Dduk Bok-kee

Dduk Bok-kee is a sort of spicy rice dumpling dish. (think japanese mochi covered in hot sauce, only 1000 times better) Its one of my most favorite foods in existence. (and I LOVE to eat)

dduk (you can find it at asian markets or make the rice cakes yourself out of rice flour)

2 Tbsp soysauce

2 Tbsp sugar

2Tbsp sesame oil

1 minced garlic clove

1 Tbsp rice wine (Sake- and make sure its not bad Sake - yes there IS good sake in the world)

Black pepper

1/2 lb lean beef

Chopped vegetables (any kinds will work, I like onions, carrots, water chestnuts and green beans)

4 Tbsp koh-choo-jahng (Korean red pepper paste)

2 Tbsp Oil

1. In a bowl combine 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp sesame oil and 1 Tbsp sake, a dash of black pepper and a minced galic clove.


2. Marinate the sliced beef in the sauce overnight


3. Cook the dduk in a pot of boiling water for 5-10 minutes until they are soft. Then turn off the heat and leave them.


4. In another bowl you will make the sauce: 1 Tbsp soysauce, 1 Tbsp sesame oil, 1 Tbsp sugar, 4 Tbsp Korean red pepper paste, and some black pepper.


5. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a frying pan and cook the marinated meat.


6. Add the chopped vegetables to the skillet with the beef.


7. Saute the beef and vegetables until they are mostly done and then drain the dduk and add it to the pan.


8. Add the spicy sauce you made to the pan as well.


9. Finishing cooking the meat, dduk and vegetables.


10. Put the Dduk Bok-kee onto a plate, sprinkle with some sesame seeds, get a big glass of water, and eat!

Dduk Bok-kee @ Group Recipes

Spring Rolls

Spring Rolls are delicious. A great cold food to eat in the summer. And very easy to make. If you ever see rice paper rolls in the store, stock up on them!

Rice noodles
Rice paper rolls
Veggies (carrots, onion, cilantro, bean sprouts, pepper, etc.)
Egg/shrimp/tofu/beef/seitan
Any other ingredients you want to put in

1.) Boil noodles until done
2.) Slice veggies into slivers and saute in some soy sauce and pepper.
3.) Soak rice paper into warm water until its soft
4.) lay out rice paper, place ingredients on the edge and roll the spring roll up.
5.) dip into hoisin sauce and eat.

Middle Eastern Meal

I LOVE middle eastern food. Its great to eat when its hot outside, delicious, and most of it you can eat with pita bread or with your hands. Both of which I like doing.

Mjaddarah (onions, rice and lentils)

1 cup rice
1 cup lentils
Oil
Onions

1.) put rice and lentils in a pot.
2.) Add 3-4 cups of water
3.) Cook the stuff til it boils
4.) Once it hits the boiling point, lower the heat and simmer for 15 min. or until done.
5.) While the lentils and rice cook, fry the onions til they are caramelized, then add to the rice and lentils.

Salad Shirazi

Cucumber
Onion
Tomato
Mint
Parsely
Lemon / Lemon juice
Olive oil

1.) Chop up and seed the cucumbers, tomatoes and onions
2.) Mix in the other ingredients
3.) Pile the stuff onto pita and eat

Pita Bread

1 package of yeast, or quick rising yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teapsoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup lukewarm water

1.) Disolve yeast in water, add sugar and let sit until frothy
2.) Add other ingredients
3.) Knead/mix until you have a nice dough, and then coat the dough in oil, place in a bowl and let rise about 3 hours.
4.) Pinch off small balls of dough, make them into a pita shaped thing
5.) pre-heat oven to 500 degrees
6.) Place a pan on the bottom rack and place pitas on the pan
7.) Cook for 2 minutes, flip, cook 2 more minutes and then take the pita out
8.) continue until all the pita's are cooked.

Oatmeal!

Its oatmeal! Oatmeal is really delicious and healthy. (as long as you get a canister of  plain oats and not the packed sugar filled kind.) 

Oatmeal is a complete grain. It has tons of fiber so its good for the digestive track, it slows down the break down of starches, which evens out blood sugar levels, and oatmeal lowers cholesterol! Plus its packed with nutrients and minerals. A great food to start the day.

But why the heck am I posting a recipe for oatmeal? Its a seemingly simple dish, but I make mine a bit differntly than the average person.

1/4 cup rolled oats
Hot water
Yogurt or soy cream
Sliced fruit
Some sweetener, like sugar, agave nectar or maple surup

1.) Put some oats in a bowl
2.) Add a little hot water
3.) Mix the oats til they  become oatmeal like.
4.) Add some yogurt to it! It makes the oatmeal creamy and good.
5.) Add slices of fruit and cinnamon or other spices if you like.
6.) Add a little sweetener if you need it and then eat!

Another great thing about rolled oats...you can also make granola out of them and add then to breads that you bake or even stick them in pancakes!

Ochazuke: Tea and Rice Soup

Ok...I know this Japanese dish will sound very strange to westerners...but it is delicious, I promise. Absolutely one of my most favorite meals. Ochazuke means Tea-pickle. Its essentially rice with pickled vegetables and tea. It takes little time to make, and is very filling.

Rice
Genmai cha, Hoji cha or Jasmine tea. Oolongs might work...but japanese tea's will work the best.
Pickled Vegetables
Some Flavorings: spices or dashi or a little stock


Optoinal Toppings:
Some Rice crackers or Arare
Soy Sauce
Nori (toasted seaweed)
Cubed Tofu
Fried Egg
Peas
Green Onion
Ume Boshi (pickled plum)
Bean Sprouts
Toasted Sesame seeds
Wasabi (horseradish)
Rice vinegar
Bonito flakes (flakes of tuna)
Furikake (rice sprinkles?)
Fish
Konbu (a type of seaweed)
Shiso (a purple herb that is sort of like basil and oregano)
Jako (tiny dried fish)
Left over steamed vegetables
Pieces of steak....

Basically any asian stuff you have lying about. You could also just buy a Ochazuki flavor pack, like this one, thats how most japanese people make ochazuki now-a-days.

Pickled Vegetables:

You can buy them in the store, or make them yourself, which isn't hard.

1.) Thinly slice up about a cup or so of some veggies or fruits, in either in round or match stick shapes: carrots, radishes,plum, celery, ginger, cucumber, peach, turnips, eggplant, pineapple, cabbage, peppers, etc.
2.) Put the veggies/fruits in a plastic bag.
3.) Add in 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 Tbs. sugar and 3 Tbs. rice vinegar.
4.) Close the bag with some air in it and shake it up!
5.) after the veggies are well coated push the air out of the bag and close it.
6.) place a flat plate on top of the bag, and place a weight like a large can on top.
7.) Let the whole thing sit for 3 hours or even over night.
8.) Rinse off the veggies. You should be left with something that is crunchy, sweet, and acidic all at the same time. (japanese pickles-sokusekizuke- are not like western pickles at all, and if you've ever eaten those bright pink ginger slices with sushi, you've had pickled ginger!)

These pickles are good for about the same length of time as fresh fruit, 2-7 days.

Ochazuki:

1.) Scoop some rice in a bowl
2.) Put toppings on rice
3.) Pour Hot tea over rice and toppings, the same amount you might put in cereal.
4.) Eat.

Italian Bread Dipping Sauce

I love this stuff. Its simple and makes a great snack, especially with some sliced Roma tomatoes.

Just make sure to remember that 2-3 Tbsps of oil/fat a day (saturated or unsaturated) is what the average person should be getting. (most people get much more than this) So its not a good idea to eat a whole bread loaf with this stuff. But the serving you see there is barely half a Tbsp, and I didn't even use the whole thing up when I was eating. It's also a lot easier to control your fat intake when you make foods from scratch than it is when you eat processed and canned foods, so learning how to cook with fresh foods is one of the best things you can do.

Ok, no more tangent, here's the recipe:

1 cup oil
Basil, Parsley, Oregano,
Minced Garlic, Black Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper
Anatto, Rosemary

1.) Mix all the ingredients up in a jar, bottle or bowl.
2.) Let it sit together over night so the oil will get infused with the flavors.
3.) Eat with some bread and tomatoes or cheese if you like.

The oil is good for about a week. After that botulism can start to accumulate in the oil, and getting the black death from your food can't be good.