanuts (myeolchi bokkeum)
Process
Serving
Serve the pork slices with sides of your choice and leaves to wrap it with.
What about the leftover braising liquid?
Store any leftover meat in the braising liquid. Reheat it covered in the liquid as well.
The first time I made this, I noticed that the leftover braising liquid is actually very tasty. You can’t really notice the coffee as a distinct flavour. The liquid is just a warm and delicious pork and doenjang flavour. The only problem is that it is a little too salty.
The next time I made it, I decided to remove extra salt from the recipe, using doenjang only as the main seasoning. The meat is still delicious and can be salted a little after cooking if you think it needs it. But, keep in mind, you are also eating this with kimchi or maybe salted shrimp or other well seasoned add ons so very salty meat is not so necessary.
Once you reduce the salt, you are left with a delicious pork soup base. When the meal is done, I usually strain out all the solids and refrigerate it. The next day I combine it with shredded cabbage, the other half of the onion, mushrooms and frozen udon noodles, a little of the leftover pork and chopped scallions. It is surprisingly delicious! Find that recipe here.
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Look forward to hearing from you.
Beef Bone Broth Version 1: Low and Slow
Broth vs Stock
I am calling this a “Beef Bone Broth” only because it seems to be the name that everyone is using these days. It makes a perfect base liquid for any number of soup or sauce recipes although it also has many other uses.
In professional cooking, a “broth” is a usually a lighter, thinner, and often salted liquid made by boiling vegetables and/or meat for a relatively short time. A “stock”, in contrast, is made from bones and their connective tissue, simmered for a very long time, sometimes with vegetables and aromatics, usually without salt. A broth is a thin and flavourful liquid while a stock is a thick, gelatinous and relatively flavourless liquid (until it is seasoned).
So..as you will see, what we are making here is nothing like a broth. It is a very simple beef stock.
Long, Low and Slow vs Hard and Fast
Eventually I will put up two versions of this recipe.
This one is a long, low and slow method that cooks until the bones have nothing left to give. The end result is a mostly clear, slightly brown stock. It is thick and gelatinous, even slightly sticky. If you added mirepoix (say onions, celery, carrot) to this later in the process, you would end up with something like a Western white veal/beef stock.
The second one (which I will post later) is a hard boil and relatively fast stock (for beef bones). It will still take several hours but, it will result in a milky white broth with a nutty flavour and slightly thinner consistency. This is what you will often see in Seolleongtang or Mandu Guk (dumpling soup) in Korean restaurants.
Ingredients
You can make this as large or small as you like. I have made a recipe that fits into my biggest stock pot which holds around 12 litres / 3 gallons. Just make sure that the pot is big enough to keep bones submerged plus a little water on top.
- 4 kg / 8lb cut beef hip bones (this is usually a mix of marrow bones and knuckle bones)
- 1.5 kg / 3lb cut cow foot
- fresh cold water to cover them
My local Korean grocer keeps bags of cut beef bones in the freezer section all the time. And, there is a butcher near me that usually has frozen whole cow feet as well. Any butcher shop should be able to get you beef hip bones for stock. The cow foot is optional but it is made of of mostly connective tissue and this will add body and richness to your finished stock. If you can’t get cow foot, just omit or replace with regular hip bones.
Process
Wash and Soak
Initial Boil (blanching)
Simmering the stock
32 hours later….
Cooling and Storage
How to use your Beef Bone Broth
Simmer any combination of meat/vegetables/mushrooms in it for a delicious soup. Add your favourite noodles to it. Or, you can simply warm it up and add rice and seasoning. You can even drink it as is for a deeply nutritious and filling liquid snack.
I will mostly use mine as a base for noodle soups and my favourite Seolleongtang which I will post a recipe for soon.
This beef bone broth (stock) is a liquid rich in body and texture that is mostly neutral in flavour…a base for almost anything you can imagine. Soup, stew, sauce, smoothie…anything goes. If you have any recipe that has water as an ingredient, replace it with this stock to improve the flavour and the nutritional value. As I cook with this new stock, I will post up ideas as I make them.
Say Sue Me: One Week
In the beginning
This morning, I made a quick (and mostly impulsive) list of my favourite Say Sue Me songs. I was planning to take a long walk and I thought it would be fun to compile the tunes into a playlist to keep me company: a kind of “Greatest Hits” according to me. While I was doing this, I wondered: “Which song was it that first made me want to hear more from this band?”
The answer came quickly: “One Week”.
I first heard this relatively unknown band from Busan, Korea sometime in 2017/2018. At that time, the only thing available to me was a compilation of their first 2 Korean releases “We’ve Sobered Up” and “Big Summer Night” co-released by Damnably in the UK and Electric muse in Korea.
This one:
On first listen, I knew that I had never heard anything quite like it but, at the same time, it was warm and familiar. It felt like meeting an old friend unexpectedly. I was immediately hooked.
At that time, the song that I liked the most was “One Week”. I have listened to this recording hundreds of times and I have heard the band play it many times live. I still love it as much as when I first heard it. The energy never fades for me. While I was listening to it today, I thought: what it is that I like so much about this song? The answer was…everything. I think this song is pretty much perfect. I wondered if it might be fun to look at the song piece by piece and write a little essay about it.
So here we are:
Lyrics
Most Say Sue Me songs have English lyrics, this one included. Singer Sumi Choi 취수미, tells the cute and funny story of a presumably bratty younger sister who, for some unknown reason, decides to be good to her big sister, much to her older siblings surprise. She can only manage to keep this up for “just that one week“…as she wavers back and forth between “evil jealousy and pure love again”.
It is such a relatable and charming story told in the most straightforward manner. The little sister is just stating the facts without explanation in the inimitable way that only a child can. If you listen to Say Sue Me over their long career, you will notice that Sumi is capable of poetic and deeply moving lyrics. But this is something else. It is the voice of a child from the past, written perfectly without any affectation.
Music
This compilation album has a do-it-yourself, live-from-our-basement lo-fi sound. It did get professionally remastered some years later and I have both versions. They are not so different but if I had to choose, I might pick the original version.
The base layer rhythm guitar is scratchy and distorted and sounds like it is coming out of a tiny transistor radio speaker, ragged and compressed. Underneath, Jaeyoung Ha 하재영 plots a simple bass line that just sticks to the root notes, no flourishes. I think there is power in this approach to bass playing especially in a song like this. The Ramones did this for their whole career.
Original drummer Semin Kang’s 강세민 steady rhythm and fills are deceptively simple and perfect here. If you listen closely you can hear spaces where he is just so slightly behind the beat that it gives the whole song a cool slack character. You feel like you are already a couple of beers in while listening. He sounds relaxed and it is contagious.
Then there is guitarist Byungkyu Kim 김병규. I would argue that Byungkyu is one of the most underrated guitar players working today. Yes, his technique is flawless. But with the caliber of musicianship in todays’ indie scene, this is not so unusual. Where Byungkyu shines is in his ability to create tension and release, his ability to deliver raw emotion in solo passages and his sense of melody and phrasing. He can dissolve a solo into a whirlwind of dark noise and then ride back out again on the most heart-wrenching crescendo of notes. In general, I don’t often enjoy guitar solos. But Byungkyu is a different story. Whenever I have seen the band live, there are a couple of his solos that always move me to tears. Every time.
With these early songs, he is not quite there yet, but his playing still forms the core of the Say Sue Me sound. Heavy, wet sounding spring reverb on single note themes run throughout this record. The verses of “One Week” have a simple line on the low strings sometimes mirroring Sumi’s vocals and sometimes knitting the bars together. Then the chorus ramps up with bouncing energetic 2 note chords higher up the neck from Byungkyu, with Sumi raking muted strings through a big wall of reverb underneath. It vibrates with fun energy. The noise underneath makes it sound like you are desperately trying to tune in the scratchy song on a shortwave radio as it comes over the airwaves from the opposite side of the world.
The best part is…
…the bridge: the music and the recording as well. The guitars rock back and forth on 2 chords and tons of reverb noise under Sumi chanting “I’m changing every week” opening up to a round of “evil jealousy, pure love again” as the volume goes up, the cymbals get hammered and the vocals get doubled and layered with harmonies. The last chord of the last round of “pure love agaaaaaaaaaain”! is a BIG FAT F-major that sounds like four hands are hammering it down on a gigantic church organ. A perfect stuttering drum fill brings it back to a volume-up chorus and then the final chord ringing out. This is one of those songs that you can’t possibly play loud enough.
It is a brilliant song from beginning to end that instantly cemented my love for this bands music.
What came after…
“One Week” is not necessarily my favourite Say Sue Me song but it is the one that got me hooked on their music. Since that time, the band has released many singles, EPs and albums and a few band members have come and gone. The core sound of these early recordings is still there but the song writing and musicianship keeps getting better with each release. Listen to the song “The Last Thing Left” from the album of the same name to get an idea of how far this band has come since the early days of “One Week”.
If you want to hear more Say Sue Me, you can stream them on all the usual platforms. For merch and physical copies of music, check out their Bandcamp. If you want to see what’s up day-to-day or check out the current tour, here is their Instagram .
What was the song that first got you hooked on Say Sue Me? Please leave a comment below.
Beef and Radish Soup: Muguk
Korean beef and radish soup, or sogogi muguk, is a flavourful and nutritious soup which is easy to make quickly. There are only a handful of ingredients and everything is cooked in one pot.
Ingredients
- 150gr (5-6oz) beef brisket point sliced thinly against the grain
- 250gr (8oz) Korean radish
- 15ml (1 tablespoon) sesame oil
- 5 or 6 cloves garlic sliced thin or minced
- 15ml (1 tablespoon) Korean soup soy sauce (gukgangjang)
- 2 or 3 green onions (scallions)
- 750ml (3cups) water approximately
- salt and pepper
I used beef brisket in this recipe because I can get it easily and I like that it is lean and tender at the same time. If you can’t get brisket, you can use almost any other good cut of beef. Lean cuts from the round will be a little chewier but still delicious: cut them thin. If you want to put premium steak cuts in here, go right ahead. I have even made this with ground beef in a pinch.
Don’t use regular soy sauce. Korean gukganjang or soup soy sauce can be found at any Korean grocer. Regular soy sauce is a poor substitute. If you can’t find soup soy sauce, substitute with a good quality fish sauce.
The meat to radish proportion can vary. This one I am making has a pretty generous amount of meat. Feel free to use a little less or, even more if you want to load up on protein.
Process
I like to eat this with a bowl of rice and a couple of sides. Today I am having home made kimchi and a cucumber salad. I made kkakdugi yesterday but it is not quite ready yet. Otherwise I would eat it with this dish : )
This recipe will make enough for two medium portions or one very large portion.
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I love to hear from you.
Kkakdugi or Korean Radish Kimchi
Kkakdugi, or Korean Radish Kimchi, is one of the fastest and simplest kimchis to make. There are relatively few steps and just a handful of ingredients. The recipe you will see here is a little different from others you may find.
Last time I travelled through Korea, I noticed 2 distinct kinds of kkakdugi. One was the classic little cubes served as a side in many restaurants. The other is a much larger and chunkier radish kimchi. This second one accompanies clear and mild beef broth dishes like seolleongtang or doganitang. The pieces of radish tend to be bigger and less uniform and there is much more liquid in the kimchi. The kimchi is on the table in a big container from which you can eat the radish but you can also use the kimchi-juice to season your soup. This is what I am attempting to make here. You can also just eat it as a side the same as you would any kkakdugi.
Ingredients
As a chef, I always preferred to cook by weight rather than volume. I grew up using the metric system and I like it very much. So, as much as possible from now on, I will include metric equivalents. Keep in mind that other than salt and radish, you can vary ingredients as you like to suit your tastes.
- 3.5-4lb (1.5-2kg) Korean radish (the one i am using is 1700gr)
- 2 tablespoons (25gr) Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
- 1/4cup (30gr) korean chilli flakes / gochugaru
- 1 tablespoon (20gr) salted baby shrimp / saeujeot
- 10 cloves (35gr) garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon (10gr) ginger minced
- 1 tablespoon sugar (75gr)/syrup
- 1 asian pear peeled and chopped
- 1 cup of chopped green onion/scallion or asian chive/buchu
Korean radish is similar to white daikon in some ways but the flavour of Korean radish is usually more sweet and vegetal and less hot and bitter. But, if you really can’t find Korean radish, daikon is a reasonable substitute.
I am using Diamond Kosher salt. You can substitute 30 grams of any good salt, but avoid using table salt.
I just happen to have a homemade maesil plum syrup on hand which I am using instead of sugar. If you want to try it, you can find maesil syrup in any Korean grocer.
Feel free to vary the amount of chilli flakes to make this as spicy or as mild as you like.
Korean pears are not available at this time of year so I am using a whole regular asian pear which is roughly half the size of the Korean variety. You can also substitute an apple or regular pear or leave it out altogether.
Process
Allow the kimchi to ferment on the counter for a day or two. Taste it a couple times a day and when you are happy with the flavour, refrigerate it. You can eat the radish kimchi as is as a side to any dish or use the kimchi liquid to season mild soups.
Just like any kimchi, kkakdugi will continue to ferment and sour over time. If it gets too sour to eat as is have a look here for ideas on how to use well aged kimchi. Radish kimchi will work just as well as cabbage kimchi in hot dishes. I especially like it in kimchi fried rice.
If you are also looking for a good cabbage kimchi recipe, you can find mine here.
Lastly, if you are interested in what Seolleongtang looks like in Seoul, Korea, have a look here or here. Maybe in the future I will put up a recipe for Seolleongtang although it is a long long process that is challenging to make at home. Here is a good recipe from Korean Bapsang. This kimchi would be a perfect accompaniment!
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I love to hear from you.
How to Fix Kimchi
What is wrong with my kimchi?
Sometimes the kimchi you imagine making is different from the kimchi you actually end up with. There are so many variables involved that it is difficult to predict the outcome even if you follow the exact recipe every time. The ingredients are powerful: garlic, ginger, chilis, fish sauce, etc. The main elements are fresh vegetables, which may be different every time you buy them. One cabbage may have more water content than another. Or a greater sugar content. One clove of garlic may be more intense than the next. One chilli powder is spicier than the other. And so on…
On top of that, the finished kimchi itself is alive, changing dramatically over time as it ferments and ages. So, if you have a very specific expectation of what your kimchi should taste like…it will probably get there eventually but it won’t stay there for long.
It is important to start with good quality ingredients and a tested recipe. But, beyond that, there will always be aspects that are difficult to control. Some flavours can be manipulated to some degree after the fact. And, of course, mistakes can happen in executing any recipe. Some are more repairable than others.
Before you do anything
Don’t worry about how to fix your kimchi until it has a little time to settle down. A freshly made batch of kimchi contains ingredients that have intense and pungent flavours. Dry ingredients need time to fully hydrate. Veggies continue to release water for some time diluting everything else. Don’t judge your kimchi until you have given it two or three days to come together.
After that time, give it a taste and then decide if there is a problem….
Let’s have a look at a few common issues and how to fix your kimchi:
My kimchi is too sour
Freshly made kimchi is not sour at all. As it ferments, lactic acid is produced, resulting in a sour flavour over time. If your kimchi is already more sour than you like, there is not much you can do to reverse it. However, sour kimchi is ideal for warm recipes like kimchi jjigae, kimchi fried rice or kimchi pancakes. In my opinion, the more sour it is, the more delicious for cooking with. So keep this sour batch for cooked meals. Ideas for how to use sour kimchi are here.
If you like fresh and crisp tasting kimchi, store it in the refrigerator immediately after making it. Cool temperatures will delay the onset of fermentation and slow the progress over time. Your kimchi will stay “fresh” much longer. Consider making smaller batches so you can finish it before it gets too sour. It is fine to cut recipes in half to always have a fresh batch on hand.
My kimchi is not sour enough
If you like your kimchi sour, once you finish making it, leave it out at room temperature. It will not go bad. Taste it once or twice a day and, when it is just about sour enough, refrigerate it to slow down the fermentation. Make sure you are pressing the veggies back down under the brine every time you taste it. If you like both fresh and sour kimchi for different uses, put half in the refrigerator right away and ferment the other half at room temperature until sufficiently sour.
My kimchi is too spicy
Once you have mixed in your chilli flakes there is no going back. The spiciness may mellow a little in the first few days as the kimchi comes together, but not that much. The solution here is to control the amount of spice you are adding right from the start.
ALL chilli flakes are different…they are from different places with different weather patterns and growing seasons. No two will be equally spicy (or sweet). The only way to judge a chilli powder is to taste it. If it is burning hot on your tongue, start with 25% of what the recipe says and add from there. You will probably find that you need much less than the recipe calls for. On the other hand, if you happen to buy a sweeter, fruitier chilli powder with less heat, add as much as you like. Taste it when your kimchi paste is finished and adjust.
My kimchi is not spicy at all
Some chilli flakes are quite mild (and will likely say so on the package). I prefer these because you can add a large amount. Your kimchi will have a deep red colour and a nice fruity chilli character. Just like above, taste the chilli and adjust as you go. If you really want sharp heat, as a last resort you can mix in a some cayenne pepper. This will ramp up the heat without affecting the overall flavour too much.
My kimchi tastes “fishy”
Fish sauces vary in saltiness and “fishiness”. Try as many as you can and choose the one you like best. In general, avoid ones with more than 2 or 3 ingredients. Many are made with anchovy but some are made with other fish, like sand lance. They will all taste “fishy” to some extent so if this is a flavour you don’t enjoy, just use less or none at all. It is not an essential ingredient for a successful kimchi but you will lose some depth of flavour without it. You can also play with the amount of salted shrimp you are using from lowering the amount to using none at all. These ingredients contribute salt to the recipe, so if you remove them you may need to replace them with some kosher or sea salt.
My kimchi is fizzy
When the lactic acid content gets very high in a long fermented batch of kimchi, you may feel fizziness on your tongue. Your kimchi has not spoiled but it may be fermented beyond the point where you like to eat it raw. It will still be excellent for cooking though and the fizz will disappear in a hot dish.
My kimchi is too salty
This is a tough one. If it is not too extreme, you may be able to dilute the salty flavour to some extent. The best way to do this, without destroying the balance of the finished kimchi, is to add more vegetables. Korean radish has a high water content and ferments nicely. Peel and chop up a korean radish and sink it into your finished kimchi. The salt in the kimchi will draw water from the radish which should dilute the mix and decrease the saltiness somewhat. Give it a few days and taste it again. Hopefully it will be improved but if not, you may need to reserve this kimchi for hot cooking, adding small amounts to dishes as both flavouring and seasoning.
The best thing is to figure out why it is so salty in the first place. Most recipes will include a step where the salted cabbage gets a rinse. This is to wash the cabbage but also to remove excess salt. Don’t forget this step. Other sources of salt in the recipe are the fish sauce and salted shrimp. If you like your kimchi less salty, you may need to use less of these ingredients.
Lastly, but maybe most importantly, do not use fine iodized table salt in your kimchi. A cup of this salt is much much saltier than a cup of kosher or coarse sea salt. If in doubt, you can always weigh your salt. For reference, a cup of Diamond Crystal kosher salt weighs around 140 grams or 5oz. This kosher salt in the red box is the one I use for everything and I think it is pretty common. If you are using a different salt, try weighing it out to control saltiness in your finished batch. This is a good post about salt varieties and substitutions.
My kimchi is bland
Bland tasting kimchi is probably from a lack of salt which is an easy fix. Simply add more salt or fish sauce or salted shrimp. Bland kimchi can also be improved by increasing the chilli powder, or tossing in a few more cloves of crushed garlic or ginger. Sometimes a little sugar can help as well but start with small amounts, taste and add as necessary.
My kimchi is too watery
Watery kimchi is not necessarily a bad thing thing. There are even “water kimchi” recipes where the kimchi juice is either eaten or used in other recipes. But, if you have made a regular cabbage kimchi recipe and you find it too watery or bland, there are a few things to consider.
It is possible that the cabbage was processed before it was brined long enough. Once the cabbage is salted, it needs around 2 hours to absorb salt and release water. If you combine it with the kimchi paste too soon, the cabbage will continue to release water into the salty paste and dilute the batch.
Or…
The cabbage was not drained enough. The cabbage will need to be rinsed/washed after the 2 hour brining time. After washing, the cabbage needs to be drained thoroughly. You can place it into a large colander, moving it/flipping it every few minutes until no more water is draining out the bottom. This can take some time. Maybe as long as 10-15 minutes. If you rush this process and mix still wet cabbage with your kimchi paste, it could also end up too watery.
You can drain off some water from a finished batch if you just want to eat the vegetables. Just make sure there is enough liquid left to keep the veggies submerged. It is probably a better idea to just use a slotted spoon to remove the kimchi you want to eat and keep all that juice for flavouring a soup or stew later on.
My kimchi is moldy
I have only had mold grow on kimchi once in the last 10 years and it was because I left chunks of kkakdugi above the liquid and forgot about it for some time. The radish pieces that were not submerged began to mold. That was my fault. I don’t think kimchi spoils very easily, however:
IF there is green, blue or black mold on your kimchi, the safest thing to do is discard it and make a new batch. White spots are more likely yeast. If it’s more than just a few small spots, I would be inclined to toss it as well although I have read that rinsing it and cooking with it is ok. If the kimchi is soft or slippery/slimy and smells BAD, throw it out.
To avoid these kinds of problems, make sure that the container you are storing your kimchi in is clean and sanitized (boiling water sanitizing is fine). Keep it covered in the fridge. It is also important to keep the veggies submerged in the brine. Press the kimchi vegetables back down under the brine after you use it. As an alternative you can hold back one or two whole cabbage leaves and use them as a natural lid on top of your cut vegetables. Or do the same thing with plastic wrap.
Consistency comes with practice
I have been making kimchi regularly for around 10 years and no two batches are exactly alike. There are too many variables that are difficult to control, not to mention that the finished kimchi keeps changing over time. But, with practice, I have learned how to steer things in the right direction and almost always end up with something i really enjoy eating.
As you can see above, some things can be manipulated after the kimchi is finished but it’s best to get things right at the start. Make notes of what you like or don’t like with each batch and vary your ingredients until your kimchi tastes delicious to you. There is no “best” or “correct” kimchi. There is only the one you enjoy eating. Make that your goal.
If you have any questions or if you are having issues that I haven’t thought of here, please post a comment below. I always enjoy hearing from you.
Tommy Thompson Park in Early Spring
An accidental nature refuge
Tommy Thompson Park is a 5km long spit of land that stretches into Lake Ontario at the south east end of Toronto. It is entirely manmade, consisting of silt dredged up from the harbour as well as construction and demolition material produced over the last 75 years as the city grew. The shores of the park are made up of mostly broken concrete, tile and brick which have been eroded by wind and water over time. Shanks of twisted iron rebar jut out from the shoreline like rusty branches. Although it doesn’t sound so picturesque, it is actually quite beautiful.
Nature has taken over as this pile of dirt and rubble has sat here mostly undisturbed. It is now home to indigenous plants, animals, birds and insects. Some rare migratory birds make Tommy Thompson Park an annual nesting ground and there are areas of the park that are closed off during most of the year to allow them to nest in peace. Cars are not allowed. Even dogs are not allowed as the permanent residents of the park see them as predators.
Because it is remote from the city and protected by environmental laws, it is a great place for spotting beavers, minks, martens, coyotes, geese, swans, all types of ducks, birds of prey, insects, turtles, snakes, frogs…. Even Snowy Owls and Bald Eagles make stops here.
Since there are no cars it is also an ideal place for a walk or bike ride when you feel like escaping from the noise and hustle of downtown. For more detailed info here is the official website.
Photos and sounds from an early spring visit to Tommy Thompson Park
I expected it to be noisier, but except for birds quietly nesting and people cycling and chattering away, it was almost silent. Below is a sound sample from late summer. In contrast, the sounds of cicadas, crickets and bees is LOUD! You can also hear a Porter Airlines or Air Canada Dash-8 flying over. This is a typical sound of the park which is at the end of one of the Toronto Island Billy Bishop Airport runways.
This park changes dramatically with the seasons…let’s come back later and see what’s going on