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!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

One of my favorite side dishes to order, prepared in my very own kitchen. Special shout out to my SO who is one of those people who cook amazing dishes without recipes. I have to force him to measure out everything and show me step by step how it's done. There will be many more dishes to come from him.

Before... 

and After!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:
Brussels Sprouts - half pound
Bacon - 2 slices, cut into bite size pieces
Honey Mustard - 1/2 tbsp
Balsamic Vinegar - splash

Optional: grated parmesan cheese, thyme.

Directions:
1. Place brussels sprouts in bowl. Cover and microwave for 3 minutes.
2. Heat pan with generous amount of olive oil. Add bacon.
3. Cook until bacon is near crispy, lower heat to medium and add in brussels sprouts.
4. Stir and make sure the brussels sprouts are completely coated with olive oil. Close lid.
5. After about 2-3 minutes, open the lid and check on the sprouts. If the pan looks dry, add a splash of water and close lid again to steam. Repeat this process about 3-5 times, which should take about 15-20 minutes. Ensure that the brussels sprouts are cooked through in the center and have a nice sear.
6. To finish, add a splash of balsamic vinegar to the pan and stir. Follow by the honey mustard. Stir and turn off heat. Season with salt and pepper.
7. [optional] Top with grated parmesan cheese and thyme for serving.

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.

Mexico City Style Chicken & Rice Soup

I ordered the this soup at a Tex Mex joint in Houston and totally fell in love. Determined to recreate it in my teeny NYC kitchen and think I got pretty close. This is quickly becoming one of my favorites and I will likely be making this a lot, especially if the winter stays this cold. 

Before...

Soup Base Ingredients

Garnish Ingredients

and After!

You can improvise and add/change up many of the ingredients here. Next time I think I'll try to add daikon to the soup. 

Mexico City Style Chicken & Rice Soup

Ingredients for Chicken Broth: 
Chicken (I like to use a mix of drumsticks and thighs with bones but no skin)
Carrots  
Celery 
Corn
Onion (I prefer yellow/Spanish onion for cooking)
Thyme
optional: Saffron

Ingredients for toppings/garnish: 
Tomatoes
Onion (I prefer red onion for garnish)
Avocado
Jalapeño
Corn - cook briefly in chicken soup, remove and cut off kernels
Cilantro
Rice - cook in rice cooker with slightly less water
Optional: lime

Directions:
1. Boil water and drop in chicken pieces. Cook for 1 hour. In the meantime, drop in whole corn, let cook, remove and cool. Cut off kernels to be used for garnish later.
2. Cut carrots, onion and celery into large chunks. Add carrots, onion, celery, thyme and dash of pepper into the pot. Cook for at least another hour. 
3. While the broth is cooking, prepare the toppings/garnish: chop the tomatoes, red onion and jalapeño into small pieces. Finely chop the cilantro. De-seed and cube/slice/chop avocado (do this last as avocado oxidizes).
2. When the broth looks ready, scoop out the chicken and carrot. De-bond and hand shred chicken meat into small pieces.
3. Pour the remaining soup through a sieve to retain the clear broth. Add chicken and carrots back in and reboil. Flavor with salt and pepper.
4. Scoop out a bowl of hot broth with chicken and carrots. Serve with toppings/garnish on the side.

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.

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.

Guacamole

If you need to feed a bunch of party people, there is nothing better than guac & chips. I made this for my friend’s Mexican themed party and was told that it was “so awesome” and “the best.” Yes, they were drunk, but I’ll take it.

Before...

and After!

You don’t need any special tools but a few tricks to note:

• Avocado oxidizes (turns brown once it’s cut), so guacamole is best made and consumed on the same day. If you must store it overnight, keep the container air tight and refrigerate.

• Use ripe avocados. They are not always readily available at stores, so you can buy 1-2 days early and store in room temperature in a brown paper bag.

• Make sure you de-seed the tomatoes. Otherwise, the dip gets runny.

• The below recipe is not spicy at all. Feel free to double or triple the chilies if you want a kick.

Guacamole (courtesy of Dos Caminos)

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Avocados, preferably California Haas – 2 large

Tomato, Roma/plum – 1 small

Onion, White/Red – ¼, for 2 teaspoons chopped

Chilies, Jalapeno/Serrano – 1-2, for 2 teaspoons chopped

Lime – 1, for 2 teaspoons of lime juice

Cilantro – 2 tablespoons chopped

Directions:

1. Chop up everything: finely chop the onion, chilies and cilantro. Remove chili seeds if you don’t like spicy. De-seed the tomatoes and chop. Do avocado last because it oxidizes: peel, de-seed, and cut up in small cubes.

2. In medium size bowl, use the back of a spoon to mash up half the onion, chilies and cilantro with a dash of salt. This will help release the oil and flavor.

3. Add avocados and mash. Mix in the remaining onion, chilies and cilantro. Lastly, gently fold in tomatoes and add lime juice. Season with salt and serve with tortilla chips.

Steamed Mussels in White Wine Sauce

I am sure there are a million different ways to make this, but this is likely one of the simplest ways. I can't believe I waited so long to try to make this even though I always order it at restaurants! The sauce is really yummy and you can use it to dip bread or add pasta to make this a full meal. Enjoy!

Before...

and After!

If you didn't know this already, when choosing between curly or flat parsley, always choose flat parsley for cooking. Curly is for garnish and has less/no flavor.

Steamed Mussels in White Wine Sauce

Serves: 1-4

Ingredients:
Mussels - 1 bag (~2lb), cleaned
White Wine - 1/2 bottle
Shallot* - 1 small, chopped
Tomato* - 1 small, de-seeded and chopped
Parsley - handful, chopped (flat parsley)
Butter - 2 teapoons

*Adjust proportion of tomato and shallot depending on your preference for red or white wine sauce. Can also add chopped jalapeño/serrano peppers or onions.

Directions:
1. Sautee chopped shallot with butter until it's aromatic. Add chopped tomatoes and mix.
2. After the tomatoes are hot, add some of the chopped parsley and pour in half a bottle of white wine (doesn't have to be nice wine). Turn down the heat, cover and reduce the sauce by half.
3. Season the reduced sauce with salt, pepper and a little bit of sugar to taste. Note that the sauce will taste much better after the mussels are cooked in it.
4. Add the mussels to the sauce pan, cover and cook until shells are completely open. Toss out ones that remain close (which means they were dead).
5. Turn off the heat, mix in the rest of the chopped parsley and it's ready to serve. 

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.