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.
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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
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. In Korean, this is called 국물, which directly translates to “soup liquid”. It makes a perfect base liquid for any number of soup recipes although it also has many other uses.
In English, 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.
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
Myeolchi Bokkeum
Myeolchi Bokkeum is panfried dried anchovies. Sweet, salty and crunchy, it is one of my favourite Korean sides and also one of the simplest recipes. It can be made in just a few minutes but you need to move fairly quickly and take a little care to get it just right. I really like these with peanuts in the recipe but I am making these today without nuts to share with someone who has an allergy.
The recipe is easy to remember because it is just “one” of everything…
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dried very small anchovies (in freezer section at Korean grocer)
- 1 tablespoon olive or other vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon sugar (white or brown)
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Process:
Before you start cooking, combine the water, sugar and minced garlic in a small container. Mix until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
Start cooking: this is an easy preparation but you have to move a little quickly so here are a couple videos to demonstrate…
Heat your pan on medium high and add dry anchovies (and nuts if you are including them). I like to stir mine with my fingers in the dry pan until they are too hot to touch. This step will ensure that any moisture in the fish will evaporate before frying them in oil. Keep them moving and just heat them until you can’t handle them with bare hands anymore.
Add the olive or vegetable oil and fry until crispy. Keep them moving. It is ok for them to brown a little bit but don’t go too far or they may taste bitter (burnt)
When they are crisply fried (you can even hear how crunchy they are), move them aside, add the sugar, water and garlic from the prepared container. Let it cook down a little on the side until you have kind of a loose caramel, then mix the fish back in for a few seconds and remove from the heat.
Move the hot fish to a new bowl or container so that it stops cooking.
Pour over the sesame oil
Add the sesame seeds
Mix well and it is done
How to eat myeolchi bokkeum
You can eat these as is, put them on rice or add them to your favourite lettuce wrap (ssam). I especially like to sprinkle them on fresh salads. They can be used anywhere something sweet, salty and crunchy would go. I had a Korean cook once who put them on her yogurt for breakfast but not sure if I would recommend it! If they are not all gone in one sitting, you can store your myeolchi bokkeum in an airtight container in the fridge.
Variations:
- you can make these spicy by adding a little gochujang to the sugar/water mixture or by sprinkling some chili flakes in at the end with the sesame seeds
- you can make these saltier or more savoury by adding sea salt or soy sauce to the mix. Careful though because the anchovies themselves are already quite salty. Experiment with small amounts.
- you can add any nut or seeds in with anchovies at the start of the recipe. Peanuts are classic and delicious but almost anything works including almonds, walnuts or pumpkin seeds.
- If you like them sweeter, add a little more sugar or even syrup (rice, corn or maple)
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.
Dried Pollock Soup Bukeoguk
The start of a long relationship with Korean food
Years ago I hired a new cook who had recently arrived from Korea on a work visa. I soon started to notice them struggling a little with physical demands and mental focus. Everyday, they worked diligently and did an excellent job, never complaining once. But they were mentally exhausted and physically depleted by the end of every day. After a few weeks, they finally admitted to me that they were having a hard time eating North American food without feeling ill. On top of homesickness, they were basically….hungry all the time. And because they were hungry, they were exhausted.
The only way I could think of to make this situation better was to feed them. I asked them what they would eat if they could choose anything. The answer was Bukeoguk.
I knew nothing about Korean cooking and I had never heard of it. But, I searched for recipes and went to a Korean grocer for the first time and bought all the ingredients I needed. The next day, I made my first Korean food. And, for the few years that this cook worked for me, I continued to feed them one new dish a day. I gradually became a pretty good Korean cook and they gradually became healthier and happier.
They eventually moved on, as all cooks do. But my love for Korean food and cooking has remained with me. And for the last 10 years I have continued to learn methods and ingredients. By now, I must have made a hundred different dishes (probably more), even making my own doenjang, ganjang and gochujang from scratch. Makgeolli too.
Since that fateful meeting, I have cooked and eaten everything I can get my hands on. I have traveled to Korea many times and I have made many friends, even learning to speak the language at a basic level (so far). This story is a long one, too long to write here….and it’s not over yet! For now, I’ll just say “Thank you: 만나서 반가워요”
Ingredients:
- 60 grams (one big handful) dried Alaskan Pollock (bukeo) 북어
- 1 cup peeled and rough chopped Korean radish
- 4 cloves of garlic minced or sliced thinly
- 2-3 green onions (scallions)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon Korean Soup Soy Sauce (guk ganjang) or fish sauce
- 1 egg beaten
- salt and pepper
- water (4-6 cups)
The amounts above are guidelines. This preparation is very simple and there is no delicate balance to upset here. If you like more fish, use more fish. If you like more radish put in more radish. The important thing is that everything is underwater and that it is seasoned well with salt or soy sauce/fish sauce. If you do follow the recipe exactly it will make a good soup. 2 smaller portions with rice and sides or one big portion.
Raw ingredients:
Process:
Soak dried pollock for 15 minutes or so in warm water until it softens up enough to cut or tear apart. Keep the soaking water…we will add it in later.
Chop or tear soaked fish into bite size pieces. Sometime there are a few little bones in the meat and tearing it by hand will help you find and remove them.
Cook the fish pieces in sesame oil for a few minutes until it is hot and aromatic
Add garlic. I like to slice my garlic thin but I think minced garlic is more common. Up to you!
Add chopped radish and cook for a few minutes until warm
Pour back the soaking water, enough to cover everything plus a few centimetres.
Soup soy sauce goes in. This stuff is not the same as regular soy sauce. It is much saltier and funkier. You should be able to find it easily at a Korean grocer but, if not, you can substitute fish sauce.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until radish is cooked through. Now is a good time to add salt if needed. The dried fish contains salt, the soy sauce is very salty and the radish will release a lot of water. So I prefer for all these ingredients to cook completely before adding salt. Now is the perfect time to taste and adjust. Add salt if needed. Pepper too if you like.
Green onion goes in
Pour in egg and remove the pot from the heat. Wait until a raft of egg floats up before stirring it in.
Time to eat!
Bukeoguk is nutritious and easy to digest (also why it is known as a good “hangover soup”). It is simple and quick to make with only a few ingredients. I like to eat it with fresh white rice and a little homemade kimchi. Whenever I make it now, I can’t help but remember the first time I made it and the hungry person who got me started on my Korean cooking adventures.
If you have any questions or comments please leave them below. I am always happy to hear from you.