Korean Banchan Dishes

For me, the highlight of a Korean meal is all the little banchan dishes you get at the beginning. So when I cook Korean at home, this is the missing piece of the puzzle. I gave it a half shot at replicating some of these dishes, but honestly this recipe can use some perfecting. It will do for now though since it's easy and quick.

Before...

and After!

Spinach Banchan
Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:
Spinach - 1 bunch (cut off root and rinse thoroughly)
Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp
Sesame Oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 1/2 tsp minced
Scallion - 1 tsp minced

Directions:
1. Add salt to hot water. Blanch spinach by submerging in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
2. Remove and drain. Squeeze out excess water.
3. Cut spinach into 2-3 inch bunches.
4. Mix in all ingredients. Let marinate and cool in fridge.


Enoki Mushroom Banchan
Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:
Enoki - 1 bag (7 oz)
Soy Sauce - 3/4 tbsp
Sesame Oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 1/2 tsp minced
Scallion - 1 tsp minced

Directions:
1. Add salt to hot water. Boil enoki mushroom for about 4 minutes.
2. Remove and drain. Squeeze out excess water.
3. Cut mushrooms in half lengthwise.
4. Mix in all ingredients. Let marinate and cool in fridge.



Bonus: 
Bibimbap Lite
Fry an egg, mix the banchan and gochujang and you got yourself a quickie bibimbap!

Tamagoyaki (Japanese Omelette)

Eggs are one of the most versatile ingredients in your fridge so I love to have a few handy recipes. This is one of my favorite appetizer dishes at Japanese restaurants. Though skill-wise is probably one of the harder dishes, ingredient-wise it's pretty simple. With some patience and practice, you too can perfect this dish, but probably not a good idea to make for more than 1-2 people. Enjoy!

Before...

and After!

Tomagoyaki (Japanese Omelette)

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:
Eggs - 2 large

Sugar - 3/4 tablespoon

Mirin - 1/2 teaspoon

Splash of salt and soy sauce

Directions:

1. Beat eggs with all the ingredients.
2. Pour oil on a hot pan. Make sure it's completely coated. Pour 1/4 of the egg into the pan, try to spread it out evenly into a thin layer.

3. Slowly roll the egg when the bottom is cooked but the top is still a bit runny so it will stick together.

4. Add oil to the pan and pour another 1/4 of egg into pan. Repeat and roll. (You can blog the oil on the rolled egg while in the pan so it's not as greasy when it's served.)

5. When it's done, blog excess oil, let cool. You can wrap it in a paper towel and try to shape and tighten it. Cut into slices and it's ready to serve! Can also be served cold refrigerated.

Panna Cotta with Balsamic Sauce

Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta with Balsamic Sauce

Finally got around to trying my hand at one of my favorite desserts and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was! Only thing is the overnight wait time for the gelatin to set, so plan ahead. Otherwise, prep time is only about 10 minutes. 

Before...

and After! 

Panna Cotta with Balsamic Sauce

Serves 4
Ingredients:

For Panna Cotta:
Gelatin - 3/4 packet (this is basically unflavored jello powder)
Heavy Cream - 1.5 cups (1 pint = 2 cups)
Full-fat Yogurt - 1 cup (we used Greek Yogurt)
Vanilla Extract - 2 teaspoon
Sugar - 1/3 cup

For Balsamic Sauce:
Balsamic Vinegar - 2.5 tablespoon
Sugar - 1 tablespoon
Pepper - 1/4 teaspoon
Lemon Zest

Directions:

[...night before]
1. Mix gelatin powder with a few tablespoons of cold water until dissolved. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together half the heavy cream, yogurt and vanilla extract.
3. In a sauce pan, heat the remaining heavy cream in low heat and mix in sugar. 
4. Turn off the heat. Add the galatin mixture to the hot cream. Pour the combined mixture to the cold cream and combine. Pour the combined mixture into a large plate or smaller individual bowls. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

[...about 1 hour before serving]
5. Combine ingredients for balsamic sauce in low heat. Let reduce about half and cool.
6. To serve, top Panna Cotta with blueberries and drizzle balsamic sauce.

Poached Egg in Microwave

Want a perfectly poached egg in 60 seconds? It's much easier than you think. 

Ta Da!

I love adding this to my home made noodle soups. 

Poached Egg in Microwave

Add 1/2 to 1/3 cup of water in a microwave safe bowl, crack egg into bowl. Depending on strength of your microwave, put in for 30 seconds, take a quick look and add time accordingly*. My lightweight microwave takes about 60 seconds.

* Err on the side of less time, too much time will cause the yolk to explode, which is no fun cleaning up.

Split Pea Dessert (馬豆糕)

This is a traditional Chinese Cantonese dessert that you might have tried at dim sum places. It tastes a bit like coconut panna cotta with a more solid texture, a bit like pudding + jello, not too sweet and light enough to consume after a big dinner. Ok, it's hard to describe so just try it. I might try to experiment with different flavors next... stay tuned!

Before...

and After!

Split Pea Dessert (馬豆糕)

Serves 12

Ingredients:
Split Pea - 3 oz or 3/8 cup
Evaporated Milk - 1 can (12 fluid oz)
Coconut Milk - 1 can 
Sugar - 8 to 9 oz
Corn Starch - 5 to 6 oz (6 oz for more solid texture)

Directions:
1. Cook split pea in boiling water until soft, approximately 35-40 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large pot, heat up 1.5 cups of water and melt sugar in medium heat.
3. In a separate bowl, mix 1.5 cups of water with corn starch.
4. When the sugar is thoroughly melted, add evaporated milk and coconut milk. When ti's hot, turn heat down to low, stir and slowly mix in starch water. 
5. Before the mixture boils, mix in the cooked split pea. Continue to stir; as the mixture boils, it will start to turn white. Let it boil for a few minutes while stirring.
6. Turn off heat. Pour the mixture into a desired container* and let cool. 
7. Cover and refrigerate. Serve cold.

* I prefer to use large deep glass plates for pour. The dessert will form into a cake-like shape and you can cut into cake slices or cubes for serving.

This is what it should look like after it's poured and cooling.

Creamed Chicken and Corn Soup (Instant)

I usually like to make things from scratch but I also enjoy an instant recipe now and then for those lazy days. This tastes like egg drop soup and is perfect as an appetizer or snack. Enjoy!

Before...

and After!

In my opinion, the brand of canned food makes or breaks the dish (taste-wise) so try to be brand specific.

Creamed Chicken and Corn Soup (Instant)

Ingredients:
Chicken Broth - 1 can (Swanson)
Cream Style Sweet Corn - 1 can (Green Giant)
Egg - 1
[optional] Cilantro, Salt, White Pepper, Sesame Oil and Sugar to taste

Directions:
1. Combine chicken broth and corn in pot and heat.
2. Beat egg and season with salt, white peper and sesame oil.
3. When soup comes to a boil, drop in egg mixture. Wait 5 second, then stir very gently. The egg will cook better this way.
4. Taste and season soup with salt and white pepper and/or sugar and sesame oil. 
5. Top with chopped cilantro to serve. For more cilantro taste, you can also added some cilantro stalks in soup before it boils.

Peppers: Shishito & Pimientos de Padron

Peppers: Shishito & Pimientos de Padron

Looking for a healthy snack or easy appetizer? Look no further than Shishito and Pimientos de Padron peppers! Although from different regions (Shishito is Japanese and Pimientos de Padron is Spanish), these peppers are very similar. They are finger-sized, have thin skin and are slightly sweet, although about every 1 in 10 is spicy. From my experience, the spicy Pimiento de Padron was much spicier than the spicy Shishito... so consider yourself warned!

Pimientos de Padron Pepper Before...

and After!

Shishito Pepper Before...

and After!

The hardest part of the recipe is actually finding these peppers. I will try to keep and update the list as I see them in NYC. I have ordered Shishito from Fresh Direct but they were too large and not very sweet. 

Location:

- Union Square Farmer's Market (Lani's Farm): both

- H Mart in Koreatown (website): Shishito only

- Sunrise Mart in St Marks (yelp): Shishito only

Sautee Shishito / Pimientos de Padron Peppers

Directions: Heat grapeseed* oil in pan until hot, toss in peppers and cook until peppers are blistered, charred and soft (about 1-5 min). Sprinkle salt and serve. You can also let the cooked peppers sit in a paper towel to blot off the excess oil before serving. Enjoy!

* grape seed oil has a higher heating point but oliver oil works too.